Carrie watched as Andy set his lunch tray down on the cafeteria table next to Samís. It was such a mundane gesture, yet so graceful coming from him. Andy made everything look like it was part of a balletó even something as simple as getting food. He sat down across the table from her and began attempting to open the small carton of soymilk heíd somehow procured from the beverage station.
ìWhereís Sam?î he asked her, finally succeeding in making a small triangular hole in the carton from which to drink.
Carrie rolled her eyes. ìPsssh, like I care.î She did care, but only a little bit. Ever since she and Sam had broken upó-how long ago was that? Only two weeksó things had been slightly awkward between the two of them. It wasnít her fault that he kept hanging around, expecting to win her back. She thought herself to be fairly attractive and a nice person to talk to, but Sam wasnít the one she was trying to impress anymore. There was no doubt that he still had feelings for her. That was apparent in the way he called her every night on her cell phoneó He must have memorized my voice mail message by nowó the way he claimed that not even Cindy Crawford was as lovely as Carrie herselfÖ but Carrie just was not interested.
ìMaybe he got lost or something,î Carrie said with the hint of a snicker in her voice.
Andy frowned slightly. ìThatís mean.î
ìWell,î Carrie muttered around a mouthful of lukewarm spaghetti, ìthereís a reason we broke up, you know. He justÖî she took a sip of her soda. ìHe just isnít what Iím looking for in a man.î
Andy, on the other hand, couldnít be ruled out. She gazed at his piercingly green eyes, nearly hidden under a fringe of slightly wavy auburn hair. Granted, he could use a haircut, but so what? Those eyes and that hair got her every timeÖ
Maybe sheíd better go look for Sam. If he missed eating lunch with her, heíd be crushed. She voiced her thought to Andy, who nodded and dug into his own spaghetti. As she rose from their table, she surreptitiously tried to catch a whiff of Andyís wonderful cologne. He smelled so clean, so fresh, with a scent reminiscent of pine trees.
She soon discovered she neednít have worried about going to get her ex-boyfriend. Sam was approaching, and he sat down next to Andy. The food on his tray had long since become frigid, but he held in his possession a new can of root beer.
ìCarrieÖ did I ever tell you you look real nice in that sweater?î Sam asked, stuffing his mouth full of limp salad drenched in runny Ranch dressing.
She sipped her cola. ìYes, Sam. Thanks,î she muttered through clenched teeth. She stole a glance at Andy, who was watching her with a somewhat puzzled expression on his face.
Sam must have gotten the message that she was displeased. ìHey, I was just tryiní to be nice and thoughtful and all.î
ìYou canít blame him for complimenting you,î Andy whispered, leaning closer to Carrie so Sam wouldnít hear him. ìHe meant well.î
Carrieís heart skipped a beat. Her heart was urging Andy to lean farther in, to the point where theyíd be so close their lips could touchÖ and then they would, in perfect harmony, beginning a relationship that would be twenty times better than the one with Sam ever could have been. She was much too shy to make a move herself, but she smiled and inched forward in her seat.
Andy backed down. ìI, uhÖî he seemed slightly flustered, too flustered to even finish his sentence. He changed the subject, turning to none other than Mr. Ex. ìSo, SamÖ how are you doing these days?î
What a completely random question, Carrie thought. Why does he care about that imbecile Sam? Canít he tell heís a complete moron? ìAndy,î she half pleaded, ìDo you want to come get some ice cream with me?î Anything to get him away from that creepÖ and if the trip should happen to put Andy alone with her, so much the better. Maybe then he wouldnít be so shy and tell her how he was really feeling.
ìThatís okay, Carrie,î Andy dismissed her. ìI havenít gotten to talk to Sam all day.î
Carrie sat back down hard, sighing angrily. ìWhatís up with you, Andy? Donít you want to come get ice cream with me?î
ìLook, Carrie,î Andy snapped, ìYou can get ice cream by yourself, canít you? I was hoping I could maybe hang out with Sam a little more since you arenít taking up all his time anymore!î
Sam slammed his fork down onto the table. ìHey!î he interjected. ìDonít talk about me like Iím not sitting right here! And she was never taking up all my time. I loved her. I still do.î He glared at Andy. ìI donít know what your problem is. Why the hell do you want to talk to me?î

Carrie rolled her eyes so hard they felt like they were going to fall backward into her skull. ìHe does not have a problem. Youíre the one with the problem. We broke up, get over it already!î
ìWhy canít you just give me one more chance?î Sam pleaded, the anger not completely gone from his voice.
ìYou self-centered bastóì Carrie began, seething, when Andy interrupted her.
ìLook, this is stupid,î he said forcefully. Gone was the sweet, caring Andy that Carrie knew and loved. This was scary, angry AndyÖ and Carrie was terrified. Sheíd never seen him get upset. Was he going to blow his stack now?
Carrie wanted to prevent more anger at all costs. ìIím sorry, okay? Just forget about it. Calm down, everyone,î she begged, sounding, to her ears, a bit whiny. Please, Andy, donít be mad at me. Donít be mad at me!
Andy took a deep breath. ìYouíre right, Carrie. That was really stupid. Iím sorry too.î He threw a glance at Sam. ìAre you okay?î
Sam just looked confused. ìI donít see what just happened here. But Iím sorry too.î He smiled helplessly.
Carrie couldnít help it. The guy was just so pathetic. She began to chuckle, and as she did so, she made eye contact with Andy. ìIsnít he pathetic?î she mouthed, hoping that Sam wouldnít pick up on what sheíd said. Andy shook his head ìnoî. Only then did Carrie realize Andy wasnít laughing at all. úøøøøøøøøøøøøø úøøøøøøøøøøøøø Normal Normal Heading 1 Heading 1 Default Paragraph Font Default Paragraph Font HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranROSX System:Users:halloranfamily:Documents:Microsoft User Data:Word Work File A_582 HalloranROSX System:Users:halloranfamily:Documents:Microsoft User Data:Word Work File A_582 HalloranSOSX System:Users:halloranfamily:Documents:Microsoft User Data:Word Work File A_1926 HalloranSOSX System:Users:halloranfamily:Documents:Microsoft User Data:Word Work File A_1926 HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranSOSX System:Users:halloranfamily:Documents:Microsoft User Data:Word Work File A_3942 HalloranSOSX System:Users:halloranfamily:Documents:Microsoft User Data:Word Work File A_3942 HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level HalloranIdata:Personal Folders:Mara Jade:School Stuff:Level ÿ?? Times New Roman Times New Roman Symbol Symbol Margie Halloran Margie Halloran Halloran Halloran Halloran Halloran Margie Halloran Halloran Normal Halloran Microsoft Word 10.1 Margie Halloran Root Entry 1Table 1Table WordDocument WordDocument SummaryInformation SummaryInformation DocumentSummaryInformation DocumentSummaryInformation CompObj CompObj Microsoft Word Document .8