I realize this is up a little late, and I'm really sorry. I've been practicing driving my manual car all day and I just forgot. As it turns out, I actually love driving stickshift :)

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Robin Hood and Pinocchio

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Sam was missing when I got up this morning. I was really worried, and skipped all of my classes to sit on the couch just hoping and praying that she'd turn up soon. And she did. But not how I expected her to.

Sam walked through the door with a bag from Taco Bell around noon, a burrito in her hand and a skip to her step. When she saw me, a wide grin broke out on her face.

"Freddie! Did you ditch class today? Oh my God, I would've stayed here if I'd have known!"

I studied Sam's expression, but her smile never wavered. It didn't seem to reach her eyes, and it would make sense that she was faking, but I didn't think bringing that up would help anything.

"It wasn't what I was planning to do today", I said carefully, "but yeah, I did ditch class. What have you been up to?"

She shrugged, "Here, there and everywhere. I got my hair cut and a pedicure too. See?"

She took her hair out of its messy ponytail and I gaped. It was shorter than I'd ever seen it, just barely shoulder length.

"What do you think?"

"Umm… it's… different, I guess."

"Good different or bad different?"

"I'm not really sure. What if I said neither?"

Sam rolled her eyes, "If you hate it, just say so. It'll grow back."

"I don't hate it. It'll just take some getting used to."

"Good. I think you'll learn to love it."

"Maybe."

Sam wiggled her toes at me, which were blue with black zebra-like stripes on them.

"How 'bout these?"

I managed a smile, but it was almost as fake as Sam's.

"Those are LOVELY", I said. Then, an idea seized me and a real smile claimed my features. "I Wonder if they're as ticklish as the old ones…"

Sam's eyes grew wide and she started to back up, but not fast enough. I grabbed one foot and began tickling the bottom. Sam shrieked, and her smile became real too. She collapsed on the floor and giggled and tried to wiggle away from me. I laughed and kept tickling her, but she got a good kick in and sent me rolling, backwards, into the couch. I lay there, dazed, for a moment before she came and knelt in front of me.

"NEVER tickle me again. I'm willing to forgive your infraction this time, but next time…", she mimicked slitting her throat.

I nodded and she grinned again. Real grin.

Sam leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. A part of me felt wrong about it, knowing how broken she had been only last night, but the majority of me wanted to believe that this was a sign that Sam was fine, that she had just been having a bad day and was now recovered. I kissed her back roughly, running my hands through her newly short hair.

Now, of course, I feel guilty for being so selfish. Sam is NOT okay, and making out with her won't solve a thing.

Sam ultimately broke off our kiss.

"You know, we didn't read the next story."

"What story?"

"From the book. We didn't read one yesterday."

I noticed that she'd avoided saying "last night" and wondered if I should follow suit.

"You're right, we didn't. Do you want to do that now?"

"We can read the one from yesterday and the one for today."

"Sounds good."

Sam clapped her hands together and yelled, "I'll go get the book!"

She dashed off and I settled myself on the couch. Sam returned quickly, and she jumped next to me.

"Let's start with yesterday's story: Pinocchio."

I nodded and she begun.

"Once upon a time, there was a lonely sculptor. More than anything else, he wanted a friend. So one day, he began sculpting one for himself. A young lady took shape, and he named her Pinocchio. After she was complete, he spent hours talking to her, but she could not be the friend he desired. So he wished on the stars that she might become real. A fairy magically came to him during the dead of night and offered him a deal; his sculpture would live as long as it could remain truthful. The sculptor agreed immediately, and the fairy breathed life into his wooden sculpture. The two became instant friends, but Pinocchio harbored a secret crush on her maker. She knew she had to be truthful, but she was afraid the sculptor would reject her. Her untruthfulness slowly built, for though she was not directly lying, she was hiding the truth. Soon, she knew there was little time left for her. On the day she knew would be her last, Pinocchio kissed the sculptor. He was astonished, but when he asked her why she did it, she still could not tell him the truth. The dishonesty that had built up was crushing her, and she was suffocating. The sculptor, seeing her dying, lifted her in his arms and ran into town, pleading for someone to help him. In his desperate attempts to save his living sculpture, the man was hit by a speeding carriage. He fell on the ground, unable to breathe, and Pinocchio knew she had to save him. She pressed her mouth to his and gave him her last breath, along with the words, "I love you." Her love and honesty summoned the fairy, who healed the sculptor and turned Pinocchio into a real woman, not just a living sculpture. In his joy, the sculptor pulled Pinocchio in top his arms and kissed her like he meant it. And he did. He proclaimed his love for her, and she could not have been happier. The two lived happily ever after, together forever."

I smiled, imagining myself as the sculptor and Sam as my sculpture. Was that how she'd written it? I wasn't sure. I did know, however, that I could never create anything as beautiful as Sam.

"That was really good, Sam. I like it."

Sam beamed at me and asked, "Wanna hear the next one?"

"Sure. What story is it?"

Sam grinned and begun without answering. "Once upon a time, a knight was traveling through a foreign land. On the third day of his journey, a green-clad figure approached his carriage. A young woman, a fortune-teller, offered her services in exchange for a small sum of money. As she performed a reading on the handsome knight, she collected much of his wealth to steal. The knight, however, was incredibly intelligent, and as the woman got up he asked her to wait a minute. He brought a large bag of money to her and told her that she had missed some. She was alarmed, but he reassured her that he would not send his guards after her, and handed the bag of money to her. She stood there, utterly stunned, and the kind knight said, "I'm sure you need it more than me." Slowly, the girl retreated from the carriage. Just before she turned to go, the knight asked her for her name. "Robin Hood", she replied. After her encounter with the knight, Robin wanted to do something worthwhile with her newfound wealth. The kingdom was being ruled by the king's cruel brother while the king was away, and the commoners suffered under his harsh taxation. Robin gave all the money away to the poorest of the poor, the ones who could not afford to pay the taxes because it would make them starve. It was a temporary solution, and Robin knew that, so she began planning to rid the kingdom of their ruler. One day, as she was observing the daily habits of the false king, the foreign knight came to her. Ignoring her surprise, he asked how he could help in her fight against the kingdom's current ruler. Together they planned and plotted, and together they overthrew the cruel ruler. The rightful king returned and offered them both a place in his court, but Robin Hood knew she wasn't right for a job like that, and the knight wanted to be with Robin Hood. In their adventures, they had fallen in love, and planned to elope. The king wished them happiness, and they had more than their fair share of it. The two married, and that was their greatest adventure."

Sam looks at me expectantly.

"That was… different than what I've heard before. It was-"

"Good different or bad different?"

"Definitely good different. I liked it. A lot. This book you got is pretty great", I said with a smile.

Sam ripped out the pages of Pinocchio and Robin Hood.

"Well here you go, then! Enjoy!"

Sam hopped up and headed for the front door.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"TO NARNIA!" she yelled, charging through the door and closing it with a bang. I shook my head and took the papers to my room to store with my journal and Rapunzel.

As I put them there, I couldn't help but think about their meaning. Sam had marked all over the pages, replaced the Grimm words with her own, so it was a story she was using to reveal herself to me.

In Pinocchio, I can see parts of our story. We were friends, but eventually became more. I now know that Sam liked me for a long while before I knew about it; at least, if that's what the story was saying. The best thing about that story was that "Pinocchio" told the sculptor that she loved him. Perhaps that is Sam's way of saying it to me.

Robin Hood is a story about a girl becoming a better person for a man she loves, not for him, but simply because he inspires good traits in her. Again, I could see how I might be the knight, and Sam, Robin Hood. It's flattering to imagine Sam having such a reaction to me. But there were two things that stuck out to me in that story that kind of scared me. First, Sam's description of the knight as being "foreign". It seems like such a small detail, but I'm afraid that Sam sees me that way, as a stranger who she often doesn't understand. The other detail, also small, that caught my attention was that the two people got married. I don't know if I'm reading too far into all this, but I wonder…

I mean, something's going on with Sam. Carly said she's not just here to visit.

Does Sam want to marry me?

…

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