Sam woke up the next morning with Jen leaping on her bed.
"Sam! Sam, look outside!" Jen yelled.
Sam rolled out of bed on to the floor. "Ouch! What-wow!" Sam had just looked outside and she saw a few feet of snow piled up on the balcony.
"We'd better go home soon then, to help out in the barn." Sam said, pulling on jeans over her underwear.
Jake walked in from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Hi." Said Sam stupidly, since he had nothing except a towel on.
Jake looked up and nodded, then he grabbed his clothes and went back in the bathroom.
Sam watched him go. "So what'd you do last night?" said Jen.
"Nothin." Said Sam. "What'd you do?"
Jen shrugged, "everything."
"Jeepers-creepers." Sam said.
Jake came out again and started packing. Sam went in the bathroom and took a quick shower and changed and then packed.
When they got back to Riverbend it was only 12:00. Sam got out, thanked Jake, and did her chores. She took Ace out for a ride, and galloped to the lake she had jumped into a month ago. She got off and let Ace drink, and saw the Phantom's herd drinking a mile away. The Phantom caught her sent and whinnied shrilly.
"Zanzibar…" Sam whispered, and realized that she hadn't seen him since summer.
She started walking along the shore and he cantered to meet her.
"Hey honey," Sam whispered, "long time no see." She gripped his mane and hoisted herself on his back. He reared happily and cantered back to his herd. Sam laughed, letting go of his mane, holding her arms out beside her.
Ace jerked his head up and followed them, catching up to the herd, galloping alongside the Phantom.
Eventually the Phantom stopped at the edge of the woods, the snowdrifts too high to go much farther with a rider on his back.
Sam petted him and slid off, catching Ace's reigns, and mounting him.
When she got home, Bryanna and Mrs. Ely were in the kitchen making a Christmas feast wearing Christmas dresses and colors. Dad and the rest of the Elys were in the living room looking well groomed. Sam ran upstairs so she wouldn't feel out of place and she changed into a red skirt that fanned out and a white short sleeve sparkly blouse.
She ran downstairs and Jen and her parents appeared in the doorway, letting the snow in. Soon the house was hot and outside it was dark and snowing again. Quinn was the first one to notice.
"Lets have a snowball fight!" He yelled.
"Naw, lets eat first then have a snowball fight." Said Bryan, sitting down at the table piled high with food.
After dessert they changed into pants and went outside and made snowballs. Then one was fired at Sam from Quinn and the fight began. Sam and Jen threw snowballs countless times at Quinn, Jake and Bryan, and they threw them back.
Sam threw a huge one at Jake, which hit him squarely in his back, and he chased after her, running past Quinn and Bryan, who were ganging up on Jen. Then Jake pounced on Sam and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her to the ground. Sam saw a chunk of snow a foot away and scrambled to reach it.
"Oh no you don't." Jake said, flattening her ever more. But Sam didn't give up, she squirmed away and grabbed the snow, but not before Jake got a snowball of his own. They hit each other at the same time, knocking each other over.
Sam laughed and stood up and ran over to Jake, this time she was flattening him, holding him down with his back to the ground. It was easy for Jake to flip her over so her back was on the ground, so he did just that, then got up and threw snow at Jen, who was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up.
Sam stayed on the ground where Jake had left her, also laughing hard enough to stay down.
They eventually got themselves up and went to sit on the porch.
The Kenworthys left and the Elys stayed to help clean up. Sam and Jake Sat on the porch, swinging on the swing.
"Sam, I'm leaving tomorrow." Said Jake quietly.
"What, why?" Sam asked looking up.
"I have to go back to college." He said, not meeting her eyes, but becoming mildly interested in the wreath on the door.
"I know." Sam said. "but I'll see you in January."
"Yes." He said, "but I have to go now." He leaned over and kissed her quickly, then looked up right before his parents came out with his brothers. "Bye." He said, and then he left.
Five days later, Sam stood at the bus stop with Jen.
"Too bad Jakes in college though." Jen said, looking down the road. "The bus is here."
Sam grabbed her backpack and walked up to the road when the bus got there. "Yeah." Sam said, and found an empty seat in the back. Jen sat down next to her and continued. "But Ryan and I are going to Florida in February, I told you about that right?"
"You're WHAT?" Sam said.
"Oh, I guess I didn't tell you, well we're going on vacation for a few days in February." Said Jen, looking pleased. "My mom said I could."
"Oh." Sam said, looking back out the window, watching the snowdrifts get deeper in the wind. She watched this for a half and hour, until they came to school, where Sam reached her locker before anyone else made it inside.
Why am I so upset about this? She asked her self, turning the lock as students filled up the halls.
It's because you're jealous. A nasty voice said in her brain. You want what they have.
I do not. Sam thought.
Yes, you want you're boyfriend here, so you can see him and have the perfect relationship that they have.
"My relationship is fine!" Sam nearly shouted, as alarmed high-scholars looked for the source of the source of the yelling.
The voice didn't say anything, so Sam slammed her locker and went to her first class, ten minutes early.