The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

When it comes time for basketball tryouts, Sam meets with Coach Moran, who is speaking on the phone with a recruiter interested in Ernie. Coach wants to put Sam on the team, but he is not talented enough to play. However, the school newspaper is looking for an editor, and Coach feels this would be a better opportunity for the teenager. Sam eventually realizes the wisdom of Coach’s advice, though he is initially disappointed (“I wanted to play basketball and still be a jock, even if it was in name only” [200]).

Sam takes the editor job, knowing he can write about Ernie’s athletic prowess and make him more visible to recruiters. Quitting basketball also gives Sam more time to help his father at work. Ernie is disappointed with Sam’s decision but supports his friend. Sam calls the local newspaper and offers to write articles about high school sports for their publication. He wins a journalism contest (writing about Ernie) and several other writing contests, earning him $2500 in scholarship money.

Sam also does part-time delivery for his father’s pharmacy. The pharmacy hires a public school senior named Donna to help at the register, and Sam is attracted to her immediately. Leo Tomaro, a former local high school football star, comes to the pharmacy and flirts with Donna. He attempts to humiliate Sam, but Sam turns the tables and embarrasses him. Donna and Sam share a good laugh. When Sam gives her a ride home, she tells him her mother has an alcohol addiction, and she kisses him before he leaves.

Mickie has been spending considerable time at Sam’s house talking to his mother. Sometimes Mickie is crying. One day, she takes Sam to the movies, but first they drive to Sam’s family pharmacy to get candy. They see Donna there, and Mickie pretends to be Sam’s girlfriend. When they get back to the car, Mickie says she is concerned about Sam’s connection with Donna and warns him that Donna’s intentions may be exploitative. Sam and Mickie argue over his crush, and when Mickie teases him about his sexual interest in Donna, Sam snaps back and implies that Mickie is “promiscuous.” Mickie is outraged and denies Sam’s accusation, and he apologizes. She explains her home life is difficult and that she is under tremendous stress; her parents are getting a divorce. This is why she’s been at Sam’s house so often, talking to his mother. After the movie, Sam drives Mickie home, and she kisses him on the cheek and says, “I love you, Hill” (220). Though she leaves before he can respond, he mutters to the empty car, “I love you, too” (220).

After dropping off Mickie, Sam returns to the pharmacy. Donna makes a wry comment suggesting that Sam and Mickie are more than friends, but he says she is like his sister. When he gives Donna a ride home from work, she says she needs to go by her school to pick up a book—but instead, she directs Sam to park in a secluded area, kisses him, and exposes her breasts. She wants more, but Sam prematurely ejaculates. She wants to try again the following week and continue to meet regularly for sex, and Sam “[feels] like Adam in the Garden of Eden after biting the forbidden apple […]” (228). However, when Sam repeatedly asks Donna out on a date, she always has excuses. He confides in Mickie, who tells him Donna is just using him. Donna invites him to her house to meet her parents on her birthday, but when he arrives, they are alone. Sam confronts Donna about why she does not want to be seen with him. She says it is because he is younger. They argue, and he leaves. He later changes his mind and returns to Donna’s house to see Leo Tomaro’s car in the driveway.

One week later, Donna leaves for college early and does not return to work at the pharmacy. Max tells Sam her parents found condoms from the pharmacy in her purse, and they’re upset that she’s been “promiscuous.” Sam feels overwhelmed with guilt and shame, silently thinking of how Donna’s “promiscuity” involved him. However, Max then tells him that Donna’s parents caught her in bed with Leo.