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There was a noticeable change in the relationship between Samuel and Jayden. Samuel was now almost always by his side and Jayden no longer seemed unhappy about it. He seemed to tolerate him much more and no longer ignored him as much.
Of course, Jayden wouldn’t call them friends. Samuel was someone whose constant presence he had come to accept. Samuel didn’t seem bothered by this, to him Jayden was his close friend and that was the end of the matter.
Lately though, something seemed wrong. As the days went by, Samuel had steadily begun to be less like himself. He talked less and only if he was asked a direct question. His bright personality steadily dimmed and the charming smile that was quick to appear on his face disappeared. When he thought no one was looking, his face took on a moodier look and there was a tinge of sadness in his eyes. He thought no one would notice but his friends did.
Like now, as the six friends were sitting around a table in a garden behind the classrooms, Samuel seemed distracted. Leo and Paul were arguing about some sport while Jayden watched impassively. Cam and Noel were discussing a Jane Austen novel for English class and Samuel was staring off into space. He seemed preoccupied with something in his head.
Cam broke away from the conversation and shot him a worried look, nudging him gently with his elbow. ‘Hey, are you alright?’
Samuel blinked and nodded absently. Cam didn’t look convinced and Jayden shot him a worried look.
‘Are you sure, you’re alright?’ he leaned over to whisper when everyone had turned their attention back to the conversation.
Samuel nodded and shot him a reassuring smile but Jayden saw right through it. Before he could probe further, Samuel stood up.
‘Sorry, guys. I just remembered I have a meeting with Coach Stevens. Catch you later.’
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and with a half-hearted wave he was gone.
Noel turned to Paul. ‘What’s up with him?’
Paul shrugged. ‘I don’t know, he wouldn’t tell me. It must be something about the October weather because he was like this last year at this time too.’
The others frowned and went back to their conversations, worry still lingering in their heads. Jayden suddenly stood up and he left without a word.
Noel looked after him anxiously but did not to go after him, deciding it was best to let him be. However, he still couldn’t help but still worry about them both.
Jayden moved quickly through streams of students as he searched for Samuel. He caught a glimpse of his backpack and darted through a crowd of cheerleaders, catching up with Samuel as he reached the door of the Athletics Centre.
Samuel turned around in surprise as Jayden bounded up the steps to him.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked in confusion.
Jayden gave him a searching gaze. ‘I should be asking you that.’
Samuel avoided his gaze. ‘Nothing is wrong.’
Jayden rolled his eyes. ‘And I’m a six-foot mountain troll in a pink tutu. Now, tell me the truth.’
Samuel rubbed his neck in frustration. ‘What’s it to you anyway,’ he snapped. ‘I thought you didn’t care.’
That took Jayden back and he struggled to find the right comeback. ‘I…’
Samuel sighed. ‘Look just forget about it. I just need to workout and clear my head. I’m fine so stop worrying.’
Jayden just stared at him as he turned around and disappeared into the building. He thought for a moment before sprinting down the stairs and begun to make his way down the winding pavement.
He passed by a row of buildings and he looked intently at them as he tried to figure out where he was. He hadn’t been to this side of the school before and as he stepped aside for a group of third years to pass he wondered if this was the right place to be.
This was the senior section, where the final years had their classes and as he passed a large sparkling fountain, he finally saw her.
She was huddled with a group of friends and they suddenly let out a loud laugh at something she said as he finally got to them.
He cleared his throat loudly. ‘Excuse me.’
They all turned to look at him in surprise but he ignored them. His eyes were on Cissy as he spoke.
‘I need to talk to you.’
Cissy raised an eyebrow in curiosity before turning to her friends. ‘Excuse me guys, just give me a minute.’
She followed Jayden as he led them away from their curious eyes and listening ears.
‘What’s up?’ she asked as they stood by a large fountain statue of an African woman with a baby wrapped around her back.
‘It’s Samuel.’
Her mouth parted open as she let out a short, ‘Oh.’
‘I’m guessing you know he’s been acting strangely.’
Something flickered in Cissy’s eyes. ‘I do.’
‘Do you know why?’
Cissy turned to stare absently at the fountain as it sparkled and glittered in the bright sunlight.
‘Yes.’
Jayden stared at her expectantly.
She continued to stare at it for a while before sighing and turning back to Jayden. ‘Look, I can’t tell you anything if he hasn’t told you himself. All I’ll say is this month and more particularly, this week is not easy on anyone in our family. It affects Samuel the hardest. He’s been through a lot, more than anyone else in my family so just give him space and time. If he wants you to know he’ll tell you when he’s ready.’
Jayden wasn’t satisfied but he nevertheless nodded slowly. ‘Okay, thank you.’
Cissy nodded and turned back to walk to her friends. Jayden stood alone by the fountain for some time before also turning and making his way back.
That night, he climbed up the observatory to their usual spot and was surprised to see Samuel already there. He hadn’t been coming for the past few nights and after what happened earlier that day he wasn’t expecting him to show up.
He sat silently by him and together they looked up at the stars, each engulfed in their own thoughts.
‘Cissy spoke to me today,’ Samuel said after a while. ‘Apparently, you had a conversation with her about me.’
‘I did.’
‘Why?’
Jayden hesitated before answering. ‘You’ve helped me more than a few times, I guess I wanted to repay the favour.’
Samuel said nothing. They continued to sit in silence after that, staring up at the moonless sky.
The following morning, Jayden was on his way to first period with Noel. He was about to enter the class when he felt someone pull him out of the stream of students and drag him away from the classroom.
Jayden blinked in surprise as Samuel led him down the almost empty hallways and out of the building.
‘What are you doing? Class is about to start.’
Samuel snorted as he continued to drag him away from the building. ‘You of all people are worried about skipping class?’
‘Of course not. Just surprised you are.’
Samuel shrugged. ‘I don’t feel like going to class today. In fact, let’s skip school altogether.’
Jayden shot him a worried look. ‘Are you alright?’
Samuel beamed at him. ‘No, I’m not. Now are you with me or not? I can do this by myself.’
Jayden frowned at him but nodded all the same. ‘Fine.’
Samuel grinned at him. ‘Good.’
He grabbed Jayden’s arm again and dragged him farther away from the buildings.
‘Where are we going?’ Jayden asked as he struggled a bit to keep up with Samuel’s taller frame.
‘I told you, we’re skipping school.’
Jayden’s eyes widened slightly as they turned onto the long winding boulevard that led to the main gates.
‘Hold on, you mean we’re leaving school premises?’
Samuel didn’t pause. ‘What did you think I meant?’
‘Well,’ Jayden’s tone turned sarcastic. ‘When a normal person skips school, they do it on their beds not leave the entire school premises altogether.’
‘That’s boring. We’re going to have fun.’
‘Joy.’
Samuel ignored his sarcastic tone and they ducked behind a tree as they arrived at the security post that stood at the entrance.
‘So how do you plan on sneaking past the security guards?’
Samuel bit his lips. ‘I admit, I didn’t think this far.’
Jayden shook his head. He tilted his head slightly as his mind began to work for a solution.
‘I’ve got an idea, follow me.’
They slowly crept up to the back of the security post. Jayden raised his head and peeked in through the window. Three security guards sat in playing cards.
‘I’m going to distract them, when they leave run out. I’ll meet you there.’
‘Huh, wait but….’
Jayden had already slunk off and disappeared into the trees that lined the road. Samuel held his breath and waited.
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream came from the trees causing Samuel to jump. The guards quickly scrambled to their feet and rushed out.
Samuel pressed himself closely against the wall and held his breath, hoping they wouldn’t see him. The guards looked around confused and the scream came again. They glanced at each other and bolted quickly into the trees to investigate the noise.
As soon as they were gone, Samuel run out of the gates and leaned panting against the wall.
‘Took you long enough.’
Samuel jumped and let out a curse. ‘Jesus! Would you please stop doing that?’
He pressed a hand to his chest as his heart thumped loudly in it. Jayden just smirked at him and didn’t answer.
Samuel looked at him curiously. ‘Wait, that scream. Was that you?’
Jayden’s smirk disappeared and it was replaced by a harsh glare. ‘We’re never going to speak of it.’
Samuel’s expression morphed into shock before he doubled over in laughter. ‘I can’t…. I can’t believe that you…. Oh god, this is too precious.’
Jayden didn’t seem to share in his amusement. ‘Are you done?’
Samuel wiped the tears from his eyes as he gave Jayden an amused look. ‘Who knew that the dark and mysterious Jayden Mills could produce such a graceless sound?’
Jayden fixed him with a withering glare.
Samuel struggled to stifle his laughter. ‘Alright, alright. I’m sorry. It never happened.’
Jayden shook his head and they began to make their way down the road and away from the school. They walked for a few minutes before they hit the main road and Samuel hailed them a taxi.
‘Where exactly are we going?’ Jayden asked Samuel as the taxi sped towards the city centre.
Samuel just shrugged and turned to look out the window as buildings rushed past.
After a while, he leaned towards Jayden and whispered in his ear. ‘You have money on you, right?’
Jayden shook his head. ‘I thought you did.’
Samuel shook his head slowly as the realization slowly dawned on them.
Samuel’s face broke out into a wide grin. ‘You know what we have to do now, right?’
Jayden’s face was wary as he replied. ‘What?’
‘Jump.’
Jayden’s expression turned incredulous. He looked at Samuel as if he was crazy and by the maniacal smile on his face, he probably was.
‘You’re mad.’
‘Do you have a better idea?’
Jayden didn’t answer and Samuel took his silence as a negative. He turned to the driver.
‘Turn down this road, we’ll alight at the bus stop.’
The driver nodded and turned the wheel. As the car began to slow down Samuel glanced at Jayden and gave him a lopsided smile.
‘Now!’
Samuel had flung the door open and was off like a shot. Before the driver had time to register what was happening, Jayden had opened his door and leaped out.
‘Hey! Get back over here!’ the driver screamed as he clumsily parked and shot out after them.
Jayden raced down the street, head turning as he looked around for Samuel. He felt a hand grab him and drag him down an alley. Samuel’s voice rang with laughter as he led Jayden through the alley and into the street beyond.
‘Come on, slowpoke!’
The driver was hot on their heels as they raced through the streets, darting through pedestrians and dodging stands. The city centre was a hive of activity and they soon lost the driver in the crowds that jostled on the sidewalks.
They stopped, panting heavily as they shot an anxious glance around them but the driver was nowhere to be found.
‘I think we lost him. That was fun let’s do it again.’
Jayden looked up from his knees and shot him a peeved look. ‘No.’
Samuel’s turned his lips up into a cute pout. ‘Sad.’
Jayden straightened up and glanced around. ‘So what now?’
Samuel’s expression turned thoughtful as he considered the question for a moment before brightening up. ‘Ooh, I know. Let’s go to the mall.’
Jayden quirked an elegant eyebrow. ‘The mall?’
Samuel nodded enthusiastically with a bright smile on his face.
‘You brought us all the way here, made us go through all these risks just to go to the mall.’
Samuel rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t be a sour puss. It’ll be fun, now come on.’
‘But we don’t have any money.’ Jayden pointed out as he followed Samuel down the street in the direction of the mall.
‘Doesn’t matter, we’ll figure something out. Besides, window shopping is also fun.’
Jayden shook his head with a sigh nevertheless, he followed him into the large building.
The mall was buzzing with activity as shoppers milled about. Jayden and Samuel got on the escalator and allowed it to carry them to the next floor. They roamed about the stores, admiring the items on display and trying on a few free samples.
On the next floor, Samuel suddenly lit up and dragged Jayden to a place where a crowd had gathered. They suffered for a bit before they managed to get to the front to see what all the fuss was about.
Samuel turned to Jayden with his best puppy dog eyes causing Jayden to frown in confusion. He however soon found out what he was going on about.
Jayden took one look at the karaoke machine and his face immediately set in stone. ‘Absolutely not.’
His tone was final and Samuel pouted even more. ‘Please. Pwetty, pwetty please.’
Jayden was unmoved. ‘First of all, intentional mispronunciation of words is not cute. Second, as if the mall music was not shitty enough. I see no reason why you need to punish the innocent shoppers more with your terrible singing.’
Samuel huffed. ‘I’ll have you know my singing abilities are unmatched as my shower head will attest too.’
Jayden scoffed. ‘Sure it is, if screeching voices were in season.’
Samuel shook his head in frustration. ‘Fine, suit yourself.’
Jayden watched with an amused smirk as Samuel walked up to the karaoke machine and after a minute of debating with himself, he finally picked a song and began to sing.
Jayden had to admit, he had a great voice. He was an amazing singer and five minutes after his rendition of Mirrors ended, he had the entire female population of the crowd in a swoon.
He jumped off the stage after bowing to a thunderous roar of applause. He was immediately surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls and it took him some effort to extract himself from them.
‘So,’ he began with a grin as he jogged up to Jayden. ‘What did you think?’
Jayden shrugged nonchalantly before turning to walk away. ‘It was alright.’
Samuel was left stunned. He shook the surprise from his face and quickly caught up with him.
‘Alright?’ he asked incredulously as he fell into step beside him. ‘Were you asleep or something? I fucking killed it!’
‘If you’re looking for compliments then you’d have to try a lot harder than that. I’m a difficult person to impress.’
Samuel humphed. ‘We’ll see. One day Jayden Mills, I’ll sweep you off your feet. Just you wait.’
Jayden rolled his eyes and Samuel shot him a boyish grin. They walked for a while until they came to an arcade. Samuel suddenly grew excited and dragged Jayden inside.
They moved through the beeping games and Samuel stared longingly at them. His fingers itched to play them but he had no money to change into coins to feed the machines.
‘You won’t happen to have some spare change with you, would you?’ he asked Jayden hopefully.
‘I already told you I don’t have any money.’
Samuel’s face fell. It soon lighted up again. ‘Look, we don’t need money to play this. It’s free!’
Samuel bounded up excitedly to the dance machine and twiddled with it for a bit. An upbeat song started playing and he turned to Jayden expectantly with a grin.
Jayden crossed his arms. ‘No.’
‘Okay how about this, we turn into a competition. Whoever wins gets to decide where we’ll go next.’
‘No.’
Samuel’s grin didn’t fade. ‘Why? Are you scared?’
Jayden scowled. ‘No, I’m not.’
Samuel’s grin widened. ‘Chicken.’
‘How mature,’ Jayden drawled.
‘Chicken.’
‘No.’
‘Chicken, chicken, chicken.’
Samuel proceeded to make undignified chicken noises while flapping his arms. He drew the stares of the other shoppers who stared at the two with interest.
Jayden grew uncomfortable with the attention and after a while, uncrossed his arms and shot him a surly glare. ‘Fine. If I do it will it you shut up?’
Samuel nodded, pumping his fist in a silent cheer.
‘Step aside,’ Jayden ordered as he brushed past him. He browsed through the songs before settling on one.
Samuel’s mouth dropped open as Jayden began to dance. His movements were flawless and he seemed to flow with the music. His footwork was mesmerizing and Samuel blinked in surprise as he did several stunts followed by a backflip.
Jayden smirked at him. ‘Your turn.’
Samuel smirked back and jumped onto the machine beside him. Their feet flew as they danced, each trying to outdo the other with their own sets of skills. Samuel’s face was alight as he laughed at their stunts. Jayden’s features were more controlled but you could still see from his bright face and the ghost of a smile on his lips that he was enjoying himself.
The machine suddenly beeped with fanfare as it announced, ‘New high score.‘
Samuel whooped and jumped down with Jayden following him. His eyes sparkled as he grinned at Jayden.
‘That was fun, let’s do it again.’
Jayden just smirked and led the way out of the arcade. They walked in silence for a while, looking through the stores as they started to make their way out.
They were leaving through the main doors when Samuel suddenly grasped Jayden’s arm and gasped.
Jayden turned to follow his line of sight and blinked in surprise when he saw her.
It was hard to make her out at first but sitting under a large umbrella at one of the outdoor eateries was undoubtedly none other than Miss Alberta, their class teacher.
She was wearing a large floppy sun hat and shaded sunglasses and in her eccentric dress with even more eccentric designs, she looked more than she had ever had like Mrs. Frizzle.
She seemed to sense eyes on her and turned causing them to quickly duck behind a row of statues.
‘Do you think she saw us?’ Samuel asked after a while.
‘I should think I did,’ a female voice cut in before Jayden could answer.
The two boys peered behind the statue to see Miss Alberta standing there with her hands on her hips.
‘Hello boys, fancy meeting you here.’
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Oops…
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