Stephen Harris
Friends
If you were to meet Sam on the street or talk to him on the phone; it would seem as if he was shy and very quiet, quiet enough to find it difficult to hear him on the phone. If you were to get to know him well, he would be the complete opposite – loud, hyperactive, upfront; definitely not shy!
From the age of 12, Sam was interested in the RAF, and wanted to join; he loves aircraft. He once told me the sound of a plane's engines sends him to an image of him in the RAF piloting a plane to an important mission. At 14 he had earned a pilots license and was finally on course to be able to live out his dream of flying for the country; so he joined the ATC, (Air Training Cadets), in Dawlish, a stepping stone to a career in the RAF.
I have only known Sam for a year, making friends was always difficult for me; and after I became friends with Sam I found out that making friends was difficult for him as well.
Any friendships I make normally only last for a few weeks, a month at the most; when I began my friendship with Sam I didn't think that this one would be any different, little did I know that our friendship is still going strong even though he has moved to Reading.
After a few weeks of being together at school, the school decided to throw him out for something he never did; he got sent to the Chances Project at Dyrons in Newton Abbot. We then had to continue our friendship through phone calls and e-mails; and for three months we lost contact entirely, but still the friendship continued. When Sam finally made contact three months later we decided to arrange a sleepover at his Dad's house in Bridport during the summer holidays. We agreed that I would meet Sam at his Nan's bungalow in Teignmouth before being picked up by his dad, Michael, in the evening for the trip to Bridport.
I had the most fun two weeks of my life; I could get up at any time I wanted in the morning; we could do whatever we wanted, (within reason), but the most fun part of the sleepover was when I got to go out on my own for the day with one of Sam's dogs, Bobo, we went all over Bridport together, I got seriously tired by the dog wouldn't stop running always wanting to play.
The sleepover seemed to go on forever, but at long last it was time for us to go back to school, so we had to go home. For the return journey Sam's little brother Toby came with us, he was and still is the weirdest, most energetic, hyperactive boy I have ever met. We got back to Sam's Nan at 10pm on a Saturday night, it was so late I decided to stay at his Nan's for two nights and catch the bus form school on Monday, it turned out to be a fun, if painful, day!