Match Made in Virginia [s. reid]

five

CHAPTER FIVE
"THE DOCTOR GUY FROM LAST WEEK."
( TRIP FOR COFFEE & BREAKFAST )

LESS THAN HALF OF her first period class showed up thanks to various sport meetings that a lot of the juniors had, as well as the fact that a few had gotten a bad stomach bug. Natalie did what she only did on special occasions, or days when she knew they weren't going to get much work done – she walked the remaining members of the class out of the school and to the café a couple blocks away. She would pay for the kids who didn't have money o buy anything, and let them stay there for a good amount of time before she had to rush everyone back to the school so they wouldn't miss their next class.

"Going to the café," Natalie stated as she poked her head into the school's office where the secretary sat as she talked with the Assistant Principal. "We'll be back by nine ten."

The adults smiled, the secretary's more strained and forced while the Assistant Principal's seemed genuine as the man spoke. "Have fun, give a call if you're gonna be late."

She gave a nod. "Yes, sir."

Natalie then left the office and walked back to the twelve students who were waiting by the doors, and she moved passed them, opening the door and letting them walk out first. The August heat hit them instantly; it was a change from he cool air conditioning inside the high school. She checked the time of her phone. It was only a few minutes passed eight, so they had time for the ten minute walk and a thirty minute sit-down at the café before heading back.

Sam Ross talked with a few other juniors, all smiles and laughter. It was actually rare to see the girl genuinely smile and laugh, Sam always forcing herself to be positive and smile so no one would see her frown or cry, but still there were days when she couldn't even fake it. It caused Natalie to worry for her; Sam might not be her daughter, but she was close with Holly and has been since Holly was three and Sam was four. But right now, the junior's smile was genuine but her laugh sounded a bit forced, but that was just because one of the others students who she didn't like too much was cracking jokes that weren't funny and she didn't want to know what would happen if she didn't laugh.

"Sam," Natalie called out to the girl, Sam turning her head around and looking at the woman with a questioning look. Natalie motioned for her to walk with her. "C'mere."

Sam instantly excused herself from the few other juniors and made her way to Natalie. "Oh, my God, thank you, I didn't think I could keep fake laughing," she sighed in relief as they walked side by side. "The puns and jokes weren't funny, at all."

Natalie chuckled. "I guessed as much. How are you doing?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, thinking. Then, "My grandma's gradually getting worse and my mom said Grandpa's having mini strokes because one side of his face is started to droop. Mom's upset- oh, but my aunt is pregnant! I'm happy about that, but that means I'll either have to share a room with a baby or my mom who snores like a train, or one of my annoying siblings, and I don't know which one's worse. Uncle Shane-"

"Sam," Natalie interrupted her with a gentle voice, "I asked about you."

Sam crosses her arms, folding in on herself almost, shoulders rising and then lowering. "I'm not ready to jump off a cliff, and my therapist wants me to get out more but I don't want to."

I'm not ready to jump off a cliff. Those words planted a seed of worry in the pit of Natalie's stomach when it probably should have done the complete opposite. She knew Sam was depressed, that the girl had a therapist to go to, and that her life wasn't exactly ideal. It just hadn't crossed her mind that Sam's mental health was that bad, because Holly nor Sam never mentioned anything about it being so bad to her – they didn't need to, of course. Holly just told Natalie a lot about her friends, making the woman promise not to tell anyone else because sometimes it was a bunch of secrets of the friends and worry Holly had for them and stuff an adult needed to know about.