Dead
"Isn't it ironic," Carly said as she took a slice of pizza from the box sitting on her coffee table. "That Sam's always been the one who has hated school the most, yet she's the one who's going to be in school the longest? I mean who would've seen this coming?"
"I know, it's kind of funny," Freddie chuckled, helping himself to a slice of pizza as well. "Here we are, both done with school forever, and Sam still has three more years to go."
"Keep it up, and you'll both be wearing that pizza," Sam said, not looking up from the large book she was reading at the kitchen table.
It had been four months since the iCarly trio had graduated from college. After graduation, Carly and Freddie had both been fortunate enough to find starting positions within their dream careers. Carly, who had studied interior design at Washington State, had landed a job as a decorator at a local office, and Freddie, who had studied software design at MIT, had been offered a position at the Pear Company. Sam, on the other hand, had come to the realization during her college experience that the career that she really desired was a lawyer which, unlike her friend's job choices, required her to complete additional schooling in law school. She had just started a month ago, and she was already so buried under all of her work.
"You know we're just kidding, baby," Freddie chuckled, sitting down next to his girlfriend. "Anyway, why don't you take a break and eat before the pizza gets cold?"
"Can't, I have to finish reading over this case brief first," Sam said, still not looking up from her book. "I have to know it inside and out by tomorrow."
"But you've been reading all day," Freddie frowned.
"Yes, because this is a very long brief," Sam snapped. "And I still have another hundred pages of constitutional law to read tonight too."
"You still need to eat," Freddie pointed out.
"I will, later," Sam said. "But right now I really have to get through this if I want to have any chance of getting more than four hours of sleep tonight."
Freddie looked over at Carly and exchanged a look. He had never seen Sam postpone a meal. Especially not to do homework. But then again, she was in law school now, and Freddie was beyond proud of how seriously she had been taking her classes. He certainly didn't want to get in the way of that.
"Well, alright," Freddie conceded. "We'll make sure to leave you plenty of pizza."
"Thanks," Sam sighed.
"This is so weird," Carly whispered to Freddie as he walked back over to her. "Seeing Sam studying so hard. It's…unnatural."
"I know, it is kind of strange," Freddie agreed. "But she really likes this law stuff. I guess that's why she's working so much."
"Still, it's like all she does anymore is sit there and read law books and cases," Carly said. "You know she even missed the big Shelby Marx fight last night?"
"Really?"
"Uh-huh," Carly nodded.
"Well…law school is tough," Freddie reasoned. "And she's just started. I'm sure once she gets adjusted and used to her classes she'll get back to her old self. Besides, wouldn't we rather have Sam actually trying in her classes than goofing off like she did in high school?"
"I guess," Carly said. "Still…this is some weird chiz."
…
"Hey, hey," Freddie said cheerfully a week later as he let himself into Sam and Carly's shared apartment with two lattes in hand.
"Hey," Sam said from the couch, where she had stacks of paper spread out around her. "Did you bring the coffee?"
"Yup," Freddie nodded, handing her the beverage. "One double mocha-caramel swirl with extra whipped cream. Your favorite."
"Thanks, you're a life saver," Sam said, taking the drink and beginning to gulp it down. "I've been up since six and my eyes feel like they're gonna fall off."
"Why have you been up since six?" Freddie frowned. "It's Saturday. You don't have classes."
"Yeah, but my professor assigned us all the cases we're going to be presenting next week, and it's gonna take forever to get everything done," Sam said. "I have to read up on the defendant I'm representing, prepare an opening argument, think of counterarguments for anything the prosecution tries to throw at me-"
"Wow, that seems real intense," Freddie commented.
"It is," Sam sighed.
"Law school's really hard, isn't it?" Freddie said sympathetically.
"No chiz," Sam said.
Freddie sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "Baby, no offense, but you kind of look exhausted. Why don't you go lie down for a little while?"
"I can't, I need to get this stuff done," Sam said, turning back to her books.
"But Sam, come on, you've been working non-stop for weeks," Freddie chuckled. "I'm sure an hour nap won't put you behind."
"Oh, that's easy for you to say!" Sam snapped. "You're done with school! All you've got to do now is show up and play with computers for the rest of your life. I have a million legal terms to memorize, case verdicts to learn, laws to understand…you know how many people don't even make it past their first year of law school? A lot! Look at Spencer!"
"Sam, you'll be fine," Freddie assured her. "You don't have to stress out like this. I'm proud of you for taking law school so seriously, but you-"
"Can you save the lectures until the semester end?" Sam cut him off.
"Sam…"
"Thanks for the coffee and all, but I kind of need some peace and quiet to get this work done," Sam said. "So I'll see you later, okay."
Freddie frowned as he stared at his girlfriend. She had bags under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and he had never seen her looking so anxious and stressed out.
He had to do something.
….
The following Monday, Sam entered the apartment, tossing her bag down on the floor by the front door. She had just finished her classes for the day, and all she wanted to do was make herself a sandwich and crawl into bed. But she had so much reading to do she wondered if she'd even be able to get to sleep before three in the morning.
She grabbed herself a can of soda from the fridge and headed to the table, where she had left her books and other study materials, prepared to get started on her mountain of work. To her surprise, though, the table was completely bare.
"Dang it, Carly," Sam sighed. Carly was always getting into her cleaning moods when she would insist on rearranging the entire apartment. She figured her best friend had moved her books somewhere else. Hopefully she'd be able to find them quickly. Unfortunately for her, though, she wasn't able to find her books in the living room, her bedroom, or even the hall closet.
"Ugh, where are they?" Sam moaned. "This apartment isn't that big! They have to be around here somewhere!"
Just then the apartment door opened and Freddie walked in.
"Oh perfect," Sam said, looking over at her boyfriend. "I can use an extra set of eyes. Carly moved my textbooks somewhere and I need you to help me find them."
"Carly didn't move your books," Freddie said simply.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sam frowned. "I left them on the kitchen table this morning and now they're gone. If she didn't move them then where are they? They didn't just get up and walk away."
"No, they didn't," Freddie agreed. "But I did move them."
"What? Why?" Sam said, confused. "Where'd you put them?"
"Somewhere," Freddie said vaguely.
"What? Dude! Give me my books!" Sam said.
"I'll give them to you," Freddie said. "After you take some time unwind and relax."
"You've got to be kidding me," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "I don't have time to unwind and relax! And shouldn't you be glad I'm actually doing my schoolwork? You lectured me about it all through high school and college!"
"Yes, of course I'm glad that your taking law school seriously, but Sam…look at you," Freddie said. "You've been working non-stop since the semester started. It's not healthy! You barely sleep, you don't go out except to go to class, and you've even canceled out last six dates. I'm worried about you! And so is Carly. You need a break."
"No, I need my books," Sam said. "So give them to me!"
"No," Freddie said firmly, crossing his arms. "Not until you've had fun."
"You're being ridiculous," Sam said. "I'll have fun after the semester ends and I pass my classes. Now give me my books before I give you a Texas Wedgie!"
"Please, you've given me so many of those that I'm immune to them," Freddie scoffed. "And I'm not giving you your books back until you've taken a well-deserved break. And after years of dating you, I've learned to be quite stubborn about things."
Sam let out a frustrated moan, but Freddie still stood his ground, completely unfazed.
"Fine!" she exclaimed. "I'll have fun! But then you better give me my books, Fredgut. I mean it."
"I will," Freddie promised.
"So what are we going to do anyway?" Sam sighed.
"Come on," Freddie smiled, taking her hand. "You'll see."
….
"How did I not know about this music festival?" Sam asked several hours later as her and Freddie sat on a blanket in the park, watching one of their favorite bands play on the small stage.
"Well I doubt they'd think to advertise for this in one of your law books," Freddie chuckled, putting his arm around her.
"Yeah, I guess not," Sam agreed.
"So," Freddie said. "Did you have a good time tonight?"
"Let's see, dinner at my favorite barbecue place, laser tag, and an awesome concert? I'd say this was a pretty cool night," Sam said, giving him a small smile.
"Better than studying?"
"Way better," Sam grinned.
"Good," Freddie said, satisfied. "I'm sorry I hid your law books and all, but I just really wanted to get you out of your apartment to have some fun."
"It's okay," Sam said. "But where did you hide them?"
"Under my kitchen counter where I store all the cleaning supplies my mom sends me," Freddie replied. "Figured that would be the last place you look."
"Smart," Sam chuckled.
"Anyway, you-you're not still mad about me forcing you out tonight, are you?" Freddie asked.
Sam shook her head. "No, I guess not. It has been a pretty awesome night. It's been ages since I've done anything on a Monday nights besides study. God…law school has turned me into such a loser."
"Nah, you're a Puckett, and Pucketts are anything but losers," Freddie told her.
"True," Sam agreed. She looked down at her lap. "Well, anyway, I-I'm sorry if I've been all crotchety lately. I guess we haven't been spending time together as much as we used to and-"
"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for," Freddie said. "I get it. Law school is hard. I looked through your books when I took them and that stuff looks like it was written in another language. I have no idea how you've managed to cram all that into your head. I never could."
"Yeah, well…" Sam shrugged.
"But you do like this stuff, don't you?" Freddie asked.
"I do," Sam nodded. "It's really interesting. Plus I realized once I become an actual lawyer, I'll save my family a ton in legal fees, which will be kind of cool."
"I bet they'll all love that," Freddie laughed.
The two were silent for a moment.
"But, Sam, I-I understand how stressful law school is," Freddie started slowly. "But I still can't help but think that you're going a little extreme with how hard you've been working. Carly says most nights you don't go to bed until after four, and then you wake up early for your classes at eight in the morning. That's not healthy, baby."
"I just have to do good," Sam sighed. "They kick you out if your grade point average falls below a two-five."
"Yeah, but didn't you say you aced that case brief you turned in last week?" Freddie said. "And you've been doing all your assigned reading and keeping up with the rest of your work. I'd say your in a real good place. Don't you think maybe you can ease up just a little bit? Just until you catch up with your sleep at least?"
Sam didn't reply.
"You know you're going to be fine, right?" Freddie said softly. "You're going to get through law school and become the best lawyer out there. You're not going to be one of the ones who doesn't make it."
"How do you know that?" Sam mumbled. "It was a miracle that I even got in to law school. I know everybody was shocked when it happened. Back at Washington State, a bunch of the people who I had studied for the LSAT with said there must've been a fluke for me to have gotten in at all. Now they're all just probably waiting for me to flunk out so things can get back to normal. And I-I just want to prove them wrong. I guess…I guess that's why I've been acting so crazy lately."
"Sam, you will prove them wrong," Freddie said firmly. "You've always been so much smarter than people give you credit for. It sucks that people doubt you, but that's their problem. You'll ace your classes, baby. I just don't want to see you working yourself so hard that you make yourself miserable."
Sam gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a few breaks here or there…I have gotten really behind on Strangest Surgeries. And I do miss sleep. A lot."
"Anything else you miss?" Freddie asked, raising a suggestive eyebrow.
"Yeah, Carls and I haven't had any Girl Nights in ages," Sam said.
"Oh," Freddie said.
"And I guess I have missed you too," Sam chuckled, leaning over and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Um, thanks Freddie. Thanks for making me have fun tonight. I really needed this."
"Anytime, princess," Freddie said, pulling her closer.
