Chapter 2

It had been two days since Freddie left and the lack of fights to break up was really getting to Carly.

"Why do you have to get along so well with Spencer? Why Can't you pick on him for something?"

They had been sitting on the couch mindlessly watching TV when Carly's outburst had come. Both Sam and Spencer looked at her questioningly.

"Wigging out much?" asked Sam. "I'm bored out of my mind too but you don't see me randomly yelling at people."

"You were yesterday." pointed out Spencer

"Yeah, but then I met up with Gibby and somewhat released the pent up tension."

Carly smiled. "Great! Gibby. Where is he? I'll call him up."

Just as she reached for the phone Sam called out, "I don't think he'll be coming."

Carly put the phone back down. "Why not?" she asked leeringly.

"I may have made him cry...in front of people...that currently attend the second grade...and then, maybe, they may have laughed at him."

"Sam!"

"I'm sorry but with dweebo gone I needed an outlet. Gibby just happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Spencer couldn't stand to his sister all slumped over and sad looking. He got up and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet as he walked over to her.

"Here," he said as he handed her his credit card. "Go out and have some fun on me. It's the last day before school starts and I think-"

Before he even had a chance to finish, Sam and Carly were up and out the door.

"-you should go to the mall." He took a deep breath. "I should know by now; speech first, credit card second."


At the mall Carly was busy dragging Sam from store to store. It wasn't that Sam didn't want to get stuff at other people's expense, she just wanted that stuff to be edible.

"Come on Carls, you've been to every store in the mall twice. I'm hungry!"

Carly turned to look at her. "Hungry? When we came in you headed straight to the food court and hit every stand. Twice!"

Sam pulled up her shirt and rubbed her belly.

"If the tank's empty, the Sam gets cranky."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright let's go. And pull down your shirt. You need a tan."

Sam smiled as they walked out of the store. They were making their way to the food court when they heard a commotion coming from the second floor.

"Come back here you damn, juvenile, delinquent!" came the shouts.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Move it or loose it lady."

Carly was just about to ask what was going on when her answer came in the form of a teenager, in a black hoodie and jeans, rocketing down the up escalator, grinding the rail with nothing but a pair of old Chucks. For show there was a small 360 added at the end. A round of applause and cheer came from the onlookers. The security guard that had put up a chase was stuck at the top landing. He was bent over, breathing a little too hard for the four feet he'd run.

Upon closer inspection of the 'criminal', Carly realized it was a girl.

"Thank you. Thank You." she said as she bowed for the small audience.

The moment of fame was cut short by the sound of running. The walking heart attack had called or backup.

"Next show is at seven. Gotta go!" she said quickly as she started back into a run.

Sam was standing next to Carly cheering her head off. Just as the girl passed by them she locked eyes with Carly. She continued running backwards to keep eye contact. Carly couldn't help but stare back.

"Over there!" "Get her!"

That was all it took to get the girl to break the stare. She turned around and ran for the front door. The security guards ran past the girls about two minutes later.

"What was that about?" asked Sam snapping Carly's attention back to reality.

"Uh, what was what?" asked Carly.

"That." she said as she gestured towards the door.

"What do you mean?" asked Carly smiling.

"Oh, come on. You were totally staring."

"Oh, that." said Carly as a light bulb went off in her head. "Yeah, well, I don't know. She kind of just looked familiar. Like maybe I know her from somewhere."

"Well it's not school. Trust me, I have insulted, degraded, and/or humiliated every person-including staff-at that school, at least once. She has yet to be degraded, humiliated, etc." responded Sam.

"Oh. Well. Sushi or pizza?" asked Carly trying to change the subject.

"Both." answered Sam happily.

As they headed on their way Carly realized exactly what Sam had just said.

"Wait, everyone?" she pondered aloud.

Sam turned and looked at her sheepishly, "You remember a long, long, long, time ago, when you sat down in that purple desk and got up with a purple butt?"

"Yeah," answered Carly slowly.

"Guilty." admitted Sam. "It was way before the tuna sandwich and in my own defense I only knocked off the 'We Paint' sign. I didn't paint it myself or even tell you to site there or anything."

Carly looked at her long and hard. "I had a violet rear end for a week."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're only getting sushi."

"What! Why don't you just paint me in rainbow colors from head to toe and we call it even!" Sam suggested.

"No." said Carly as she walked away.

"Please?"

"No."

"But Car-ly. Please? I want both so much!"


As both girls walked through the door with armfuls of bags, Spencer noticed Sam looked rather unhappy.

"Um, Sam, buying tons of stuff depressing or something?"

Sam turned eyes blazing.

"Or pissed off, maybe, Carly please save me."

Carly stepped in and turned Sam around. "She's mad because none of the bags are filled with edible materials."

Spencer risked a look at Sam. "Yes...that would upset me too, I guess. So what did you buy?"

Sam pulled out several tops from one bag. "Clothes." She pulled out some jeans from another one. "Clothes." And emptied out a bag of lingerie all over the counter. "And more clothes. You know, things wouldn't have been so bad if if we'd gotten an edible pair of these." She held up some lacy undergarments. "But noooo! Your sister was too embarrassed to ask the saleswoman."

Carly snatched them away from Sam immediately and dumped the rest back into the bag. "That wasn't traumatizing at all. Nope. My brother didn't just see my underwear and you, didn't mention edible panties."

Spencer just turned on his heels headed back the living room. Carly followed her brother with her eyes and noticed something in the middle of the room that hadn't been there when she left.

"What is that and what is it doing here?" she asked.

"It's my new sculpture!" said Spencer in a giddy fashion.

Sam came up behind them and saw what they were referring to. "That's your new sculpture?" She said pointing to an apparent pile of scrap metal. "I knew you were in a bit of a slump, but that is just shi-"

"NO, no. That," Spencer points to the pile, "that, yeah, that's not the sculpture. Those are just the materials." He turned to Carly. "Some random guy came up to me and paid two-thousand dollars up front to start a sculpture. He gave me no specifics and promised me another three-thousand when it was complete!"

Sam couldn't believe what she was hearing. "A random guy paid for a random sculpture?!?! Uh, why can't I get random money?"

"Because you lack random talent." laughed Carly.

"Ha-ha. But seriously, that better turn out to be one hell of a sculpture."

"Yeah," said Spencer, "Five-thousand dollars."

"Five-thousand dollars."

"Five. Thousand. Dollars."

All three nodded as it all sunk in.