Author's Note: I know, I know, Sammie's probably a bit Mary Sue-ish. I basically wrote this for fun, and some friends wanted it up so they would read it, so….there we are. Review, please, unless you're just going to write nasty things about how the world shudders at my attempt at writing. That's not shway. ;P
Terry McGinnis pulled his girlfriend closer to him, enjoying the time he could spend with her. Dana looked up at him and smiled, then went back to whatever she had been discussing with Chelsea. Before long, she had given him a kiss good-bye and was off to her lunch meeting of the yearbook club. Terry watched her and Chelsea leave, then turned to scan the hoards of students for any sign of his best friend. Max had an extra credit assignment to do during the first part of lunch, but she was going to meet him there once she was finished.
Instead of Max, though, his gaze was drawn to an unfamiliar girl walking slowly along the cement path. She had straight black hair that fell over her shoulders like a soft sea of ebon wheat. Her eyes were downcast, hiding their color, and were situated under black brows that weren't tweezed to perfection like most girls nowadays. Her straight nose and high cheekbones complemented her copper colored complexion, all of which were obviously Native American. She was dressed Bohemian style, with a soft lavender sweater that accentuated her curves and a long, flowing light blue skirt with intricate designs. Her body was built slightly thick, but she was lovely. She had a subtle prettiness, the kind that screamed the fact she didn't know how beautiful she was.
She had a kind of innocence about her, or rather, a sort of shyness. The other students seemed to notice the quiet vibe, for when Nelson bumped into her and caused her to drop her armful of books, he only stopped briefly to snarl, "Watch where you're going."
That wasn't at all unusual, but when no one else seemed ready to help her, Terry stepped forward. She had crouched down and was in the process of neatly stacking her books when he joined her, helping her pick up the last of them.
"Thank you." She said quietly, not looking at him.
"You're welcome." He told her. "You're new here, aren't you? I'm Terry McGinnis."
"Samantha Redbone." She replied, eyes still downcast. "Nice to meet you."
"Today your first day?" Terry asked, wanting to draw her into conversation.
She nodded as she stood.
He stood up as well. "Where are you headed with all those?"
"My locker." She told him. "Just got my books."
"Let me help." He said, taking three of the five books from her. "You know where your locker is?" He asked when she looked ready to protest.
"Not really." She admitted. "The lady in the office just told me it was number 184."
"Not very helpful, is she?" Terry commented with a grin. "Fortunately, that's right by mine. I'll show you."
She followed him silently, radiating shyness until he couldn't take it anymore.
"So where are you from?" He asked.
"California." She answered.
"Shway." Terry commented. "You know how to surf?"
"Yeah." She replied. "Not much else to do in my hometown, except hit the beaches."
Terry smiled, pleased he had gotten a longer reply. "I can think of worse things. Why'd you move here?"
"My stepdad opened up a new shop here. Decided he wanted to manage it himself instead of delegating the job to someone else." She told him.
"Oh yeah? What kind of store does your stepfather run?" He questioned.
"Bookstore, mostly. We sell coffee and stuff, too, though." She said.
"Shway." He said again, stopping. "Here it is."
She stopped, too, looking at it. "Now let's see if I can open it." She glanced at the slip of paper she was holding for her combination, then spun the dial, smiling when it opened. "Shway."
"You should do that more often." Terry told her.
"Open my locker?" Samantha asked.
"Smile." Terry answered.
"Oh." She muttered, then began putting her books away.
Terry helped her, and when they were finished she swung the locker closed.
"You get your schedule?" Terry asked.
"Yeah." She pulled it out and offered it to him.
"Let's see…Advanced Zoo, oh, geez, brains much? World History, Calculus, PE, hey, we've got that together! American Lit, we've got that one, too….and French Three. Shway, we've got two classes together. Good for me, 'cause I've got no one cool to talk to in those." Terry told her, giving her back her schedule. "If you want, I'll walk you to PE after lunch, to show you where it is."
"Thanks." Samantha said softly, finally looking up at him. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, a total and complete contrast to the rest of her entirely Native American features.
"Oh, wow." Terry commented. "Hey, you been spliced?"
"No." Samantha replied, the word dripping with distaste. "It's natural. My mother was Irish."
"Ah." Terry nodded. "Shway. Looks good."
She blinked, apparently surprised by the ease with which he accepted her answer. The bell rang, then, which caused Terry to blink. Guess it had taken Max longer to finish her work than she thought.
"Well, I guess we better head off to Lit, then." Terry commented with a mock-cheerfulness, leading the way to the class.
Samantha smiled at him and followed. When Samantha picked out a chair in the back and sat down, he slid into the one next to her, to which she seemed vaguely surprised.
"Told you I had no one to hang out with." He told her. "Well, actually, now I do."
"You don't have to." She said softly, then looked away. "I mean, I'll be fine by myself."
"Has it occurred to you that maybe I want to make friends with you?" He asked.
She blinked at him. Obviously, it hadn't. "Okay, then. Just checking." She replied with a light smile.
He drew her out a bit more as the class went on, and found they had much the same taste in music and movies. They also both had after school jobs.
"Mine takes up a lot of my time." Terry told her, after she had mentioned helping her stepfather in the store. "My boss is always calling me for something or another."
"Who do you work for?" She asked.
"Bruce Wayne." He told her. "I'm sort of his assistant."
"As in Wayne-Powers? Shway." She commented.
"Yeah." He agreed. "Except he's really demanding. I mean, I love my job. I'm definitely not complaining about it. I just don't seem to have much of a social life anymore…I don't know how much longer Dana's going to take it." He had told her about his girlfriend earlier. "I know where she's coming from, I just…well, I have important stuff to do know, you know? It's like she's all ticked off 'cause my world can't revolve around her." He paused. "Sorry. I didn't mean to dump on you like that."
She smiled at him. "It's okay, Terry. I don't mind at all. Sometimes it's good just to have someone to talk to. I don't mind being that person."
He looked at her, then smiled. "Oh. Well, thanks."
"No problem. If you keep doing it, though, I might have to start offering advice." She teased.
He grinned a bit, shaking his head. "Soon enough, I'll need some."
After school, Samantha pulled the book she needed for her homework out of her locker and slid it into her bag, then shouldered the pack and walked outside. As she ambled down the stairs, she spotted Terry standing with a pretty dark-haired girl. She wanted to go say hello, but she figured the girl was Dana and he wouldn't want to be interrupted. He saw her stopped, though, and sent a smile in her direction. The girl caught it and glanced over, then said something and Terry waved her over.
"Hi." Samantha greeted when she approached them.
"Hi Samantha." Terry replied. "This is Dana, my girlfriend."
"I guessed." Samantha commented quietly. "I just met Terry today, but I feel like I already know you for all he's talked about you."
Terry shot her a silent grateful look and she smiled, getting the feeling that Dana hadn't been too pleased when he told her about her.
"I hope it was nothing bad." Dana said, smiling a bit.
"No." Samantha told her. "From the way he was talking, I pictured an angel."
Dana blushed, looking pleased, and warmed up quite a bit. "Hey, you're in my history class, aren't you?"
"I don't know." Samantha replied. "Today was kind of a blur."
"Yeah, you are." Dana nodded. "Hey, if you need any help getting caught up, just ask me. I can fill you in on the parts I didn't sleep through."
Samantha smiled. "Thanks."
"No prob." Dana agreed. "I'd offer help right now, but Terry and I are going out."
"Lucky you." Samantha said. "I just get to go work at Spirit's Den."
"That's the store your stepdad owns?" Terry asked. "Shway."
"You get employee discount?" Dana questioned.
Samantha nodded. "Stop by some time while I'm working and I'll let you use it."
Terry's cell phone rang, then, and Dana got a frustrated look on her face.
"Hello?" Terry answered. "Now? Look, can't it wait? I've got…" He sighed. "Okay. Bye." He hung up and turned to Dana. "Dana…."
"I know." She said abruptly. "Mr. Wayne. Whatever, Terry. Call me tonight if you can find time." She informed him, storming off.
Terry sighed, looking seriously depressed as she left.
Samantha reached out and placed a hand on his arm, squeezing gently. "Don't worry about it. Call her tonight and talk to her…She'll understand."
"I hope so." Terry said absently, then suddenly became aware of her hand on his arm. "Look, you want a ride? I'm apparently headed that way anyway."
"Yeah." She agreed, pulling her hand away. "That'd be nice."
He led her to a black and red motorcycle and she whistled.
"Nice ride." She told him.
"Thanks." He said with a grin. "There are some perks to working for Wayne."
He handed her the spare helmet and she hopped on behind him, settling herself with ease. They chatted occasionally as they raced across the highways, yelling to hear each other over the wind. Before long, Terry pulled up in front of the store and killed the motor.
"Thanks again, Terry." She told him as she handed him back the helmet.
"No problem, Samantha." He replied.
"Sam." She told him. "My friends call me Sam. So…you know…" Her tone lowered, becoming hesitant. "You can if you want."
"I'd love to." He said with a grin, putting his helmet back on. "Later Sam."
He drove off and she smiled, then waltzed into the store. She made her way to the employees only section and dropped her backpack next to the break room couch. Standing by the door was a middle-aged man with hazelnut brown hair and blue eyes so light they bordered on gray.
"Hi Bill." She greeted.
He nodded absently and went out into the store.
Samantha sighed and lowered her voice. "Hi, Sam. How was school?"
"Okay for my first day." She answered in her own voice. "Made a new friend."
"Oh? What's his name?" She asked, voice lowered.
"Terry." She said, normal tone again. "We've got two classes together."
"Is Terry nice?"
"Yup. He helped me pick up my books when I dropped them."
"Oh. Well, that's good then. I'm glad you're making friends, sweetie."
She nodded. "Dana's nice, too. She's his girlfriend. We've got history together."
Samantha paused, then, glancing around the break room. "Yay me. Now I'm crazy and unsupervised." She grinned a bit. "Oh, well. Guess I better get to work. Yay money and all that."
