Dead!

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

After work the next day, I rushed over to the vegan restaurant where I was planning to meet Samantha. I found her standing in front of the restaurant, sipping an iced tea. "Hey Samantha," I said. "What's up?"

"Not much," Samantha said as she brushed her long, ginger hair away from her face. "Just work and blogging."

"Have you posted anything new?" I asked.

"You know, you could just go online and find it," Samantha said. "It's not that hard to find."

"I should do that," I said.

"I can even send you the link if you want," Samantha said. "What's new with you?"

"All sorts of crazy stuff," I said. "I'll tell you once we get some food. I'm hungry."

Samantha and I entered the restaurant, and one of the waitresses led us to a table next to the window. Both of us immediately started flipping through the menu. "What are you getting?" I asked.

"I don't know yet," Samantha replied. "What are you getting?"

"Is there anything on here that doesn't have tofu in it?" I asked.

"Why?" Samantha said. "Tofu's amazing."

"I've heard that it's gross," I said.

Samantha sighed and said, "If you're not going to get anything with tofu, I'd recommend the veggie burger, the spinach ravioli, or the falafel plate. Actually, now that I think about it, I might get the falafel plate. I've been craving falafel lately."

"I'll try the veggie burger, I guess," I said.

The waitress came by to take our orders, but once she was finished, Samantha said, "So you were going to tell me about all of this crazy stuff that's happened to you over the last few days."

"Yeah, I was going to tell you about that," I said. "First of all, I met this boy. He's really cute and sweet and he plays the piano and I think I might like him, but I'm not really sure and I don't think that he likes me back..."

"Whoa, slow down," Samantha said. "First of all, I'm really not the best person to give you romantic advice. Second, can you tell me a little more about him?"

"His name is Adam, and he works for the Celestial Bureaucracy Beautification Project. I see him everyday on my way to work, and he's so friendly and sweet."

"How old is he?" Samantha asked.

"Eighteen," I answered.

"And you said that his name was Adam, right?" Samantha said.

"Yes, I did say that," I said.

"What's his last name?" Samantha asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Does it matter?"

"I used to know a guy named Adam," Samantha said. "I'm trying to figure out if this is the same person. Is he kind of tall with black hair?"

"Yeah, that's him," I said.

"I went to high school with him," Samantha said.

"That's cool," I said.

"Ivy, I wouldn't date Adam Corrigan if I were you," Samantha said. "He was one of the delinquents back in high school. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that he got into Heaven. Every time he bothered to show up for class, he was hopelessly drunk."

"You're thinking of the wrong Adam," I said. "The Adam I know isn't like that."

"Then you don't know him very well," Samantha said. "Did he tell you how he died?"

"No," I said. "How did he die?"

"Adam died the summer after our senior year," Samantha said. "He was driving drunk and crashed his car. It was a little bit of a shock, but nobody was surprised that he died in that way. He had been in a downward spiral throughout high school, and it ended in tragedy."

"I don't believe you," I said. "Again, I think you're thinking of someone else."

"No, I know that I'm thinking of the same person," Samantha said. "Please don't date him Ivy. You deserve better than that."

"Well, I did meet this other boy..." I said, unsure as to whether or not I should tell Samantha about Jordan. Then again, I didn't really trust anyone else with this information, and I needed to tell someone about what had happened with him. "His name is Jordan."

"What is he like?" Samantha asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I only met him once, and it was right after the demon attacks. He was kind of cute though."

"What happened when you met him?" Samantha asked.

"I was checking to see if the demons were gone, and I found him in my house...well, it was technically Jack and Henri's house, but I was hanging out there during the attacks," I explained. "We started talking, and I found out that he was from Hell..."

"Wait, he's from Hell?!" Samantha exclaimed. "Why were you talking to a demon?"

"He's not evil!" I exclaimed. "He got into Hell for jaywalking."

"Nobody gets into Hell for jaywalking," Samantha said. "I should know. I'm one of the judges. I think that Jordan's lying to you."

"He's not lying to me," I said. "Anyways, he seemed pretty normal. He's not perfect, but I could change him."

"Don't have that mentality," Samantha said. "This is how you get yourself into trouble."

"Jordan and Adam are both great guys," I said. "You're just being paranoid."

"I'm trying to keep you safe!" Samantha argued. "I'm really just trying to help. You helped me a lot, so I'm returning the favor."

"All you're doing is criticizing my choice in men," I said.

"That's because your options are an alcoholic and someone from Hell!" Samantha exclaimed. "You need to raise your standards, Ivy."

"There's nothing wrong with Adam or Jordan," I argued. "They both seem like nice guys, and you're lying to me about them to keep me from dating either one of them."

Samantha was going to say something, but our food came at that exact moment. We didn't talk much for the rest of dinner. Instead, both us of just quietly ate our food. The veggie burger was actually pretty good, and Samantha bought us dessert afterwards.

"See you later Ivy," Samantha said after we finished and she had paid.

"Bye Samantha," I said. It was still light out as I headed home. By this point, I wasn't so worried about the two boys anymore. I only hoped that I could preserve my friendship with Samantha.