Chapter Eleven
Spencer and Sam were busy soaking strips of newspaper in some kind of gunky paste when Carly came slinking down the stairs, followed at a distance by Freddie who was trying to disassociate himself from the aftermath of her meddling. He left the apartment quietly as she hesitantly crossed the room and asked in a small voice, "Sam, could I please talk to you for a minute?"
Sam looked up and shrugged, "Sure, I guess. " She turned to Spencer, commenting "This doesn't look very flammable. Can I assume it's safe for me to leave you by yourself?" She batted her eyes and smiled sweetly.
"Scoot, I've got it covered," he replied good-naturedly.
"Ok Carly, just let me get cleaned up a little." She disappeared to scrub the glue from her hands and returned to find Carly beckoning her up the stairs. The girls settled in her room, where Sam waited somewhat impatiently for Carly to spit out whatever it was she had to say.
Carly was studying her shoes intently rather than looking at Sam.
"Carls, I know your shoes are really fascinating, but it's a school night and I have to get going soon. You know my mom doesn't like me to stay over weeknights. It makes her feel more like a successful parent to have rules. So since this is pretty much the only one she ever came up with, I try to humor her."
Carly took a breath and said in rush, "Sam I'm really sorry. I know I went too far this time and I had no right. You are who you are and I just have to get in my head that just because I think something's a good idea, doesn't mean everyone else will. I've been trying to make everything perfect the way I want it to be and I've been really selfish trying to get you to see it the same way. Prom court IS really important to me but I don't want to lose my best friend over it."
Sam studied Carly's face, deciding that she did look contrite. "Do you really mean that? That you won't keep trying to make me into someone I'm not?"
"Yes! I really do."
Sam waited a moment before responding, and Carly began to fidget uncomfortably. What if Sam didn't forgive her this time? They had always been like yin and yang, contrary but intrinsically connected. Carly acknowledged to herself that losing Sam's friendship would be like losing a piece of herself.
Sam finally nodded. "Ok Carly. I don't want to lose my best friend either. But please remember what I said. Because I meant it." She hugged Carly briefly and rose to leave. "I'm heading home. I'll catch you at school in the morning."
"Ok. Good night Sam."
"Good night Carly," she threw over her shoulder as she eased out the door. She paused to check on Spencer before leaving for home. "Good job, no fire!" she teased.
"Nope!" he replied rather proudly. "Thanks for helping."
There was a smile in her voice when she answered, "anytime!"
"So did you two work things out?"
"For the time being. Carly pretty much admitted she's been trying to mold me into her own image, and agreed not to do it anymore. We'll see. I hope she's serious this time."
"Me too, kidd- umm… I mean NOT-kiddo. Me too." He gave her a quick hug and sent her on her way.
Once Sam was safely away, Spencer cleared the counter and set about working on something altogether different. He already had the basic outline in his head, but it needed some refining. And he was going to be branching into an area of art in which he had little experience. It was probably going to take some time to get it just right, and he really wanted it to be just right. Out came the sketch pad. He was soon completely lost in the work, making small changes to the design until the image on the paper aligned with the one in his imagination. At last satisfied that he had captured it, Spencer stowed the drawings carefully away.