Carly is tapping her pencil on her math book while lying on her stomach across a bean bag in the studio. She turns the pencil around to begin working out the story problem she just finished reading when a vibration against her leg interrupts. The number that flashes across the cell phone screen is unfamiliar and the name is listed as unknown.
"Hello?" Carly answers tentatively.
"Hi Carly!" Aspen's voice sounds bouncily on the other end.
Carly groans and contemplates hanging up, but curiosity gets the best of her.
"How did you get my number?"
Aspen's annoying giggle sounds on the other end.
"I overheard when you were giving it to someone else."
"Why are you stalking me and spreading rumors around school?"
"Stalking? Last night was coincidence. And I thought you'd be relieved to come out at school. It was kind of lonely being the only one."
"I'd appreciate it if you would lose my number and stop staring at me during class," Carly replies, fed up.
"But I really like you…"
"Sam and I are serious. Sorry," Carly lies easily.
"I doubt it. Most of the school might speculate about Sam, but I know better. She's as straight as a line. You're the one confused."
Carly slams her phone shut and tosses it onto one of the bean bag chairs behind her. All attempts to focus on homework are unsuccessful as her mind continues to wander in a direction she doesn't like.
An unexpected jolt of the door surprises Carly about an hour later. She looks up from the English assignment she has moved on to and sees Sam wandering in, taking a seat beside her.
"Why aren't you home? This isn't one of your usual nights over here."
"I got an anonymous text message telling me to 'witch my bach'. How can I possibly take on an illiterate threat-giver without back-up?"
"What was the number? I think I may know who sent it," Carly explains, reaching for the phone that Sam nearly sat on by accident.
Sam takes out her phone and they compare the number.
"Aspen called me from the same number," Carly concludes.
Sam growls while putting her phone away.
"You sure I can't lock her up somewhere isolated and make Freddie swallow the key?"
Carly smiles at the thought but quickly shakes her head.
"You're the first person they'd question when she went missing…are you spending the night?"
"I dunno. I wouldn't want Aspenrazzi to accidently catch me breathing in the same room as you. It may be in the rumor mill tomorrow that we shared your shower."
"Right, I can totally see how she'd confuse air with a shower."