SAMANTHA LILY ADAMS

'We are life itself and life possesses beauty and peace within the desire of the heart.'

I can't believe two weeks have gone now. I've spent almost two weeks in this country and I haven't cried once since I got here nor had I ever felt lonely and sad as I thought my life would look.

Yes, I told myself to not have fun in this country and I am still keeping it like that. these past two weeks, I could only be found in the embassy and not anywhere else. I've been doing the work well with my Mr Royal and things aren't as tight as they were, when I started somehow I didn't know how I was going to ask him to still allow me to hang out in the embassy now that school is starting.

I don't know where to start from.

asking him about it because even though things got loosened up around him over the past days we've spent together. He has always taken his work seriously and I've had two weeks to see it for myself.

Knock. knock.

"Is that them lily Samantha?" I stand up from the cough am sitting on.

It's Saturday night and we are waiting for Mom, Sav, and Simmons. They have been gone all the time since the other day they dropped off at the embassy and because of school starting on Monday, they had to wrap up their trip from where it was.

I open the door and crash into my brother's arms. I didn't even know I missed him this much or if it's just that I am happy for no reason.

"Ease up there, you don't want to crash me before I get I chance of driving Rwandan girls crazy." He says that and I tighten my arms around his neck too tight than they were but I stop when I hear him choke and release him.

Savannah comes next following him and we made peace the following day they went on, so I get into her arms and hug her tightly too.

"I've missed you so much Sav," she hugs me back and when we pull away she kisses me on the cheek.

"I've missed you too, Samantha." We pull away and she gets in the house too. My mom comes later behind them with a bunch of bags that have different unique designs I haven't seen before.

I run into her arms and hug her too. "You guys, I've missed you all so much. Don't ever leave us alone." She doesn't hug me back because her hands are full of bags she is holding.

"You and your dad are the same. Hard to negotiate with, if you would have come with us in the first place you wouldn't be crying now." We pull away and she wipes away the tears that fell from my eyes, 'why am I this emotional?'

I take some of the bag from her hands and we make our way into the house, dad is still in the kitchen making dinner for us.

We put the bags on the table in the living room while Mom takes off to the kitchen to see my father. On the other side, I start looking in the bags to see what is in there.

Am not satisfied with what I find in the bags but am not also disappointed either because it would have made me happier, if there were snacks and food but it's not and I can't complain either because there is clothes and other designed cute things and I reach for the clothes and start measuring them on me.

My mother walks into the living room again.

"Lily Samantha, those things are not all yours."

I jumped from my seat causing some of the things that were in my hands to fall on the floor because she scared me to death.

When I understand what she said I find myself frowning. "Why aren't they mine, mom?" She gives me a pointed look.

"Because you are not the only person in this world." I roll my eyes because everything for her is an opportunity to lesson me or us about whatever.

"Yes ma'am, now may I see what are mine and what are not?"

"Easier to grant." I chuckle at how ridiculous we sound.

"Sam, I got you something." I excitedly turn to my sister and she sets a weird shopping bag on my lap.

Don't get me wrong, the bag is weird because of what it's made of, it looks like cut trees designed into a bag, it's so confusing.

I ignore the design because they look weird and I just go for what is inside.

"Oh Sav, you seriously bought all of this for me?!" Am surprised because they are beautiful things.

"They are all called 'made in Rwanda' I also got matching things with you." I stand up and hug her. I love how caring she always is.

I look through what she brought me, there are beautiful earrings with matching bracelets, and deep down in the bag, there is a summer dress designed in African clothes as I look at it. I instantly fall in love with it.

I turn to look at my sister. "I love it. Thank you, Sav!" She smiles and I blow her kisses.

I wear the bracelets she brought me and I take a picture of them because I am fascinated by them.

"I also got you something." I turn to my mother and I guess anyone in the building could see how excited I am because am all smiles as a kid who is being given Christmas gifts for the first time.

"What is it?" She passes me a bag, by now am all used to the design so I take no time judging the bag anymore.

I looked through the bag and she brought me beautiful sandals which were designed with African clothes too. "Mom, thank you so much, I love them too." She nods with a smile on her face,

"I knew you would love them," we all chuckle at that. My mother handles other things that she brought for me, later on our father joined us and he received shirts that were 'made in Rwanda' and am not going to sit there and lie about something beautiful like that because they are all beautiful, and am already considering buying some for myself, I could already plan on what I could rock them with.

We spent the night catching up with only the four of us because Simmons got in his room and he didn't come out again until the other day.

Sunday we have breakfast together, and after Dad briefs us on the school he enrolled us in.

It's one of the best international schools in this country and it's not far from our home, he says.

After breakfast, we go to buy school materials and we spend the whole day outside the house window shopping. My father and mother left us and went their way, leaving us alone to have our sibling day.

We got home earlier than our parents and as we ate outside the house in a restaurant, we parted ways to our rooms to get ready for bed.

It's almost eleven o'clock when our parents make it back home and I hear them sneak into the house making a lot of noises but I guess they don't know that they are, I listen as they check into each room before they go to their own.

I lay in my bed and allow sleep to take me to the wonderland not at all wondering about what tomorrow holds because I seriously don't care.

'What's worse than laying and living somewhere you don't feel welcomed.'

SAVANNAH LILAC ADAMS

"What is happening to me?" I pace from left to right not being able to sleep.

I slowly open my room door and get out of it, I walk downstairs to the kitchen. I get in the cabin of drinks and sneak one bottle back to my room.

I try my best to tiptoe to not wake anyone up cause am all stressed, I can't handle putting up a front of pretending to anyone.

I heard my parents got home an hour ago and when they came to check on me, I jumped into my bed and pretended to be sleeping as I didn't want to see any of them now too.

Before they even made it home. I went to see if Sam was awake so we could chill but she seemed to be sleeping like a baby.

To be sincere, she seems to be happy and already adjusting to this new life more than anyone else and she even had the nerve of fighting coming here when seriously she seems to be living the best of her life.

When we were gone on tour, we used to call like every day to catch up on each other's lives and for someone who was left behind here alone with only dad, she sounded chilly and happy for someone who didn't want to come here, she sure is bad at showing off.

The drink burns my throat and I curse. "Shit!"

'How fucked up can things get than they already have.' I feel like throwing the bottle on the wall in front of me but I go against it because it would bring unwanted drama this night.

I sit down beside the bed and cry, the bottle I sneaked in is a bottle of whiskey and I hate it so much because I can't handle it. It's stronger and thicker for my liking.

I sit down there sobbing because I feel shity, I feel lonely, hopeless, and tired.

Everyone seems to be fitting right in here and it's like America never existed at all and we've always belonged here and I don't know why I feel left out.

I cry till I feel my chest tightening and I start having trouble breathing. I pull the whiskey bottle that I pushed aside when I realized it was whiskey and put it to my lips again, I let it burn to my stomach.

Feeling and embracing its soreness on my tongue as tears drop out of my eyes like a river.

I put down the bottle off of my mouth and lay down on the carpet beside my bed.

I sleep down there hugging myself staring at the curtains of my room.

Hating every moment of my existence.

SIMMONS YARROW ADAMS

"Okay, this school looks weird, you sure know that there are pretty girls over here!" I snap out of it when my mother slaps me on my back hard.

I turn to frown at her but the challenging look I find in her eyes makes me do otherwise.

"Okay, I give up, it looks great Mom!"

"There you got it right,"

I turn to look at my sisters and they all look serious and it makes me wonder what is serious here.

We are here to start another academic year of bullshit education, good for them this is their senior year and for my ass, am still stumbling in my sophomore year, still got two more years to pull up with shit of everyone.

"Uh Mom, do you think my soccer career is not over?" She keeps walking ahead ignoring me. I don't know, what it is with every single female at home ignoring me.

Nothing I say to my mom or my two sisters do they take seriously. One day I would like to take a trip through their minds and see what they think about me.

And it surprises me so much that they are the most people that I can die for without blinking my eyes but they seem to not like my company at all.

"I mean, this country is so unknown and I don't believe there is any way in hell I will be making it anywhere to my dream team or anywhere close to being wanted by any college teams because of soccer."

"Glad that your stupid ass finally figured something out on its own." I narrow my eyes at Sav not believing that she is up this morning intending to break my heart and hurt my feelings like she just did on this beautiful morning.

"We are here guys!"

"Thank God! Felt like we've been going for forever," Sam got me rolling my eyes this time because she can't be this dramatic this early.

"And finally the drama queen blessed her citizens with one of her hidden drama speeches."

"Guys you can't be bickering at one another at school, shut up and let me get you all your schedules." Sav walks up to Mom and holds her shoulders, to have our mother turn to her.

"Mom seriously we could have done this ourselves, we are seniors. We got this!"

My mother sighs turning to all of us. "Guys, I love you all the same and there is no way I was going to sit still and allow you to familiarize yourself with a foreign school all on your own and it's not because I don't know that you are grown-ups. Trust me I do and it breaks my heart knowing that soon you will all have to leave us for your new lives but with this small time we still have together. Allow me to carry most of the heavy burdens for you all?" I don't wait a second more.

I engulf my mother in a hug and Sav joins us, followed by Sam. Making it a family hug and we all say our love you's to her together.

We pull away and she knocks on the door that has the dean of studies posted on the door.

She gets in before us and comes back later with the dean himself.

We introduce ourselves and he gives us our schedule, He and our mom take us to our classes before our mother takes off.

I get to my class and am surprised to find white looks in there and I find myself smiling at the new realization.

Maybe coming to this country is not the end of the world after all.

SAMANTHA LILY ADAMS

The first day of school drags by and am almost happy when I realize it's time to go home.

The school looks great to me and I can't even degrade the quality of education given because teachers aren't from this country. They are from different states with different skills. I know if I work hard I will pass to any college that I will want to go to.

I walk outside and I almost forgot the dumb thing I found in this school, it has no lockers.

For God's sake, I almost fainted when they told us that.

I search through the parking lot but I don't see Mom, dad nor any driver who came for us.

I lean on the railings of the stairs that go to the parking lot, feeling so annoyed.

"Hey loser," I push Yarrow's arm away from my shoulders. Am not in the mood to be annoyed by any other Adams right now.

"Mom is not already here?" I nod my head and he winks at me.

"Wanna a different ride home then?" I shake my head. "I will pass."

He chuckles as if there is something funny in all this. "Suit yourself then fam."

He walks away with a tall white skinny guy and I roll my eyes when I hear what he whispers in Yarrow's ears. I stay there retaliating his words in annoyance. 'Your sister is hot' I look around in the crowd again, searching for any clue that I may have not found the first time of someone who is here for us but instead my eyes fall on Sav, standing with a bunch of girls and boys at the end of the parking lot between two cars. They are talking, laughing at something.

I turn away quickly before she catches me staring at her as a prick and I groan.

I don't have a phone because this school doesn't allow them on the school campus and mom had to take all our phones with her in the morning.

I can't call anyone and I can't even take a cab because I don't know how I would tell the driver my location and let's not come around to the fact of the language barrier.

I almost scream out at the crowd in frustration but when I catch a familiar face in front of me. I smile not believing what I am seeing.

"Leila?" I call out for confirmation and when she winks. I smile and walk down to her.

"In all my glory?" She repeats me as I reach up to her and take her in a hug feeling happy for her presence. I never knew that someone's presence could affect me this much.

"What are you doing here?" She pulls away and crosses her arms on her chest.

It's when I get to admire a fashionable purse on her left arm and how she looks. She always amazes me with her fashion sense.

she is wearing a tight dark blue dress that reaches her mid-legs, making her curves pop out for everyone to admire.

"You look beautiful? Do you really shop for clothes from here? I mean this country?" She laughs.

"Don't be funny but no, I don't usually shop from here and I am here to pick up my young brother. So you seriously are a teen in high school after all."

I bow down like a princess in front of her. "In all my glory." She shakes her head with a smile on her face.

"I can see. So you won't be coming back to work now?"

Am about to answer that when a tall dark skinny guy approaches us and interrupts our conversation.

"Are we going or what?" We all turn to him and when he notices me. He pulls a flirtatious smile on his face.

"Do you teleport or something? I left you behind with others and now here you are, changed clothes already!" I quirk my eyebrows at him but when I think about it again. I realize that he might be talking about Savannah.

"You are talking about my twin sister." He nods his head and looks away, with a grin on his face.

"Yeah tell me about that, I saw her before you and I went to greet her with a peck on the cheek. You know what she did, she pulled away and she was like. 'Do I know you' Oh my God I felt horrified Sam and I asked her if she was serious. Long story short, I called her Sam and she declined and pointed here where you are." I laugh at her.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" I shrug my shoulders.

"It didn't come up, I guess." She narrows her eyes unbelievably.

"If I had a twin, let me tell you that we would be glued together. Nothing that would have separated us."

"Good thing you don't. Can we please go?" I catch Leila rolling her eyes and pursing her lips in annoyance.

"Sorry, Sam. Guess we will catch up later." I nod my head and she kisses me goodbye on the cheek.

I watch them walk away and suddenly I have an idea. "Wait." They both stop talking and turn to me.

I run up to them. "Can you guys give me a ride home if you don't mind?" Leila nods her head.

"Do you know the name of where you live?"

I shrug my shoulders because am not so sure.

"I know it's called Vision City. Don't ask me the roads but inside there, I could take myself home." I've done a lot of morning jogging in the area to the point that I familiarized myself with the place and it's all thanks to my dad because if it weren't for him, I don't think I would have. We always jog together with him and in the morning as we did back in America and he taught me how to easily get to know my surroundings.

"Let's go I know the place." She pulls me between her and her brother and I don't even know his name yet.

We walk to their car and we get in, I take the back seat while they take the front part.

She is pulling away from the school when I realize that I am leaving Sav behind.

"Wait, do you mind if I ask Sav if she wants to come home with us?"

"No problem, go and ask her." I get out of the car and jog to where she is with her friends.

"hey guys," they turn to look at me and they frown, probably asking themselves if I am the ghost of their new friend.

I think Sav realizes their reaction and introduces me to them. "Guys, this Sam, my twin sister, Sam these are my friends." I pass them a smile with a wave.

"Sav I have a ride home, do you want to come?" She nods and hops off from the boot of the car she is sitting on.

"Guys, I gotta go. See you all tomorrow bitches." Some laugh, others cheers and wink at her.

I hold her hand and hurry her to where Leila is waiting for us.

We get in the car and she takes off immediately and we say nothing till she reaches our place.

"So Sam, Want me to take over for you to that hottie boss you had?" I groan inwardly.

"Leila please!!"

She feigns innocence. "Please, What?"

I walk over to her window and lean in. "Am considering talking to him to see if I can keep the job!" She teases me and I groan.

"Can't stand being away from him?"

"Stop that Leila."

"Can we go, I have plans after this."

We turn to look at his brother and she sighs.

"You guys go ahead. We will talk later." She blows me a kiss and I pretend to catch it and keep it in my pocket.

I walk to my sister and cross hands with her as we make our way to our parent's house.

"How do you know that girl?" I turn to my sister.

"We met on the night of the gala and we became friends." She nods her head.

"And What was that you were talking about?"

"It's about my boss. I want to ask him if I can still keep the job."

She holds my arms tight in hers. "Trust me, whoever that is will like to keep you Sam because you are for to keep."

I pursed my lips touched by her words.

"I can't believe mom forgot about picking us up from school?" I say to her trying to change the topic because I love compliments so much but I don't know how to receive them or how to act to them but I love them so much still.

She poses and I stop walking too when I realize what she did. "Thank you for reminding me that, let's go and show her, what we are capable of."

I smile and nod my head. "Yes, let's go and show her."

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