Sam
"Ah, home sweet dorm," Sam said, settling atop his lofted bed in their crowded, but cozy, room. Sam kept pretty much everything he owned under his bed in the back corner of the room, to make enough room for Artie to navigate the rest of their space with relative ease.
They'd left Sunday after lunch, as they needed time to get unpacked and settle back in before classes started on Monday. The Evans family packed up to leave when the guys did, too. It had been hard for Sam to say good-bye to Stacey and Stevie. They seemed to grow up a little more every time he didn't see them for awhile. He took comfort in the fact that they'd be together again for Christmas.
"I really missed our dorm," Artie agreed, as he transferred smoothly from chair to bed.
"Hey, how did Javier show you how to transfer, do you remember?" Sam wondered, as he watched Artie's complete the series of well-practiced movements.
"He basically faked it," Artie explained. "I remember being kind of rude to him, though. Like one time I thought I saw his foot move, so I yelled at him and accused him of cheating." Artie paused, looking thoughtful. "Actually, rude isn't a strong enough word. I was basically unleashing all my anger about the accident on him. I don't know how he could stand me."
"Well, you were going through a very hard time," Sam reasoned, trying to imagine Artie as an angry little kid. "I'm sure he knew that."
"Yeah," Artie agreed. "He probably dreaded seeing me, though. I didn't make his job easy."
"But you have fond memories of the guy still?"
"Yeah, I do," Artie said. "Because of how he never let my negative attitude get to him. He was understanding about the whole thing, he just brushed it off and didn't hold it against me."
"I'd love the chance to be that person for somebody one day," Sam said, wistfully. "I'm going to try to talk to an advisor soon. See what I need to do to become a physical therapist."
"Well, you have the perfect guinea pig," Artie added, with a laugh. "Me. You already help me do my stretches at night and you've been training me in the pool. See if they'll give you any credit for that."
"Speaking of which, do you need to stretch?" Sam asked, as Artie gave a nod and lay back, resting his head on his pillow. "I could put this on my resumé."
"I'd be a good professional reference for you," Artie said, as he allowed Sam to take over what had been his mom's job for many years. Sam recalled that it had been a little awkward for the both of them at first, but they quickly got over that.
"I read that you can become a physical therapy assistant with just an associate's degree and some additional training," Sam commented, at which Artie frowned.
"You don't mean to say you plan stop there, do you?" he asked. "Tell me this isn't you not feeling confident enough for more years of school."
"No, no," Sam said, quickly. "That's not it, I swear. I just think it would be nice to get experience working with patients as soon as possible."
"Good," Artie said. "Dyslexia isn't going to stop you, Sam, you've got this."
When Sam finished stretching Artie out, they decided to head to the pool for a quick swim while it was still light out.
Tomorrow, their classes started right back up, but just for a few more weeks until Christmas break. Sam was already ready to go home again, because it meant he would see Amy. He would be spending the Christmas break staying with the Abrams family, too, and his family would come to visit again once the holiday drew nearer.
They had finals to get through first, and Artie said it reminded him of this old movie called 'The Paper Chase,' which was about a guy in law school back in the 70's. The main character would go swimming to relieve the stress. That, Artie said, was what swimming was about for him right now. Leave it to Artie to have a movie reference for everything. He'd been explaining all this to Sam, from the other side of the curtain, as he changed into his swimsuit in the empty locker room.
Sam would have to agree that swimming laps for fun was a stress reliever. But synchronized swimming was anything but that. He sort of dreaded the whole thing now. Being the only guy in a female-dominated sport was more than a little weird sometimes, and the attention he was getting for it was beginning to get a little old. He was pretty embarrassed about being the subject of that Julie girl's documentary.
And speaking of that Julie girl, she was there at the pool that day, by some crazy twist of fate. Sam watched Artie pause before moving himself from his chair to the edge of the pool. She surfaced just as Artie was placing his feet into the water, one at a time, and Sam watched her smile as their eyes met. Sam thought it was healthy for Artie to meet someone new here at the university, to help him get over Kitty.
He left those two to talk and went to the other side of the pool to swim a few laps by himself. After a little while, Julie had left. Sam ventured over to Artie's side of the pool to see what had happened.
"Soooo," he began, taking a seat on the edge of the pool as Artie surfaced and took hold of the side next to Sam. "How did that go?"
"I asked her out," he said, blushing. "I mean, we're both pretty busy this week until Friday, but neither of us had plans for Friday night. I'm kind of freaking out. It's been so long since I went on a date. And I've never really gone out with a girl I didn't already know..."
Sam fake-coughed to cover it as he reminded him: "Betty."
That cracked Artie up. "Okay, so I guess I tried to forget about that little... adventure," he said. "I wonder what Betty's up to these days..."
"Focus, Artie," Sam said, shaking his head. "Jeez, you're like a cocker spaniel. It's a good thing you have me to help you with all this."
After a week of being back to school and back to juggling various go-see appointments for modeling, swimming practices, and classes, Sam was feeling pretty worn down. What he really wanted to do was drive to Lima to see Amy, but he also knew that he ought to stay put, so that he could spend part of the weekend — most likely, Sunday afternoon — getting Artie to tutor him in college algebra, because it was kicking his butt.
Before he could start his weekend, he had to drop by and visit with an advisor about the physical therapy program. What he hadn't counted on was finding out that the program at OSU was a post-baccalaureate doctorate program.
"There are a variety of majors that you could choose while getting your bachelor's degree," said Pamela, the advisor, as she handed him a folder with paperwork. "Some opt for biology or even psychology. Just as long as all the prerequisite courses are included, almost any degree program will do. Those are listed in your packet. You'll need to secure at least a 3.0 GPA. And you would also need to document 40 hours of observation with a licensed physical therapist before applying to the program."
Sam's head was spinning. He knew he wasn't doing all of this right away, but the sheer amount of work that lie before him was intimidating. He would definitely be letting Artie down if he backed down now, though.
"What about becoming a physical therapy assistant first?" Sam wanted to know. "That's a two-year degree, right?"
"It is," Pamela confirmed. "Now, we don't have a physical therapy assistant program here at OSU. For that, you'd probably need to check out a community college..."
Sam felt slightly deflated after the meeting. It seemed like a really long road ahead of him before he could work with patients. And if he wanted to get some actual on-the-job experience, to make sure he was really cut out for the work, then he was in the wrong place to become an assistant.
He was completely in his own head, on the way back to his dorm, oblivious to the world. That was how he nearly ran straight into Amy when she jumped in front of him.
"Surprise!" she exclaimed, rising up on tiptoes to kiss him quickly. "I decided to drive down for the weekend. Happy to see me?"
"Ecstatic!" he said, with a laugh. "I... sorry, I was deep in thought. I just left my freshman advisor's office, and she kind of gave me a headache..."
"I remember those days," Amy said, fondly. "I know it sounds strange right now, but cherish this time, you're gonna miss it..."
Taking him by the hand, she dragged him into the dorm's lobby quickly, to get out of the cold. The weather had just plumeted, from a high of 64 degrees the day before to a high of only 36 degrees on Friday, with a light dusting of snow earlier that day. (Artie hadn't been happy about that at all. "And so it begins," he had said, darkly, when he'd spotted the first flurries.)
"I'm dying to hear about your week," Sam told her, taking a seat on the couch in the common area. He knew that Amy had started her new sub job on Tuesday, after Mrs. Mahaney had gone to the hospital to be induced following her appointment, just as she'd predicted.
"Well, that Myron is just as annoying as everyone said he was," Amy began, with an eye roll as she sat beside him. "I arranged a duet for him, with Leah, for their upcoming holiday showcase and he pitched a big fit to his dad, because it wasn't a solo. And his dad then talked to his brother..."
Sam's eyes bugged out. "Are you fired already?"
"No, actually," Amy said, proudly. "I personally talked to the superintendent about it. I told him how Finn and Rachel's duets and you and Quinn's duet were very well-received in past competitions. I told him that Leah's voice beautifully compliments Myron's, because it really, really does, and they need to get used to being paired up."
"And?" Sam was definitely impressed. Here was Amy, a substitute glee club director, already sitting down for a conversation with the superintendent of Lima public schools.
"And he agreed with me," he said. "Furthermore, he said there was no need to give all the solos to Myron. He said he was perfectly content seeing the performances feature another student, if that student was more deserving."
Sam laughed appreciatively. "Amy Abrams, you amaze me," she said.
Amy blushed. "Well, Roderick Meeks has a little brother in eighth with an incredible talent," she said. "And I want to give the next solo to him. He's got the same gorgeous, soulful voice as his brother, but he's never, ever been featured."
"I want to see this holiday performance," he said. "And I'm sure Artie does too. Let us know when it is, so we can come."
Amy nodded enthusiastically. "I want to hear more about what you and the advisor talked about," she said. "Are you going to pursue the physical therapy degree?"
It was then that Sam poured out the whole story, about how he'd learned of the many, many hard prerequisite classes he'd be up against, the 40 hours of observation, the 3.0 or higher GPA, the doctoral program...
Rather than tell him he could do it, though, Amy seemed to take another approach. "Well, a good friend of mine is a PTA," she said. "And she just went through Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne. She finished all that in two years, got married and had kids, and now she's thinking of going back to school to finish her coursework for becoming a PT. There's no rule that you have to go four years straight through. I bet the credits you already have would transfer..."
"Your brother would kill me if I left OSU, Amy," Sam said, shaking his head. "Besides, who would take care of him?"
Amy made a face. "Uh, he'd take care of himself?" she said. "If Artie heard you say that, he'd be pissed, Sam. He's not helpless."
"That's not what I meant," Sam said, blushing a little, because he wasn't sure what he meant. "I mean, I'm supposed to help him get to Rio."
Amy chuckled a little. "Oh," she said. "Well... I wasn't trying to ruin that. Just giving you options. I guess that's just me being a little selfish. There's a lot less traffic between Lima and Fort Wayne."
"I'll think about it," Sam said. "Give me your friend's number just in case. And hey, uh, not that I'm not glad to see you, I am, but it's gonna be a little weird to stay in the same room as you and Artie and we don't exactly have a lot of space either..."
She was laughing. "Oh, no," she said, quickly. "I'm staying with a girlfriend who still lives here. She gave me a key and said I could just let myself in whenever, doesn't matter how late. But what plans am I intruding on?"
"No plans for me," Sam said, quickly. "Your brother has a date though. In fact, I think he's back at the room, getting ready as we speak."
"Oh, really?" Amy's eyebrows arched way up. "We'll leave him alone then. And then it sounds like... we get some time alone..."
Sam could feel his body threatening to betray him again, as his heart skipped a beat and thoughts of that night in the treehouse returned. But somehow, he composed himself enough to say what he'd been meaning to say, ever since that night.
"I want to take it slower, Amy," he said, quickly. He looked over his shoulder, to make sure that the sound of the elevator opening behind him wasn't Artie coming down. When he saw that it was someone else, he turned back to face her, taking in her lack of surprise at his words.
"I agree," she said. "Sorry, you have to know, that's not usually how I am. I would like to really get to know you better. Not just, uh, that amazing body of yours..."
Sam blushed but tried to remain focused. "I didn't even have a conversation with you about birth control first," he said, chewing his fleshy lower lip. "That wasn't very responsible of me."
Amy hesitated before saying, "It's totally fine, Sam, I'm on the pill." She looked down. "But yeah... I guess a conversation wouldn't have hurt. Sorry. I didn't really date much in high school. Or college really, at least, not seriously. I'm still learning."
"Why didn't you date?" Sam wanted to know. She was beautiful. And she'd been a cheerleader in high school. He would have expected her to have dated lots of guys.
Amy shrugged. "Just shy, I guess? I know, it's hard to believe now, but I was. I was content to just read books or write stories in my room..."
"What kinds of stories?" Sam wanted to know.
Amy blushed. "Uh-uh," she said. "Can't tell you about those, they're private. Anyway, the point is, I just liked to keep to myself. And now that I'm getting older, I don't feel that way anymore. I'm not afraid of putting myself out there." She chuckled. "If you didn't figure that out in the treehouse..."
Did she have to keep bringing that up? Every ounce of his physical being wanted to experience that with her again, but he knew it was much wiser to take it slowly. But he was thrilled she was visiting for the weekend, and he hoped maybe he could see her every weekend.
"Psst," she said, interrupting his thoughts. She nodded towards something behind him, and turned in time to see Artie wheeling himself out of the elevator, approaching Julie, who had been waiting for him. "That's the girl? She's cute."
"I introduced them," Sam whispered back. Artie and Julie hadn't noticed them, and Sam didn't even want to interrupt. He just wanted to spy from afar.
"Nice," Amy murmured, watching the girl and Artie as they chatted for a moment before heading towards the door. As she watched Julie hold the door open for Artie, she cringed. "Artie hates it when girls open doors for him. Especially if it swings out and he didn't need them to."
"Let's hope it gets better..." Sam said. He realized Amy might want to come up to the room now, but if he did that, it was going to be a lot harder to control himself around her. "Hey, hopefully they're not going to the karaoke night I heard about on campus, but if they're there, maybe we could hide in the back the whole time. You wanna go?"
"Only if I don't have to hide in the back," Amy said, with a laugh. "I've never sung with you before, Sam. If Artie takes his date there, well, we'll just surprise them."
She jumped up and pulled him off the couch before he could say another word.