You make me smile :)

CHAPTER-12: The sleepover

Sam threw herself at the bean bag trying to pretend that this whole idea of a sleepover made her want to sleep through all of it so that she wouldn't have to witness the murder of fashion at the hands of such wannabe fashion icons who were attending the sleepover just to impress Anna and get a shot at modelling in her show.

"Oh! Sam! Don't be such a spoil sport! It'll be fun! I promise!" spoke Anna as she brushed her hair for the hundredth time and straightened  her floral dress while looking in the mirror.

"And this would probably be the first time you'll break your promise, Anna?" asked Sam sarcastically, as she got up from there and prepared to leave.

She was going to go out the door when she bumped into the last person she wanted to see at that time - Alex!

"I was just going to ring the bell when you..." said Alex in an embarrassed tone.

"I brought the marshmallows just as you had asked Anna" said Alex, handing over a big bowl to Anna.

Sam loved to eat marshmallows from when she was four, so she didn't mind staying a little longer. She shut the door and snatched the bowl from Anna's hands pretending to help her and ran straight to the kitchen with her marshmallows. She gobbled up as many as her little mouth could take in and kept eating, until she realised that she was caught in the act by someone who was standing right beside her.

Alex stood there, watching her. His cold breath, lightly touching Sam's chocolaty hair as she turned around. His deep, dark brown eyes, penetrating so deep down into hers that for a moment, she got lost in them. The two of them were standing at a hair's breadth from each other and didn't feel like moving away, until the kitchen door was slammed open and reality set in.

"Am I missing something?" asked Anna in a confused tone.

"No. Not at all" said the two of them, together.

"Alex was just helping me pour the fruit juice into all the glasses evenly" said Sam, moving as far away as she could from where she was standing earlier.

"Yeah!" replied Alex.

"I'm going to take off now." said Alex as he prepared to leave hurriedly.

"But I don't see any glasses here. And I thought we were serving cola and not juice" said Anna, not knowing why Sam and Alex were playing so dumb.

Alex was just going to flee from the whole scene when Anna said, "Um Alex? Why don't you stay for a little longer? All my friends bailed from the sleepover I guess, so why don't you have dinner with us and then you could head home. It's not like you stay very far away from here, your house is just next door!"

"Thanks for the invitation Anna, but I've got loads of work to do, so I'll see you tomorrow." said Alex as he shut the door behind him while going out.

Sam was stunned, going through the whole thing that happened in the kitchen over and over again in her head when Anna shook her as she wasn't paying attention to what she was saying.

"So it's just you and me then Sammy" said Anna, cuddling her best friend like a little pup.

The girls ate a light meal, got into their pyjamas and played with their age old stuffed toys till they grew groggy enough to hit the bed.

Anna switched the lights off and went to sleep beside Sam and their stuffed toys Cubby and Tubby. But she sensed that something was really wrong as Sam constantly kept tossing and turning in her bed, as if she was not being able to sleep.

"Sam what's wrong?" asked Anna gently, as she sat up next to her.

"Nothing's wrong Anna, just let me sleep!" said Sam, pretending to feel sleepy.

"I know something's wrong. What is it Sammy? Talk to me! I'm here for you!" said Anna, reassuring Sam that she could trust Anna with whatever was troubling her.

"I'm having this dream whenever I try to sleep. The same dream keeps playing in my mind over and over again! I have been drinking those extra large cups of coffee just to avoid having this dream again! I'm anything but fine Anna!" said Sam, looking relieved as if a big burden had gotten off of her shoulders.

"What dream?" asked Anna.

"It usually starts with me waking up in a five star hotel room, where I have all the luxuries in the world, but apparently I cant manage to get out of the hotel ever. The people there act as if they've known me forever and they greet me and treat me well, but whenever I ask them a way out of the hotel, all of them seem to ignore me, as if I were invisible!"

"What's wrong with it Sam? It's just a dream! You can't compromise on your health just because of a stupid dream!" said Anna.

"I wish it was that simple Anna! I'm telling you that I get the same dream over and over again. And I didn't even tell you the worst part. I see my dad through the window, I see people chasing him, hunting him down. But just as I run to save him, I can't seem to get out and he can't get in!" cried Sam.

"Your dad? But he left you years ago Sam, when he married that young blonde and left your Mom. We never ever heard from him after that, except in the news where everyone is always in awe of his exceptional financial skills! Forget the dream Sam. I have seen you build a life here, you have a future and a very bright one at that! Forget about the past Sam! Do good things and make your own beautiful past that you would want to hold on to!" said Anna, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

The girls shared a beautiful moment with each other as they hugged like they used to when they were six-year-olds. Sam wiped the tears off Anna's cheeks and the girls went back bed.