"Sam!" Sam turned her head at the sound of the familiar voice. Chris was squealing loud enough for Sam to hear her but low enough not to get unnecessary attention. "Hah, I thought I still wouldn't see you today," Chris continued as she spoke excitedly, unable to keep still.

"I was here yesterday," Sam replied, averting her eyes from Jane, who gave her that knowing look that irked her. Although she was unusually calm about it, she still felt annoyed.

"But you weren't here on Tuesday or Wednesday. I thought you stopped coming because I was a bad host" Chris's face was an exaggerated mess that made her look like a child.

"Why would I just quit my job because of that? If I didn't want to see you again, I'd tell you." Sam continued, glancing around the almost empty cafe. Most people were already at their various places of work.

"Ouch" 

"But I didn't, did I?" Sam added when she saw that Chris's face was getting sad and clouded.

"So I was a good host then," Chris said, smiling again so fast that it reminded Sam of Sky.

"I didn't say that either," Sam turned to keep a cup on the sink behind her averting her gaze from Chris, trying to hide her exhausted smile from the shock that plastered on Chris's face. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you something," Sam continued. She was serious all over again.

"What is it?" Chris's face perked up in a more engaging excitement. It was rare to be in a situation like this with Sam.

"Well, a friend of mine got accepted to this university, and I was thinking of a way to congratulate him." 

Chris's face shone almost brighter than the sun outside, and it almost made Sam squint. "Really?!" She wanted to grab Sam's arm, but she stopped when Sam moved her arm away.

"Uh yeah, so can you help?" Sam replied, embarrassed. She couldn't even get angry at Chris for trying to touch her. "Sort of in a dilemma right now."

"Of course, I'll help" Chris nodded in enthusiasm.

"So, what do you think?" 

Chris looked mortified and blinked repeatedly, but she was in a fit of laughter the next minute. "Omg, Sam. I never thought I'd ever hear something as bad as this." She was still laughing uncontrollably.

Sam's face was unmoving as she stared blankly at Chris. 

"Wait, you're actually serious about that?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Sam was getting annoyed, but she chose to stay calm, as she wouldn't get very far or even get anywhere by herself.

"Ok, first of all, that's the worse form of party planning. It's going to be really boring. Second, Sky sounds like a really fun person, so that kind of surprise won't do."

Sam put her hand to her chin and thought for a while. "Well, I don't know much about parties anyway."

"Oh, I got an idea!" Chris said almost immediately.

"Ok...?"

"Why don't you celebrate it at the bar? Plan with all your coworkers and ask your boss if you can have it closed for the day or even a few hours or don't even close at all." She said happily. "That way, it'll be even more fun." She continued.

"Hmm..." Sam still had a blank look on her face, as she pondered on what Chris had just said. She still didn't get much of it but agreed anyways. "At least it's better than my plan, and I think Sky would like that better."

"See, I told you so." 

"I have to go now," Sam stood up to leave the tea shop that now seemed to be their meet-up place.

Chris followed on queue with her backpack dragging behind her.

"You're taking the bus, right? Can I come with you? It was fun last time..."

Chris was already in chatter mode again, and it made Sam even more cranky. Her stress levels were high, and she didn't know if she could take more of Chris's blabbering. All she just wanted was to go home.

"You act like that was your first time on a bus." Sam sighed and shook her head.

"Huh?" Chris looked at Sam, puzzled for a while. She had spoken so much that she didn't realize she had said a lot. "Haha. Well, it's second actually. My parents didn't let me, and I got used to it. The first time was when I snuck into the school bus, so I don't think that counts." Chris said rather awkwardly.

Sam stared, astonished at Chris. She found it difficult to understand that kind of life. Sam had always seen and heard about people like Chris. She dreamt of living like that when she was little, but it seemed too far away and unreasonable that it became sickening to even envision.

"Hmm." Sam only hummed in response, unable to think of anything else to say. Normally, she would hate a person like Chris but she couldn't see a reason to, so she hated herself instead.

"So what do you...."

Sam could no longer hear the voice talking to her nor the noisy street just across where she stood. 'no... Stop'. She heaved as she struggled to breathe but to no avail. 'Stop!' She reached for her arm grabbing the thick denim sleeve that she scratched nonetheless. She felt disgusting.

"Sam! Sam?" Chris held onto Sam supporting her. "Are you alright?" Chris looked extremely scared and concerned.

Sam blinked, clinging with one hand to her chest and the other digging her arm through the jacket. 'What just happened?'