"I thought you said we could go the other way today," Sammy growled as both she and Marissa turned into the teacher's parking lot, passing rows of cars on their way home. Although Sammy enjoyed the extra moments talking to Marissa, she was reminded of all the times Marissa made her walk down this path just so she could pass the infamous Danny Urbanski's house. But as far as Sammy knew, Marissa had dismissed her feelings for Danny a long time ago.
"I did," Marissa whispered. And picked up her pace. Her expression was cold, which worried Sammy enough to pick up her own pace.
"Then why are we-?" But Sammy was cut off when Marissa began to run past her on the sidewalk. Passing trees and bushes, she eventually became out of earshot. Marissa's feet pounded on the cement and her legs ached, but she had to see it for herself.
Sammy, still a couple yards away, threw down her skateboard she was carrying and rode down the same walkway she last saw Marissa on. It took only a few minutes riding her skateboard and catching her breath to find her usually enthusiastic friend curled up in a ball on the cement.. Marissa had tears in her eyes but wiped them away, only leaving hints of red under her almond brown eyes. Marissa's violet sweater hung loose around her frame and her hands bundled in the wool fabric.
Sammy gave a concerned look towards Marissa and knelt down beside her on the pavement. She rested her arm on her best friend's shoulder and wiped off the excess tears in her eyes with the other hand. After a while, her knees ached so she sat down directly on the pavement with her legs crossed and her body facing Marissa. Sammy should've known that something was wrong during lunch when Marissa only spoke two times in passing conversations. She should've known when Marissa decided to walk this path today even though the other way is shorter and they both knew it. she should've known once she saw her best friend lying in tears on the sidewalk across the street from a boy whom she once loved. But the thing is she didn't know. Not until she glanced at the forsale sign across the street.
"Oh, no, Marissa. I'm -" But Sammy was stopped as Marissa abruptly stood up and patted down her jeans attempting to remove the dirt.
"I had to see it for myself." Marissa's lifeless tone triggered all that built up anger Sammy was holding back to rise up and come out through her flushed cheeks.
"Marissa, come on, you're being so dramatic!" Sammy snapped. She was still sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk and extended her arm toward Marissa for a lift, but Marissa declined. It was obvious to Sammy that her comment went too far. Marissa glared at Sammy and crossed her arms over her chest not saying a word.
Sammy pushed herself off the ground and shot up, while her brunette hair flung in all different different, yelling "Marissa, you haven't talked about Danny in months but now the moment you find out he's moving you start acting like a sorry puppy dog who used to be on his leash. I've been here this whole time! Not him! And you still have me! Doesn't our friendship mean anything to you?! I don't understand why you're so upset about this! You have Billy, you have Holly, you have Dot, you have Casey-"
Marissa snapped. "Do I though?" She took only a few steps before Sammy grabbed Marissa's wrist, pulling her from behind.
"What are you talking about?" Sammy asked softly, now concerned of how she raised her voice at her friend.
Marissa pulled free of Sammy's grasp, but Continued to stand still as the breeze swept her brunette hair off her shoulders. "Sammy, I want to believe you'll always be there, but since you and Casey started dating I've seen you less and less. And I would usually go talk to Billy instead, of course. Mostly talking about how grossly cute you and Casey are together," Marissa smirked as Sammy rolled her eyes, "but right now Billy and I are fighting. Dot is always busy with her family and Holly is packed with shifts at the Pup Parlor."
"Marissa, getting busy is a part of getting older." To this Marissa rolled her eyes, but Sammy stepped forward and put her hands on Marissa's soft shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "And you know if you ask I will always make time for you... you're my best friend."
"Let me finish…." Marissa had tears well up in her eyes. "I miss it. I miss constantly exposing Heather, I miss setting fires in old abandoned houses and using my mother's sweater to put them out, I miss pining over Danny Urbanski, I miss constantly asking myself how I got involved in all your shenanigans, and believe it or not I miss taking those 'shortcuts' that always lead to my doom. I feel that our old adventures are just going to be memories that we'll forgot one day. You're right, I'm not still secretly pining for Danny anymore. I have a huge dislike for him. But now that he is actually gone….. It was just you and me Sammy, from the beginning, and also my major crush on Danny Urbanski. But that was it. And now that Danny is actually gone I feel a piece of that beginning coming to a close."
Sammy also had tears in her eyes as she heard Marissa's truth come out. She put her arms around Marissa and squeezed her tight. Still holding on she replied, "I understand…and I miss it too, but sometimes things need to end for others to begin. We have met so many amazing people along the way...Dot, Holly, Billy, Casey...And we can make new beginnings with those people. It's still hard to let go of your past though. I guess it's a part of growing up."
Sammy broke apart from the hug and smiled at Marissa. "You want to get some double dynamos for old time's sake?"
As much as Marissa wished to have that cold delicious treat she politely declined the offer and watched Sammy leave as Marissa was left with some time to herself to think. Instead of sitting on the sidewalk across the street, she sat down in the front yard of the house with the tilted forsale sign stuck in the ground. Finding shade against a tree, she thought about all the adventures she had and all the memories she was going to make as she entered high school in the fall of that year.
About an hour later Marissa stood up weakly with one leg asleep and walked over to take a closer look at the forsale sign. She looked over the blue letters of the relator and under that was the phone number to call and under that was a line she hadn't noticed before. In bright red letters it read "I'm beautiful inside." Marissa smirked as she wished this statement was true about the boy who once lived here.