Scott's Past Arrives at Horizon Part VIII
Girls' Dorm:
There's an hour left until lights out and most of the girls are getting ready for bed.
Samia walks out of the bathroom drying her wet red hair with a towel. She is already dressed for bed in a slinky green camisole.
Shelby rolls her eyes. Why does everything she a does have to do with sex?
Samia flopped on her bed belly-first and pulled a frumpy, old stuffed armadillo out from under her pillow. When Shelby saw it, she had to laugh. "What the heck is that??"
Undaunted, Samia hugged her armadillo close to her chest. "This is Arnie the Armadillo. I've had him since I was five. He didn't even have a name until last year…"
Juliette raised an eyebrow. "Why did you wait until last year to name him?"
Samia smiled to herself, remembering. "I didn't name him…Scott did."
FLASHBACK
She had been home a couple of hours. It was the day Scott and Samia had that huge fight in the school hallway. He called me a whore. She hadn't seen him or spoken to him since that morning. As fate would have it, her mom was working and wouldn't be home until late. Samia was about to order pizza for her dinner when Scott knocked on her front door. He was still sweaty from football practice.
Scott looked at the ground, guiltily. "Hey."
Samia still thought there was something he wasn't telling her about Elayne, so she felt (at least) some sympathy. "Hey, yourself."
After a long silence, Scott finally mustered the courage to look up from the welcome mat he had been so intently focused on. "I just got back from practice…I didn't have time to shower."
A small smile appeared on Samia's face. "So I smell."
Scott laughed nervously. "Can I come in?"
Samia opened the door wider and led him up to her room. When they entered, she motioned for him to sit on the bed.
Scott cleared his throat. "I wanted to say 'I'm sorry' for what I said in the hall…I was wrong."
Samia couldn't meet his eyes. "No…you weren't. All those things you said were true. I was all over Kenneth at Sean's. I'm sorry for talking about all the drugs in front of everybody…it's nobody's business but yours…" Samia gently reached for Scott's hand and they sat in silence for a moment.
He finally said what they had both been wondering. "So…what now? Does this mean we broke up?" Samia swallowed hard and tried not to cry. "Yeah…I guess so."
Scott ran his other fingers through his hair and looked around the room. He'd been up there before (of course) but had never really noticed his surroundings. His eyes wandered over to one corner of the room where stuffed animals were piled up on a love seat. He noticed a weird looking animal among them.
Curious, he asked, "Hey, Sam, what's up with that ugly thing on the elephant?"
Samia pretended to be offended as she crossed the room and picked it up. "Hey now…that's my armadillo you're talking about."
Scott took it from her hands and examined it. "This is the strangest thing I have ever seen." Their eyes met and soon they were both rolling with laughter. "So, what's his name?"
Samia thought back. "He doesn't have one, really."
Scott became defensive. "Every stuffed animal has to have a name! …How 'bout Arnie?…Arnie the Armadillo."
Samia smiled. "Ok…Arnie it is."
When they finished talking, she led him downstairs to the door. As she opened the front door to let him out, they became serious. Scott bit his lip. "So I guess this is goodbye."
Samia fought back tears. "Yeah…" Impulsively she leaned in for a kiss. Their lips touched softly, and then he was gone.
FLASHBACK ENDS
"Earth to Samia!" Juliette was waving her hand in front of Samia's face. Samia snapped out of it. "Huh?"
"I asked if you were through with the bathroom."
Samia nodded, still thinking. "Um…yeah, sure. Go ahead."
"Thanks." Now Samia and Shelby were the only two in the room. There was a knock at the door….it was Scott.
He shuffled his feet, trying to think of something to say. "Hey, Sam. You wanna go for a walk?" Scott blushed when he looked up and saw Samia in her camisole. Samia grabbed a bathrobe and wrapped it around her. For the first time in a year, she was shy. "Sure." She tied the robe belt around the waist and they were gone. Shelby began to fume. From the window she watched as they walked to the huge gazebo and sat down. She saw Samia lean against him as they spoke. Much to Shelby's dismay, she could not hear them.
Scott and Samia:
Samia snuggled into Scott's coat, trying to stay warm. "So what did you want?"
Scott willingly put his arm around her as he spoke. "I dunno. I was just thinkin'."
Samia looked up at him from the folds of the coat and tried to read his face. "What were you thinking about?"
Scott stared off into space. "How things were in public school when everything was simple. Everyone was happy."
Samia gazed at him. "You mean before Elayne."
Scott met her gaze. "…and Mr. Forrest."
Scott laughed unexpectedly. "Sam, do you remember when we lost to Riverview?"
Samia laughed too, thinking back. "How could I forget? We were so mad we stuck live chickens on their bus and rolled the field!" The two sat in happy silence as they reminisced.
Scott became serious again. "I wonder what happened to Sean."
Samia was somber. "He was getting pretty heavy with the drugs when I left. I don't know…maybe he's better, but I doubt it."
"We used to be such good friends. I don't know why he hated me all of a sudden…maybe it was the drugs."
Samia looked at Scott. "He didn't hate you because of the drugs…you know better than that."
Confused, Scott asked, "What are you trying to say?"
"He hated you because you had something he wanted…" Their faces moved closer as she spoke.
"What's that?"
Samia reached up to touch his face. "…me." Scott kissed her passionately. Samia had forgotten how safe she felt when she was with him…And what a good kisser he was…
From the girls' dorm window, Shelby's eyes were stinging with tears. Juliette walked out of the bathroom. "What's your problem, Shel?" Without a word, Shelby ran over to Samia's bed and grabbed the stuffed armadillo. Before Juliette could stop her, Shelby threw the armadillo into the toilet and flushed.
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When Samia came back to the dorm, her cheeks were notably red. She had lost track of time and it was almost 'lights out'. She didn't regret it though. Kissing Scott had been well worth it…
Samia went to the bathroom to brush her teeth…. Her eyes met with the toilet and her scream could be heard all the way to the boys' dorm.
Scott had started on his way to the boys' dorm when he heard the scream and ran back. When he busted into the boys' dorm, he couldn't believe what he saw. Samia and Shelby had each other by the hair and Shelby was speaking through gritted teeth. "If you ever kiss him again, I'll…"
Samia yanked Shelby's hair harder and tried to pull her to the ground. "I didn't kiss him. He kissed me!"
Scott jumped between the two and managed to pull them apart, which was not an easy task. When they were finally separated, Scott was fuming. "What the hell is going on here? Samia, you first." Sometimes it surprised him when he found himself talking like Peter.
Samia stared vengefully at Shelby. Her eyes misted with tears as she spoke. "She tried to flush my Arnie!" Shelby stifled a laugh. Samia moved to get up and head towards Shelby when Scott subdued her. "You mean that armadillo?" Samia nodded and she began to cry. "She's hated me since I came and now she's messing up my stuff." Scott looked at Shelby through new eyes. "Why would try to do that if you knew how much it meant to her?"
Shelby's fists were clenched. "Talk about messing stuff up! She's been trying to break us up since she got here! All she wants from you is a good time! Tell him about Howie, Samia!"
Samia was sobbing now. "That's not true! I may have messed up, but I'm not trying to seduce Scott! I admit it, I slept with Howie. But that was before….before…" Scott put his arm around Samia. "Before you came clean about your past." Scott turned to Shelby. "You can't blame Samia for our problems, Shel. I kissed her out there. Not the other way around. You've tried to make her life a living hell since she got here! Give her a break….it's over. Maybe you need some more time to grow up." With that, Scott kissed Samia lightly on the forehead and went back to his dorm.
TO BE CONTINUED…
One question…Does ANYBODY like Samia? She happens to be my fave character. Please let me know in your reviews. Thanks in advance.