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Sam isn’t sure how Chloe talked her into coming over. It’s been another long and stressful week getting acclimated to working at the AM, adjusting to Mark being gone on his tour around the country. And now it’s finally Friday and Sam cannot wait to go home and curl up in bed with Darwin and a cup of tea.
But Chloe had called during Sam’s lunch break. “It’ll just be me and Caleb,” Chloe implores, “Nothing too fancy, I promise. You can’t spend a Friday night in your apartment alone pining after Mark. Trust me, hanging out with me and Caleb will be way more fun!”
And before Sam knows it she’s agreed to come by “Just for an hour or so” and now, instead of cozying up under her covers, Sam finds herself walking up to the Turner residence. Thank goodness The AM has “Casual Fridays,” so Sam is already wearing comfortable clothes and her favorite pair of well-worn-in shoes. Shyly, she pulls her hands into the sleeves of her oversized knit sweater, and tentatively knocks on the door.
“Sam!” Chloe opens the door with an excited squeal. She is wearing black overalls and a long sleeve shirt that has been tie-dyed yellow and pink. Chloe pulls Sam into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you came! Come on in! Caleb’s already inside, he brought pizza!”
Sam lets Chloe lead her into the kitchen where Caleb is grabbing plates and utensils to set the table, wearing a green hoodie, jeans, and a pair of bright yellow high tops. Catching sight of Sam, he puts down the plate he’s been holding and bounds forward, scooping her up into a powerful hug as only a varsity football player can. And even though Caleb is the empath, somehow his joy at seeing Sam reaches her as well. She exhales the nerves and exhaustion of the week and feels more relaxed.
They sit down at the table for pizza and drinks (wine for Chloe and Sam, tea for Caleb) as Caleb recounts a ridiculous encounter Adam had at the library that week. Their easy laughter and good company quickly takes Sam’s mind off her sorrows.
As they finish their food the conversation lulls to a pause, and Chloe suddenly gets a look in her eye. Caleb notices it, too.
“Chloe…” Caleb says, “uh…your excitement just shot, like, way up all of a sudden. What are you thinking?”
“Well…” Chloe announces, “So, I had this idea. When I was staying with Mr. Sandoval, I visited my ex, Alex, and we played this game and I liked it so much she said I could keep it! So, I have it now and I’ve been wanting to play it again, but you need other people to play it with, so... what do you say, shall we give it a try?”
“What even is this game?” Sam asks, ever-hesitant to commit to the unknown.
“It’s called, We’re Not Really Strangers,” Chloe says.
“‘We’re Not Really Strangers?’ Well, obviously we’re not strangers, we’re friends!” Caleb says.
“I know, I know,” Chloe says. “But, you can play it with friends, too! The point is to get to know each other better, be even less of strangers to each other. I mean, Alex and I weren’t strangers, either. We dated and we still got a lot out of playing with each other. It’s hard to explain, but I think you’ll really like it. It’s really fun, I promise!”
Caleb and Sam look at each other for a moment, gauging each other’s interest. After a moment, Caleb shrugs, “Sure, I’m in. That is, if you are, Sam?”
Sam takes a deep breath, “Why not?” she says. “If nothing else, it will be a good distraction.”
“Great!” Chloe yells excitedly. “I mean, cool, glad you guys are down for it,” she says, unsuccessfully trying to salvage a chill demeanor. She quickly abandons the effort, jumping up and shouting, “I’ll be right back!” and runs to get the game box from the other room.
Sam and Caleb exchange a look with each other as if to say “what have we gotten ourselves into?” and the moment of synchronicity makes them both grin.
“Okay!” Chloe says, bounding back into the room carrying a red box, paper and pencils. “The first part of the game is that we each have to write down our first impressions of the other people playing.” She passes out two pieces of paper and a pencil to each of them. “After you finish, give them to the other player, but fold them up and don’t look at them until the end of the game.”
“My first impression of you?” Sam asks, “That was so long ago! I don’t know if I even remember.”
“That’s okay!” Chloe says, “Just write whatever comes to mind now – it doesn’t matter if that was the exact first impression that you had.”
The room dissolves into silence as they each write their responses.
“Alright!” Chloe says after they have all finished. “Now, we move on to round one!” She holds up a red card that says Perception on the front. “Each of us reads a question aloud and the rest of us try to answer it about that player. Who wants to go first?” she asks.
Sam and Caleb stare at her.
“Alright, fine, I know you both want me to go first,” she says as she pulls out a card. “Normally you’re supposed to make the person who wants to play the least go first, but, I’m gonna ignore that rule. Okay, my card says, What fast food restaurant do you think I’m most likely to drive through? What’s my order?”
Sam and Caleb stare back, confused.
“Sorry, Chloe, I don’t know what your order is,” Caleb says.
“I know, that’s the point!” Chloe said, “The idea is to make a guess based on what you perceive about me. That’s why this round is called Perception!”
“I feel like you would go to Starbucks,” Sam says, “and get a Mocha Frap?”
“No way,” Caleb says, “Chloe loves our local cafes way too much to go to Starbucks. I think it’s Taco Bell, and I think you like the crunchy tacos.”
“Oooh, interesting.” Chloe responds, smiling. “I like both of your answers! I would probably say Wendy’s is my favorite, actually. I like the Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich.”
“Really?!” Sam and Caleb say simultaneously.
“Yep!” Chloe smiles back. “Okay, Caleb, you’re up!” She hands him the deck of cards.
Caleb carefully pulls out a card. “Do I seem like a cat or a dog person?” He asks.
“Oh, definitely a dog person,” Chloe says immediately. “You’ve got that ‘run and play fetch with a dog at the beach all day’ kind of energy. Plus, you are basically a giant puppy dog yourself.”
“Hey!” Caleb responds in joking defensiveness.
“I don’t know, Chloe,” Sam replies. “Caleb’s really good with Darwin. I think he’s probably Darwin’s third favorite person at this point.”
“Aw, thanks, Sam, I like Darwin, too. He’s good at calming me down.” Caleb says. “But, I think Chloe is right. If I had to choose, I’d say I’m more of a dog person.”
“Fair enough,” Sam says. “Just don’t tell Darwin that.”
“Okay, Sam it’s your turn!” Chloe says.
Sam very nervously picks up a card, “If Myspace was still a thing, what would my profile song be?” she reads.
“Oooh I love this question!” Chloe exclaims. “Oh, but I’m not sure! Hmmm, let me think.”
“Maybe something from Once?” Caleb guesses. “I remember you told me that you really like that movie.”
“Or what about something by Gabrielle Aplin?” Chloe asks. “I feel like her music is your kind of energy.”
“Those are both good answers,” Sam says. “I never had a Myspace, so I don’t actually know, but, if I had to get one now… I think I’d probably go with To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra.”
“Oooh, yes, that’s such a great song!” Chloe says. “Why did you pick it?”
“I don’t know, it just… speaks to me on this deeper level. I feel like, like it hears my longing and sits with it and sings it back to me? I don’t know if that makes sense.” Sam says, suddenly getting self-conscious.
“That makes complete sense to me,” Chloe says.
“Yeah, that’s how Adam talks about music sometimes, too.” Caleb says. “I love watching him when he’s listening to a song that’s like that for him. The colors around him change. Like, his blue gets all these yellow sparkles in it? It’s really cool.”
“Wow, that must be a really amazing thing to see, Caleb,” Sam says.
“Yeah, it’s pretty neat,” Caleb smiles. “These are fun questions, Chloe!”
“I know, right?!” Chloe smiles wide. “Now it’s time to move onto round two!” Chloe holds out a new deck of cards labeled Connection.
“This time, you answer the question for yourself,” she says. “Caleb, you go first this round.”
“Okay,” Caleb says, reaching for a card. “What’s been your happiest memory this past year?” He reads. “Well, I can certainly think of some not happy memories from this year. But the happiest…” he thinks for a moment and then his eyes suddenly light up with a smile, “Going to prom with Adam. Definitely.”
“Awwww” Chloe cooes, “You two are so cute! What was your favorite part? Was it seeing Adam all dressed up? Slow dancing together?”
“Nah,” Caleb says. “It was just being with him. He was so happy and I was so happy. It was special, it was… Green. It was just one of those nights, you know?”
“Yeah,” Sam smiles in understanding.
“Okay, Sam, it’s your turn again.” Chloe says.
Sam reaches for her card. “Have you changed your mind about anything recently?” She reads, and laughs. “Yeah, I could name a few things, actually. I don’t know if we have the time to sit here and listen to me list them all, though.”
“That’s okay, Sam,” Chloe says, reassuringly. “You don’t have to list them all. Maybe just pick one that you feel comfortable sharing?”
“Okay,” Sam says. “Well, then, I guess I’d say… I’ve changed my mind about thinking I need to do things alone. I know I don’t need to do that anymore. In fact, I know it’s better when I don’t. Better for me and better for the people that I care about.”
Chloe gives Sam a quick hug around the shoulders before pulling a card for herself, “Describe your perfect day,” she reads, “Oh, what a fun question! Well, it would definitely be lots of time in the art studio, and also a big dinner party with all of my friends in the evening. And a rainbow!” she adds, “There would definitely be a rainbow sometime that day.”
“But if there’s a rainbow that means that it’s going to be raining on your perfect day,” Sam points out.
“True,” Chloe says. “But it also means the sun will come out! I like the idea of my perfect day reminding me that there’s always light to be found amidst the gray.”
Sam smiles at her fondly. “Yes, that would be very fitting for you,” she says.
Chloe smiles back. “Oh!” she suddenly adds, “Also! There would be fireworks in the evening!”
“That sounds like a perfect Chloe Day,” Caleb laughs.
“Yeah,” she beams back. “Okay, we made it to the final round of cards!” She grabs a third deck labeled Reflection. “This round is like the first round; when it’s your turn you draw the question and the rest of us answer. Sam, it’s your turn to go first!”
Sam reaches for a card and reads aloud, “What do you think my superpower is?” She chuckles. “We all know it’s Time Travel. Maybe I should draw a different card, this one is too easy to answer.”
“Hold up!” Chloe says. “Actually, I don’t think that’s what I’d say if someone asked me this question about you. And not just because of the whole ‘keep-Atypicals-a-secret-thing’.”
“Really?” Sam asks, eyebrows raised.
“No, Chloe’s right.” Caleb says, “I think your real superpower is your integrity. You always try to do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.”
“I agree,” Chloe says, “And even if you don’t always get it right, you keep trying. You keep going, no matter what. And you keep getting better. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a superpower to me.”
“Wow, I don’t know what to say,” Sam responds, both emotional and embarrassed at the same time. “Thanks, you guys. That… that means a lot.” Chloe loops one arm around Sam pulling her in and resting her head for a minute on Sam’s shoulder. Sam feels her eyes prickle with the start of tears. “Quick, Chloe pick a card, I don’t know what to do with all your niceness!” Sam teases as she wipes the water off her face.
Chloe gives her a quick hug before she quickly straightens, and reaches to pull a new card. “If we were in a band, what would our name be?” she reads.
“A band?!” Sam asks. “What a strange question.”
“But I like it!” Caleb says excitedly. “Let me think… What if it had something to do with our abilities? Empathy, Telepathy, Time Travel… how about ‘The Head, and the Heart and the Ticking Clock?’”
“That is very close to a real-life band name, Caleb,” Sam laughs.
“Well, that just goes to show that it’s a good name!” Caleb argues.
“I think we can do better than that,” Sam says.
“Okay,” Caleb agrees. “What about… Emotional Time Turner? Get it? Emotion for me, Time for you, and Turner because that’s Chloe’s last name!”
“That’s pretty good!” Chloe laughs.
“How about Atypical Artists?” Sam suggests. “We’re all Atypical, Chloe is actually an artist, and if we were in a band then we would all be artists, technically.”
“Oh, I really like that!” Chloe says. “That’s such a good band name, I feel like now we should actually do it! Sam you could be our lead vocals, you have such a beautiful singing voice. I know how to play the guitar, and Caleb, didn’t you play percussion in school?”
“For like, a year, and that was ages ago,” Caleb says.
“We’ll have practices! We can get you up to speed in no time!” Chloe says, “Oooh, now I want to start designing a logo…”
“Hold up, hold up,” Sam says. “I thought we were just playing a game, now we’re forming a band?!”
“I mean, why not?” Chloe says. “It could be fun!”
“I’m about to go off to college!” Caleb says.
“Yeah, but you’ll still be here in Boston, we could totally work around your schedule,” Chloe points out. “Okay, I’m mostly joking about forming a band, but… what do you think about putting a jam session on the calendar for sometime this month? Then after we see how that goes we can talk about if we want to do anything more serious.”
“That actually sounds really nice,” Caleb says. “Do you think Adam could join? There’s no way I would live it down if he found out I was in a band and he wasn’t there to see it.”
“For sure!” Chloe says. “Plus, if he wants to get involved, I bet he would make an excellent music director.”
Caleb and Chloe turn to Sam, “Sam, what do you say?” Caleb asks.
Sam is fully prepared to say no until she looks into Caleb and Chloe’s eager faces.
“Oh, alright, one jam session,” Sam says. She smiles, “It might actually be fun to sing again. You know, I was in a choir when I was younger and I kind of miss it.”
“Oh. My. Gosh. Is this actually happening?!” Chloe is nearly vibrating out of her chair with excitement. “Ahhh it’s going to be amazing! I have so many ideas, I can’t wait!”
“Well, hold your horses,” Caleb says. “I still have to draw my last card, I think.”
“Oh right, the game!” Chloe says, coming back to herself. “Yes, Caleb! Pull a card!”
Caleb reaches for one. “In one word, describe how you feel right now,” he reads while laughing.
“We don’t really have to tell you how we feel for you to know,” Sam says, smiling. “I’m guessing you can read us pretty well at the moment.”
“Well, yeah,” Caleb says sheepishly. “But I still want to hear it from you.”
Chloe speaks first. “I’m feeling happy,” she says. “I think we can all agree that this has been a bit of a roller coaster of a year. And you all know I’m an optimist, but, I was pretty low for a bunch of this year, and there was a stretch there where I wasn’t sure if I would ever feel better again. But I did. I got help and I healed. And it’s not perfect but it’s so so much better. And I’m here with both of you and you both make my life so much better. And I’m just so so happy.” Chloe smiles as her voice chokes up. Sam reaches over and wipes the tears forming in the corner of Chloe’s eyes. Chloe laughs and gives her hand a small squeeze.
“I’m feeling hopeful,” Sam says. “I don’t really know what the next year will bring, and I’m definitely anxious about all of that, about whether I’ll be ready for whatever’s coming. But, I know that I’m not alone, and that whatever happens, I’ll have people to help me get through it. People I want to protect, but people who can also take care of me, too, if I let them. And I’m trying to learn how to let them. And, yeah, that makes me hopeful.”
The three of them take in each other’s faces in silence. For a moment, it feels like they are all truly on the same wavelength of emotion and thought, their love and admiration for each other emanating throughout the room and reverberating into each of their hearts.
“That was great,” Caleb breaks the silence, “But, technically, you were both only supposed to answer with one word, so…” he teases.
Chloe playfully scrunches up a napkin and throws it at him, which Caleb catches with ease and a raised eyebrow. That makes them all burst into laughter and they dissolve into a fit of giggles, Sam and Chloe collapsing onto each other and Caleb descending into tears. It takes them five minutes to calm down enough to speak again.
“So,” Chloe says, wiping away tears of laughter from her eyes. “That’s the end of the game. What did we all think?”
“That was awesome,” Caleb says.
“Agreed, Chloe, that was a great game,” Sam says. “Thanks for introducing it to us.”
“Do you think we can play again sometime?” Caleb asks. “Maybe the next time we have Adam over, too?”
“Or Rose,” Sam adds, “I bet she’d like it as well.”
“For sure!” Chloe says, “I am always happy to play this game.”
“Oooh, what about Dr. Bright?” Caleb asks, “Do you think we could convince her to play?”
“Hmm, maybe!” Chloe smiles mischievously. “I guess there’s only one way to find out!”
The rest of the evening passes in a blur of joyful giddiness. It is only as Sam and Caleb are packing up to go home that Chloe calls out, “Wait! I almost forgot! Those pieces of paper where we wrote our first impressions, we can read them now!”
Sam picks up the two folded pieces of paper that Caleb and Chloe have put by her place at the table. She holds them tightly in the palm of her hand.
“Is it okay if I wait until I get home to read them?” Sam asks. “That way I get to carry the game with me a little longer.”
“That’s a good idea,” Caleb says. “I think I’ll do the same, if that’s alright.”
“It is totally and completely alright,” Chloe says. “Thank you both, again, for coming over. This was so fun.”
“Thanks for having us,” Caleb says.
“Yeah, thanks for encouraging me to come by, this was really special.” Sam says, and takes a deep breath. “I’m so glad that we’re all friends.”
“I feel the same,” Chloe beams.
“I can confirm that,” Caleb says, and the three of them descend into laughter once again.
Sam says her goodbyes amidst warm hugs and bubbling chatter. And when Sam finally makes it home that evening her mind is buzzing from the high of laughing and connecting with her friends. She finds Darwin waiting for her on her bed and she scoops him up into a cuddle as she opens up the paper notes from Caleb and Chloe, smiling as she reads.
Sam might not know what the future will bring, but as long as there are nights like tonight to look forward to, she has the feeling that she will be okay.
--
The Notes That Sam Wrote
Chloe
• I remember thinking that you talked a lot… but also that you were so easy to talk to!
• I don’t know what it was but I just remember immediately feeling at ease around you
• I could tell right from the beginning that you had a big heart and that you would help everyone in the whole world if you could <3
Caleb
• Athletic? (Not sure why I thought that except I know you were wearing your football jersey)
• In love (you had just gotten back together with Adam and you were both pretty moony)
• Sensitive (I don’t mean this in a bad way! But right from the beginning you were aware of my ability, I remember it took a bit for us both to get used to that. I knew right away that you were someone who took in the energy around them)
The Notes That Caleb Wrote
Chloe
• Small- you were so short compared to me!
• Tough- The way you stood up to damien… that was awesome. I remember the feeling I sensed from you was this intense determination, it felt like a red hot fire.
• Like me- You were the first other Atypical I ever met!
Sam
• Short- but not as short as Chloe (pretty much everyone is short compared to me)
• Confusing- I didn’t understand at first why I felt so strange around you, at first it sort of felt like the way you feel after trying to read a book on a bus… your ability took some getting used to!
• Impressed- The way you just disappeared in front of us, that was pretty cool
The Notes That Chloe Wrote
Caleb
• Young- Sorry, I’m sure this is the last thing you want to hear, but when I first saw you and Adam sitting on that bench my first thought was that you looked so little and cute <3
• Concerned- I met you right after Damien did, and I remember you weren’t feeling so good, and I wanted to make sure you were okay!
• Caring- I could see right away that you were a kind and considerate person, that’s still one of my favorite things about you!
Sam
• Nervous- I could tell that our meeting up was a big deal and that you hoped it would go well (I was hoping the same!)
• Strong- I could tell that you had already been through so much, I was really in awe of all that you’d overcome
• Exciting- It meant more than I can say to meet someone else who I could talk to about all the things that make being Atypical so complicated and challenging and wonderful! I’m so glad that we became friends <3