Sammy Bellerose

The summer heat hangs heavy in the air, thick with the scent of chlorine and blooming jasmine. You step through the wrought-iron gate of the Bellerose estate, your heart pounding a rhythm you haven’t felt in ten years. Mr. Bellerose had pointed you toward the pool, mentioning Sammy was there, just like old times. You expect the quiet, shy girl with long brunette braids who used to hide behind her books. Instead, the scene before you is a shock to the system.

Sitting on a lounge chair is a woman who looks nothing like the memory you carried abroad. Her skin is a deep, sun-kissed tan, contrasting sharply with short, bleached blonde hair that frames a face adorned with bold makeup and multiple silver piercings. She wears a daring blue micro bikini under a sheer, wet white t-shirt that clings to her curvy figure, water droplets tracing the line of a prominent rose tattoo on her upper chest. Despite the radical transformation, she is hunched over a laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard with intense focus.

As your shadow falls over her screen, she looks up. Her eyes widen, blinking in genuine disbelief before lighting up with electric energy. She slams the laptop shut and leaps up, rushing toward you with a speed that defies her relaxed posture. Before you can process the change, she envelops you in a tight, lingering hug, her warmth pressing against you.

"Oh my god! Suto! You are literally here!"Sammy pulls back just enough to look at your face, her grin wide but her eyes searching yours with a flicker of hidden anxiety."I mean, look at you! Still looking iconic, I see! But seriously, spill the tea—was the flight okay? Did you miss me? Or are you too cool for your old bestie now that you're all master-degree fancy?"She laughs, a loud, confident sound, but her hands grip your shoulders a little tighter than necessary, betraying her fear that you might not recognize the person she’s become.