Sam is my twin sister. She's been with me forever. I love her, but sometimes, she can be annoying. I just hope that in the future, she'll turn out to be great! Let's just hope she doesn't read this little note.
Samantha Grace Sheldon. A great name, too pretty compared to mine. Now, how about the time we left for "Camp Training". Gosh, I hated that camp. And my parents always say "Hate is a strong word, never say it". I'm eighteen, about to go to college and they still torture me! And of course, those dumb rules were from Sam. Gosh, I wish she wasn't a part of my life. I mean, I love her, but the things she does make me upset. I just wish that my family could be a little bit better. Samantha Grace Sheldon, I wonder about you sometimes.
The bell rang and we rushed to our classes. I noticed Sam hanging out with her friends, Autumn and Yasmin, by my locker. Why my locker? They finally noticed me and her friends scurried to class. Sam gazed up at me, studying my face.
"I was hoping I would see you here," she said.
"What do you want, Sam?"
"I just want to talk to you about something."
"We only have one minute left. I need to go to class. Can we talk afterwards?” I questioned her.
"No!” she ordered. Sam took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Is she upset with me and why are we having this conversation now? There were so many questions I had to ask her.
"Mom had an asthma attack, causing her to go to the hospital. It happened while she was at work. Her co-workers called dad earlier and he just texted me about it. We need to go see them now," Sam explained.
"I can't!"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry, but we can't skip school!"
"We have to! Don't you want to visit mom? What if something happens to her? What if she dies and we’re never able to see her?!"
"I have a test today. My teacher is very strict and he won't let me take the test another day! I have to stay here."
"Are you serious? You would rather be here than with your family? You know what, Sofie, you're so selfish! Selfish enough that you wouldn't even visit your mom! I mean, what if she isn’t even here tomorrow?"
"Is education more important than family?"
"No, it isn't! I thought you cared about us, Sofie. I can't believe you’d rather take a test than see your own mother."
I stared down at the floor and couldn’t even look my sister in the eyes. Maybe she’s right, maybe I should go with her. My teacher will understand, right? No, he’ll probably think it’s another excuse to skip class. Never mind, I've studied so hard for this test, I can't back out now! Plus, I don't want her to think that she is right.
"I'm sorry, Sam, I wish I could. You should be happy for me! You're always studying and talking about weird stuff," I said.
"Not when it comes down to family." Sam headed down the halls and then, she stopped. "And Sofie, you should ask your friends if they can drop you off at home because I will be at the hospital all day, not like some people." She opened the doors and left, her car driving out of the parking lot.
RING
Great, I'm late!
I got a pass from the principal and moseyed on over to English class. Once I made it there, I opened the door, everyone’s fixated on me like I was some prized possession.
"Hello Ms. Sheldon. Can you tell me why you are late?” Mr. Smith asked me.
"Sorry, I was talking to...someone."
"Talking to a friend in the halls is not acceptable. Get to class on time or don't come at all. This is your first and last warning! Do it again and I'll assign you detention, understood?"
"Yes sir," I said, quietly. If you couldn’t tell, Mr. Smith frightens me. He gives people only one warning and then, you get detention. On Fridays, he handles that and makes sure the kids do what they need to do. If they don't, he gets them suspended. I really don't want to get on his bad side, or detention. If I do, I'll get kicked off the volleyball team. Also, my parents will be furious at me and Sam will give me a dumb lecture about following directions and crap. Alright Sofie, pay attention to class. Don't let all the things I just said happen.
After class, Mr. Smith pulled me over to the side to talk to him. Great, what did I do now? Do I have detention? “Ms. Sheldon, can I talk to you?"
"Sure."
"Michael told me that you've been dozing off in my classes lately. Have you been getting enough sleep?"
"No, not really. There's been so much going on lately, I never really get proper sleep. There's family drama and volleyball going on, I feel like I have to do everything," I answered.
"Well, I think you should go to bed early tonight. Forget all the stuff that you have to do, not homework, and do something fun! Go to volleyball practice, go home, and do your homework. Then, go out with your friends and family and have fun. Go to bed afterwards, no later than ten," he said.
"You forgot one little thing. My mom had an asthma attack this morning and she is at the hospital. I was supposed to go with Sam, but I know how strict you are about the tests and-"
"Why didn't you tell me? I could've excused you and have you take the test tomorrow!"
"I thought you would've gotten mad," I said.
"Go to the hospital now! Visit your mother and tomorrow, let me know how she's doing."
"Okay, but how am I supposed to get there?”
"Here, take this,” he replied, handing me thirty dollars. “I'll call an Uber as soon as possible and get you there and give this money to the driver."
"You really don't have to do this," I replied.
"I am always caring and generous when it comes to a family hurt. Oh, and Sofie, you doze off again in my class, you will get detention.”
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Smith!" I opened the door and darted out of the classroom and down the halls. When I made my way outside, I waited on the sidewalk, the Uber still hadn’t come yet.
"Sofie, what are you doing?” Erin called out from inside.
"I have to get to the hospital! My mother had an asthma attack!"
"How will you get there?” Melissa questioned me, hurrying their way outside.
"Mr. Smith gave me money to pay for an Uber. I'll make it there as soon as possible," I explained.
"What about class?" Erin asked.
"Tell Mrs. Peterson that I won't be able to make it to Algebra. It's an emergency."
"Tell us when you make it there," Erin said.
"And how your mother is doing," Melissa chimed in.
"Okay, I will!" The Uber drove up to the entrance and I waved at my friends. The car drove away with me inside. Oh gosh, please let my mom be okay.
I made it to the hospital and the driver drove away, the dollar bills sitting in the glove compartment. I entered the hospital doors, an old lady sitting at the front desk.
"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked.
"Hi, I'm looking for Debra Sheldon."
"She's in room 427. Take the elevator to the fourth floor and she'll be on your right."
"Thank you!" I rushed to the elevators and pressed the up button. I entered the glass elevator which I had never seen something this fancy before. The elevator doors opened to the fourth floor and I bolted out of the elevator, turned to my right, and found my mom's room.
Knocking on the closed door, I heard, “Come in!" My dad hovered over her, clasping my mother’s hand while my sister sat in the armchair by the bed. I stood there, studying my mom. She looked weak and skinny, her face thin and her lips chapped.
"How are you feeling?” I asked her.
"I'm doing fine. The doctors and nurses are gonna take more tests and give me pills. If I am good, I'll be home by tomorrow," she explained. Her voice was so quiet and squeaky, I could barely hear her. Sam got up from her seat and ambled towards me. What is she going to do? What is she going to say? I kept asking that to myself. I can never trust Sam after what happened earlier.
"Sofie, can we talk?"
"Okay." We walked out of the room, Sam closing the door behind her. “What do you want to talk about?”
"What happened earlier, why did you change your mind?"
"I didn't. Mr. Smith made me come here."
"Sof, you really think I would fall for that? Now, tell me the truth."
"Look, I don't want to talk about it."
"Sof-"
"Sam, I told you I don’t want to talk about this, okay? Why can you never understand anything that’s coming out of my mouth?!” I can't deal with this right now. I can't be here right now. Not while my sister keeps trying to push my buttons. “Forget it!"
In frustration, I sauntered to the elevator, leaving my family behind. I got to the bottom floor and dashed out of the building. What am I supposed to do? I can't leave! I don't even have a ride. My school and house are miles away! I don't even want to stay here because Sam, like usual, is making me irated. Ugh, I don't know. I just want to escape this horrific place: Sheldon Town. Maybe, I do have one person that could help me get out of here. Pulling out my phone, I began calling.
"Hey Buttercup," Kevin said once I got in his car. "Why did you need a ride?"
"I had to get away from my family, especially Sam,” I responded, putting on my seatbelt and gazing out of the window, one of the things that keeps me calm.
"Ouch, family drama. That's exactly what happened to me a long time ago. That's why I ran away, bought an apartment, a car, a place just for me," he implied.
"Sounds like paradise, huh?"
"Not really, sometimes I get really lonely. I don't have my older sister and younger brother to boss around anymore. And my parents, they use to tell jokes and make fun of us for fun. Ah, the good old days!"
"What happened to them? I haven't seen them in a long time."
Kevin sighed, he pulled his car over and put on the hazards. His face was timid, his fingers were shaking, his eyes were pulsing out. It was like a crowd bustling outside the vehicle, being as loud as they could, and all there was was silence inside. In reality, there was nothing. Just the cars zooming by while Kevin glared at the steering wheel. Something’s definitely off.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" I questioned him, puzzled. I really don't want to make him feel bad if this is a deep topic.
"No, it's fine. My father was in debt with the mafia. He never paid them the amount they asked and they came to our house, shot my family at least fifteen times, each," Kevin explained.
"How did you find out?"
"I came to visit them one last time before I fully moved out. Walked into our house, bullet holes all over them. Blood splattered all over the...floor."
He started to have tears in his eyes. “My family never knew dad was with the mafia," Kevin continued, "We always thought he was at work late, or even hanging out with his good friends. That night, my family understood that my father was a bad man. That bad man made our family stay together and fall apart all together. If I didn't move out, I would've died with them too. I just wish I would’ve at least said my last goodbye before they died that night."
Tears trickled down his cheek and once I realized what was actually happening, I hugged him, trying to give him a little comfort. If I was him, I would've never recovered from that. I can't imagine that happening to me and I hope it never happens, even if I despise them now.
He wiped the tears off his face, his face now red. “I’m sorry, Kevin."
"It's fine, just promise me you'd never do that to your family. Leaving them.”
"I promise!" He put the car in drive and before he moved the car back on the road, he looked at me. I looked at him, wondering why we were making eye contact. His smile beamed and I stared at his little dimples.
"What is it?" I asked, bewildered.
"Oh, nothing. Just happy that I have an awesome, beautiful girlfriend." He kissed me on my lips. It was so passionate like the emotional rant made his lips even firmer which wanted me to pull him close.
When we made it back to my house, Kevin parked into my driveway. "So, you're not going back to school?"
"I don't really want to since that whole thing with Sam just happened."
He nodded. Last year, Kevin wasn't here at school. He never told me why he left and I wanted to ask him, but I don't want to sound so direct. How should I say this?
"Why did you leave school last year?"
Really, Sofie! You said you weren't going to be direct, but you were direct! Okay, calm down. It isn't that bad. Maybe his response won't be so...painful? I don't know what word to describe it.
He put his head down and sighed. "When I found out about my family's death, I knew that it would be all over the news. If I went to school, people would ask me 'are you okay' and 'what happened'. I didn't want to deal with that, so I dropped out of school," Kevin stated.
"Why didn't you just go to another school?” I asked.
"Just because they don't know me, doesn't mean they don't know that my family died. I didn't want to take that chance."
He's right. Those people would have seen the news and figured out that Kevin was a part of that family incident. They could've asked the same questions that my school would’ve.
I pulled his head close and kissed his lips, soft and quick. I let go, opening the car door and getting out. Kevin waved at me and I waved back. I raised my house keys out of my bag. Kevin pulled out of my driveway and drove away, I smiled. I entered my house, closing the door behind me.
I grabbed a bag of chips and plopped down on the living room couch, turning on the TV. Instead of going to school, I'm going to binge watch Star, one of my favorite shows.
DING DING
My phone went off. I looked up, Sam was calling me. Why? She knows I don’t want to talk to her. I let it keep ringing and finally, it stopped and I went back to the TV.
DING DING
Again?! Why does she keep calling?! I was going to keep ignoring it, but the ringtone is starting to annoy me.
"Sofie, finally! What took you so long to answer?" she exclaimed.
"Say what you got to say or I'll hang up!"
"Fine, all I'm here to ask you is why did you leave earlier? Is there something I said?!"
"Yes, you made me feel bad about myself, Sam! I didn't want to talk about it, but you tried to force it on me!"
"I'm sorry, Sof. I just wanted to know why you changed your mind."
"You just wanted to rub it in my face about you being right," I said.
"Thanks for the talk, Sam. Bye."
I cut her off, trying not to feel bad. I mean, why would she bring that up at the time. Like, I don't want to talk about that while I am at the hospital checking on mom. I just can't handle that right now. I need to move on!
