The Sidekick Club

1.2

Samantha tried hard to focus on what her best friend was telling her, but lately, her mind had only been plagued by thoughts of Edison and how to find him. It probably wasn't helping her grades any, but she just couldn't keep her mind from wandering.

Megan snapped her fingers in front of Samantha's face to draw her back to reality.

"Earth to Sam," she waved her hands a little with a pointed look. "Are you still in there or is your brain completely fried this time?"

"No need to be rude about it," Sam complained.

"You've been spacing out all week. When are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Sam forced a smile and started to pay more attention to her lunch tray. From what she could tell, Megan was not convinced in the slightest. At least she was kind enough to drop the issue for the time being.

"Okay... Well, did I tell you about what Pickles did yesterday?" she asked, her face brightening a bit at the mention of her bug-eyed, sandy colored, and seriously ugly pet pug.

To be honest, Samantha wasn't entirely sure it was a dog. It was more like some furry alien creature that was so ugly it was somehow cute. Samantha almost wished she could be so ugly she was cute.

Sam shook her head with a small smile, "What'd he do this time?"

Megan pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture. She handed the phone to Sam, the screen proudly displaying an upsidedown pug bundled up tightly in a wad of blankets. Sam could almost swear it was a potbelly pig masquerading as a dog. How convenient would that be? A pig in a blanket.

Sam shook her head again, her smile growing as she handed the phone back to her best friend.

"He's my little precious darling. Look how cute he is! My little baby boy." Megan cooed.

"Meg. It's just a picture. You don't need to talk to it like it's actually Pickles," Samantha pointed out.

"Oh hush," Megan pouted. Her choice of words made Samantha stiffen slightly, but she soon relaxed when she convinced herself it was just a coincidence. "Pickles is a far better companion than you anyway."

"You and that dog, I swear," Samantha huffed and tried to force down some of the blandest chicken nuggets she'd ever tasted in her life. Maybe the school should start investing less in sports equipment and more in meals that were actually edible. That'd be the day... probably the same day Pickles sprouted wings and learned to fly.

"You're just jealous that Pickles and I share something special."

"You should probably stop now, Meg. You're bordering on beastiality," Samantha warned.

"Ew. Gross. Let's talk about something else," she immediately changed the subject, looking around the cafeteria for some inspiration. "Like how Dylan Roberts is about to get his ass handed to him by the captain of the football team."

"What?" Samantha asked, turning her head to follow her friend's line of sight.

"I wonder what he did this time," Megan seemed intrigued by the situation, probably because she had a total crush on William Klein, the aforementioned football captain and head of the drama club.

Samantha found herself out of her seat and walking towards the scene before she could stop herself. Dylan had always been bullied, and this was her chance to be the hero for once.

She just had to be brave.

"You know, sometimes I think you actually like getting beat up," Will said as he threw Dylan onto the ground.

"Oh yes," Dylan's tone became sarcastic, "I wake up every morning with the same hope that someone will beat me up today. I'm extremely grateful to you for fulfilling that hope, Mr. Klein."

William scowled and picked Dylan up by his shirt collar. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you Roberts?"

"I really don't," Dylan met his bully's eyes, waiting for what was to come.

Samantha wasn't going to let that happen.

"That's enough, Will."

Will, Dylan, and the rest of Will's friends each turned their heads to look at her. Sam felt a bit awkward under their gazes and suddenly wished she had her mask to hide behind.

"Go sit back down, Porter," William told her.

"Not until you put Dylan down and return to your own seats," Samantha crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a pointed look.

"And why should I?"

Samantha took out her phone and shook it a little for emphasis. "I have a video of you clearly bullying Dylan Roberts on this phone, and I have no problem sending it to the the Board of Education and having you expelled. Wouldn't want any marks on that perfect record of yours, would we?"

It was a total bluff, of course. She hadn't recorded anything, but she was sure that if she asked around, she could find what she needed.

William slowly lowered Dylan back to his feet, glaring at her all the while. As soon as his fist left Dylan's collar, the boy bent down to pick up his glasses and walked briskly out of the cafeteria.

Sam sent a warning glare at William and his posse before following Dylan. She wanted to make sure he was okay.

"Hey, wait up," she called after his retreating figure. It didn't take much effort for her to catch up with him. "Are you alright?"

"I didn't ask you to save me!" Dylan suddenly rounded on her with a sharp, accusatory tone.

"You didn't have to," Samantha told him with a confused expression.

"Don't you get it? You just made everything ten times worse!" He pushed his glasses up on his nose and looked back down the hallway as if William and his crew would come sprinting after him at any moment.

"I'm sorry," Samantha said, not knowing quite what she had done wrong.

"Yeah, whatever," Dylan said bitterly, picking up his pace in an attempt to outrun her. "I don't need a hero, Sam, so just stay out of it."

Samantha stopped in her tracks at his words, feeling worse now than she had all week.

Why was the world so against her trying to help?

Why was the world so against her being a hero?