19 Sam The Cheer Up Guru

Justin thought he was okay but spiraled once he saw that Emily had announced her relationship on Friendbook. He couldn't bring himself to 'like' the post. It's not like she would know he saw it anyway.

Since finals were over and they were both out of school for the summer he hadn't talked to her in weeks. She didn't even message him on Blogr. If he had to guess he would say her time was split between working and her boyfriend.

To keep himself from thinking too much he drowned himself in work, taking on more projects than the rest of his employees combined.

A small voice called his name several times, getting progressively more annoyed. Justin realized that he was sitting on his phone and had picked up a call by accident.

"Hello?"

"Guess what!" a happy voice trilled.

"What is it, Sam? I'm busy."

He could practically hear her pouting. "Not too busy for your favorite cousin, I hope."

A small smile crossed his face. "Nah, not too busy for that. What's up?"

"I'm going to be in LA for two weeks! UCLA has a drama camp for high school students and I'll be staying in the dorms but I fully expect to see you every day, mister. I know you're not doing anything but mess around on your computer so you're not allowed to say no!"

He wouldn't qualify what he was doing as messing around but he couldn't deny that she had a point.

"Sure, I can show you a few good restaurants around here. And where I spend all my time on campus if you want a tour."

"Excellent. By the way, I'll be there tomorrow so clear your schedule."

Justin groaned. "Sam, you couldn't have given me a little more warning?"

"I could have but I didn't," she replied cheerfully. "I'll text you to meet me when I'm done for the day. Love you!"

"Love you too," he grumbled but was secretly glad to have something break up the monotony.

He could still work during the day while Sam was busy. Win-win.

The next day he found himself standing in front of the performing arts building and felt a pang of sadness. If it wasn't summer Emily would probably be there.

He tried to shake his head free of thoughts like that when someone attacked him from behind.

"Justiiiiiiiin!" Sam clung to him like an octopus.

"Hi to you too. How was the first day of camp?" he asked as he struggled to free himself.

Sam's eyes lit up. "It was awesome! We started out with improv games and then we got to see costumes from a real Shakespeare production some seniors did at a real theater! They seemed super heavy and difficult to move in but I'm sure I could do it with practice…"

As his cousin rambled on about the merits of Shakespeare costumes, Justin's heart felt lighter than it had in weeks. He needed this kind of silly distraction. Overwhelmed with feelings of fondness, he reached out to tousle her hair.

"Hey, watch it! Do you know how long it takes to do my hair?" Sam complained.

"Sorry. I'm just glad to see you."

She eyed him shrewdly. "You're…not happy, are you? You're never exactly a barrel of laughs but it's like the spark in your eyes has died. What's going on?"

He laughed in self-deprecation. "That obvious, huh?"

"As possibly your only friend I know you pretty well, cuz. Spill it."

Justin decided to state it as simply as possible despite knowing she would end up pressing him for details. "Emily got a boyfriend."

"Aw, seriously?! And I was totally rooting for you guys. How lame. Does he at least seem nice?" Sam asked hesitantly.

He shrugged. "She seems happy. Probably wouldn't be happy if he wasn't nice to her."

"You're nice to her," she argued. "So why'd she pick someone else?"

He had wondered the same thing before but it was a moot point now. "She doesn't really know me that well."

"She does online," Sam reminded him. "From what you've said, she likes Online Justin. What's the difference?"

"A whole lot of charisma."

It was so much easier to formulate responses behind a screen. Plus he couldn't embarrass himself.

He found himself turning into a tomato in front of Emily on a regular basis. Who would like a spineless guy like that?

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help."

"Don't worry about it. You're already helping by being here."

Sam rolled her eyes. "You've been drowning your sorrows in code, haven't you?"

He didn't answer but that told her what she needed to know. Perking up, she linked arms with her pitiful older cousin and dragged him off.

"Come on! I want that tour you promised me."

Justin showed her the engineering building (including the bench where he became a department legend for napping every morning), his favorite spot in the library, the best vending machine on campus, and a few other places he had found that were usually deserted so he could study in peace.

"I can't believe they thought you were homeless," she laughed, shaking her head. "Only you."

"Technically, I could buy a small house if I wanted. That makes me less homeless than them, right?" he teased.

Sam was the only one in his family who knew about his entrepreneurial success. He bought her a bracelet for her birthday last year and she recognized the brand because some celebrity she liked had one just like it.

She confronted him, asking if it was stolen or bought using drug money. Not wanting her to think he was a criminal, he confessed.

"I can't believe you," she said with exasperation. "All that money and you don't even do anything with it. Honestly, isn't that shirt from the ten dollar rack?"

He shrugged. It was comfortable. He went out to eat far more often than the average college student but even then it was still the type of restaurant that students went to.

He didn't see the point in trying to be fancy. The only thing he really splurged on was his computer and he mostly used it for work and school.

"Well, you're going to take me to do something fun on my day off," she said stubbornly. "I haven't thought of what yet but just you wait."

"Sure, Sam."

Justin's idea of fun didn't really line up with hers but she couldn't come up with something too terrible, right?