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people she doesn’t know, that’s all, no big deal.”
    â€œBut she knows me,” I pointed out.
    â€œReally, like I said, she’s just not a people person.” Megan was beginning to look uncomfortable.
    There was an awkward pause. I cleared my throat. “Okay, then. I should probably…”
    â€œYeah, I gotta get back inside.” She pulled the van door closed, and hurried up the driveway.
    I stood and watched her. There was something weird about the whole thing. Not a people person, that’s the understatement of the year. I think she’s just a big control freak with a little bit of crazy thrown in.
    I stuck out my bottom lip. Megan didn’t seem a bit excited over my great idea. If it were me, I’d be jumping at the chance to get away from Mrs. Swicker, even for a day.
    Maybe Sam would be a little more receptive to my great idea. As soon as I saw him, I’d corner him and ask. It’d never actually been just him and me. I couldn’t wait to wow him with my witty repartee.
    The rest of the morning I spent basically staking out their house. Now who’s crazy? So Mom wouldn’t get suspicious as to why I was lurking around the kitchen, I mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I could see the Swickers’ front and garage doors perfectly out our kitchen window. Pulling the last tray of cookies out of the oven, I finally detected movement. It was as I’d hoped—Sam. He was crushing up a pile of cardboard boxes in the driveway. I grabbed two cookies off the cooling rack, wrapped them in paper towel, and rushed out to the street.
    â€œSam! Hey!”
    â€œHey, what’s up?” he asked, dumping the cardboard on the grass.
    He had on a baby blue golf shirt. It was the exact colour of his eyes. He stood there waiting for me to speak. There was a fluttery feeling in my chest. I realized I’d forgotten what I wanted to ask him.
    â€œRight, right,” I mumbled under my breath. “So…I was talking to Megan a while ago.” I tried to sound casual.
    â€œYeah, she told me.”
    â€œShe did? Did she tell you what we talked about?”
    â€œUh huh.”
    â€œDid she tell you what your mom did? About me coming to the door?”
    â€œYeah.”
    I found it odd he had no further comment. “Oh.” So much for my witty repartee. “She told you about my great idea? About going downtown and spending the day on the waterfront? There’s loads of stuff to do and see. The museum, the Bluenose , great shops, places to eat.” I realized I was gushing, that I was trying too hard to sell it. “You could help me plan the itinerary, over cookies,” I added, holding out the paper towel. I took a step forward, more of a mis -step really, forgetting I was standing on the curb. I lost my balance, my dignity, and my chocolate chip cookies.
    I jumped up quickly. Maybe by some miracle he hadn’t noticed. There was always the hope he suffered from temporary blindness. “I’m okay!” I announced loudly, then winced in pain.
    Sam rushed to my side. “Here, just sit down for a second.” Holding my elbow, he guided me down onto the grass.
    Even though this wasn’t quite how I’d pictured it playing out, it wasn’t so bad. There was that fluttery feeling again and I leaned on him a little extra. “I’m fine, really, it’s nothing.” I still felt like a total loser. Like how much of a spaz must I be to fall off the curb? Off the curb! The fact that he smelled really good somehow made the whole thing a bit more bearable.
    He sat down beside me on the grass while I rubbed and rotated my ankle.
    â€œSo you want us to go on some massive adventure, huh?”
    I nodded. “Yeah, it would be totally awesome, I know you’d love it.”
    â€œWell…I’m not sure if Mom…”
    â€œArgh! That’s what Megan said. Does your mother really hate me that