The Samantha Project Read Free Page A

confused on what day it is.”  
    Allie was my closest friend after Colin. She’d spent the semester in Greece on an exchange program for high school students. Her mother did business with some people from Athens that wanted their kids to study in the U.S. and that led to the whole exchange idea.  
    “I should call Uncle Dave,” I said.
    Dave wasn’t my real uncle but had been friends with my parents for years. He assumed the uncle role on the day I was born. My parents had no living relatives, so Dave had always been an adopted member of the family.  
    I went to grab the phone, but Dad stopped me.
    “He’s at work tonight, Sam. He sounded pretty stressed when I talked to him earlier. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow at dinner?”
    “Okay. I just feel like I want to tell everyone.”
    “I know you do.” Dad smiled and gave me a hug. “Your mom and I are so proud of you. You’ve really worked hard for this.”  
    The doorbell rang. “That’s Colin. I’ll get it.”  
    I opened the door, where Colin was waiting with a big helium balloon. He gave me a hug before I could even invite him in.  
    “Congratulations!” Colin went in for a kiss, but then saw my dad standing there and settled for a peck on the cheek. “Hello, Mr. Andrews.”
    “Hello, Colin. Nice balloon you got there.” Dad snickered.
    “Oh, yeah. Here.” Colin gave me the balloon. “I stopped at the grocery store and that’s all they had. I would’ve got you flowers, but they didn’t look very good.”  
    The balloon said “Congratulations” but was all pink with a teddy bear on it and seemed to be meant for a new mom.  
    I smiled at the goofy balloon. “This is great. Thanks!”
    “My mom says congratulations, too. But she knew you’d get in. We all did.”
    “Dad?” I gave him a look to give Colin and me a minute alone.
    “Oh, well I’ve got to get that turkey ready. And Colin, you better be here tomorrow for dessert. Sam and her mom are making a bunch of different pies, and I can’t eat them all.”  
    He laughed. “I can help you out with that. See ya later.”
    Dad went in the kitchen with Mom and turned on some music to give us more privacy.
    As usual, Colin looked perfect. He was one of the hottest guys in school. Just like Prince Charming, my mom always said. And it was true. He was tall and muscular, a natural athlete, and had dark brown hair and deep brown eyes that drew me in with their intenseness.  
    Colin and I had been friends since second grade. As kids, we spent hours doing silly science experiments. We were sure we would cure cancer or save the world. And he loved that my parents were real-life scientists.  
    By middle school, Colin started playing sports, and we spent less and less time together. He ended up being really good at sports, which caught the attention of all the girls. By freshman year he was dating a cheerleader, much to my disappointment. We barely spoke during that year, other than a casual hi in the hallways.  
    Then, in the middle of sophomore year, Colin suddenly turned his attention back to me. One day, he showed up at the coffee shop I hung out at after school. We talked for hours that day, like we had never grown apart. He wanted us to be more than friends, but I wasn’t ready for that. I figured it would ruin our friendship. But last year, I gave in and we started dating.  
    Before that, I’d never had a boyfriend. Sure, I’d been on dates, but they never turned into anything. I’d always told myself that I didn’t want a serious boyfriend in high school. So I avoided getting too serious with Colin.  
    A few months after we started dating, Colin told me he loved me. I responded by saying nothing because I didn’t want to say it back if I didn’t mean it. I knew my silence had hurt him, but he didn’t get angry over it. He just never said those words again.  
    “So Stanford,” Colin said, smiling. “That’s huge. I’m happy you’re so excited about it. When you