iSign Up
Monday morning at Ridgeway Junior/Senior High School, Carly, Sam, and Freddie all sat limply in their homeroom class taught by none other than Ms. Briggs, barely paying any attention to the daily morning announcements being said over the loudspeaker. They were all still tired from their usual weekend shenanigans.
"...join the Canning Club this Thursday after school, room 128, for bushels of fun!"
"Ugh," Sam groaned in disgust. "It's too early for this much nubbiness. I could barely stand the walk to school this morning with Fredlumps!"
"Sam!" Carly scolded in a whisper. "Be nice! And quiet; I don't wanna be stuck here after school today, waiting for you to get out of detention."
"Fine," Sam said begrudgingly, rolling her eyes. She wished she was more immune to Carly's orders. But with a pretty face like that, who wouldn't be?
"...and finally, for those interested in driver's ed, there will be a sign-up sheet posted outside the main office today at lunch. It is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so be sure to show up promptly!"
"Hey," Freddie whispered, leaning over the aisle to talk to Carly and Sam. "Are you guys doing driver's ed?"
Carly shrugged; she hadn't thought about it at all.
"Well, I am," he smiled smugly, raising one eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah, like your mom would ever let you operate heavy machinery," Sam retorted, knowing the crazy and irrational fears Mrs. Benson held. Freddie seemed unphased though, keeping a cocky grin on his face as he went on.
"The driver's ed instructor, Mr. Calderon, goes to the same church as me and my mom, so she already knows and trusts him. He told me last year to sign up and he'd be happy to teach me."
"...that concludes our morning announcements! Have a safe, knowledge-filled day Bulldogs!"
"Alright, everyone, eyes up front!" Ms. Briggs barked. She ignored the whole class either groaning or rolling their eyes. "I trust you all did the reading over the weekend, so now we're going to answer these discussion questions. Take out a piece of paper, and write out your answer for number one."
As Carly ripped a page out of her notebook for Sam, (who conveniently "forgot" her backpack this morning) she wondered about what Freddie said. She didn't think she was in desperate need of a driver's license. Spencer could pretty much take her anywhere she needed to go, or she could walk, or take the bus. Still, it would be nice to have that extra level of freedom. Not that she didn't have a lot already, (her brother wasn't the most vigilant guardian) but…she could think of a few things to do with that freedom. Blushing, she snuck a glance over at Sam, who was drawing a picture of Freddie getting ran over by a car rather than doing work.
Ignoring the urge to elbow and reprimand her, Carly instead leaned over and whispered in the other girl's ear, "what do you think about what Freddie said?"
Sam shivered a little before answering, "about driver's ed?"
"Yeah."
"I was thinkin' about signing up for it. I still have my paycheck from when I worked at Chili My Bowl in the bank, so I'll be able to afford it. Why? Are you gonna do it?"
Carly bit her lip, thinking it over. Well, if both of them are doing it…
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'll sign up, too."
Sam turned to her and smiled. "That's great, Cupcake. Then we could see who'd win in a drag race. The, uh, motor vehicle kind."
Before she could tell Sam no, she would not be participating in any illegal vehicle racing, Ms. Briggs' shrill voice cut through the air.
"Carly! Samantha!"
Both the girls' eyes widened before whipping their heads to the front of the room, their gazes met by Ms. Brigg's cold glare.
"Seeing as how you're busy gabbing it up, you must be done with the question! Care to share with the class what you wrote down?"
Carly looked nervously down at her paper. She hadn't written all that much before being sidetracked by her conversation with Sam.
"Yes," she said, looking up at Ms. Briggs. The teacher was quiet for a moment before a scowl appeared on her face.
"Well, what did you write?!" she demanded, crossing her arms impatiently.
"All I wrote was yes!" Carly responded, waving around her paper. "I was going to elaborate, but-"
"I drew this," Sam announced proudly, standing up and excitedly displaying her drawing for the whole class to see. She got a lot of approving glances and nods, but one person didn't seem to be too fond of it.
"Hey!" Freddie cried indignantly, standing up. "Is that me getting ran over by a car?!"
"Nooo" Sam replied, gesturing to the paper. "It's a sports utility vehicle, genius! Can you all believe this guy?!" she asked the class.
"I don't care what it is, get rid of it!" Freddie demanded.
"No way, it's my drawing!" Sam protested.
"Well, I saw Carly give you the paper, so technically it's her's!"
"Carly loves this drawing, way more than she'll ever love you, so-"
"Sam!" Carly cut in. "That's kinda rude to do-"
"I don't care what Carly loves, as she clearly has no taste being with you, of all people-"
"Watch it, Freddifer," Sam bit out through her teeth, a mean sneer on her face. That insult cut a little too deep.
"I'll "watch it" if you give me that drawing!"
"No!"
"It's a picture of me, so technically-"
"I don't get technical, Benson; I'm not a nub like you!"
"Guys, wouldjya-" Carly tried.
"That technical-ness helps make iCarly, so-"
"-Sam, just put that-" she tried again.
"We've been over this, the people in front of the camera-"
"-Freddie, would you please sit-" third times the charm, maybe?
Suddenly, the ear-splitting sound of bagpipes filled the air, and all three kids stopped and looked to the front where Ms. Briggs was standing, playing away at her bagpipes like there was no tomorrow while simultaneously glaring at the trio.
When she saw she got their full attention, she stopped and gently set the instrument down, then looked back at the three with the angriest gaze they'd ever seen from her.
"Detention. All three of you!"
"But!-" they all protested in unison.
"You wanna make it double?!" she raised an eyebrow, almost like a challenge. Sam started to respond, but Carly caught her in time and immediately slapped her hand over the other girl's mouth, giving her 'The Look' before turning back to Ms. Briggs with a forced smile on her face, shaking her head.
"No, thank-you…" she replied.
"Then sit down! Everyone, take out your books…"
"I can't believe Sam got us all detention!"
It was after third hour, right before lunch, and Carly and Sam were putting their books in their locker when Freddie showed up, complaining about their first hour antics.
"Like you were so innocent," Sam replied with a look of disgust, slamming her locker shut.
"I was the victim!" Freddie cried, pointing to his chest. "I didn't want the whole class to see an embarrassing drawing of me!"
"They probably wouldn't have known it was you if you hadn't announced it, dishrag. Now move; mama needs to eat lunch before she dies from starvation," Sam said, holding up her hand to shove Freddie away. Wisely, he jumped back instead. Sam smiled at this, very pleased at his reaction, and began to walk towards the cafeteria. Carly and Freddie followed.
"Carly, don't you think it was Sam's fault we're in trouble now?" he asked. Usually, when he and Sam had fights, Carly would take one of their sides. She was pretty fifty/fifty on which way she'd go.
"Well, she did draw an unflattering picture of you…" Carly conceded. She was walking in the middle, between Sam and Freddie, who had a smirk on his face and was about to say "I knew it!" when Carly continued on.
"But you didn't have to throw a fit over it! Seriously, you sounded like a whiny five-year-old! "Well, technically, it's a picture of me, so!"" Carly imitated, altering her voice.
"Uh, that's not how I sound!" Freddie said back defensively.
"Yeah, but that's what you said! Plus, you really insulted me and Sam with your whole "Carly has no taste, being with you of all people!" line. I thought you supported us? I thought you were our friend?"
Freddie looked away nervously, feeling ashamed. He'd been the second person his friends had confided in about their relationship (the first being Spencer) and, though he was a bit shocked at first, he'd been totally for it. Honestly, it was really obvious Carly and Sam were meant to be together, in hindsight. The way they talked to each other, their actions around each other. He had initially been a bit hurt because of his long-standing crush on Carly, but he'd readily accepted them pairing up and congratulated the new couple. They were so good for each other, who wouldn't want them to be an item?
"You're right, Carly, Sam. I really shouldn't've said that. It was totally out of line, and I'm sorry. It was just a heat-of-the-moment thing; I promise you I didn't mean it. You're my best friends; I totally support you guys, no question."
Carly smiled slightly at this. "Thanks, Freddie. I appreciate it."
Sam was a little more harsh.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don't go thinkin' we're BFF's or anything, Fredwad. My reputation would tank if I was linked to you."
Freddie just smiled and shook his head good-naturedly at this, as did Carly. Sam wasn't too good at expressing her emotions, so they knew this was her way of saying all was forgiven. Carly reached over and took her girlfriend's hand, giving it a little squeeze as they walked into the cafeteria.
Sam was still in awe of the fact that she was the girlfriend of Carly Shay, the most beautiful, sweet, perfect girl on the planet. She'd been in love with Carly ever since she'd been pushed down on the ground for stealing her tuna fish sandwich back when they first met, so it was like a freakin' dream come true actually being in a relationship with Carly. And, yeah, Freddie's earlier comment had stung, more than a little. She wondered all the time what exactly it was that Carly saw in her, so his words really cut into her insecurities.
Of course Carly, being the amazing girlfriend that she was, had immediately dragged Sam to a storage closet as soon as the bell rang and class was dismissed, then spent all ten minutes of passing period telling Sam all the reasons why she loved her, also interspersed with some showing through means of lots and lots of kissing (and some wandering hand action up Sam's shirt, too).
The group made their way over to their usual lunch table. Freddie took out his lunchbox and wrinkled his nose in disgust at what his mom had packed.
"Lentils on whole-grain again?!" he muttered, pulling the sandwich out and taking a small bite.
"Looks delicious," Sam replied, eyebrows raised at his lunch. Freddie was going to reply with "tastes a lot better than the air you'll be dining on," seeing as Sam had no lunch in front of her, but thinking back on their fight this morning, decided not to. Plus, he had food in his mouth, which was just rude. And anyways, he figured Carly was going to do something about that any moment now. As if on cue, she fished a five dollar bill out her pocket and sneakily handed it to Sam under the table.
"Here," she said in a low voice, "go buy lunch."
"Thanks, Carls," Sam replied with a smile. She was glad Carly was always discreet about this. She was the only person Sam let down all her barriers with.
"Don't mention it," Carly smiled back, feeling Sam take the money out of her hand under the table. "Now go get lunch before you shrivel up."
Sam grinned and got up, walking to the line across the cafeteria. Carly took out her own lunch of a peanut butter and jelly and began eating it. She usually packed a lunch at home as she found the school food to be very disgusting. Sam didn't seem to mind though; that girl would eat anything.
Soon Sam arrived back, lunch tray full of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans in tow. Carly made a face at it, but Sam just started chowing down, completely unphased. The kids began talking and joking with each other, enjoying their break in the day, but all too soon the bell was ringing, indicating the end of lunch.
The three stood up and left the cafeteria together, headed down the hall to their lockers, when they passed by the main office and noticed the driver's-ed sign up sheet hanging up on the wall.
"Oh, hey, we'd better sign up," Carly said, reminding the group. From a distance, it appeared that there weren't many spots left.
"Yeah, let's put our names on the list," Freddie agreed. The trio walked over and were about to write their names down, but couldn't as they didn't have a writing utensil readily available.
"Do either of you have a pencil?" Sam asked. She had a terrible habit of losing pencils and pens.
"Hold on, I'm pretty sure I have a pen in my bag," Freddie said, taking his bag off his shoulder and bending over to dig through it. "Let's just see here…oh, I think I-"
Just then, three burly jocks came out of nowhere and practically ran Freddie over like a semi truck, knocking him out of the way and down to the floor.
"Owww…" he groaned in pain. Carly and Sam looked from their friend on the floor to the jerks that had shoved him out of the way.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Carly demanded.
They all had their backs to the girls, and only one turned around to answer, sneering as he did.
"Signin' up for driver's ed, what else?"
"Uh, you and your buddies just ran over our friend!"
He shrugged. "Just stay off the streets when I'm driving then so you won't get ran over, either, toots." Then he turned back to the sheet.
"Toots?" Carly whispered to herself, confused. Sam, however, was fuming at his comment. Just as she was about to launch into action, one of the jocks said, "anyone got a pen?" to his friends.
"Oh, yeah, I've got one!" Sam spoke up. All three turned around to face her as she held out her hand, fist closed like it held something. As the three numbskulls leaned in to look, she brought her fist up fast to the one in the middle's face, hitting his squarely in the nose. His hands immediately went up to cup it, leaving him wide open to be socked right in the gut, making him fall to the floor instantly. Sam looked up the other two, glowering.
"Either of you wanna step in?"
Shaking their heads in fear, they quickly grabbed their friend and ran out of there, tails tucked between their legs. Sam turned back to Carly and Freddie with a proud grin on her face, then walked over to help her friend up off the floor.
Carly smiled watching Sam. It was so like her to pummel someone, then display an act of kindness like that. It was one of the many reasons why she loved her. Plus, she was secretly very attracted to Sam fighting someone. Only if they deserved it, though. She normally disapproved, however, because she didn't want her girlfriend getting in trouble.
"Thanks, Sam," Freddie said, standing on his own two feet.
"Ah, don't mention it," she replied, giving him a slap on the back that almost made him fall to the floor all over again. The girl didn't know her own strength. "The only person that gets to humiliate you is me. And you know what?"
"What?"
"My drawing from this morning kinda came true. You did get ran over, just not by an SVU," she said with a grin. Freddie rolled his eyes but didn't respond other than that. Instead he finally grabbed the coveted pen out of his bag and wrote his name on the list before passing it off to his friends. It was a good thing they signed up when they did, as there were only three more spots left.
"Looks like we'll all be able to drive soon," Carly said cheerfully. Freddie nodded, but Sam squinted her eyes.
"Eh, I dunno. Some of us are bound to be better drivers than others," she said. Freddie looked questioningly at her.
"By some of us, do you mean you?" he asked.
"Well, not to brag, but…yes," she said, casually looking at her nails. Freddie scoffed.
"No way, Puckett. You'd be the worst one out of all of us!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes! You'll probably drive up on the sidewalk, or off a bridge or something!"
Carly grimaced. "Okay, can we please not talk about Sam going off a bridge in a car?" she asked, the very thought of that filling her with worry and dread.
"First, I'd only drive off a bridge if you were in the car with me, Fredhead," Sam replied, ignoring Carly's words. "And second, I bet I'll pass my road test first try, while you completely fail!"
"Please don't bet," Carly pleaded. As usual, the other two paid her no mind.
"It's a bet! I'm certain I'll pass my road test the first time, and you'll be the failure!"
"What are we betting here, Freducation?"
"Loser has to wash the winner's car every week, for a year. By hand, too; no taking it to a car wash."
Sam seemed to consider this for a moment, then nodded. "I can get with that. Alright, Fredweird, we got ourselves a deal!" With that, she stuck her hand out for a handshake, which Freddie accepted and immediately regretted, as Sam grasped his hand in a death grip, twisting it slightly before letting go.
"Better stock up on soap now, Benson. I can't wait to watch you scrubbin' my car."