A Hint of Innocence

Sam strolls into the math class. Late, as always. Skateboard in hand, as always. Sam had just came back from a trip around Europe. A spiritual thing I think. Eliza had always been enamoured by Sam’s appearance; Those misty blue eyes she’d longed to gaze into. 

Sam Whyte was the new kid in school who had moved from California. Keen to fit in, Sam wore flannel and ripped skinny jeans and associated with the skater crowd, believing to be cool but in reality, lacked the skills of any semi-talented skater. Sam’s skateboard was more of a fashion statement. A symbol of intended rebellion, really. Eliza Montgomery - unlike her pedestrian sounding name – stood out from the others. Her appearance was striking but she lacked any real confidence to carry off the bold look she had. She had never bothered with relationships until she saw Sam. It took one look for her to fall for those eyes and black hair. 

A few weeks passed and Eliza had finally built up the courage to speak to Sam. She walked straight up to the intimidatingly beautiful skater at lunch without a shadow of a doubt in her mind. Confidence exuding from everywhere it could. She stopped right in front of Sam and just stared, searching for the words, any words. Literally, anything. “Are you alright? Hello? Eliza.” She finally came back to reality and had realised that Sam knew who she was. She was absolutely elated. Her crush actually knew her name. Sam explained that they were in about, 4 of the same classes and they sat across from one another in English. Eliza had almost passed out by this point. They stood and spoke for what seemed like hours but in retrospect, passed in minutes. Eliza had calmed down a little and was trying to play it cool, but ended up leaning on a chair, which skidded away from under her hand and she hit the floor. Her face turned as red as her auburn hair, as the rest of the lunch hall howled with laughter. Sam abruptly made up an excuse about having to talk to an English teacher about some essay and rushed off, out of the lunch hall. Sam sprinted back and handed Eliza a crumpled piece of paper before flashing her a smile and running off again. She flattened out the paper and discovered a phone number. She stood there for a moment in absolute disbelief; She actually got her crush’s number.  

Straight after school, Eliza called Sam. She couldn't wait any longer to strike up a conversation, even thought she knew how desperate it seemed. She proposed a walk in the park or so they could get to know each other a little better. Sam said yes before Eliza could even get the words out. She couldn't wait, she told Sam to meet her by the gates at 6pm – this gave her time to obsess over her outfit choice and re-do her makeup about 3 times – Sam couldn't wait either and found it hard to hide the obvious excitement. The way Sam rushed about, trying to find an uncreased flannel shirt and a less ripped pair of jeans. It was pretty sweet watching them both get ready for their date. There was a hint of innocence about it. 

By the time 5:45pm came around, Eliza was touching up her makeup for the final time and trying to find shoes to match her perfect outfit. Sam had already left, sporting the “I totally didn't stand in front of the mirror for 25 minutes, trying to get my hair to look like this” which sadly, looked effortless. On the way there, Eliza text Sam to make sure she wasn't going to be stood up. Sam didn't want to admit it, but thought Eliza had better things to do, than to take a walk with a fake skater with an attitude problem. 

Eliza got to the park at exactly 6:01pm and was worried that Sam would have been waiting. She saw Sam fix a single hair that was out of place. Eliza giggled and walked over. Sam asks what she was laughing at and she replied “Nothing, your hair looks good by the way.” Eliza started walking then realised Sam hadn't moved, so she walked back to where they were standing. Their eyes met and everything went absolutely silent for a few moments. Sam pushed a strand hair out of Eliza's face and tucked it behind her ear. Eliza cleared her throat to fill the silence, then waited for sam to move, who led the way this time, regardless of the fact that Eliza was the only one who knew she was going. Sam asked where they were going, so Eliza caught up and led them both down a beautiful tree lined path. 

After joking around and tripping each other up, they finally came up to an old bridge crossing a gentle stream. On the other side of the bridge, there was a fallen tree. Its roots, stretched out toward the lake beautiful brown snakes, slithering toward their prey. Sam walked over and sat on the bridge, feet dangled over the edge. Eliza joined but crossed her legs underneath her – she was afraid she'd lose a shoe. Sam pointed toward the old tree and asked if that was where they were going. Eliza explained that she used come here a lot when she was little. Her dad used to hold her hand while she walked along the trunk. The park held a lot of memories for her. She got up and leaned on the railing of the bridge and Sam followed. They stood there for a while staring into the water, flowing underfoot. Sam explained that there weren't many streams like that in California. They both walk toward the fallen tree in silence, as to preserve another memory of the park. 

Sam got to the tree and stoped dead. Eliza walked straight by Sam and started to climbing. Sam told Eliza to slow down, but as soon as the last words escaped Sam’s mouth, she was out of sight. Eliza shouted from deep amongst the branches of the tree and told Sam to climb. Eliza was sitting comfortably in her favourite spot within the tree when she heard a loud, snapping noise, followed by a thud. She looked down and noticed Sam, lying on the ground, laughing. A tiny branch had snapped under foot, which could never have held the weight of a person. Eliza couldn't even pretend she wasn't laughing. She climbed down and helped Sam up. As they were both laughing, their eyes met and everything fell silent once again, but this time, Eliza let it. She felt as if everything had fell away in that moment. It was only those two left in the whole world. There wasn't a strand of hair for Sam to push out of the way this time. Eliza did what she wanted to do the first time this happened. 

There's only ever one reason two people are silent for this long. They're both waiting for the other to kiss them. Sam finally kissed Eliza, it was absolutely magical. When it was over, they just stood and smiled at each other. Sam grabbed Eliza's hand and they started walking, both in a blissful state of tranquility. They eventually got back to the gate and Eliza looked down at her phone. It was 10pm and she had 3 missed calls from her dad. She gazed out the gate and noticed his car and began to stroll toward it. Sam stopped her, pulled her back behind the gate and kissed her one more time, so her dad couldn't see them, before heading off in the opposite direction. Eliza abruptly asked what Sam is short for and walked over. Sam resisted telling Eliza, but she insisted to know, so Sam finally crumbled. “It's short for Samantha. The only person that calls me that anymore is my grandma, but I prefer the abbreviation.” Eliza told her she thought Samantha suited her, Sam smiled shyly. They kissed for the last time before Sam sauntered away from the car and down the street. Eliza's dad got out of the car and called over to her. “Who was that?” He asked, in a concerned manner. “That's Sam, She's just a friend.” They both got in the car and drove home. Eliza closed her eyes and was transported into a dream like state by the memory of Sam’s icy blue eyes. Her dad, blissfully unaware of what had happened that night.