The Samantha Project Read Free Page B

applied, I wasn’t sure if you even wanted to go there.”
    “I just didn’t want to get my hopes up. But I knew I wanted to go there. It’s a great campus. When I went on the tour, I felt like I just fit there.”
    “Hey, now that you’re accepted, you’re not gonna start in January, are you?”
    “What? No. I hadn’t even thought about doing that. I mean, I didn’t think I’d get the letter this early. I’ll start in the fall, just like everyone else.”
    “Good. ’Cause I’m not ready for you to leave yet. Stanford’s a long way from Minnesota.”
    “I know. But let’s not think about that now.” I grabbed him and gave him a long kiss.  
    Colin looked surprised. “That’s a first. You never do that with your parents in the next room.”
    I sighed. “Well, I’m a college girl now. I’m maturing.”
    “You still got a few weeks of high school left,” Colin reminded me.  
    I kissed him again.  
    “But I do like this college girl thing,” he said.
    “You should probably get going,” I said. “Your friends are waiting.”
    “They’re your friends, too. You should come.”
    “They’re not my friends. They don’t even like me. They just put up with me because I’m your girlfriend.”
    “That’s not true. They always ask why you don’t come over with me.”
    “They do not. And I’ve gone with you before. The guys sit around talking sports, and their cheerleader girlfriends sit there talking about, I don’t even know what. Nothing I’m interested in. And they ignore me.”
    Colin shook his head. “They don’t ignore you. They just don’t know what to say to you. If you just took time to get to know—”
    “Hey, I don’t want to talk about it. Just go and have a good time. I’ve got pies to make.”
    He smiled. “Okay. But you’re going out with me Friday night, whether you want to or not. Darin’s having a party, or if you don’t want to do the party thing, we can go to a movie.”
    “If I must,” I kidded, smiling back.
    He gave me a kiss goodbye and left. I tied the silly balloon to the dining room chair.  
    Mom walked in and noticed the balloon. “Hmmm. Isn’t that meant for a . . .”
    I laughed. “Lady who just had a baby? Yeah. It’s all he could find.”
    “Well, that was very sweet of him. Okay, everything’s ready for the pies. You want to make the pumpkin, the apple, the raspberry, or the chocolate cream?”
    “I’ll do the pumpkin and the apple. And I get to cut the dough scraps.”
    “Of course,” she said.
    Dad turned up the music and we got to work. Mom always made the pie crusts and fit them in the pan, giving me the scraps to roll and cut with cookie cutters. Then I’d sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar.  
    As we worked on the pies, Dad prepped the turkey and mixed up his secret stuffing recipe. Then he made his famous deviled eggs and a gelatin salad.
    “Dad, I hate to tell you this, but nobody likes that pink gelatin fluff or whatever that is,” I said, watching him mix it up.
    “It’s a classic. You gotta have this. My mom always made this for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. You like it, don’t you El?”
    Mom paused before answering. “Well, it’s not my favorite dish that you make.”
    I laughed. “She doesn’t like it either.”
    Dad ignored us both. “Well, fine. More for me then.”
    Mom put the pies in the oven and we sat down to watch Dad finish up. I was glad I’d stayed home with them instead of going out. I know it’s not cool to hang out with your parents, but I really did like doing stuff with them. And I loved our traditions.  
    “I’m really gonna miss you guys next year.” The words just came out. I don’t know why. I rarely said stuff like that, especially to Mom and Dad. I figured I didn’t need to. They knew how I felt.
    Mom leaned over and gave me a hug. “We’re going to miss you, too, honey. But you’re going to have so much fun in college. You’ll meet new people. Make new friends. You’ll