Author's Note: The Wednesday Update for my story! For those who are reading along, enjoy and please review! Your following is appreciated as always. My other work, Sister Struggles, is still being written and revised - I'll have the fully completed version up in segments as soon as possible!
Third and fourth period passed without much consequence. As the bell rang again signaling sophomores to go to lunch, Freddie mindlessly emptied his textbooks into his locker. Carly and Sam changed books at the end of lunch and as such had already secured seats in cafeteria, now filling up with hungry students.
As Freddie closed his locker and walked downstairs, he began to scratch his forearm harder. He had been scratching it throughout his computer science class, but he hadn't really given the itch much thought. Stopping short of the cafeteria, Freddie scratched some more and gritted his teeth together in frustration. He dug his short coarse nails into his forearm, scratching away until his now scarlet coarse skin cracked and peeled.
For the first time in his life, Freddie valued his mother's doting ways. Digging into the depths of his bag, he found a tube of clear unopened ointment between broken pencils and scrap paper. The label read it was intended for burns, lacerations, cuts, and any other form of harm imaginable to one's skin. Chuckling at its many uses, Freddie tore the cover off, broke the seal, and lathered a liberal amount on his skin.
The ointment stung and his skin soon went numb, much to his relief.
Willing to settle for slimy numb skin, Freddie found his friends already half finished with their lunch inside the cafeteria:
"Hey Freddie!" Carly chimed, patting the seat adjacent to her.
While the rest greeted him, Sam stared at the globs of translucent ointment on his forearm and the tube still in his hand. With her mind inundated with lewd thoughts, Sam mercilessly teased Freddie as he sat down.
"Where were you?" Sam demanded.
"Oh, yeah, I was just –" Freddie began.
"Didn't miss me too much in two class periods, did you?" she snickered, pointing to the ointment still lathered on his forearm and fingers.
"No?" Freddie replied, with earnest confusion. Carly grimaced and slammed her palm into her forehead, knowing well Freddie was in for serious embarrassment. Gibby laughed at Sam's insinuation, while the rest of the table grinned, pointed and snickered.
"You pervert…" Wendy whispered.
Finally grasping Sam's lusty suggestion, Freddie began to shout:
"No! No! Oh god! Come on, Sam!"
Knowing her job was finished, Sam ignored his exclamation and finished her lunch listening to the sounds of kids laughing or muttering in disgust at Freddie. Carly sighed and managed to have the table become calm with many hand gestures and pleads to be kind.
"My arm got itchy guys, alright?" he said in disgust. "I put some ointment on to ease the itch. Why else would I have so much on my arm on purpose anyways?" he reasoned.
"I don't know, you tell us, you sick, sick boy" Sam teased.
Frowning, he came to realization Sam must have set him up:
"You set me up!" he wailed in great desperation.
"Actually…" Sam started. "I didn't. You did yourself in on this one, Benson!"
Quietly unpacking his bagged lunch, Freddie muttered to himself:
"Like anyone would miss a monster like you…"
Hearing his whisper, Sam looked away and frowned in great disappointment. She hadn't gotten the thrill of embarrassing him in days – she simply felt guilty and now was no exception. Refusing to apologize, Sam simply decided to include Freddie in a lighter conversation.
"So Fredweird. Have you seen Missy yet?"
"Actually, yeah I have..." Freddie replied.
"Was she evil as ever? I bet she gave you hard time!" Carly interjected.
"To be honest, she was pretty nice" Freddie admitted. Seeing the girls' shock, he took a bite into his sandwich and chewed contently.
"Uh, Earth to Freddie? That girl isn't nice. Don't buy her tricks for second!" Sam warned, still taken aback from Freddie's reply.
Freddie scoffed.
"She sure is nicer than you are" Freddie mumbled with the food in his mouth.
A pandemonium of gasps filled the air around the trio - the mounting tension was palpable in the air. The entire table and the ones adjacent to it grew uncharacteristically silent as students listened to another budding argument between Sam and Freddie:
"Uh, excuse me? You're calling that prissy phone-wrecking beast nicer than me?" she cried.
"Yeah, I am. What are you going to do about it?" he boomed.
Slamming her fist onto the table, Sam snatched her iced tea with her free hand and flung the open bottle towards Freddie. In a flash, Freddie was doused in iced tea; his clothes to the waist up were soiled. Without another word, Sam rose and stormed out of the cafeteria, being sure to grab her things.
"You're going to just walk away?" Freddie taunted. He rose from his seat and threw his arms in the air in frustration.
Stopping, but not switching direction, Sam replied:
"I didn't think you'd ever say that…"
Unable to discern Sam had been severely hurt in finding Missy kinder than Sam, Freddie shrugged his shoulders and worsened matters.
"You don't even know what I've done for you! " Freddie cried.
"All you've done is made my life worse than it is!" she declared.
"You? What about my life?" Freddie demanded, but his question went unanswered as Sam exited through the double doors into the hallways.
Upon her exit, all eyes fixated on Freddie. Mr. Devlin, the lunch proctor, twiddled his thumbs and stood quietly in the corner by the vending machines. He didn't dare interfere with argument, and was visibly surprised and somewhat frightened at the fight's spontaneity. He hadn't seen a fight quite like this one.
As Freddie stood, frozen by fear and plagued by indecision, Carly eyes expressed tacit disapproval of Freddie's behavior. Her eyes alone suggested he had gone too far and now he had to fix matters with Sam. Still standing, Freddie hobbled over to the trash with his soiled lunch and grabbed a handful amount of napkins. Dabbing himself, he promptly threw the wet napkins out and departed as his peers flooded the room with whispers. Carly remained quiet while juicy gossip leapt from mouth to mouth, table to table, wondering when the feuds between her friends would ever end.
Once outside the cafeteria, Freddie searched for Sam but luck had led him to Missy first. Unable to avoid a conversation, Freddie initiated a friendly greeting as he saw her leave the front office.
"Hey Missy. I didn't see you at lunch today!" he started.
"Oh, hey Freddie! I had to skip lunch to see Principal Franklin. Did I miss anything?" she inquired.
"Nothing too important" Freddie lied. He pinched and shook the collar of polo, still moist from Sam's iced tea.
"I see…" she replied, looking at Freddie's stained shirt with undying curiosity.
Embarrassed, Freddie blushed and shifted the focus of their conversation to the manila envelope Missy was pressing into her chest.
"What's in that envelope there? It's awfully thick" he noted.
"Oh what, this?" she replied, looking down at it. "It's six packets of makeup work – one for each class"
"That's brutal!" Freddie exclaimed.
"I know, right? I think I'll be able to handle it though" she replied. She shot Freddie another smile that expressed her collected and confident state.
"Wish I could say the same if I were you" Freddie replied in awe. He knew inwardly he could, but he couldn't help but compliment a girl of his academic caliber. Carly was studious, but she lacked the natural flair for learning that he knew he possessed. It's what distinguished him from the smart ones try hard, and the smart ones who try little.
"I'm certain you could. You're no slouch" she commented. Freddie laughed, evidently flattered.
"That I'm not!" he noted, giving her a playful grin.
Pleased with his now friendly demeanor, Missy parted her hair and knew she could now make a request without receiving much resistance. He played into her hands, although she couldn't help but fall under his charm as well.
"Of course. Could you do me a favor though?" she asked politely.
"What does the favor entail?" he replied.
"It's not one favor, really" she began. "It involves a series of them, much like a plan. You think you're up to it?" she teased.
"Well, I'm up for anything" Freddie replied with bravado. "You might owe me one though!"
"You haven't even heard the terms!" she exclaimed.
"I said might!" he noted. "Tell me, what do you need me to do?"
"Well, if it isn't too hard, could you help me repair my relationship with Carly and Sam? I realize the latter might be impossible to fix, but I'd like to both their friends"
"Why them? You could make others" he reasoned.
"True, but you know why. I was rude to them both and I want to apologize. Besides, I wouldn't have the chance if I tried on my own time to apologize"
"That's true…" Freddie admitted. He questioned her motives, but nonetheless allowed her to continue again:
"Ultimately, I was really hoping the four of us could be good friends, if you don't mind the idea"
"I don't" Freddie stated plainly. "Sam will object to your dream no matter what I say, do, or plead though"
"You really think so?"
"I know so"
"Hmm. We'll just have to find a way then to make matters work" she finished. As Freddie was about to object, however, Missy took her arm and wrapped it around Freddie's waist. Taken aback by her seductive maneuver, she continued to seed his mind with her visions of the future.
"Imagine us! Oh, we'd be like the four musketeers, the closest of friends. Not to mention of the four, you'd be the only man in our troupe"
Tantalized by her suggestion, Freddie swallowed his objections and kept his minor qualms to himself. Nodding in agreement, he stood at Missy's side and refused to part from her. He hadn't felt so empowered and inspired for as long as he could remember. As the idea consumed his thoughts, Missy left him with some parting words.
"Don't dwell too much on it" she teased. "If you work hard enough, it'll be real before you know it" she stated. Sliding away, she strode upstairs and out of sight.
Freddie stood idly in the hall as he reluctantly returned to reality.