Perfectly Imperfect

Treinta: Sleepover

"Dad! I'm home!" Sam yelled into the sleepy little house we had just arrived at.

It's so cozy. It seems like the kind of place that would have nick-nacks and family photos scattered all over.

The nick-nacks are present, but the adorable little home is lacking in the family photos department.

Kind of reminds me of my house.

Although, unlike my house, there are a few stray photos hanging on the walls.

They all have Sam, a man I'm assuming is her father, and a gorgeous woman who looks strikingly similar to Sam in them.

"I'm gonna go get some drinks. You want anything?" She asked me heading to the kitchen.

  "Water?"

  She nodded. "Sure."

  "Thanks."

After she left to the kitchen, my gaze landed on one of the few photos. It seemed a bit different than the others. Sam was super young and her parents looked to be in their early 20's, maybe younger. It stood out because, the smiles on the faces of the people in it were so radiant. They reached all the way up to their eyes. Not that the smiles in the others didn't, but in this one, they were so big and bright, I wouldn't be surprised if their cheeks hurt. They looked like they were truly having a good time.

  Sam came back out with two water bottles.

  I looked up at her. "Hey, where were you in this picture?"

  A smile grew on her face. Not as magnificent as the one in the picture, but a small half smile.

  Though, even that small gesture has massive significance when it comes to stoic Sam.

  "We were at the park by school. That was when everything was going fine, and we were still just one big, happy family." She sighed as we got comfortable on her couch. "We used to go to that park all the time." With a chuckle she added, "Y'know that broken swing set?"

  I nodded.

  "Yeah, that happened when me, my dad, my mom, and my dog tried to swing on it all at once," She snickered.

  I let out a laugh. "Sounds like an interesting experiment. I guess we all know how it worked out in the end."

  She chuckled and nodded.

"Wait, if you've been going to that park since you were little, why didn't you go to Edgewater as a freshman?" I inquired.

She looked down and started to play with the hem of her shirt. "Um, I jump around a lot between schools, regular and alternative, because, for one, I don't like staying in one place for long, and two, I always end up screwing up, one way or another. Weather it's getting into fights, or cussing out a teacher."

"Well, you've been doing remarkably well at not going all beast mode on anyone at this school. Especially considering, how much the teachers deserve to be cussed out, and how the kids walk around picking fights."

She looked back up and grinned. Then, she shook her head. "But other times, the reasons are so stupid. Sometimes, I feel like the teachers hate me so much, they just make stuff up to get rid of me." She scoffed. "You probably think I sound ridiculous."

  "Sam? I thought I heard you come in," said a male voice coming from another part of the house.

I leaned in and paused.

"Sam?" The voice called again.

"With teachers these days, it honestly isn't that ridiculous. I wouldn't be surprised if it was true. They hate EVERYONE."