iCarly: The Kids Aren't Alright
A Fanfiction by L-Space
Author's Note: Nickelodeon has the honor to claim the rights to iCarly and all of its associated characters and ideas. Sadly, I do not.
Chapter One: iJust Moved Here
The drive to Ridgeway seemed to be a long one, and it made Emma Daniels sick to her stomach. Not only would she be the new kid in school, she was also the new kid in the city. She and her sister, Liberty, made the move to Seattle from Canada a few short days ago. "Don't worry about a thing, Em." Liberty said, quickly glancing to her right. "If you want, I can come pick you up at any time. All you have to do is call."
"Really?" Emma asked. She shot her sister a wary look. "So… can we just go home now?"
"No." Liberty stated. Emma groaned. "Look, if we go home now, that just means tomorrow morning will be just like right now. At least stick it out until lunch, okay?"
Emma sighed. "Fine. But you better be expecting a phone call right when the lunch bell rings." Liberty smirked and pulled the car to the curb. Emma grabbed her backpack from the floor, slipped her cell into her pocket and waved to Liberty as she shut the car door. She turned and faced the school. It wasn't a huge one, as her old one had been. It was a little familiar since Ridgeway held grades five through twelve. Emma slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the front doors.
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Carly Shay walked into her history class to see Freddie Benson was the first person to get in class, as he always was. She took the seat behind him, not wanting to be in the front of the class. "Good morning, Carly." Freddie said, turning in his seat. "You're looking lovely, as always."
"Hey, Freddie." Carly said as she placed her binder on her desk. "So, first day as a Junior in high school. How does it feel?"
"Like crap." Carly and Freddie both looked up at Sam Puckett, who lazily flung herself into the seat next to Carly.
"You're as pleasant as always, Sam." Freddie stated, his voice thick with sarcasm.
"Watch it, Benson."
"Alright, class, let's get seated." Their new history teacher, Mr. Armstrong, set his briefcase on his desk. "My name is Mr. Armstrong. I will be your history teacher as well as homeroom. We'll get along great so long as there is no illegal activity and you do your homework. Are we all clear?"
"Well, I guess that doesn't include Sam." Freddie muttered.
"I heard that, Freddison." Sam shot back.
Mr. Armstrong's head snapped in their direction. "If we can't play nice, I'll have to give out assigned seating." He shook his index finger as a warning. Freddie and Sam pointed at one another. "Alright. First order of business, schedules. When I call your name, come up here and get your class schedule." He shuffled the papers for a moment. "Benson, Freddie. Shay, Carly. Gibby?" He paused and looked up at the class.
Gibby stood in the back of the class. "Yes, sir?"
"Gibby… what kind of name is that?"
"A good one?" Mr. Armstrong stared for a moment. "Can I get my schedule now?"
"Yes. Here." He looked back down at the papers. "Daniels, Emma."
No answer.
"Daniels, Emma?" He tried again. Still no response. He looked back up at the class. "Does anyone know Emma Daniels?"
"Oh, that's me." The whole class turned towards the door to look at the new girl. "Sorry I'm late. It won't happen again, I promise."
"It's alright." Mr. Armstrong said, handing her a schedule. "Please have a seat."
The rest of homeroom consisted of Mr. Armstrong handing out the rest of the schedules and explaining rules of conduct. The bell rang just as he finished his lecture about bringing back the first page of the student handbook signed by a parent or guardian. Most of the students filed out of the room to get to their first class.
Freddie had history first. He glanced around the room to see who else did. He noticed the new girl sitting towards the back of the class. Freddie gathered his things and took the seat next to her. "Hey, it's Emma, right?"
She looked up at him. "Yeah. Emma Daniels."
"I'm Freddie Benson. Your accent… it's Canadian, right?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"I know things." He smirked at her. "So when did you move here?"
"Middle of last week, actually. My sister got a job out here, so naturally we move."
"What about your parents?"
"They died a few years back."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Emma looked down at her twiddling thumbs. Freddie sighed. "Do you mind if I ask how?"
"Moose accident."
"A moose killed your parents?"
"Well, the moose walked into the middle of the street. Dad tried not to hit it."
"Oh wow. I'm really sorry." Freddie repeated.
"It's okay. Really." She grinned at him. Freddie smiled back and the bell sounded for history to begin.
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To their surprise, Emma and Freddie had second and third period together as well. "So, you wanna have lunch with me and my friends?" Freddie asked as the lunch bell rang. He had already packed up his notebooks and now stood by her desk as she gathered hers. "You'll love Carly and Sam. Well, you'll love Carly, anyway."
"I have to make a call first, actually." Emma said as she zipped up her bag. "I'll, uh, catch up with you later?"
"Yeah, sure." Emma smiled at him and walked out the door. Reluctantly, Freddie joined Sam and Carly.
"Where's your new girlfriend, Fredweird?" Sam called as he got near. "She break up with you already?"
"Sam, stop it." Carly said. "She's new and Freddie was just being nice. Right, Freddie?"
"Yeah." Freddie answered, sitting in a chair across from the two girls.
"If she's not your girlfriend, then why are you so upset now that she's not here?" Sam teased again. "You guys looked so happy together in chemistry."
"You're not even in chemistry." Freddie said loudly.
"So? I ditched theatre and spied on you."
"Why would you even do that?" Freddie asked. "Are you stalking me?"
"Why would anyone stalk you?" Sam argued. She stood and glared down at him.
"Well, I don't know." Freddie now stood and looked her dead in the eye. "Maybe because they're in love with me and jealous of Emma."
Carly's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Freddie kept his stare going as Sam's eyes narrowed and jaw dropped. "Me? In love with you?" She said quietly.
"Who wants some pudding?" Carly said, also standing and putting her hands between the two. Neither looked at her. "It's a swirl of vanilla and chocolatey goodness!"
"I'm not hungry." Freddie replied.
"Yeah. Me neither." Sam said. They both stormed off, leaving Carly holding a pudding cup and a bewildered expression on her face. She was even more shocked to see Sam walk back and grab the pudding cup, stating that she was lying about not being hungry.
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"That's great, Em. I'm glad you're making friends."
"Yeah, it's not as bad as I made it out to be." Emma said. "So, how's the job going?"
Liberty sighed. "Well, work is mostly slow when you're an artist." She answered. "I spoke with my boss and he said there hasn't been a client all week. So now I'm looking for some kind of job to support us."
"You'll find something."
"I know. Have a good day at school."
"I don't get to come home early?" Emma whined.
"You made friends!" Liberty replied. "Why would you ditch them like that?"
"Fine." Emma sighed. "I'll stay at school."