Never Say Forever

*Ding Dong* Sam Fairchild resided alone at 59 Riverblossom Road. He was in the basement, practising his guitar, when he heard his doorbell ring.
‘I wonder if that’s her…’ He thought to himself, getting nervous. As he hesitated up the stairs, the doorbell rang again. He could feel his forehead start to sweat and his face get hot. ‘What do I say to her?’ He thought to himself again. “You can do this, Sam. Snap out of it!” He wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he spoke the words out loud. When he opened the door, low and behold, a petite, beautiful, interesting girl was standing on the other side.
“Hi,” She enthusiastically, “I’m Kaleah Morgan.” She put out her hand to shake Sam’s. He slowly lifted his shaking, sweaty hand and fumbled for a greeting.
“H-h-i-ello.” He stuttered. Kaleah, making note of his reaction, pushed past him and walked inside.
“I’m Sam’s new roommate. I’m guessing you’re her….boyfriend? Brother? Is she here?” Kaleah said ignorantly as Sam closed the door. 

“Sam is not a girl…I’m Sam. Sam Fairchild.” He said, trying to hold back another outburst of giggles. Kaleah looked at him confused.
“What?” She asked.
“I’m Sam Fairchild.” There was a long moment of silence before Kaleah finally responded. She started giggling and shook her head maniacally.
“I see what you’re doing. That’s funny…” She said in between giggles, “Good one. But seriously, I’ve been anxious to meet her since the day I faxed in my contract and credit card information. When will she be home?”
“I’M SAM!” Sam burst out. “It’s not a trick or a joke. I live here. Me and only me. Well…me and you now…”  

Kaleah stared at him long and hard with a blank look on her face. Sam backed up a couple steps, scared of what her next reaction might be.
“Are you okay?” Sam cautiously asked. There was no response. “Kaleah?”
“So you’re telling me that my roommate is a boy.” She finally said with sad eyes.
Sam nodded.
"And nobody else lives here besides you and me?” She asked again. Sam shook his head. 

“However…” Kaleah began to look around. Sam noticed the disgusted expression forming on her pretty face.
“What?” Sam asked abruptly.
“This place needs some serious redecorating…do you even own a single fern or a bookshelf, for that matter?” Kaleah sniffed the air, “…and I think a couple bottles of air freshener are in order…”
“What? No! You’re not redecorating.” Sam crossed his arms and smirked.
“Why not?” Kaleah asked, irritated.
“Regardless if you are a new tenant here, this is still my house. I’ve lived here for a couple years now and the decorating has remained the same ever since day one. You can’t just waltz in here and decide to take everything over.” Sam said. “I have to go to work. I’ll be back by 4…the upstairs is all for you. Both rooms have been set up with your things by your mom and those are the only rooms you can get your filthy, feminine hands on. Got it?” Kaleah was still looking around. She walked towards the living room, not saying a word to Sam. 

She turned to face Sam.
“Excuse me?” She demanded, raising one eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?” 

Sam could feel his face turning red with embarrassment. He had no idea what to say next

“Oh come on…just one room?” Kaleah begged. Sam rolled his eyes and continued out the door. Kaleah followed quickly behind. 

‘He has no right to say that. Sure this was his house before I moved in, but I pay to live here now!’ Kaleah thought to herself as she listened to Sam’s truck start. Sam’s passenger window rolled down.
“Kaleah?!” He called. “Whatever you do, do not touch the kitchen. Don’t even snack in the kitchen until I get home. We’ll go over the rules of the kitchen tonight.”
“Rules of the kitchen? Are you freaking kidding me?” Kaleah called back. Sam obnoxiously rolled his window back up and sped away.  Kaleah stomped back into the house and preceded up stairs to see how her mom set up her bedroom. 

'Hm…I like it.’ She said to herself as she hung up the last of the pictures and took a step back. ‘At least Sam will respect the fact that I didn’t touch his kitchen…not even the disgusting old beer bottles sitting on the counter.’  

The first thing same noticed when he walked in was the out of place table hanging out by the entranceway. ‘What the heck is this hunk of wood doing here?’ He asked himself as he examined it further. Next to the table were a purse and a pair of shoes. ‘Ugh…Kaleah…’ He rolled his eyes. He turned towards the living room and noticed the entire new furniture set in place of his old, comfortable stuff. He slowly walked towards it. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me! I told her not to! Ugh…’ He started to get mad. 

‘Books? Really? In a man’s house…’ He thought as he pulled a book out. It read Hamlet, by William Shakespeare on the cover. Quickly, Sam threw it back to the bookshelf. “Gross.” He said. 

“Kaleah?” He said as he whipped open the door and entered the room. “Oh…my…god…”He said, with his jaw dropped.  

He tried to open the door, but it was locked. “What the hell is this? She’s locked the door?” He started banging on it. “KALEAH OPEN UP! I HAVE A MAJOR BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!” Sam stuck his ear to the door but there was no response from inside. “Uggghhhh!” He grunted as he stomped back downstairs. ‘She better not have touch anything else!’ He thought to himself.

Sam went into the back hallway and sure enough plants, pictures and his computer desk were there. Sam rolled his eyes and next, headed into the dining room. Knowing that his computer desk was in the hallway made him certain she changed the dining room. And she did. ‘Oh man…if she did anything downstairs…I’ll kill her!’ He quickly ran to the basement.

“How dare you!” He yelled as he ran up to the hammock in which Kaleah was sleeping in. Sam’s voice jolted Kaleah and she quickly woke up in a startle, causing her to fall out of the hammock.
“Sam! What the hell, look what you made me do!” She hollered back. She brushed the grass off of her hands and knees as she got back up to her feet. “I was having a really good nap. Thanks a lot for ruining it!”
“Like I care.”
“What are you going on about?” Kaleah grew annoyed.  

“What’s the big deal? That thing was covered in stains and was ripped in more than three different places! For all you knew, mice could have been living in that couch. Mice, Sam! That’s gross…” Kaleah said.
“Kaleah! You are probably the stupidest person I know! Who the hell throws out something that belongs to their brand new roommate that they don’t even know? That could’ve had an emotional value to it, for all you knew!” Sam got really defensive. Kaleah looked around at the neighbouring houses.
“Can you lower your voice please? The neighbours will start to wonder…” She said.
“Lower my voice?” Sam smirked. “Lower my voice? You’re seriously asking me to lower my voice right now?” Kaleah gave Sam a confused look. 

“That is no way to talk to a lady! In fact, that is no way to talk to me!” Kaleah crossed her arms and hollered. Sam lifted his finger and opened his mouth to say something. Right before he let anything else out, he stopped himself, shook his head, and turned to walk away.  “You’re just going to leave it at that then?”
“I have nothing left to say to you. Good night Kaleah.” Sam said as he continued into the house. She watched him shake his head and sulk his shoulders. She felt a cold guilt take over he body. How was she supposed to know that the couch meant so much to him? Just then, Kaleah's phone rang. 

“Oh honey, that was no problem at all. I’m just happy to help. So, how’s this Samantha roommate of yours? Are the two of you getting along?”
“Mom! It’s horrible! There is no Samantha! It’s just Sam…Sam Fairchild…a boy.” Kaleah’s mom gasped.
“What! A boy?! But we talked to a woman…”
“Yeah it was his sister or something…oh wait, I think cousin? I don’t remember. All I know is that I am now living with a boy and we do not get along at all! Mommy…this is awful.”
“Well K, you know there are probably tons of places out there for rent. You could always just move.”
“Mom, I signed a 6-month contract, remember? I came out here to experience a different place and attend their really good art program and then come home after half of a year. I signed the contract thinking that this was going to be good…if I back out now, they can sue me for ten times the cost of my rent!”
“Oh dear…”
“And the worst part of this is that it’s literally only been 4 and a half hours since I got here and me and Sam already can’t stand each other! Mom...how can I bare 6 months of this if we can’t even handle a whole day?” 

“Mom, it’s not that easy.”
“Kaleah Jayde Morgan is not a quitter and you know it. You are a brilliant artist, guitar player, and writer. You take on challenges most people wouldn’t even consider thinking about! He is your challenge. Take him on!”
“Yeah, I guess your right.”
“Belinda, I need my aspirin!” Kaleah heard in the background.
“Was that dad?” She asked.
“Yeah. Look K, I have to go. Just make the best of it and remember…your father and I love you and we miss you already.”
“Love you guys too…bye mom.”    

TerribleTyTy: 6 mths? really? thats it? look dude, we have are last stage show in two days and then im cumin back home. just wait it out til i get there and then all will be good. im good wit the ladies and u know it.

Samson_Hero909: good wit the ladies? really? u couldve fooled me… =P

TerribleTyTy: ha! thx bud…appreciate that one. just…make sure she is nice and ready for me when i get back home. i want a piece of that ass…ill set her straight…no worries. but i have to go to bed, dude…i have an early rehearsal in the morn. night bro.

Samson_Hero909: kpce.

Sam quickly dried his hands and ran after Kaleah.
“Kaleah, wait, wait, wait….please stop walking away!” He begged as she finally came to a stop.
“What do you want to say now? Are my eyebrows uneven? Or are my boobs lopsided?” Sam looked down at Kaleah’s chest. “Sam, don’t even think about it.” Kaleah said as she, once again, folded her arms across her chest.
“Sorry…” Sam said, quickly looking back up to Kaleah’s eyes. “Look Kaleah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a jerk…”
“Oh no? So you were born with it?” Kaleah asked sarcastically. “That’s awful, Sam. Really…it is. I feel so bad for you, having a chronic being-a-jerk disorder. I’m sure some kind of doctor out there can help you…”
“Ugh, Kaleah no. I’m being serious!”
“How can you not mean to be a jerk? People can control how nice they are to people, you know.”
“I know…but…okay…here’s the thing. Promise not to laugh?”
“I don’t make promises.”
“Okay, well this is really embarrassing so try to go easy on me…” Sam took a deep breath as he prepared to tell Kaleah his explanation. 

After a long, gruelling moment of silence, Kaleah finally spoke.
“Okay, so you’ve never had a girlfriend. Big deal.” She said.
“Oh…” Sam lowered his eyebrows. “N-no….I’ve had girlfriends. But they were all close friends of mine at some point so it was easy for me to flirt and stuff. But with you…”
“Woah, hang on a minute, bud! Are you trying to say that you were trying to flirt with me?”
“NO! I mean…no. I wasn’t trying to flirt. It’s just…” Sam started to panic. “I guess…” He couldn’t think straight. “Well…” He exhaled deeply. “It’s really….not a secret that your attractive. I’m sure you know you’re attractive as well.”
“Your point, Sam?” Kaleah wondered.
“I’m bad with talking to pretty girls, even if I have no intentions of being sexual with them…” Kaleah nodded her head and peered over at the clock. She quickly gasped.
“Is that clock by any chance slow?” She asked quickly.
“No…it’s almost 8:00…why?”
“I have an art class to go to at 8:30! Oh man…I’m never going to be ready on time…”
“Art class?” Sam asked. “You paint?” Kaleah nodded.
“I paint, I write, and I play the acoustic guitar. I’m not great at the guitar yet…but I’m working on it.”
“No way! I play the electric!”
“Really? Well maybe you can teach me a few songs? Something that’s popular around Sunset Valley, perhaps?” Kaleah asked, hopefully. 

“Welcome, beginners, to your first art class! My name is Carrie Hill. Please don’t call me Mrs. Hill, teacher, Hill, Mrs or anything that makes me sound like this is high school. This is not high school. Here, you call me Carrie.” The art instructor spoke. Kaleah looked around her class. There were so many different kinds of people—old people, young people, people of different races…but mostly, the people were children. Children of merely 12 years old. Kaleah raised her hand. “Yes, dear?”
“Hi, um…I think I’m in the wrong art class. I signed up for advanced art…the college level course. Not a beginners course with children.” Kaleah spoke softly.
“Oh dear, you’re name please?” Carrie asked as she opened up her binder to her attendance sheet.
“Morgan. Kaleah Morgan.” Kaleah watched as Carrie used her pointer finger to scroll through the names.
“Well, Kaleah Morgan, you are definitely in the right class. You’re on my attendance sheet…”
“That’s impossible…I paid for a college level course—my mom signed me up for a college level course.”
“Perhaps your mother made a mistake?”
“Or perhaps you did?” Kaleah gathered her things and stood up. “Could you please just switch me out of this class and into the advanced?”
“Oh, Kaleah. I am so sorry but it’s too late to switch. You will have to take the next sessions.”
“When is that?”
“When these sessions are over….in 6 months.”
“6 months??!!”
“If you’d like a refund of your money, please call the office number on the bottom of this sheet.” Carrie handed Kaleah a sheet full of information. “So sorry it didn’t work out.”
Kaleah turned and walked out of the classroom. ‘Wow…now I’m stuck here for 6 months with no reason to even be here.’ She thought to herself, frustrated. She walked out of the doors of the school and stood on the platform. She looked around at the downtown area to find something to do. She saw a beautiful park across the street from the school and decided to head over there. 

Kaleah ate alone outside. ‘This is the fanciest bistro I’ve ever been to.’ She thought as she brought her food to the patio. After she ate, she walked around downtown for the entire day, looking at stores and talking to clerks. She spent over two and a half hours in the bookstore reading synopsis’ and learning about upcoming readings from her favourite authors. She discovered the theatre, and saw a romantic comedy about two people who were in love with each other but never told the other and ended up marrying someone who wasn’t their soul mates. She went to the art museum and the library, and spent some time walking through the graveyard to learn about the people who used to live in Sunset Valley and her last stop, which was at around 7:30 PM, was the beach.  

“Hi there.” Kaleah said as she approached him. She put out her hand to shake his.
“Hi,” the boy said as he returned her gesture. “What were you doing down there? You must be crazy…” He shook his head in disbelief.
“What do you mean? Is this beach a private beach or something?” Kaleah asked worriedly.
“No…it’s public. You must be new here or something.” The boy assumed.
“Yeah, my name is Kaleah Morgan. I just moved here yesterday from Iron Horse, California.” She said as she noticed the boy’s eyes grow wider.
“Oh! You’re Sam’s new roommate!” He said excitedly.
“Yeah…” Kaleah gave him a confused look. “How do you know Sam Fairchild?”
“I’m Liam Fairchild….his cousin.” Liam smiled at Kaleah and then looked past her when he noticed someone approaching them. “Oh god…” He said.
“What?” Kaleah turned to look at who he was referring to. “It’s just an officer…big deal.” She said, turning back to him.
“That’s not just an officer…”
“Hey! What are you guys doing down here?” The officer hollered, gaining speed.
“That’s Hank…I’ve got to go. I’m past curfew again and he’s going to nail me for sure! Good luck!” Liam quickly took off running into the paths. Kaleah gulped as she turned towards the officer. 

“Yeah, but it’s alright if you’re new here. I’ll let it pass. But next time I see you down there, I’ll have no choice but you ticket you.” Hank said, jokingly. “So where are you from?”
“Iron Horse…it’s a really small town in north-western California. No where fancy.”
“I actually think I’ve been there before…Iron Horse is the population of most public schools, right?” Kaleah giggled.
“Yeah, that’d be the one.”

The two continued talking. They talked about things like they’re favourite colors and what there is to do in Sunset Valley and the types of stories Kaleah liked to write. They talked….

And they kept on talking for what seemed like hours. All of a sudden, Kaleah noticed the watch on Hank’s wrist. She quickly grabbed his hand to take a look at it. It read 10:35
“Oh my gosh! Is that seriously the time?” She asked in a panic. “I’m over an hour and a half late! I’m so sorry, Hank, but I really have to go.”
“Oh it’s alright. I’ll give you a call sometime…when you don’t have a curfew.” He giggled. “I hope to see you again soon Kaleah. And welcome to Sunset Valley.”

Kaleah thanked him and made her way back home. She went down one path that led to a dead end. Her car was parked back at the school, but she forgot which way to go. She looked back to see if Hank was still around, but he was long gone. ‘Great,’ she thought, ‘This will be fun…’

“You’re lying…” Sam finally said.
“No, Samson, I’m not! I’m serious…”
“You always were a drama queen. Get home and get to bed, kid, before Hank sees you!”
“You don’t believe me?”
“No. Not in the least bit.”
“Why!”
“Because nothing truthful ever comes out of your mouth! Now seriously, beat it! I have something planned with Kaleah and I’m in the middle of setting it up all nice, so please, go home.”
“You guys planned something for this late on a Tuesday night?” Liam smirked.
“We planned it for just after nine, when I got off work. Kaleah’s class probably ran late or she’s lost and trying to find her way home or something.”
“Or she’s with Hank…” Liam said, cockily.
“Bye, Liam!” Sam rolled his eyes and went back into the house. 

Another half an hour went by when he finally saw her walking towards the front deck. Sam got excited, nervous, and even angrier all at the same time. He stood up and moved closer to the door.  

Sam let go.
“God! What’s the matter with you?!” Kaleah screamed as she rubbed her arm where Sam held it.
“If you even so much as think about Hank ever again, then you and I will never have anything else to say to each other ever again.” Sam yelled.
Kaleah looked over her should at Sam, surprised at what he just said. She cleared her throat and softly responded,
“Well then…I guess…we no longer have anything to say to each other ever again. And I never say forever.”
“Good.” Sam stormed off to the stair case and headed down to his room. Kaleah stood in the foyer, wondering what the hell just happened. She heard Sam vigorously slam his bedroom door shut.