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[b]	Being alone never really bothered Sam. He appreciated the feeling of freedom he gained in these moments, the treat to be himself without watchful eyes prying into his back and business. He loved his mom, dearly, but her overbearing anxiety choked the life out of everything he did. He was glad she’d left without too much struggle and appreciated her all the more for it. Gazing out over the still waters of Lake Superior he let out a content sigh, a cheerful smile playing at the corners of his lips. Today would be a good day, and the start of a greater week; he just knew it.

	For a long while Sam relaxed, enjoying the view and his surroundings for their simplicity, allowing time and worries to fade away like the water washing away the sand. Still, he was always the industrious one, and despite the enjoyment he garnered from doing nothing he turned his mind towards accomplishing a goal. Namely, setting up camp. Wandering about the immediate area Sam found a number of large stones which he carried to the center of a flat shady spot, overlooking the water. Haphazardly tossing them to the grass he left them to rest, knowing they could be easily rearranged into a proper fire pit later. He was half way through collecting enough rocks when Jake’s eager bark alerted him to the car trundling down the dirt path. Recognizing the car Sam dropped the stone he was carrying, his eyes lighting up happily. He waved, jogging the short distance over to where his best friend and his brother, and younger sister were stepping from the car. Sam really liked Atlas and was thrilled he’d been allowed to come. They’d been friends for a lot longer than the rest of their little posse, being of a closer age and personality than the others. The younger teen occasionally weirded Sam out, however his sarcastic wit and musical talent made up for the bouts of sporadic turbulence that rocked their friendship. Sam’s own knack for homework and testing was probably what kept Atlas afloat in academic pursuits over the six years they’d known each other.

	“Nah, not too long At. You probably saw my mom leaving when you drove up.” Sam reassured Atlas, giving him a fist bump in greeting, and waving to the excitable Hailey. “I’m just glad you made - that I made it too.” He leaned in close, lowering his voice ever so slightly. “I was worried my mom wouldn’t leave at all there for a minute.”

	Seeing Cameron and Hailey off Sam was about to explain his plans for setting up the campsite when a fancy car pulled up, its wide tires crunching the gravel underneath with its graceful display of engineering. “Vera’s here.” He laughed, giving yet another wave. “I’m kinda surprised she came at all y’know. She didn’t exactly sound thrilled at first, but she came around. Oh, and she brought Gia. Hey Gia, hey Vera!”

	His cheerful voice was soon drowned out by the roar of another car engine as his fourth friend rolled in, pulling a maneuver with his vehicle that Sam was pretty sure would’ve gotten him grounded for life. Especially considering he only had a learners permit and if he drove, it was with his parents, in their car. Sam supposed that was just the kind of guy Duncan was. The tall, energetic teen seemed a born rebel, willing to defy the general rules of higher society that Sam had been so elegantly groomed for. He even smoked; and it was a wonder that Sam was allowed to hang out with him, and even more so that Duncan would be willing to spend time with the likes of him.

	“Hi Dunk,” he chuckled, turning a bit scarlet at his friends comments about his mother. Sam couldn’t help it, he’d been horribly embarrassed by his overprotective mother so many times he wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t some truth to The Dunk’s conspiracies. He was glad they were just harmless quips and not actual teasing. He endured enough of that at school. Jake the chocolate lab ran up at this point, making sure to sniff everyone’s shoes as the final member to their group finally arrived, astride his motorcycle. The steel horse rumbled like a feral beast being unleashed as it glided to a stop beside Duncan’s ride.

	Sam thought he might turn green with envy. He never failed to get that green-eyed sense of [i]I gotta have it[/i] every time he watched Robert riding his motorcycle, as any young adventurous boy would feel. Of all the things his mom would never let him even touch, a motorcycle was right at the top of that list right behind drugs and [i]her[/i] morning coffee. Feeling a little rebellious suddenly Sam made a mental note to see if Robert would let him take it for a quick spin later, just around the campsite.

	“How’s it going Rob.” He said greeting his final friend. 

“Looks like everyone made it alive.” He joked once Vincent and the luxury car vanished into the forest leaving them perfectly alone. “I was just telling Atlas, I started collecting stone for a fire pit. If you guys help out we can get the two tents up, and finish the pit and we can go-“ He was cut off by the sound of two gunshots being fired in quick succession. The concussive blasts were a good distance away, to the trained ear they sounded at least three or even four miles off. But the forests were strange, and sound could be carried far and wide even through the thickest patches of trees. The strangest part was how fast they’d been set off, one after the other almost so it sounded like one, but was distinctly two. Not like a hunter’s careful trigger pulls at all. “Uh, anyway.” Sammy continued shaking off the strange feeling in his heart, as if his blood had suddenly frozen and became sluggish. He didn’t understand it, he heard bullets and gun shots quite often, so why would his body react in such a way? Deciding he was being silly Samuel refrained from mentioning his feelings to his friends, instead regaining his train of thought. “Once we- Um – Once we set up both tents and build the fire pit we can go down to the docks and start fishing, just as the trout start jumping for their evening meal, if um, if you guys want to?”[/b]
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