Open-Hearted

   Three days earlier, I saved up enough money and materials to afford a chicken coop. I already had a silo, which I purchased the day after Sam suggested it.
   The 7th of Fall, a lightly breezy but beautiful day. Sam and I made our way towards Marnie's barn, which was accessible from the pathway at the bottom of my farm.
"Good morning, you two!" Marnie exclaimed, putting the newspaper she was reading on the counter.
"Morning, Marnie! I'm here to get some chickens." I told her.
"Ah, and you brought a gentleman over to help you? That's quite nice of him." Marnie said, exiting the counter. She motioned for us to follow, so we did.
Marnie took us outside and into the gate where few cows lay to rest. She trudged over to the back, where she turned on a light.
Looking inside a large crate, I noticed a dozen small chicks the size of my hand. The crate was decorated almost like a cozy barn.
"Oh, Shane.. keeping the chicks nice and happy. He loves chickens, if you didn't know." Marnie said, picking up a chick for me to hold.
It's color was a light yellow, and it chirped as I stroked its little feathers. Marnie handed one to Sam, whose feathers were dark brown.
"They're so cute! I exclaimed, giving the chick a light hug.
"So, how many chicks are you hoping for today?" Marnie asked, leaning against the crate.
"I'll take three. I have their coop set up and everything." I replied, taking another chick that Marnie handed to me.
"What will their names be?" Marnie asked as we followed her inside.
"Um... I never really thought about that.." I responded, handing her the payment.
"Can we name this one Erin?" Sam asked, holding up the chick he held.
"Why not? I like that name." I replied. "I'll name the yellow one Emmi and the dark brown Eli." The chicks reminded me of my four childhood friends that stuck with me through everything. Once I get a fourth chick, I'd name it Meg.

Sam and I made our way back to my chicken coop. Emmi tried to escape my hold, nearly making me drop her.
We entered the coop and placed the chickens on the ground. I filled the feeding tray with hay from the silo.
"Look at them waddling around!" Sam exclaimed in awe. He sat down and leaned against the wall. I filled up a water tube using my watering can.
Finished, I sat next to Sam and watched the baby chicks explore their new home.
"You think Shane would approve of this?" I asked, pointing to the chickens.
"You know Shane?" Sam ignored my question.
"Well, I've ran into him once.. he was pretty rude.." I explained.
"Once you get to know him, he's a sweet guy. He just needs to warm up to you, like Sebby." Sam told me.
"Hey.. why didn't you give Shane a nickname?" I teased. He never really called anyone by their real name.
"You wouldn't understand his nickname. Plus, I rarely see him as he's always working or staring at a microwave.." Sam said.
"Tell me!" I begged.
"Jeez, okay Abby.." he teased. "I call him Drunkie. He's always drinking, killing his livers."
I nodded my head to show I understood. No wonder Shane smelled like alcohol when I first met him.

With still half of the day left, Sam and I went to his house. We didn't want to hang out with Sebastian or Abigail that day as we knew they would just bother us about the event.
"Odd seeing you back early, Sam.. is something wrong with your friends?" Jodi asked as we walked in.
"No, Liv and I just ran out of things to do." Sam replied, bringing me into view. Jodi was on the couch reading a magazine while she waited for the dishwasher to stop.
"Oh, make yourself at home Olivia." Jodi smiled at me. I smiled back.
"Alright.. we'll be in my room then.." Sam said, leading me into his bedroom. Jodi tried to start another conversation as Sam closed the door.
Sam groaned. "It gets annoying whenever guests are over and she's talkative."
I looked around Sam's room. It was fairly large, something I wasn't used to. There was a rug in the middle of the room, a dresser, bed, basic bedroom stuff. He also had his guitar and an electric piano on a stand in the corner.
"You play piano too?" I asked, pointing to his instruments.
"Huh? Oh, Seb plays that. We're trying to start a band, but Abby refuses to be lead singer." He replied. Sam was putting away the stuff he brought with him, such as his phone.
Speaking of his phone, it started buzzing. Sam, startled, looked at the caller ID.
"Ugh, just Seb.. should I pick up?" Sam asked, facing me.
I shrugged. "Go ahead, just don't tell him we're here."
Sam answered. "Hey. What's up? No.. no. Why are you asking?" I fiddled with my fingers.
"No, we're not- Sebby, why are you calling?" Sam asked, flustered. "We're not in the mood to hang today. Why? Ugh, not now, Seb.. Talk later." Sam hung up the phone, shoving it in his nightstand drawer.
"They're looking for us.. they think we're planning something or whatever." Sam said, his hands over his face in annoyance. He walked towards the door, opening it to speak with Jodi.
"Mom?"
"Yes, hun?"
"If Seb or Abby asks where we are, don't tell them. They're bothering us."
"Are you guys fighting? Want me to step in and resolve it?"
"No, mom, they're just accusing us of doing.. things behind their back. We just want a day's break from them." Sam shut the door, ending the conversation with Jodi. He clearly didn't like going into depth conversations with her as they would always lead to him being embarrassed somehow.

Sam played me a few songs on his guitar to pass time. He was really good at playing, not messing up a single chord. He had the speaker volume pretty low to keep us hidden.
Ending a tune he played, I clapped and smiled at him. He smiled back.
"I'm not used to having an audience." Sam laughed.
"Well, I'm not used to being the audience." I replied.
"You know, I could teach you to play something." Sam said, putting his guitar down.
"I don't think there's any chance of me producing music." I replied. I tried playing the flute and the violin in fourth and fifth grade. I fell behind the class and got kicked out of the class for missing my solo at one of our performances.
"Come on, give this a try!" Sam said, holding out his guitar to me.
"I don't want to break it! You know how clumsy I am." I joked, folding my arms.
"I'll give you a KitKat." Sam said.
KitKats were one of my weaknesses. I thought for a moment, then gave in. "Make it two and it's a deal."
"Great!" He exclaimed, pulling his stool up next to me. "So, you hold it like this.." he placed it in my lap and adjusted my grip.
Trying to figure out where my fingers went for the chords, Sam explained how to play 'Jump Up Superstar', the song I hummed when we first met.
"Think you got it?" Sam asked.
"Think so.." I said, playing back the chords in my head.
"Give it a shot." He said, leaning his back against the wall.
I began to play, messing up a few chords. Otherwise, I was on beat. You could easily tell what melody it was.
"Wow.." Sam said when I finished. "That was.. you did amazing for not knowing how to play a guitar!"
I looked over it him, noticing a slight shade of crimson on his cheeks. I smiled.
"Thanks, I think I did okay." I responded, handing him his guitar back. He smiled back at me, getting up to put the guitar away.