Home is where the Heart is

First day

"Morning, Sam." Mr. Jones awakened Sam who was on the couch, but now startled on the floor.

"Where am I?" He muttered. Sam then popped his head to see Mercedes's dad holding the paper. "Oh, good-good morning Mr.Jones." He then got up off the floor as her father seemed to have found their encounter quite amusing. First impressions were never really Sam's thing, or apparently seconds.

Her father went into the kitchen and started to make his morning coffee with a side of the daily newspaper, while Mrs. Jones was busy cooking up a breakfast that smelled of pancakes and eggs. Mercedes slowly began to walk down the stairs, as she was up and eager to see Sam. Sam noticed and gave a smile. She smiled back, the kind of smile you have when you just kissed someone you've waited forever to kiss, but discreetly of course.

"Good morning," Mercedes said.

"Hi." Sam replied. He didn't want to make it completely awkward, but it was already happening. It was hard not to show affection and talk about what had happened yesterday, but her parents were only a few footsteps away. So, let the awkwardness begin.

Her father peeked his head out of the kitchen. "Hey sweetheart."

"Hey, dad."

"I thought we should have breakfast together." Her father suggested. He looked at Sam. "Get to know each other a little bit more." Sam gulped. He wanted to get to know him, he really did, but the way he said it made it seem like he's about to choke a secret out of him.

"Sure, dad." She said turning towards Sam.

"Sounds lovely, Mr. Jones."

They made their way to the kitchen and took a seat. Sam happily sat next to Mercedes while her mother set a huge plate of pancakes down in front of him, followed by eggs, bacon, toast, and a glass of orange juice.

"Oh my." Sam gasped. He hadn't ate this good in awhile, it was like a buffet compared to the usual breakfast he would scrape up.

She tilted her head. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, no no. This just, looks amazing." He said, and Mercedes could probably tell why. The pudding cups he stole weren't the tastiest.

"Oh, your welcome. I hope you like buttermilk pancakes." She said.

"They're my favorite." He lied while pouring on some maple syrup. He's never eaten one, but a good impression was crucial. Once everyone took a seat with their plate full of food, they began eating. It was silent besides the odd scraping of the fork.

"Everything is delicious." Sam said with a mouth full of food. Her father gave him a funny look, and Sam remembered that was rude, so he slowed down his eating and decided not to talk with his mouth full. He swallowed and cleared his throat, "And I can't thank you enough. You don't know how much it means for me to stay here. You truly are wonderful people."

"Oh, it's no problem. We're happy to have you here." Her mother said. Her father then turned the subject around, almost annoyed and completely ignoring what he just said.

"So, Sam, how is school going?"

"So far so good. Classes are good and everything."

"Well, that's good." Her mother replied while carefully examining Sam's face. "Is that a scar?" She pointed out. Sam remembered he had a purple scar on his face from Shane and gulped.

"Uh...yeah, I got into a fight." Crap why did I just say that, he thought. Mercedes shot him a look and sipped her orange juice. Third impressions are also not his thing.