Chapter 1 – Sam's Dad
Sam sat at his kitchen counter half-watching the disturbing footage of homes being ripped apart by the Hurricane in Hawaii. He felt terrible for the now homeless citizens, of course he did, but when watching the breaking news all he could think about was how interested his absentee father would be in the destructive occurrence. The young man's back tensed at the thought of his dad. Just like their relationship, Sam's muscles strained when he reflected on his father's decreasing presence in his life, and his increasing obsession with the weather.
"You gonna get that?" his mother questioned in playful annoyance, pulling Sam out of his reverie. He hadn't heard the phone ringing at all.
"Hello…I'm aware Jack, I get a copy of his report card too" his mom breathed into the receiver. Oh, fantastic that's all he needed, his father trying to parent.
"I don't have time to talk about this right now" she mumbled, mirroring Sam's annoyance, "excuse me, I am not the one who is away for months and months at a time."
She tried whispering the last part but Sam wasn't naïve, or deaf. He knew his mother had a difficult time with his father's time consuming job, as Sam did. However, he didn't like the insinuation that his father's absence was the cause behind his bad grades or any other little issue. That wasn't the cause. He didn't need him that much.
"I'll let him explain it to you, can you take him to the airport in the morning?" his mother requested, more cheerful. Alone in the car with his dad with no escape…Sam was sure he had had that nightmare before.
"He joined the scholastic decathlon team. They're competing in New York…yea, I think there's a girl involved." Sam shook his head in annoyance. Of course, his father knew nothing about what he was involved in and of course, his mom had to act like she knew everything about his life.
He stopped listening as his mom pleaded with her husband not to forget his only child the next morning. Sam never thought it would come to this, not with how great their relationship used to be. Now, the concept of being close with his father was foreign to him. But he didn't dwell on it; he didn't want to go there. Sam went upstairs to pack for New York, deciding to instead dwell on the person with whom he'd be spending the next week. Sometimes it scared him; his mom really did know everything.