Chapter 13:
Being early wasn't Sam Puckett's thing… ever… but college can change a person. She went through such a long summer after Freddie got back from New York: trying to fix what she went through with her teammates, her coach, heck, even herself. But the main thing she couldn't get was…
Why she seemed to be missing Freddie so much?
It was a, painful, thought that came in her mind after all these years of thinking she'd held it at bay. All those years of thinking she could keep it inside after those kisses, those grand kisses, that she can't seem to forget, doesn't want to remember.
She gave Freddie the brunt of her bulling ways, yet, he pushed through all of that and impressed her. Lately it seems that he's been brushing off her attacks more and more. He even seemed to be more of a friend to her, before this summer, at least. This summer has really made a mess of her head and made her almost gave into telling him how she felt.
But that wouldn't do, in Sam Puckett's eyes.
She needed an opportunity to turn the heat up and when she found it in this joke of a bet, as she would call it, she turned up the pressure. The pranks were just the tip of the iceberg. She was determined to get Freddie. No matter how far away she was, she wanted to hit, and hit hard at Freddie's will. She thought she had done, just, that at first. How frustrated he sounded at the situation. After a while, however, he started to sound even more confident.
No, that wouldn't do.
So, after collecting her thoughts, she heard from Gibby about the upcoming tournament and got Carly to go down there by making her think that she wanted to see her aunt in Manhattan. Another genius move, Puckett. She got Gibby to give the guy that was in front of Freddie, food poisoning. While she was trying to come up with another idea to take Freddie down, he came into the Cafe that fateful morning of the tournament. She was surprised and dripping with confusion until Jonah came walking in also. Then, she turned the tables with her improvising and made it seem as if she was going out with Jonah. Seeing how mad Freddie was will always be a classic.
And the Oscar for best performance in annoying a dorky best friend goes too...
Then, the fake conversation with Jonah and the saucy grin that she shot towards Freddie's staring eyes was truly the last domino to be set in place. At tip-off she let it tip over. Seeing his team demolished was, truly, just what she needed to get those foolish feelings out of her. In being so proud of her self she poured what she really thought of him to Jonah.
Her confidence, going into Volleyball Camp couldn't be higher.
She thought she had this bet in the bag and that he would call saying that he'd given up Basketball and will be fitted for the Urkel suit very soon. She waited for that call the night before she left for camp.
But it never came.
She wasn't so mad that he didn't want to talk to her, because the last message she sent him may have rattled him to a good point. Then, time rolled on and he hadn't called at all on the first or the second days of camp. So, she tried to bait him with messages to see if he calls or replies on the third and fourth days. Nothing came. Then the anger started to seep in, leading to more hostile, voicemails and text messages. She didn't understand why she was getting angry, but rather than let it take over, she worked harder at camp. But she's a Puckett, and as such, the anger was bound to take over eventually; and when it did, what started as a normal practice day on the fifth day of camp, quickly turned into a mistake that would make everything spill over. And at that point only one thing could be said.
The game had changed.
It turned from; her taking over Women's Volleyball and being the star of, not just this team, but of all of Division I, to trying to hold her place and scholarship by the end of this season. It shook her, knowing that she was that close to becoming her mother. It shook her even more, knowing that Freddie had caused it. Her mind was engulfed, now more than ever before, on those dark emotions that she didn't want. She thought that she could erase it and put him in his place when they had finally met again, that day at her meeting with the Dean and the Athletic Director, but Freddie showed no fear and just let out everything that he really wanted to say to her.
For once the dork Manned up! And what timing, right?
She barred herself from keying into the old Sam Puckett and through that week apologized to her teammates and to that freshman and eventually rejoined the team. But that aura of intimidation she wanted her opponents to feel was also being felt by her teammates.
That isn't what she wanted, not like this.
She needed a new angle, an angle she never had with her old teammates in Ridgeway. She needed to turn into something that she never thought she could be, or make herself believes to be, ever in her life before.
She was going to have to be a team player.
It was hard for her in the past few weeks but going to those Sunday dinners down in George helped her. She quickly grasped on to the styles that Diana had and, in turn, gave her a certain respect that she had given few people ever in her entire life. They started talking about recipes and other foods, as Sam was majoring in Cuisine at UW.
Eventually, their talk about recipes turned into passing stories and Sam felt that Diana had this ambition that Sam never had before. Sam was also impressed with how Diana dealt with different situations in her life. So she went into detail about what she went through.
Diana and Sam were eating after finishing another Sunday dinner at the homeless shelter. That night, they were doing classic Tuscan cuisine like the Pasta Fresca with Stracotto – Fresh Pasta with Braised Beef, and the Fritelles – Tuscan style fritters for dessert. They were in synch the way they were bringing out their dishes in great time. They had formed a, sort of, special bond during their time spent together, and they started to open up more because of it. "What was always nagging me for years was; my dad's side wanted to carry on the Cassano name in Italy, cooking in the best restaurants and what not." Said Diana, "Especially my grandfather, he wanted to me be a five-star cook in the best restaurants in all of Europe. You know what I wanted to do?"
"What?" Sam asked.
"I wanted to start a Italian diner in a quiet town. Not one of those American Italian Joints, no. A Diner that gave pure Italiano cooking from up the northern fringe to down in old Sicily, after my WNBA career is finished, of course."
"I thought I had that," Sam, quickly, replied with a scrunched up nose as she looked down and picked at her food. "But that has escaped me."
"Nah Puckett," Said Diana. "Nothing escapes ya unless you let it go,"
"I think I did,"
"How?"
"I cold cocked an opponent at an All-American game over a boy,"
"Wait?" She looks up suddenly at her "I thought I remembered you from somewhere. You're 'Parking Lot' Puckett?"
"Uh…" Oh boy, she thought. Just as she made another friend She had to go and open her big mouth about that dang…
"Impressive punch, I never liked that Carter chick, She would use some type of mind game to get to whomever she was facing. Its BS is what I would say."
"Huh?" She was surprised at how she acted towards this; to others, they had an aura of disappointment, or fear.
"Yeah, I mean she had to have some reason to deserve that even if the girl was on my team. She was overrated and somehow because of her size alone got into USC… Child please!"
"But it ruined my chance at a good Division I school…"
"Then try Division 2!" Diana cuts her off all of a sudden, "Or try the Junior College Route at least two years and then give your tapes to other Div I schools! But you don't give up on a dream when you know you can succeed. I may be playing at Eastern Washington, but I am still going to play my butt off for this team and be a first round draft pick with some WNBA team. I have the talent, the smarts, and the ambition."
"You underrate how Scouts are when looking at a school for a good WNBA Career…" Sam said as she averted her gaze.
"Pssh! If this were true in the NBA, Charles Oakley or Ben Wallace would not be noticed coming from Tiny Virginia Union and Every Duke player would be drafted. The thing is, Puckett, it shouldn't matter where you come from, it's about where you take your team, when you are on it. So that talk of ruing your chances because of that punch should be stopped. There are other ways; you just need to look for it."
"Wow" Sam mumbled.
"As you see, I'm not your average cook/basketball player, I feel like every chance I can get, I perfect my craft."
"And this is your cooking craft?"
"Mostly yes, I master in Italian cooking and mostly Sicilian works. Also, I am a student always and trying to get to our northern neighbors in Florence and Rome."
"What about basketball?"
"I train in the morning with some teammates before I come down here. I play point guard."
"Hmm," said Sam. Diana Seemed to have everything mapped out to a tee. Compared to what Sam is going through right now, as she has no idea what she wants to do in college right now.
"So, where you're from?" Diana asked as she took Sam from her thoughts. "Seattle, born and raised, you?"
"New York, Born and raised."
"Seriously?" Sam's eyes almost popped out of her head.
"You can't be surprised Puckett!" Diana exclaimed laughing through it.
"I guess I shouldn't be but, why here?"
"To get away. Everyone around me in my life was trying to pry in and get involved including family but mostly, my best friend I couldn't be around anymore."
"Why?" Why Sam wanted to know so much more about this New Yorker, she'd never be able to tell you. I mean, I can barely take Carly's blabbermouth, and she is my BFF. She thought.
"One day, I'll tell ya that" Diana replied staring at Sam wearing a smirk on her face.
Sam smirked back and they went back to their dinner in silence.
So, Sam started to feel more and more confident towards Diana and felt more attuned to what she had to say. What started as simple Sunday dinner conversations turned into IM's between each other for cooking tips, and phone calls about how they were training. In a month's time Sam had a new friend.
At this point, Sam wanted to give UW School of Cooking a try. So also she did something even more out of her character.
She went to summer school, willingly.
So she started early trying to take out those, at times, unbearable core courses. So on the Volleyball court, she was being more of a teammate, in the classroom, she was trying to gain more 'class' rather than 'ass'.
There was, however, one thing she was harshly against doing at this point.
She hadn't talked to Freddie, which has been going on for about one month now as August. Rolled around.
And she doesn't care at all; not one bit. Well, at least, that is what she's telling herself. But, that Carly, Sam thought. She won't stop being the peacemaker, now will she?
Carly and Sam are by themselves sitting at a table at a bistro across the street from where Sam is taking summer school classes. Its lunchtime and Carly wanted to see her before Sam had to go back to class.
"Sam, this feud" Carly said "No matter how justified, you think this is. You and I know that it is not."
If Sam had really known that Carly was up to another one of her 'aggressive interventions' that she was doing between Sam and Freddie, there would be no chance that she would have gone for this.
To counteract this, Sam made an actual attempt to study, as she was reviewing for calculus, her next class.
So, as Carly was doing her regular 'motherly explaining' Sam was looking straight down at her Calculus textbook with two Paninis, one in each hand.
Something's would never change.
"Why are you acting like you're the victim?" Carly continued on. "Like Freddie would take the onslaught for so long Sam, it's a reaction when he stood up to you. And you know what? I am glad he did, he isn't the same thirteen year-old Fredward Benson that was 'so in love' with me all those years ago."
Boy I wish I had that version, Sam thought, Then hating him would feel so much easier.
"Uh-huh" is what she said as she kept studying.
"That is gone now, Sam, he's changed into bolder guy now. 'iCarly' helped with being what he is now but you know who's made the bigger impact?"
"Hmm?"
"You did."
What? Is what Sam thought. "Hmm," Is what she said.
"Yes, Sam. It's so obvious. All those mean things you have done to our best friend has actually made him even stronger and he's stood up to other bullies at Ridgeway. He said and I quote 'after awhile the words she would say just didn't hit like it used to and because of that I got through high school so much easier' end quote. His. Exact. Words. Sam"
Only you Carly, Sam thought and chuckling a bit with the thought. 'Only you can do end quotes during a regular conversation. But old' Fredward manning up huh? Impressive for a dork like him of course.
"Well I am a journalism major, and see, I know the quote will get to you!" Carly replied with a big sassy smile on her face.
Sam suddenly looked up at Carly. She said that out loud? This may not end well, Sam thought readying for Carly's next move but then… A loud beeping noise just filled the atmosphere of the table.
Sam looks down and can feel a sigh of relief on her face as it was her phone alarm going off.
"Oh Chiz!" Sam exclaims, as she stands up quickly and starts putting her text book and food into her backpack. "I got to go Carls, class starts in fifteen minutes see ya!" She turned around to leave but she stopped and quickly looked back. Sam looked straight at Carly and said, "You're eating that?"
Carly, shaking her head with more than just a no expression pushed her plate towards the blonde, and Sam picked the plate up and put its contents in a ziplock bag that she brings with her. She puts the plate down and trudges away towards the school across the street.
"This isn't over Sam!" Carly yelled at Sam's retreating form.
"We never are, cupcake!" Sam replied without looking back.
That was two days ago. She hadn't seen Carly around since, but that conversation kept ringing in her mind. Especially the quote about Freddie fighting back.
It was plain to see, at the time that Freddichini manned up against me… but to say that he was getting to be a better guy because of it? "Seriously?" She mumbled, not at the thought of Freddie manning up, but at the sight of Fredward Benson that she hasn't seen in a month, practicing jump-shots at the same arena that the Volleyball team practices in.
Something is surely wrong with this picture.
Isn't it? Sam thought as he continued making jump-shots.
"This guy was serious about trying, huh?" Sam whispered with a thinking look on her face and decided instead of leaving, she goes up towards the stands and sees him at work.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoy the chapter a lot of things been going on and moved up north now in PA so I couldn't really get back to ya guys but hopefully ill get another chance to get to ya guys and give you more chapters because I love this stuff and please Review and tell me what I am doing right and wrong. I want to get better as a writer.
So thanks for reading and please review…
