Week

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Freddie said excitedly, coming into the Shay's apartment, where Carly and Sam were sitting on the couch, watching reruns of Girly Cow. "You will never believe what just happened!"

"You looked in the mirror and realized just how much of a geek you really are and there's no hope left for you?" Sam asked, not taking her gaze off of the television screen.

"No," Freddie snapped.
"What happened?" Carly asked, muting the T.V. and turning to face Freddie.

"Well, I just got an amazing opportunity that will help my future a lot," Freddie said. "How you coming on planning your future, Sam? Ms. I-Only-Applied-To-One-School."

"Hey, I applied to two," Sam defended.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you actually had to apply to the Seattle Delinquency Academy."

"Hey! You better-"

"Guys!" Carly said loudly. "Could you not fight? My God, you're acting like animals!"

"She started it," Freddie mumbled.

"And I'm finishing it," Carly said firmly. "Now tell us your big news that's apparently so good for your future."

"I just got offered a really amazing internship at this local tech store," Freddie grinned. "It specializes in computer updates, virus protections, all sorts of things. I'm gonna be responsible for taking care of a lot of the equipment that really big companies bring in there to have fixed. Isn't that insane?"

"Wow, that does sound really cool, doesn't it Sam?" Carly smiled.
"Eh, 'cool' and anything Benson's associated with don't really mix well," Sam shrugged.

"You know what? I'm in too good of a mood to let you bother me today, Sam," Freddie said.

"I never knew you even applied for any internships," Carly said.

"That's the best part," Freddie told her. "I didn't apply. The owner of the store came to me and said that he heard that I was really good with technology and that he'd love to have me intern with him. I start next week! And, it gets even better, this guy went to MIT! If I can get him to like me, he might be able to put in a good word with the dean of admissions there and help me boost my chances of getting in!"

"Oh my God!" Carly exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you, Freddie. We should do something to celebrate. Spencer's out picking up smoothies right now, I'm gonna tell him to swing by the bakery and pick up some cupcakes. No, no. This is cake big. I'll even have him get the special frosting on it."

"Yup, this really is perfect," Freddie said happily, sitting down on the chair next to the couch as Carly dialed Spencer's number on his phone.

"Yeah, I'll bet your lame pals in AV club will be real excited," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"Ha, ha," Freddie said dryly. "And don't you get any ideas about ruining this for me like you did my Pear Store job. There's no way this place would ever let you work there. They don't sell anything, they only help their clients with tech problems and work on developing new updates and stuff, so you won't be able to wow the boss with your abrasive sales techniques. Nope, the only way this place will hire you is if you've got the intellect of a computer wiz."

"Get over yourself, Fredgut," Sam said. "You got an internship. You don't even get paid."

"Aw," Freddie grinned. "Is someone jealous that something went my way?"

"You're really asking for it, aren't you?" Sam warned him. She got to her feet and headed upstairs. "Just remember…you won't be that good typing on a computer if your fingers are broken."

…..

"Wow, you're really good," Freddie's boss, a large Italian man, said to him as he typed quickly into a Pearbook that a businessman had dropped off for an update.

"Thanks," Freddie smiled.

So far, his first week as an intern at the tech company had been going just as well as he had hoped. His boss was nice, the customers were actually semi-competent about computers and understood him when he explained about processors and data launchers, and, best of all, Sam hadn't been in yet to try and embarrass him.

He supposed he had been a little hard on Sam, rubbing the internship in her face like he did the other day, but it wasn't as if she had actually been upset by what he had said. After all, she was Sam Puckett; that girl was like a brick wall when it came to that stuff.

"You know," Freddie's boss continued. "I'm really glad I took that advice and gave you this internship. You've been very helpful."

"Advice?" Freddie asked. "You mean someone actually advised you to hire me?" Well this gig just kept getting better.

"Sure," his boss shrugged. "My niece. I was talking to her one night and mentioned I could use some help around the shop, and she told me you'd be perfect for an internship here. She showed me some of the stuff you did on that and I was sold just like that. One of the best decisions of my life, if I do say so myself. I'll have to remember to thank her for the recommendation next time I see her."

"Oh, so your niece is an iCarly fan then?" Freddie asked.

His boss gave him a strange look. "My niece is Sam Puckett."

Freddie almost dropped the Pearbook he was working on. "What?"

"Yeah, didn't you know?" his boss said.

"I-I-I didn't-"

"Well, looks like it's just about lunchtime," his boss said, looking at his watch. "I'm going to go pick up some sandwiches. But hey, when I get back, I'm going to call one of my old professors from MIT who just so happens to be on the admission panel this year and maybe let it slip that a certain applicant is a fine young man who defiantly knows his way around a computer."

"That-That would be incredible, thank you," Freddie said.

"No problem," he replied kindly.

Freddie was still in shock as his boss left the shop. Sam had gotten him this internship? Sam, his ex-girlfriend and frienemy? And even stranger, didn't even tell him she had done it, as a way of having him in his debt?

He shook his head, still confused. What the heck was going on?

…..

"Sam!" Freddie said, knocking on Sam's front door the next morning. "Sam!"

"Dude!" Sam snapped, answering the door. She was still wearing her pajamas and her hair was a mess. "It is eight o'clock in the morning! What could you possibly want?"

"Your uncle is the one who owns the tech shop?" Freddie asked.

Sam looked at the ground. "Uh…what-what tech shop?"

"The one where I intern!"

"Okay fine, yes," Sam admitted. "He's one of the few in my family who didn't wind up in prison."

"And you recommended me to him?" Freddie questioned.

"Maybe," Sam mumbled.

"Why?" Freddie asked. "That's so…unlike you."

"Well when he came over here for dinner the other night, he just kept going on and on about how he could use an extra body over at his shop," Sam sighed. "I mean what was I supposed to do? Send him Gibby?"

"I just-I just never would've thought you'd do something this nice for me," Freddie said.

Sam rose an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well…because," Freddie said, as though he was stating something completely obvious. "You hate me."

Sam stared at him for a long time before she finally replied. "I don't know what you heard in the elevator that night," she said softly. "But I'm pretty sure I didn't say 'I hate you'."

Freddie blinked as the memory of that night came rushing back to him; those three words they exchanged. "Oh."

Sam gave him a small smile. "And anyway, my uncle's apparently pretty influential at MIT. Well, actually, not with one department…he did something…he's a Puckett after all. But with your grades, iCarly, and his recommendation, you're a lock for that school. And I'm gonna need to have someone who's all successful in their life so I can mooch money off them every once in awhile. You know, since apparently my future's not looking quite as good."

"Sam," Freddie sighed. "Come on, you-you know I didn't mean that. It was wrong of me to say."

"Wasn't that wrong," Sam muttered.

"Sam," Freddie said firmly. "You're going to have a future. You'll be successful, I know it. Hey, what's that other college you said you applied to, I never asked. I know the one was Washington State with Carly, but what's the second one?"

Sam chuckled. "A culinary school in New York."

Freddie smiled. "Staying close to food, huh?"

"Of course," Sam replied.

"Well, anyone as passionate about food as you are would be an awesome chef," Freddie told her sincerely.

"You mean that?" Sam asked.
Freddie nodded. "I do."

Sam smiled. "Well…thanks. But seriously dude, it's eight in the morning. I'm going back to bed."

"Oh, right, sorry," Freddie said.

Sam rolled her eyes as she turned to head back into the house.

"Oh, and Sam?" Freddie said quickly.

"What?"

"Thanks."