Chapter 10
The day after our gig at Girl Jordan's birthday party was a Monday, and we all had to go back to school. Sam was still pumped up over getting a standing ovation for his solo act, and I couldn't blame him. I was the same way after my first public performance, and so were Mazzy and Sully.
Sam's mood was dampened slightly by the fact that his teachers still hated him. Apparently, it got to the point where they switched what should have been solid As to Ds and Fs for petty reasons. Reasons like helping Leni with something she didn't understand but he did (which apparently you're not supposed to do during class time) or violating the dress code (which he technically was NOT). As Lisa pointed out before he even started at Royal Woods High, nothing in the dress code said anything about hair length and/or facial hair for boys, hair dye, sleeves, or shoes, but any combination of those were what they complained about the most. Thankfully, it didn't take much to convince Lisa to hack into the school computer system and change his grades back to As.
Even his music teacher was flunking him over infinitesimal (good golly, Lisa's rubbing off on me!) flaws in his vocal and guitar skills. Open your mouth more, keep your fingers curved, you're not holding the pick right, blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda. Principal Rivers was no fool and regularly issued warnings, but she didn't have the power to follow through with those warnings. She wanted to do more to protect Sam, she really did, but with so many teachers lining up against him, she was afraid that they would band together to get her fired.
Okay, just recalling these details is getting me all steamed up, so I'm gonna change the subject to me and Sam's budding romance. I tried several times over the next two weeks to ask the guy out, but I kept getting cold feet at the last minute. Coaching from Mazzy and my sisters only seemed to make my problem worse. Finally, I made up my mind to just spit it out, even if it killed me. I nervously walked up to Sam between classes while he was at the water fountain and cleared my throat to get his attention. My heart skipped a beat when he looked up at me, and I had to force the words out of my mouth.
"H-h-hey, S-Sam. I-I was w-w-wondering if you w-would like t-to...like to..." I stammered, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Like to...what?" he asked.
"DOYOUWANNACOMETOMYHOUSEANDDOHOMEWORKWITHME?" I blurted out in a jumble. Sam's other eyebrow shot up, and my face started burning as I clapped a hand over my mouth.
"Sure. I wouldn't mind that," he finally said right as the five-minute-warning bell rang to signal the next period. Sam went straight to class, while I stopped at my locker to get my books.
"What is wrong with me?!" I groaned and hit my head against the locker door. "Doing homework has got to be the lamest date ever! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
"Hey, at least you finally asked him out. That's something at least," Mazzy said, appearing behind me and gently rubbing my shoulders. I turned my head to shoot her a glare.
"If you're trying to cheer me up, you're not helping." She only smiled.
"Oh, relax, will you? You're not the only one who's been getting cold feet this whole time!" she told me, which took me by surprise. "Why do you think Sam always rushes off to the bathroom or some other place right after he starts talking to you? Now come on, we're gonna be late!"
...
Doing homework with Sam at my house that afternoon went smoother than I thought it would, aside from both of us blushing and looking away every time my hazel eyes met his electric-blue ones. Despite both of our protests, Dad insisted on making brownies for me and snickerdoodle cookies for Sam (Sam once told us that too much chocolate at once gives him gas, which makes sense because canines and chocolate generally don't mix).
The awkward tension was broken at long last when we both finished our work and joined my family in watching Operation Dessert Storm, my family's second-favorite TV show. It's like one of those cooking competitions like Hell's Kitchen, only the contestants make nothing but desserts from all over the world (but mostly from France, it seems like). When he noticed that one of the contestants was attempting to make spumoni, a chilled Italian dessert that was like cherry, chocolate, and pistachio ice cream all mixed together, Sam commented that Sandra was considering selling spumoni as a new product at the Burnt Bean. Sam eventually had to leave because Sandra was making meatloaf for dinner and he didn't want to miss out, so I decided to see him off at the door.
"Well...see you tomorrow, then?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah, see you." We just stood there for a few moments, neither of us knowing what to say. I tried to take the initiative. "Sam...I...I, uh..."
"Yes, Luna?"
"I... I l-...I really l-l-..." I took a deep breath. "I really like spending time with you. I just wish everyone else sees you like I do." He smiled.
"You let me worry about what other people think. I like spending time with you too." He gave me a brief hug before walking away into the night. I heard a voice behind me as I closed the front door.
"Aww! So close, but no cigar!" I sighed deeply.
"I swear to heaven above, Luan, I'm doing the best I can! You and everyone else need to cut me some slack!" I yelled at my roommate. Walking back into the living room and reclaiming my spot on the floor, I noticed that Lola was typing on the screen of a cell phone. A cell phone that had a...purple case. "Dude! What are you doing with my phone?!"
"Duh, I'm using it to invite Sam and Sandra to our place for Thanksgiving! Mom and Dad said it was okay." Looking around, the rest of my family had smug and sheepish looks on their faces. They were in on Lola's plan and didn't tell me! I had never been so mad before in my entire life! It took Lynn, Luan, and Lana to keep me from snatching my phone back until Lola had hit the send button. Not even a minute had gone by when Sam replied in the affirmative, which was really the only thing keeping me from strangling Lola, and I said as much to her.
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and boy were you desperate!" Lola said flippantly.
Scratch what I said before, I was totally gonna kill her!
