Freddie pushed the door open, only to find himself regretting doing so. For out poured toxicly eco-friendly clouds his mom calls perfume. "You going out?" he said with his arms over his mouth, coughing.

"Yes. Melvin got us tickets to an opera downtown. Wanna come?" Marissa replied, talking to Freddie through a mirror 'cause she's busy applying make-up to her face.

"Um, I think I'll pass…" her son cautiously excused himself. "Nice dress, by the way."

"Thanks." Her hand grazed over the black dress, removing dirt that's not even there. With a satisfied smile, she continued, "Melvin bought it for me."

Freddie simply rolled his eyes. He's happy for his mother, he really is. It's been so long since Marissa had a relationship with any man. And the last one was barely human! He still shivers at the thought that his mom dated Lewbert. Now that's a relationship Freddie can never be happy for. But her mom just kept on talking about her boyfriend over and over again that Freddie grew tired of hearing the guy's name. And the fact that he never met the man himself doesn't alleviate his annoyance.

Marissa seems to be oblivious of her son's thoughts. "Freddie, have you seen my earrings?"

"Huh?" Freddie snapped back to reality, only to be greeted by her mom running around frantically.

Marissa was crouching down, looking under her bed. She looked up and yelled, "My earrings! Do you know where they are?"

All that Freddie needed to do is open the drawer beside him. "Here." He expended his arm to hand the missing earrings. He felt a snicker creep through his mouth, remembering that his mom refuse to use anything that's sharp. Even her earrings are clip-ons.

With an exaggerated sigh, she pulled herself up with difficulty and uttered. "Oh my goodness, thank you." She attached them to her ears and went on, "I'll be back by 11 pm and I'm just a phone call away, okay? And the fire department, police department, 911, Navy, Air Force, and Army are on the speed dial in case of emergencies."

"Yes, mom, I know. Just go." He was literally pushing Marissa through the door. It took a while for her to be completely out of the building because, as usual, her mom's unnatural strength overwhelms his.

Plopping on their couch, he flipped through the TV channels. He sighed, remembering that tonight is Thursday. They should be shooting iCarly by now. But Carly had to go visit his grandfather in Yakama, leaving him with nothing to do. Even Sam has herself busy during this summer. The school had her attend summer school, much to her dismay. He sees her every now and then because he's doing tutorials to other students who are interested in tech stuff. But their occasional meetings always end up with him having bruises all over his body. Sam is so frustrated at spending her summer in her most hated place in the world and she's putting out all her aggravation to him. That's why he's been avoiding her at all cost.

He turned the TV off and reached for his laptop, reviewing the past iCarly videos they made. But there's this single video that makes him stop and watch for almost twenty times. It was the video where Sam admitted that she never kissed anyone. He wasn't there when they did that. He was at their fire exit, moping over the fact that he, too, has never been kissed. But that night ended with both of them having their first kiss. From each other.

He shook his head with hopes of making that memory leave him alone. But it never did. It's been months seen it happened but everything is still clear in his mind. And he doesn't know why. Carly kissed him five times when they were dating but still, there's something more significant with Sam's kiss. He just can't put his finger to what it was.

oOo

They've been here before. Sam's talking to her mom through the phone even though they could see each other through the glass separating them. Her mom slurring words that makes no sense, like 'Tell that cow that I'm sorry for stealing her wig.' The stern-looking guard watching their every move.

But this time, there's something different. Her parole officer is also here. And she's taking notes of what they're saying. What the hell?

After Pam hang up on the phone, the parole officer pulled Sam aside to talk, as if her mom could hear them. "Sam," the suit-wearing guy said, "I'm afraid to tell you that your mom is going to stay here longer than… she usually does."

"What do you mean?" The blonde haired girl in front of him asked.

"What I mean is, she'll stay here for 3 months."

"What? But… what about me? Who will take care of me?" Sam paused, recalling that her mother doesn't exactly take care of her.

"Your mom told us that your father also lives here in Seattle. She suggested that you stay with him as she completes her brief sentence here in jail." The officer explained.

"Wait," Sam exclaimed in a confused manner, "she told you that I should stay with Melvin? Are you sure she's fine when she's talking to you?" Pam would never let her see her father. Not 'til she's dead, her mother once said.

The parole officer checked his black clipboard and said, "That's what she said."

Sam groaned. "This can't be happening."

oOo

The next day, Sam found herself stuffing her locker on the hallways of hell – also known as Ridgeway High, grumbling. If only Carly was here. She'll know exactly what to say to calm Sam down. It's official. This summer is definitely the worst.

In her angry train of thought, her attention wasn't even capable of watching her way. So she ended up bumping to a cart full of wires and gadgets. "Aw, come on!" The owner yelled in that familiar complaining voice.

"Hey, watch where you place that thing, Fredweird!" she protested as she tried to release herself from the tangle of wires she's in.

Freddie helped her with the mess of cables enveloping her. "Next time, find other carts to slam into, okay?" he said as he finally got her free.

She grumbled something he didn't understand and walked away.

"Hey," Freddie called out, reaching for her arm, "I heard about your mother. I'm sorry."

Sam would've harshly pulled her arm away but she forgot how to. Freddie's voice sounded so sincere that it took her by surprise. She practically screamed at him but here he is, talking to her all nice. But then she remembered that she's Sam Puckett. "So. Why do you care?" she snapped coldly.

But Freddie seems to be unaffected by her harshness. "What I mean is where would you live?"

"With my Dad." She was gritting her teeth as she talked.

"You have a father?" his voice sounded incredulous.

"Yeah, whizhead. What do you think? My mom created my by herself?"

He shook his head, probably realizing how he sounded stupid. "C'mon, you know what I mean."

Sam couldn't take it anymore. "Okay, what's up with the sunny attitude? You know I hate it when someone's smiling when I'm around."

"I don't know. Maybe it's because my mo is hanging onto me less. She's been dating some dude –"

Sam started laughing. "Wait," she said, interrupting Freddie's sentence, "your mom's dating? Whose the unlucky guy?"

Freddie threw her a shrug and said, "Some big shot British dude."

"You met him?"

"Nah, but I heard his accent through the phone when he called, looking for mom."

"Speaking of British dudes, I have to go." She crouched down to pick up her red bag, which fell when Sam bumped into Freddie's cart. "My dad's expecting me to be home at 1:00 PM."

Freddie glanced at his watch and remarked with a puzzled tone, "It's half past 4 already."

"You actually thought that I'll be on time?" At that, she left the smirking AV Club member and headed to the door.

oOo

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