Farm

Eight-year old Samantha Puckett sat on the swings of the playground, slowly swinging herself back and forth.

Her twin sister, Melanie, had just left her today. She was going off to some fancy school in some other state and Sam didn't even know when she'd be back.

Sam had wanted to go with her, but her mother had told her that the school only wanted Melanie. That didn't surprise Sam. Everyone wanted Melanie. She was perfect. And here she was, left all by herself without her sister who had been her best friend her whole life.

She didn't know what she would do now. Who would play with her at home? Her mom never seemed to have time and anytime her cousins or aunts and uncles would show up, it would only be a matter of time before they were dragged off back to prison.

Sam had met a nice girl at school last week. Her name was Carly Shay and she had actually stood up to Sam when she tried to take her sandwich one day at lunch. Sam had found that pretty impressive…

Still, though, Carly lived in some nice apartment with her older brother. She couldn't entertain her after school like Melanie had. Sam sighed as she remembered how almost every day after school (except for the days when their mother would forget to pick them up) the girls would come to this park that was only down the street from their house and would play together until it got dark and Melanie insisted that they get home for dinner.

But now she was stuck here on her own with no one to play with…

Sam began to scan the playground, seeing if anyone could peak her interest. There were a couple of kids playing by the slide, but they were younger than her. A few children ran around playing tag but Sam remembered throwing a ball at one of kids' faces last week and doubted they'd be willing to let her join. Then she spotted a boy who looked to be about her age sitting in the sandbox, alone.

Sam, figuring anything would beat sitting by herself for the rest of the afternoon, jumped off the swing and walked towards the sandbox, where she could now see that the boy was making something in the sand.

"What are you making?" she asked bluntly as she stood behind the boy.

The boy looked up at her, startled.

"I'm making a farm," he replied.

Sam scoffed. "Farms are stupid."

"No they aren't!" the boy defended.

"Are too," Sam said, crossing her arms. "They're boring."
"They have cool animals," the boy pointed out, returning his attention to his sand farm. "I read a book about them at school."

"Books are dumb too," Sam said, sitting down next to the boy.

"What are you doing?" he frowned.

"Helping you build your farm," Sam said. "Can I make pigs? They're my favorite."

"But-But you said they were stupid," the boy said, confused.

Sam didn't reply as she began to pile sand into a small pile.

"My name's Freddie," the boy said as he continued to watch Sam curiously. "What's your name?"

"I don't want to tell you," Sam replied simply.

"Why not?"

Sam shrugged.

"But how can we be friends if I don't know your name?" Freddie asked.

"We're not friends," Sam mumbled. "We're just making a farm. Hand me that shovel?"

"Well…how old are you?" Freddie asked. "I'm eight."

"I'm eight too," Sam told him, not looking up from her sand work.

"Are you in the second grade?"

"I wish I wasn't."

"I'm in second grade too," Freddie smiled. "I'm in Ms. Mullers class."

Sam had never heard of that teacher. "My teacher is Ms. Smith. She's the worst and she smells like old mustard."

"I don't know who she is," Freddie said. "That's weird. I know all the second grade teachers at Seattle Springs Elementary School."
"I go to Ridgeway Elementary," Sam replied.

"Whoa!" Freddie said, amazed. "I never met someone from another school before!"

Sam rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

For almost two hours, the two children stayed in the sandbox, talking about topics that ranged from what kinds of cookies their schools served for lunch to whether the ants crawling along the side of the sandbox could understand English.

The important things.

Suddenly, just as the sky was beginning to grow dark, a loud voice from the picnic tables called "Freddie!"

"That's my dad," Freddie said, getting to his feet and wiping the sand off of him. "I have to go home. My mom doesn't like it when my dad keeps me out late."

"Oh," Sam said, slightly disappointed that they hadn't gotten to finish building their sand farm. And then, before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Can you come back here tomorrow?"

Freddie grinned. "You said we weren't friends."

"We-We aren't," Sam said lamely.

"I'll ask my dad," Freddie said. "But I bet he'll say yes. My dad's super fun."

"Okay," Sam nodded.

Freddie turned and started towards the picnic tables.

"Hey!" Sam called after him.

He stopped and looked back over his shoulders. "Yeah?"

"Sam," Sam said.

"Huh?"

"That's my name," Sam told him. "Sam."

Freddie smiled. "Bye, Sam."

…..

The next day Freddie returned to the park, just as he had said. And he returned the day after that, and the next day. It soon became a routine; the second Sam would get home from school she would run off to the park where Freddie would be waiting for her at the sandbox. This went on for almost a year. And even though Sam and Freddie never saw each other outside the playground, they developed a close bond that neither of the children could explain.

Sam never told anybody about Freddie; he was her park friend and no one else's. She never mentioned him to Carly at school and when her mother would occasionally ask what she did at the park everyday after school, Sam would just shrug and mumbled whatever response came to her mind first.

One afternoon just like any other, Sam ran to the playground, spotting Freddie at the sandbox, just like she did every other day.

"Freddie," Sam said, plopping down next to him. "Wanna hear a funny story? At school today my teacher was trying to put on lipstick, but then she-hey, what's the matter?"
Freddie was staring off, barely listening. "It's my parents," he sighed.

"What about them?" Sam asked.

"They're getting a divorce," Freddie mumbled.

Sam frowned. "What's that?"

"It's when a mom and dad decide they don't love each other anymore and they don't want to stay married," Freddie explained. "They move away from each other and everything."

"Whoa," Sam said in amazement. "Are you allowed to do that?"

"I guess so," Freddie shrugged.

"That's suckish," Sam said. "Hey, I know what will cheer you up! We can go play on the monkey bars and-"

"I can't," Freddie sighed, looking as though he might cry.

"Why not?" Sam asked, confused.

"Because, I have to go home and pack up my stuff," Freddie said. "Me and my mom are going to move in with my Aunt Susan."

"You're moving too?" Sam exclaimed. "That's no fair! Your parents are the ones getting the stupid divorce!"

"I know," Freddie agreed. "I hate it."

"Well, does-does your aunt live far away?" Sam asked.

"Sort of," Freddie nodded. "My mom says she's like twenty minutes from here."

"Well, that-that's not that bad," Sam reasoned. "You can still come here sometimes and-"

"My mom would never take me to the park," Freddie scoffed. "She says parks are dirty and filled with germs and ticks. That's why my dad always takes me."

"But-But can't he take you still?" Sam said.

Freddie shook his head. "No. He's moving to Georgia."

"What?"

"I told you, I hate this," Freddie said heavily. "I wish they never even invented divorces."

"So you're never coming back to the park?" Sam asked softly.

"No," Freddie said sadly. "I wasn't even supposed to come today, but I begged my dad to take me one last time so I could tell you and-and so we could say goodbye."

Sam remembered the last time she felt this way was last year, when Melanie had left. But that's when she had found Freddie to make her feel better. Now that he was gone, who was supposed to help her this time?

"I have to go," Freddie muttered. He slowly stood up. He held out his arms.

Sam took a step forward and did something she rarely ever did.

She hugged him.

"Bye, Sam," Freddie said.

Sam watched him run off, feeling the stinging of tears in her eyes.

…..

Two Years Later

"How cool was it that we got to go to the mall my ourselves?" eleven-year old Carly grinned as her and Sam walked up to the Shay's apartment, Sam's new afterschool hangout.

"I know," Sam beamed.

"We were practically adults," Carly said. "We should've gone to Build-A-Bra!"

"My mom got banned from there," Sam said as they stepped in front of Carly's apartment. Sam looked across the hall and noticed a stack of boxes.

"Hey, what's up with the junk?" Sam commented.

"Oh, we're finally getting new neighbors," Carly explained. "They've been moving in all morning but I haven't actually met them yet. Oh! But Spencer says there's a kid our age! Maybe we should knock and say hello."

"Ick, people," Sam cringed.

But before Carly could attempt to convince her, the door opened up and a young boy with brown hair and eyes walked out.

Sam's eyes widened and she almost dropped the smoothie in her hand. She couldn't believe it! It was Freddie!

Freddie was back! He had moved in across from Carly! This was perfect…now the two could see each other again! They could be friends again!

She opened her mouth, about to greet Freddie and run over and hug him, but before she could do so, Freddie stared right at Carly.

"Whoa!" he said, looking like a deer in headlights. "You're pretty!"

Sam frowned. What?

Carly gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh well….thanks. I'm Carly. I live across the hall with my brother, Spencer. I guess we're neighbors now."

"We are?" Freddie said excitedly. "That's great! That's amazing! That's-wow, you're hair is really shiny."

"Oh, um, conditioner," Carly said a bit awkwardly.

Sam couldn't believe this…Freddie hadn't even acknowledged her.

"So…" Carly said, clearing her throat. "What-What's your name?"

"Freddie," Freddie said, still staring at Carly like a love-struck puppy.

"Well, um, Freddie," Carly said. "This is my best friend Sam."

"Hi, Sam, nice to meet you," Freddie said quickly, turning his attention back to Carly. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Sam felt as though she had been slapped in the face. He-He doesn't even remember me… Sam thought, flabbergasted.

Sure, it had been almost two-and-a-half years since the two had last seen each other at the park and she figured she probably looked somewhat different, but she had still recognized him!

"Um…no," Carly said. "Hey, um, my-my brother made spaghetti tacos for me and Sam. Do you want come over and eat them with us?"
"Yeah I do!" Freddie nodded at once.

Carly unlocked her front door and headed inside, Freddie at her heels, practically drooling.

Sam simply stood in the hall, stunned.

He doesn't remember me…he doesn't even care about me, Sam thought sadly. All he cares about is Carly…

How could this be? The two of them had been so close! Had their friendship meant that little to Freddie that he had been able to forget it so easily?
That had to be it…

And that's when Sam realized how painful it was to care about someone who didn't care about you back.

Fine, Sam thought firmly to herself, clenching her fists. If that's how he wants to play…fine. I don't need Freddie. Freddie's nothing but a-a- nub! A dorky, lame, nub!"

"Sam?" Carly said, poking her head out into the hall, Freddie right at her side. "You coming? I thought spaghetti tacos were your favorite."

"I-Yeah, yeah I'm coming," Sam said. She turned to Freddie. "Hey, where'd you get that shirt? Geeks for Us? It looks like something you'd find in a dumpster."

"Sam!" Carly scolded.

"My mom bought me this shirt!" Freddie said indignantly.

"Yeah, well you should burn it," Sam snapped. She stepped into the apartment. "Although it does go with your geeky face."