The next day, Samantha was back working in the bookstore. At the counter she stood, and as she stood she nibbled distractedly at the bottom of the cup she was drinking from, remembering the night before. A thought struck her and she turned to Carrie.
"Hey... hey Carrie," She said.
"Hmm?" Carrie asked. She turned the page of her magazine, leaning up against the counter next to Sam.
"Does this store have a name?"
Carrie looked up at her. "You seriously don't know the name of this store?"
"Well," Sam shrugged, "I don't know. It's just always been 'The Store' to me." Carrie visibly rolled her eyes.
"Yes, we have a name."
"Really? What is it?"
"Eternity Books."
"...Huh... Really?"
Carrie nodded and returned to her magazine. "Yeah, really. So... Uh... How'd your date with Ed go?" She tried to sound nonchalant, and for the most part she succeeded. The truth was, she and Colleen had been dying to ask all day; but were terrified of blowing their cover.
"It was alright." Sam said.
"Just alright?"
"...Yeah, pretty much." She thought of the rose sitting in a vase on one of her bookshelves, and her heart did a little flip. Carrie watched her friend chew on the bottom of her Styrofoam cup.
"Well...?" She asked. She put her hand on her hips expectantly.
"Well what?" Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Did he kiss you?" The question caught Sam by surprise mid-chew. She bit down harder than she'd meant, and put a hole in the cup. Tea leaked out the bottom, spilling all over her.
"Crap!" Samantha shouted. She hurriedly put the edge of the cup back in her mouth, catching the tea.
"Hold on, I'll get some towels." Carrie hurried into the back room. Sam tapped her fingers in waiting.
Where's an alchemist when you need one? She wondered. Carrie wandered back into the room. She tossed a towel to Sam, and then began to wipe off the counter. Sam made a squeaking noise and pointed to the cup repeatedly. Carrie stopped what she was doing.
"Has it occurred to you," She said, putting a hand on her hip, "That you could just drink the tea?"
Sam dabbed at her front with the towel, using only one hand. She looked up at Carrie and gave a disgruntled sigh. She took a few gulps, draining the cup.
"I should've thought of that sooner," Sam mumbled. Her favorite blue shirt was several shades darker from the tea. And worse, she was going to be sticky all day unless she went home to change.
Sam rolled her eyes in disgust, motioning to her shirt. "Sometimes my own imbecility astonishes me."
Carrie raised an eyebrow. "Whoa. There's some big words I haven't heard in a while."
"Yeah, well," Sam grumbled. "Maturity in most situations doesn't always equal ones true intelligence."
"What would Ed say, if he heard you using this kind of language?"
"Meh. The point is, I had a minor incapacity of thought, and totally ruined my favorite shirt!"
Her rant turned to a whine.
"Don't turn into all 'human-dictionary' on me. Just go home and change." Carrie walked back over to her magazine and leaned against the counter.
"But... I don't wanna!" Samantha whined.
"Look, there's Alphonse," Carrie said, pointing out the window. She waved at the boy, and he grinned and waved back. "He'll come in here, and we'll see if he can transmute your shirt clean."
"I don't want to exploit him."
Carrie glared at her friend. "Stop that. Stop it now."
Alphonse entered the store. The little bell above the door jingled. "Stop what?" He asked. "And... What happened to your shirt?" He looked at Sam, who sighed.
"Carrie made an inappropriate comment as to the conditions of my appointment with your older sibling last night, and I made a slight mistake in spilling tea all over my person."
Alphonse blinked. "Oh." He looked from Sam, then at Carrie, then back at Samantha again. "Why are you talking like that?"
Sam started to talk, but Carrie cut her off. "Sam- believe it or not- is actually a pretty smart girl. She knows a lot of big words, but doesn't use them often."
"Excluding when I'm exceptionally frustrated," Sam crossed her arms over her soaked chest. Alphonse tilted his head.
"Colleen mentioned something like that once. She said that that's how you know when you're really upset."
"I totally ruined my favorite shirt." Sam covered her eyes with her hand.
"I can fix it!" Al strode over and clapped his hands together.
"Y-you can do alchemy without circles too?" Sam asked. He nodded.
"I learned it when I was still in the armor," He explained. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders. There was a flash of blue light; and when it passed her shirt was totally spotless. He took his hands from her shoulders as Carrie's eyes widened. Sam examined her shirt closely.
"Al you're a miracle worker!" She leaped over the counter and hugged him so suddenly, he nearly fell over.
"Haha! I'm glad you think so, Sam-chan!"
"Hey Al," Carrie asked, "Where is your brother, anyway?"
Al smiled and pried the happy blond girl from his chest. "He's still in bed, I think."
"He's what?" Sam exclaimed. "What a lazy bum! It's almost noon, for goodness sakes!"
"Heh. Yeah, that's my Brother." Wow. She's suddenly really happy, Al thought, And her massive vocabulary just disappeared! Brother's really going to have his hands full. He ruffled Sam's hair and laughed. She looked at him, confused.
"What's so f-"
Carrie's lips curved into an evil smile. "Hey... Sam..."
"Nyu?" She turned to Carrie.
"Why don't you go wake Ed up?"
Sam's green eyes sparkled. "That's brilliant!" She raced past Al, out the door, and into the street.
Al gave an exasperated sigh and frowned at Carrie.
"You're evil," He said.
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Pinacco stepped off the train. Through her round glasses, she surveyed the Risembool train station.
"Hmm," She said, "I guess my letter didn't arrive in time." She picked up her small suitcase, only to have it taken lightly from her by a tall man with dark hair, and kind, dark eyes. He smiled at her.
"Need some help, madame?" He asked in his suave voice. Pinacco couldn't help but smile.
"Well. If it isn't everyone's favorite military dog." She said. "No escorts this time?"
"Oh, they're here." He took her suitcase and put it over his shoulder.
"I'm sure Ed will be happy to hear that."
A/N: We just learned something new about dear Samaloo! She did mention she likes to read. I guess it's only natural that someone who reads a lot has a pretty decent vocabulary. Is she hiding more than she's letting on?
Is she really the normal girl Ed thinks she is?
And MUSTANG'S EARLY. Oh man, Ed's going to kill someone! Who'd he bring with him? And welcome back Pinacco!
We had a few new people review!! Can you believe it?! I'm so happy! This stuff is what keeps me writing. If I didn't have you guys to share this story with, I wouldn't be writing it at all.
~Edo-chanluv