This started out good, but as it went on, I kind of lost interest. I finished it anyway because I can't stand to have an unfinished story on my hands. It's like my ultimate pet peeve. And since this doesn't have a huge fanbase, I'm uploading it. It has its moments :)
Erin was in love. She had been for quite a while. There was just one problem. The guy she loved was in love with someone else. It was like her favorite musical, The Phantom of the Opera. She was "the Phantom", he was "Christine" and the other girl was "Raoul". Or it was like her other favorite musical, Les Misérables. She was Eponine, he was Marius, and the other girl was Cosette. At least she could now sympathize with Erik and Eponine more than she used to be able to.
Sam Hall was perfect in her mind. She had met him once when she had completely spilled all of her food at lunch on herself. Humiliated, she had run away to the bathroom to have a good cry and clean herself off. When she came out, eyes red and puffy, Sam was standing there outside the door, holding a shirt out for her. It was obvious that it was a guy shirt, but at that moment, she didn't care. Without a word, she smiled and went to go change. After that, the two of them talked and Erin found herself falling for him more and more. When she was about to ask him out on a date, he had revealed that he had feelings for Laura Chapman.
Erin was heartbroken but did a good job of hiding it. Sam had no idea that she had feelings for him, and she wasn't about to tell him now.
The thing was, she couldn't hate Laura if she tried. Laura was the sweetest girl Erin had ever met. They were on the academic team together, and Laura was always getting together with her so they could study for upcoming competitions. She was really smart, but she was also humble about it all. She could see why Sam fell for her.
Sam ended up joining the academic team, but everyone knew he was really joining it so he could get close to Laura.
The academic decathlon was approaching fast, and the advisor of the club needed to choose three people to go to New York City to participate. Erin knew that Sam and Brian were shoe-ins, so she hoped to get a good score in order to be able to go with them. Perhaps if she was alone with Sam, they could spend time together and he would start to have feelings for her.
People from the club piled into the small classroom and each was given an answer sheet. The test was timed and everyone had ten minutes to answer all the questions. The three with the most correct answers would go to New York City.
"Good luck," Laura whispered to Erin.
"You too," Erin whispered back.
The countdown started and the race was on.
Erin had always been good under pressure. Ever since she was young, she loved the adrenaline that came with the pressure of having to finish something first. She was extremely competitive, but not like those people who got so competitive that they ruined everyone's fun. When time was called, there were a lot of groans going around the room from the people who didn't get to finish all the questions.
The papers were taken to the teacher's desk and graded, while the rest of the room waited in agonizing anticipation. The teacher, Mr. Hayes, came to the front of the room with the papers of the three lucky people who would win the trip to New York. Erin mentally crossed her fingers, her toes, and anything else that she could cross.
"Brian Smith had the most correct answers and finished in the quickest amount of time. Sam Hall comes in second. And we have a tie for third place."
Erin's heart began beating faster. She had to go to New York! She just had to!
"Because she finished in a quicker amount of time, Laura Chapman will participate in the decathlon with Mr. Smith and Mr. Hall."
Erin's heart sank. There went all of her chances of trying to win over Sam. Not to mention she just lost out on a really cool trip to one of her favorite places.
"Erin Avery will attend with Mr. Smith, Mr. Hall, and Ms. Chapman as the alternate."
Had Erin just heard right? She was going to New York? Even as an alternate, that was better than nothing!
"As for the rest of you, you all did a wonderful job. These were some very tough questions, and it's difficult to do them when you're timed. Practice doing these kinds of questions and timing yourself, and I invite you to all try again next year. Would the four participants please stay with me, and the rest of you are dismissed."
"We got in!" Laura squealed as she hugged Erin tightly. "I'm so happy for you!"
"I'm happy for the both of us! Hey, you're the one that gets to compete!"
"You're still coming with us! What a huge honor!"
The four of them approached Mr. Hayes at the front of the room.
"Congratulations to the four of you! This is a tremendous honor and you should all feel quite proud of yourselves! Here are your folders filled with everything you need to know about the decathlon. Your plane tickets are in there as well. Get some rest, and I'll be at the airport to see you off! I'm very proud of each one of you!"
"Yeah, guys, we got in!" Brian exclaimed giving them all high-fives as they left the room. "NYC, here we come!"
Erin laughed, then noticed Sam wasn't joining in.
"Sam, are you okay?" she asked him when they had made it outside and it was just the two of them.
"What?" he said, as if he was finally coming back from la-la land.
"Well, you did just place second in the mini-competition and you're going to New York City, but you don't look very happy."
"It's nothing."
"I don't believe you. Spill."
Sam sighed. "My Calculus teacher failed me in the class."
"He what? Isn't that your best class?"
"Yeah, he thinks I cheated."
"Why would he think that?"
"Because he's not as smart as me."
Erin gave him a small laugh. "Why?"
"I got every question right on the final, but I didn't write out the solutions because I just do them in my head. But since he can't do them in his head, and apparently he thinks he's the smartest guy on the planet, he believes that I must've seen the answers somewhere."
"That's just ridiculous. Are you going to tell someone? Like your parents, or our principal? So they can straighten this guy out?"
"Look, don't worry about me. I can figure this out for myself."
"You're my best friend! It's my job to worry about you!" she laughed. But I want to be more than your best friend! Why won't you give me the chance?! she thought. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow at the airport!"
"Yeah, see you then!"
Erin stared off at him as he went to get in the car with Brian. Why couldn't he see how much she liked him?
Erin was thrilled as she wheeled her carryon with her after check-in and security. She saw the group all huddled together with Mr. Hayes there to make sure they got on safely.
"Hey, where's Sam?" Erin asked.
"I don't know," Laura answered. "He should be here by now. We're about to board."
As soon as her words left her lips, they saw Sam running towards them. "Hey, sorry I'm late. My dad was supposed to give me a ride but he was late picking me up…again."
"No worries," Laura smiled.
Sam shyly smiled back, and Erin felt a surge of jealousy.
Erin noticed Sam nervously fiddling with his carryon. "You okay?" she asked him out of earshot of the others.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered without looking at her.
She paused before asking, "Are you afraid of flying?"
"No," he said so quickly, she obviously could tell he was lying.
"Sam, it's okay to be scared. A lot of people don't like flying. But it's all going to be fine. The flight isn't too long, and all of your friends are right here beside you, okay?"
Sam smiled at her. "Alright, fine."
She playfully punched him. "You'll be fine."
They began boarding the plane after saying good-bye to Mr. Hayes, and Erin found to her dismay that the rows on the plane only had three seats, which meant she was separated from the others. She sat in the row across from them. Another wave of jealousy swept through her as she saw Laura sit next to Sam. Why couldn't it be her who got to sit so close to him?
After everyone was finally seated and they were clear for take-off, the plane lifted into the sky.
NYC, here I come!