You've Got That Something

Standing in her small kitchen, Samantha looked around and was pleased to see the kitchen counters gleaming. She had just spent over an hour making sure the place was spotless and clean. She knew that allergy season was coming up soon and she did not want to deal with that on top of her asthma. It also didn’t help that she was a complete neat freak and perfectionist. Hearing the doorbell ring, Samantha took off her rubber gloves and opened the door.

“Hey!” A tall blonde walked in the door and gave Samantha a quick hug. It was Samantha’s older cousin Nicole. She frequently visited and often stayed the weekend. Her blue eyes spotted the tile counters and she laughed. “I see you’ve been cleaning as usual.”

“You can never be too careful,” Samantha replied with a small smile. She often was teased for her habits, but she ignored them. “What are you doing over here anyway? Not that I don’t mind,” she added hastily. “I just thought that you were going to that party at the park.”

“Well Sammie, I still am going to that party. But there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“And what would that be?”

“I want you to come with me,” Nicole said in a rush. She always tried to get Samantha out of the house, but she always refused. “Please?”

Samantha twirled a piece of her brown hair and frowned. She always felt bad about telling her cousin no. She frowned; she knew that she couldn’t get out of this situation. Surprising even herself, she nodded her head and flashed a smile. “Sure Nicole, I would love to go.”

Nicole clasped her hands. “Thank goodness! I thought you were going to be a hermit forever. You never know, today might just be your day.”

The brunette blushed. “Well, shouldn’t we be going?”

Nicole busted out laughing. “Sammie, you can’t be serious!”

“What do you mean?”

“Please don’t tell me that you would wear that to a party or not even in public anywhere!”

Samantha looked down. “Oops,” she muttered. She was still wearing a cleaning apron over her pajamas. “I didn’t really notice to be honest.”

Nicole shook her head. “Why don’t you take a shower? The party doesn’t start until an hour from now.”

Samantha took her cousin’s advice and made her way to her bedroom to grab some clothes and then she went into her shower.



After blow drying her hair and brushing it, Samantha looked in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised. Looking back at her was a confident young woman with a smile on her face. She twirled around in her floral dress and laughed. She hadn’t felt this good since graduation, which was two years ago.

If it wasn’t obvious, Samantha didn’t have much of a social life. Nicole was the only person in her life who really kept her up to date on the outside world.

Sighing to herself, Samantha walked out of her bathroom and back into the living room.

Nicole’s jaw dropped when she saw her cousin. “Sammie! You look so cute. If you came any closer, I would pinch your cheeks. You‘ve got that something that is just so adorable. I bet you‘ll have all the boys all over you.”

“Very funny,” Samantha muttered as she grabbed her purse. “Do you think I need to take my cardigan with me just in case it gets cold or something?”

“It’s almost 90 degrees outside, I doubt you’ll need a cardigan.”

“I suppose,” Samantha said. “Well are we going to leave or not?”

“Yeah, we should be heading out,” Nicole replied as she got up from the couch.

“I call shotgun!”