Serendipity (Book 2)

Old Friends And Bookends by abracadabra94

Chapter 3

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"I met Sam in the third grade. She stole my lunch; I was the only person crazy enough to stand up to her. We were friends from then on. I moved away at the end of the year, but Sam and I kept in touch by phone. By the time we started the sixth grade, we were inseparable. Which was an especially good thing, because the summer before sixth grade was when I moved back to Seattle to live with my older brother, Spencer. Before that I'd moved around a lot with my dad, going between military bases all the time.

"I was pretty happy to move in with Spencer and finally get to stay in one place, but there was one little problem: Freddie Benson's apartment was right across the hall, and he had somehow come to the conclusion that he was absolutely and irreversibly in love with me..."

June 24, 2005

"I'm telling you Carls, now that you're back in town, I'm going to make sure you have the time of your life. Just stick with me, kid. We're going to go places."

"Just promise me nothing illegal," I said into the mouthpiece of the small, purple phone Dad had bought me as a combination 'happy birthday' and 'sorry you won't see me again for a few years' present. "I'd rather not have a criminal record before I turn twelve, and I'm in no mood to bail you out of juvie...again."

"Hey, that waiter had it coming," she replied. I could practically see her bored shrug through the cell phone.

"He accidentally took your plate away before you were done so you bit him until he bled!"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad."

"He had to get eleven stitches! And a rabies shot!"

"Ha, yeah, I almost forgot I convinced them I had rabies. Oh the wonders of low-fat whipped cream. I was such a clever third grader."

I laughed. "So I'll see you at Spencer's apartment in a few?"

"Um...about that..."

"Sam, what did you do?"

"I...might have gotten detention."

"Detention? But school hasn't even started yet!"

"Did I mention I failed English and had to go to summer school?"

"And so you thought it would be a good idea to do something bad when you're already having to spend your summer at school, get detention, and then, during that detention, talk on your cell phone?"

"Pretty much."

I rolled my eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Feed me and love me unconditionally?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Always."

"Alright, Carly. We're here." I looked over at my dad, whose face looked stone-cold and mouth was set in a thin line; the same look he got every time he was worried. "Say goodbye to Sam."

Nodding, I told Sam that I'd talk to her later, got out of the car, and looked up at the tall building that was to be my new home. The Bushwell Plaza. Apartment 8C. It had a nice ring to it.

Spencer was ecstatic to see me. His big, goofy grin and multiple bear hugs were a big change from my father's usual stern silence. I had almost forgotten how much I missed my big brother. Still, I knew I'd miss my dad terribly. It was such a mix of emotions that I soon decided to occupy myself by watching Girly Cow on TV while Dad and Spencer caught up.

"So how's law school going?" I heard my dad ask Spencer during a commercial break.

"Oh...um...great! It's going great, Dad. Really loving it. It's...it's all just great."