Shift [shift] noun

1.a person's scheduled period of work

"Sorry, Freddie, say that again?" Carly asked after closing her bedroom door, blocking out Spencer and Socko's combined commotion.

"Saturday night," he repeated carefully into to the webcam. "I know it's last minute, but I didn't find out about the Olliviere exhibit until today."

"Oh?" Carly mused, looking over at the flowery calendar pinned to the wall just to her left.

"Yeah, and I was originally going to take Miranda to the movies on Sunday, but the exhibit is only here until Saturday and Olliviere is her favorite sculptor. She would kill me if I didn't take her."

"Oh!" Carly responded, careful to keep her expression friendly at the mention of his girlfriend. Internally, she was fuming. Their time together had significantly dropped since Freddie entered his relationship and she had only just learned how to mask her resentment. She had casually mentioned the issue to him once in a conversation and it resulted in an argument that lasted two days, ending a promise from Freddie to make more time for just him and Carly after a slew of apologies from both sides.

Three months had passed and they still barely saw each other unless they worked the same shift. Carly didn't count working together as quality time. Still, she had promised herself that she wouldn't fight with him again.

She took one last look at the blank Saturday square on her calendar before returning to her webcam.

"I'm sorry, Freddie," she finally said with phony remorse. "I'm pretty booked that day."

"Yeeeaah, I figure you might be," Freddie sighed. "No worries, Carly, I'll figure something out."

"I'msureyouwillheythatsoundslikeSpencercallinggott agobye!" Carly blurted before abruptly shutting off the webcam and groaning loudly.

She had promised not to get angry with him…that didn't mean she had to help him.

Shift [shift] noun

1. a change or transfer from one place, position, direction, person, etc., to another.

"I hate it when the creepy HR guy in my office tells me how much I look like his cousin every single day."

"I hate the phrase 'It is what it is."

"I hate it when someone says something mundane on Splashface and then follows it with 'Carry on,' as if the thing they said before that truly stopped everyone in their tracks. Like, 'Oh, I just beat level 34 of Candy Smush. Carry on.'"

"I hate when people say 'spoiler alert' before telling me something I didn't care much about in the first place."

"I hate when people go on and on about how a movie wasn't 'as good as the book.'"

"Hey," Freddie exclaimed, appearing hurt by the revelation. "I just did that yesterday!"

"I know," Carly smiled devilishly. "And I hated it."

They both dissolved into laughter in the iCarly studio, their chopsticks held aloft and their sushi temporarily forgotten.

"Oh, gaaaaaaahd," Freddie groaned playfully. "When did we become such jaded, cynical jerks?"

Carly shrugged while trapping a piece of her avocado roll between her chopsticks. "I'm just preparing my new 'I hate everything' attitude for college. It's only six months away, you know."

"Well, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one with petty pet peeves," Freddie replied, raising his can of cola to her as if he were giving a toast.

"NOT petty!" Carly cried indignantly. "Totally legitimate. I rank that 'carry on' thing up there with tardiness or chewing with your mouth open."

Freddie chuckled. "Wow! Okay, if we're being honest, then 'it is what it is' has to be in my top three of annoyances. No, top two."

"What's your top annoyance?"

"Obliviousness. I hate when someone is completely oblivious to what's in front of them."

He didn't mean for that last part to refer to her, but the knowledge that it could apply to her froze him in place. To his chagrin, the notion did not get past his lunch companion.

"Does that remind you of anyone in particular?" she asked cautiously as she slowly brought her questioning eyes up to meet his.

The atmosphere that was once playful had shifted to something that was tense and slightly anxious. Freddie had trouble finding an answer that wouldn't cause a major fight, so he opted for a tactic that always proved affective: avoid, avoid, avoid."

"Uh, you know what else I hate?" Freddie perked up nervously. "The word 'squabble.'"

Carly closed her eyes and gave a slight, disappointed shake of her head as a she used one of her sticks to toy carelessly with her wasabi. "Yup, super annoying."

A/N: Nope, not dead. :o)

And nope, I haven't forgotten about iHit the Open Road II. Not one bit, my heavily missed friends!

I just wanted to get something out of my head and in black-and-white, finally. Babies, apparently, require a lot of attention. :-D

Also, I've decided to take a stab at more original work in efforts to challenge myself. I haven't progressed that far at all, but I'm making the effort.

I really hope you're all doing well! If you read this, or anything else I've written, thank you so much! Please feel compelled to leave a review!

Love you all and Hollaatchyagirl,

Phunky