In Your Arms

by Becky Andrews

  The door closed behind them. “You two really do know each other well,” Phillip commented with a grin.

  “I have been in there multiple times. You would know, we are in the same class.”

  “Sam,” Alex said, coming up behind her. “Mrs. Hutchinson let you out early?”

  “Yeah, we were the only ones in there.”

  “Cool, so you’re still going ice-skating on Saturday, right?” Alex asked purposefully.

  Sam knew what her friend was doing. “Yes, I’m still going.”

  “You’re going too, right, Phillip?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, if that’s all right with you,” he said.

  “Of course, Sam was the one who invited you. We’ll probably go there around sevenish?” Alex said, and Sam wanted to kill her.

  “Sure, sounds great. Is that a good time for you?” Sam turned to Phillip

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I better go, though, or I’ll be late for practice. The game is at six, you can make it right?”

  “Definitely, Alex and Michael will be coming too.”

  “Great, I’ll see you later,” he said as he rushed off to practice.

  * * *

  “Alex, what am I supposed to wear?” Sam asked frantically. She was shouting across to Alex out of her bedroom window.

  “I don’t know, Sam. Just wear anything. It’s a football game, for goodness sakes.”

  “But Phillip invited me. I should at least dress nicely. I mean, I can’t just wear what I normally do.”

  “Why not? He didn’t invite you on a date, just to a football game.”

  “What do people wear to football games?”

  “I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve been to any football games. Well, I went to one when I was younger, but I don’t remember what anyone wore,” Alex clarified.

  “Okay, this is not helping me. We have to leave by 5:30. Is Michael on his way?”

  “Yeah, he’s coming. Don’t worry so much, Sam. You’ll be in the bleachers, Phillip’s going to be on the field. He probably won’t even get to say anything to you.”

  “Great, way to make me feel better.”

  “Well, you’ll get to tell him tomorrow how it was, and how amazing he played. I mean that has to be something. Besides you’ll be ice skating with him tomorrow. That’s when you really have to figure out what you’re wearing, cuz tomorrow is when it really counts.”

  “Fine, I think I figured it out. I’ll walk over to your house. Are we taking my car or his or should I drive myself?”

  “We’ll drive you, don’t worry.”

  “Great, I’ll be over there in a bit,” Sam called as she shut her window.

  Sam made her way to her closet and began to rummage through her clothes. What was she going to wear? Did it really matter what she was wearing? Yes, of course. She had to look good, right? Alex said he wouldn’t even notice her, though. After what seemed like hours, Sam finally made a decision.

  She emerged from her room wearing dark blue jeans and an embroidered white halter top, which tied around the back of her neck. Wrapped around her waist, acting as a belt, was a striped-green sash that hung down at her side. Sam grabbed her purse and made her way downstairs.

  “Bye, Mom,” Sam called. “I’ll be back before ten.”

  “I don’t know why you chose to go to that football game,” her mother said.

  “Alex and I just thought that we’d try and be a little more socially outgoing. Besides, I need a break from everything that’s happened.”

  “All right, but I expect you to be back by ten.”

  “Okay, Mom, I’m walking over to Alex’s house, we’re going to drive together,” Sam said. “Bye.”

  Sam walked out the door and made her way over to Alex’s house, seeing Michael’s car in the driveway. Sam walked up the stairs and made her way to Alex’s bedroom. She opened the door, only to find Michael and Alex making out on her bed.

  “Oh my God,” Sam said, dropping her purse and putting her hands over her eyes, as though she had seen something far worse than just Michael and Alex kissing. “I am so sorry.”

  Naturally, Alex and Michael sprang apart, Alex going to grab her purse and Michael pulling out his keys.

  “Is it safe to look?” Sam asked.

  “Sam, it’s not like we were having sex,” Alex said, smiling.

  “I know, but I couldn’t help it.” Sam laughed, causing all three of them to break out into laughter. “I mean come on, guys, you knew I was coming over here, yet you still decided to make out.”

  “Okay, okay, we’re running late as it is. Let’s just go,” Alex said.

  All three made their way downstairs and into Michael’s car.

  “By the way, Al, that mini skirt you have on, can we say—”

  “Hey, it’s not that short, okay? Besides, I wouldn’t be talking, Miss Cleavage-Showing-Halter-Top,” Alex retorted.

  “Whoa, it does not show my cleavage. Well, okay, it barely shows it. I had to give a little something to be desired,” Sam said with a cheeky smile

  “Samantha Baker! I would never have imagined.”

  “Oh, really? You, who is wearing the tightest shirt known to man?”

  “Fine, it is a bit tight, but I’m still shocked that your mother let you wear that out of the house.”

  “She was in the kitchen and didn’t see me.”

  “I didn’t even know your mother would buy something like that for you,” Alex said.

  “I bought it myself. She doesn’t really know about it.” Sam smiled. “And what about that skirt?”

  “You would know, I bought it with you, when you bought your shirt,” Alex laughed.

  “Wait a minute,” Michael interjected. “You guys bought them together, so you knew about it before. So why is it such a big deal?” Michael looked confused.

  “Oh, honey, we were just joking with each other.” Alex laughed and kissed his cheek. “So you ready for the big game, Sam?”

  “Very funny. I won’t even know what’s going on half the time,” Sam said.

  “I can tell you, Sam,” Michael said. “I played on a club team before I moved.”

  “So that’s why you’re so muscular,” Sam blurted out loud.

  “Sam,” Alex said, hitting her on the arm.

  “Ouch. That really hurt,” Sam said, rubbing her arm. “I didn’t mean to say it, it just came out. Well, you said you wanted to know.”

  “I know, but I didn’t want you to blurt it out in front of him,” Alex said.

  “You know I can hear you,” Michael said, looking over at the girls.

  “We’re such idiots,” Sam laughed.

  “Correction, you are the idiot. I happen to be one of the smartedest girls in this car,” Alex claimed.

  “‘Smartedest’? That’s not even a word,” Sam said.

  “Oh, just shut up,” Alex joked.

  “Hate to break up the love fest you two have going on over there, but we’re here,” Michael interjected as he pulled into the school parking lot.

  “Oh, my God, what am I going to do? I’m actually here, at the game. Why?” Sam moaned.

  “Calm down, Sam. We’ll sit down together and everything will be fine,” Alex said.

  “Yeah, but I’ve never gone to a game in my life, neither have you. What is everyone going to say?”

  “They won’t say anything,” Alex assured her.

  All three of them made their way through the crowded parking lot and to the field, spotting fellow classmates in the bleachers. The teams weren’t on the field at the moment, they were probably in the locker rooms getting their pep talk.

  “Wow, there are so many people here,” Sam said.

  “Yeah, this is crazy. Oh, look, we can sit over there.” Alex pointed to an empty spot in the bleachers.

  As they made their way up the bleachers, Sam spotted Tracy and her gang sitting down in front, all wearing mini-mini skirts, even shorter than Alex’s and tube tops.

  “Sluts,” Alex mumbled
under her breath.

  “Who, them? Let's not stoop to their level” Sam said.

  The Knights, Birchwood High’s football team, ran out onto the field. The crowd went wild.

  “Knights! Knights! Knights!” they shouted as Sam, Alex, and Michael joined in on the excitement.

  “Who knew a game could be so exciting?” Sam said as the crowd died down.

  “Sam, they haven’t even started playing,” Alex pointed out.

  “Whatever, it’s still exciting.”

  Both teams took the field, every player knowing exactly where to be. One of the referees blew a whistle and the game began.

  For the next hour, Sam constantly turned to Michael, asking him questions.

  “What’s he doing with the ball? What’s going on? Is he supposed to do that? Isn’t that a foul? Why is the ref not doing anything? Shouldn’t he be called for that? What are they doing now? What does that call mean? How come it’s their ball?”

  “Sam, enough with the incessant questions, we can only take a little bit at a time,” Alex said.

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize that I was asking that many questions. I mean I think I’m actually starting to understand the game,” Sam answered.

  “If you say so,” Michael mumbled.

  Just about that time, Sam looked down and noticed Tracy walking away from the bleachers, followed by her girls.

  “Why is she leaving? The game is not even over yet. We still have twenty minutes left,” Sam said.

  “Who’s leaving?” Alex asked.

  “Tracy and her posse.”

  “I don’t know. They are tired of the game, maybe. Who knows? And Sam, you really need to stop saying ‘posse’. Now shut up and enjoy the rest of the game and don’t worry about Tracy. I mean, if she’s gone, that’s one less person you have to deal with and one less person Phillip will talk too.”

  Sam sat in silence, taking in the rest of the game until she saw Tracy and the others walking back to their seats.

  “Hey, look, they’re back,” Sam pointed out.

  “You couldn’t go twenty minutes without any chatter?” Alex mocked.

  “I resent that,” Sam said. “But I figured out where they went.”

  “Where, Sam?” Michael seemed tired of her interruptions.

  “The coffee house. They went to go buy iced coffee. Look,” she said, pointing down at them.

  “That’s so great, Sam. We really needed to know that,” Michael said unenthusiastically.

  “Geesh, sorry I even said anything, you fuddy duddies,” Sam said just as the countdown clock struck zero. The crowd erupted in cheers. Michael, Alex, and Sam jumped out of their seats, along with the rest of the fans as the Knights gathered along the sidelines, proud of their victory.

  “So you two ready to go?” Michael asked after the crowd died down.

  “Yeah, sure.” Alex and Sam said in unison.

  They began to make their way back to the car when Sam realized she left her purse in the stands. “Oh wait, I forgot my purse. I’ll catch up to you guys. I’ll only be a second,” she said, making her way back to their seats.

  “Sam is always forgetting something. But she wouldn't be Sam if she didn't!” Alex told Michael lovingly as she walked away.

  Sam grabbed her purse that was lying underneath the bench where they had been sitting then turned to head back down.

  “Well, if it isn’t Samantha Baker,” Tracy said as Sam stepped off the bleachers.

  “What do you want, Tracy?”

  “I just wanted to know what made you come to the football game. I mean, you haven’t ever been to a game, so why start going now? There’s a no freak policy. I don’t even know how you got in here.”

  “Oh really, ‘cause I thought the sign said: No bitches allowed.”

  Tracy’s mouth opened. “You are a loser, Sam Baker.”

  “And you are a slut, Tracy Gibbons,” Sam retorted.

  “I can’t believe you just called me a slut. I mean, look at your outfit, freak—I bet you got that from your friend's closet and just to let you know, she doesn’t have any style either.”

  “And I bet you didn’t know that your boyfriend was the one who invited me here tonight and you should really ask your doctor to fix those,” she said, pointing to Tracy’s chest. “I mean, he didn’t do a very good job.”

  “You bitch,” Tracy snarled as she dumped the contents of her cup down the front of Sam’s shirt.

  Sam gasped as the cold coffee hit her. She couldn’t believe Tracy had just done that. How low was she? Well, how low was Sam, stooping to Tracy’s level? Sam looked down at her newly soaked shirt, now stained with coffee then backed away from Tracy, who had a victorious smile on her face. Sam turned around and walked away. Tracy began laughing with the others who had been standing around her.

  A few moments later, Phillip’s familiar voice called, “Hey, Sam, wait up,”

  Sam didn’t want to stop, she had a coffee-stained, wet T-shirt. The once cute outfit she had been wearing proudly was now ruined by Tracy and her iced coffee.

  “Hey, Sam, I said wait up,” Phillip said, grabbing hold of Sam’s arm as he caught up to her.

  “What?” she said, turning to face him. He looked so cute in his jersey, with his sweat-dampened hair sticking to his forehead.

  “What happened to you?” he asked, glancing down at her shirt.

  Sam looked down, noticing his gaze lingered where her bra showed through her damp shirt. “Ask your girlfriend.”

  “Tracy? Did she do this to you?” he asked.

  “Who else would be mean enough to pour a cup of iced coffee down someone’s white T-shirt? What do you see in her, Phillip? Are you that shallow? Her whole self-esteem is about bashing down others,” Sam said indignantly.

  “What happened?” Phillip asked, taking off his team jacket and wrapping it around Sam.

  “Nice game out there,” Sam said, changing the subject.

  “Thanks, did you understand it?” Phillip asked with a grin.

  “Uh, I could say I did, but then you’d call me a liar. But really I got bits and pieces of it and the rest of the time I just bothered Michael with my questions. Needless to say, I don’t think he’s going to be sitting next to me at the next game.” Sam smiled.

  “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it, even if you only understood about thirty percent of it.”

  “Uh, more like fifteen,” Sam corrected him.

  “Fifteen?” Phillip replied incredulously.

  Sam’s smile broadened. “Yes, only fifteen. I’m not as smart as I look.”

  “Apparently not.” He smiled back at her.

  “Hey, I meant in sports,” she clarified.

  “Of course. I knew that,” he joked.

  “I better go, Alex and Michael are waiting for me,” she said as she turned to walk away.

  “Hey, Sam,” he called after her.

  “Yeah?” she said. “Oh, your jacket.” Sam began to take it off.

  “No, keep it. You can give it to me tomorrow,” he said. “And thanks for coming.”

  “No problem,” she said, adjusting the jacket on her shoulders.

  * * *

  “Tracy threw her iced coffee on you?” Alex exclaimed after Michael dropped them off.

  “I might have made a comment about how fake her boobs looked,” Sam admitted.

  Alex died with laughter. Sam actually standing up to Tracy seemed comical to her. Not just that she was standing up for herself, but that she actually commented on Tracy’s boob job. Everyone suspected that she’d had them done. One day she was flat then bam, after Christmas Break, she had boobs and was flaunting them in faces of all the boys, while being extra obnoxious to the girls not 'cool' enough for her.

  “It’s not funny, she ruined my shirt! Now I’m going to have to bleach it back to white again,” Sam said.

  “What did Phillip say after you told him about the boob thing?” Alex asked.

  “I didn’t. I just told him she t
hrew her coffee on me. Now I better get inside and take a shower. I’m sticky and smell like coffee.”

  “All right, see you tomorrow,” Alex called as they both entered their respective houses.

  Sam ran up the stairs before her mother had any chance to see her. She took her time in the bathroom and emerged thirty minutes later, walking into her room and setting her alarm clock. She had already completed her homework before they went to the game.

  “Sammy, Mommy said you went to a football game,” Benjamin said as he walked up to her desk.

  “Yeah, Benny, I went to go watch Phillip play. Do you remember him?”

  “I ‘member him. I like him.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Sam said, picking him onto her lap. “Did Mommy help you get ready for bed?”

  “Yes, but I wanted you to tuck me in.”

  “Oh, really?” Sam said, poking his sides, causing him to squirm around.

  “That tickles, Sammy.”

  Sam stopped tickling her brother just as something flashed on her computer screen. “What’s that, Sammy?” Benjamin pointed to the flashing box.

  “That’s Phillip.” She smiled.

  “That’s not Phillip. That’s a box.”

  “No, Benny, that’s Phillip writing to me.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said ‘hey’,”

  “Hi, Phillip!” Benjamin yelled at the screen.

  “Benny, you can’t talk to him through the computer, you have to write to him,” she laughed.

  “Oh,” Benjamin looked down at the computer keyboard and began typing random letters, as though he was actually writing to Phillip.

  PhilyCheeseSteak: Hey, Sam.

  SamIam: Hey, what’s up?

  PhilyCheeseSteak: So I asked Tracy why she threw her coffee on you, and she said it was because you made reference to her breasts.

  SamIam: Hey, watch what you say, Benjamin is with me.

  PhilyCheeseSteak: What?

  SamIam: Yeah, he’s here with me.

  PhilyCheeseSteak: Tell him I said hello, then.

  SamIam:fjalfoehtn3-sjjslkhndkf-prjmbnr[ojfmeorjvnmeo3gjk,foqior

  PhilyCheeseSteak: Let me guess, Benjamin is trying to say something to me.

  SamIam: I think it’s rather cute. He was trying to tell you that he misses playing with you and that he wants you to come over to play with him.