iGo Home Again

It was a beautiful Wednesday morning in April when Carly Shay walked through the doors of Ridgeway High School for the first time since her own graduation. It felt as though she'd never left. She smiled. It was an old cliché, but it was wrong. You could, in fact, come home again.

It took a second for Carly's brain to come back into sync, because her present experience was so far removed from what she knew. She walked through these familiar doors, looking longingly toward her old locker. So many important memories had been made right there. It took a moment for her to remember that she was now a stranger in a strange land. She had been gone long enough for things to change, but they were still eerily familiar. She smiled at a slightly awkward freshman boy who reminded her of Freddie Benson. She was typical Carly. When the boy's soft brown eyes met hers, however, they widened in fear and he slowly scrambled away, searching out the safety of the men's room.

Then Carly realized. This boy was too young to have known her, but the Legend of Sam Puckett lived on. The center of Carly's universe had become Ridgeway's own boogie man.

"You're at a disadvantage here…"

Melanie Benson flushed with embarrassment before asking a question of her own.

"What Hell on Earth did Samantha cause here?"

Carly laughed, tossing her hair to one side. She was happy to be back here, however briefly. It made her feel something like her old self again. It was hard for Carly to remember that Melanie hadn't been a Ridgeway Bulldog like the rest of them. Those were the days before four had become two and two had become one.

Melanie was happy to provide her childhood friend with a stroll down memory lane, but she was here for another reason.

MOMENTS LATER…

Carly felt awkward here. The last time that she walked through these doors, Sam was screaming at Principal Franklin because some dumb jock had called Carly a deplorable name. Just the memory of it turned her stomach. She had since embraced being different. She loved the only one that mattered and they now had a beautiful blended family. They owed explanations to no one. Her brain spiraled back to that moment. She was paying only fleeting attention to the present.

Franklin's secretary spoke into the intercom in a way that told Carly she was nervous about something.

The door flew open and Ted Franklin stood there, impeccably dressed, as always.

"What's the… Oh, would you stop that!"

Ted Franklin's concerned face immediately gave way to a broad, sweeping smile.

"Well hello, Melanie…"

The woman behind the desk was thoroughly confused. Franklin obviously knew something she didn't.

A HALF HOUR LATER…

Carly and Melanie walked through the Ridgeway parking lot, towards Melanie's new car. It was her one present to herself, aside from a new address, since the album had taken off. Melanie was much happier doing for others. This was why she had come to see the only father figure she'd ever known. She loved the feeling she got when she could write a check and give to those who deserved it, especially when she was using additional income which came in, like clockwork, every Monday morning – in cash.

This was the way that Carmine Puckett's other business affairs had come to be handled. He had departed for Florida and retirement, leaving explicit instructions that he was still very much in charge. He was gone, but certainly not dead, buried, and forgotten. His word would be obeyed to the letter or else the consequences would be severe.

To that end, it was simply understood that Carmine's 'associates' were to deliver cash to the restaurant, as they always had, but that the Boss was now demanding a tax of fifteen percent, rather than the previous ten. It hadn't gone over well on the lower levels of the organization, but the Boss wasn't to be questioned.

Inflation, Carmine had said. It was simply the cost of doing business.

The pop star had done what she'd done to insulate her family from the discomfort that would undoubtedly come from a life outside of the law. She loved her uncle too much. She didn't condone what some of his employees did, but she rationalized her own actions quite easily. She wasn't hurting anyone if she was taking an equivalent amount of money and doing good with it.

She had handed Ted Franklin three business checks this morning. She had just given away every penny that Uncle Carmine's people had put in the restaurant's safe on Monday evening. With these funds, Ridgeway High's Music Department was getting a generous gift, as well as additional monies going to an endowment to give scholarships to students in need. She had thought immediately of Sam. Ridgeway could now do for future generations what Carly had done for Sam. The final check was of a personal nature. She had set aside a generous portion of her newfound disposable income and earmarked it for the building fund at Ted's church. There was no more noble calling, she felt, than giving back to the man who had meant so much to her in her formative years.

The couple reached Melanie's new car. The alarm beeped twice and it was disarmed. This was ostentatious, especially for Mel, but Carly thought that it suited her. It was certainly a step up from Freddie's used Toyota. She chuckled to herself for the second time already this morning, letting her eyes linger over the custom State of Washington tags on the luxury car.

MYTHMEL

LATER THAT AFTERNOON…

Lunch had been wonderful. Melanie and Carly had enjoyed a large 'working lunch' at The Palomino as they discussed what was on Melanie's mind. Carly, brilliant though she was, wasn't in a position to go back to being a full-time student – not with two little girls at home.

Carly would have no more of Melanie's charity.

"It's not charity, Carly! We're family…"

Carly fussed. Sam was right. The Cupcake was hardheaded.

"Carly…"

Melanie sighed.

"Okay, look… You can't go back to school fulltime with the girls at home… it's just not feasible… but what if I put you on the payroll?"

Melanie talked. Carly listened. Melanie's personal assistant? Melanie explained. She could work from home, ninety plus percent of the time. That sounded do-able. Okay, that was a deal.

Melanie smiled. This was good.

After lunch, Melanie took Carly out to Mercer Island, to see the new house. It was a quiet, super-upscale subdivision. The quarterback of the Cobras lived four houses down. The CEO of Skybucks Coffee was three houses in the other direction. The house immediately next door still had a realtor's sign in the front yard, bearing the words 'ACCEPTED OFFER'. From the looks of things, it bore an identical floorplan to the new Benson residence.

"What do you think?"

"It's nice… but… wow…"

Carly was confused. Maybe she was just making too much out of this. First and foremost, she and Melanie were friends. Friends talked about random stuff all the time.

"Do you know the new neighbors?"

Melanie answered Carly matter-of-factly.

"Nice couple with young kids, apparently…"

"Oh that's nice…"

Melanie liked the look on Carly's face. She could tell her sister was daydreaming about how 'the other half' lived.