“Hold on, drama queen, before you end up losing an arm,” Sammy said, and pulled the door open without effort.
She's strong, must be a dragon thing. My conscience shrugged internally, as if the dragon facts didn't bother us anymore.
We slipped through the opening and entered the school grounds.
Sammy went back to being playful and bumped Becky softly. I'm glad she didn't feel bad anymore. I loved how fast she got over things.
We ran into Blake next to the stairs. He was making out with Tabitha, and they made no effort to hide what they had been doing.
Sammy turned into a ferocious beast when she saw them, stalked up to her brother, and pushed him away, interrupting their make-out session. “You're such an asshole, Blake.”
He just laughed, which made my legs wobble.
Why does he have to be so damn gorgeous? I pulled on the collar of my T-shirt in a rhythmic beat, hoping the pathetic excuse for a breeze would make the hot flashes Blake brought on, disappear.
“Dad is going to hear about this,” she said threateningly.
His smile vanished. “It was a joke, Samantha!”
She spun around to face him. “A joke? Larry and Brent went to the bar is a joke, Blake, not what you and George pulled off this afternoon.”
His eyes twitched and he glared at me.
Great, now the hottest guy in school thinks I'm a loser.
“Didn't you hear what Master Longwei said about Elena that night? I guess not, you were probably too busy thinking about Medusa's naked body.”
Tabitha's eyes narrowed and she lunged at Sammy, but Blake pinned her against the wall with one strong arm.
“I'm going to kill you, Samantha. Your mouth is way too big.”
“She's not worth it, Babes, calm down,” Blake said soothingly. He whispered something in her ear, and her smile returned.
“At least I'm not a coward,” Sammy chirped.
“Sammy,” Becky said through clenched teeth.
Tabitha's jaw muscles tightened viciously as we turned and walked away.
“Oh c'mon, Becky, she deserves that. Isn’t it enough that I have to be nice to her whenever we go home?”
“Tabitha goes with you guys?” It slipped out.
Sammy curled up her lip and rolled her eyes. “He only wants her for one thing.”
“They're an item now.” Becky's eyebrow arched.
“Who cares?” Sammy said.
“You didn't have to do that, Sammy.”I felt terrible at the way he’d looked at me, and for his father finding out what he had done.
“No, I had to,” she said. “The day my brother forgets what consequences mean, is the day it's too late.”
Becky gave her a one-armed hug. “I'll try to claim him too if you want me too?”
“Honey, you're good with a sword and a shield, but your skills are nowhere near good enough to tame my brother.”
“I said try, but by the tone of your voice you can forget about my offer.”
Sammy kicked Becky's butt playfully and bumped her softly. “I love you, thanks for trying to make me feel better.”
The two girls acted as if they already shared a sisterhood.
“Why did you call Tabitha a coward?” I asked, still confused about what I had just encountered.
Well except for the part when Blake got me all hot and bothered.
She sighed. “I'm probably going to hear it from my mom. ‘Metallic dragons are better than back biting, Samantha Leaf’,” she mimicked with a strong British accent.
We laughed.
“Snow dragons are the biggest cowards,” Becky said. “When the going gets tough, well, they usually go poof, but I have to give it to her, she's one smart cookie. She does Blake's homework for him on a daily basis.”
“Urgh! My brother is just lazy.”
“Did Master Longwei really tell you guys about me?” I asked quietly.
“Oh, Elena, your arrival was the biggest excitement this school had in years. Master Longwei had to say something,” Sammy said.
Great, just what I needed. Let's pity the new kid who lost her Dad.
We exited the doors that led to the dome, and I cringed as I caught sight of more steps.
“Hop on my back.” Sammy crouched in front of me.
“Sammy, no, it's fine,” I said, looking at her ridiculous posture.
“C'mon, Elena, I won't let you fall. Promise.”
“Fine.” I gave in and climbed onto her back.
Maybe it was a good thing Sammy carried me down the stairs, otherwise, I would have probably ended up breaking a leg or something.
When she reached the bottom, she released me.
“So, Elena, what's happening on the other side?” Sammy asked quizzically.
I figured after they had told me so much, it was only fair to tell them everything. I told them about Dad, even though the tears still lurked in the corner of my eyes and my heart still felt raw every time I thought of him. They gasped when I mentioned how many times I had to move because of Dad's paranoia. They didn't understand why, and I didn't have the answers to make them.