no one said it would be easy

Chapter 19 - a pot-pot

Casey

"And you wanted the bottom bed, because...?", I ask, sitting down on the bunk bed, crumpling the covers.

"Because I don't want to climb up the stairs to get in bed. It's more practical to sleep in the bottom bed in general. I get out of bed faster and it's easier to make it in the morning", Sam sits in the office chair he bought himself for his desk. His old chair was trash. It looks way too big for this tiny room and it makes him look like a 4-year-old nervously waiting for the doctor's appointment.

"Yeah, but it isn't cool, duh. Everybody wants to sleep in the top bed", a memory pops up in my head, where Sharice and I went to a training camp with my team at Newton. Both of us wanted to get the top bed, but we were both too stubborn to give in and leave the bed to the other. This whole thing ended in Sharice an I both sleeping in the top bed, causing me to fall down at some point and hitting my head on the ground. I got a huge bump on the head and never fought with her about getting the top bed ever again.

Sam shifts around in his office chair, clearly not finding a position that's comfortable for him.

"No, not me. I'm happy with having the bottom bed."

Izzie, Elsa, Dad and Zahid come back from the "meeting room", as Zahid called it earlier. It's just a living room, but Zahid has a thing for calling normal things by a strange name. I mean he called his parents roommates and his old bedroom „the  dragon's lair".

Zahid enters the room first and lively opens his arms: "So, our quick room tour is over. Wasn't really a long experience, since we can only afford a two-room-apartement, but Sammy and I will liven things up."

He smiles wide from eye to eye and looks at Sam's desk, where my house-warming gift is standing.

Surprisingly Sam did notice it's a photo I took off of our wall back home, and unsurprisingly Elsa only noticed it's gone, when Sam opened the gift.

She shot me a glare, but didn't say anything about it. Her being unable to rail at me was so funny to me, that my mood lightened up by 120%.

Izzie then nudged me with her elbow and shook her head with her eyes shut, purseing her lips, so she kinda forced me to descend from my high horse.

Zahid walks over to the desk and picks up the picture: "Awwww... Look at tiny little Sam", he tilts his head, "and tiny little baby Casey. I didn't know you like dresses?", he lifts an eyebrow and gives me a sarcastic smirk.

I don't have to see Elsa right now in order to know she's got a self-satisified look on her face. Zahid ragging me about wearing a dress has to be balm for her soul. I deliberately avoid eye contact with her and just look at Zahid, an annoyed expression on my face.

Dad breaks the tention by saying: "Well, I'm proud", looking at Sam.

"Of both of you", he then adds, as if he just realized living on his own is a huge step for Zahid too.

"Where did you put the canoe though?, I haven't seen it anywhere", Dad wants to know.

Now he's mentioned it... He's right, where the hell did they put Paige's canoe?

Zahid presses his lips together, widening his eyes on a maximum level and raising his eyebrows so high, making him look like he doesn't have a forehead.

"Well...", he begins, "Let's say we use it as a plant pot now."

We all give each other confused looks, not understanding why they'd use the canoe as a plant pot. And still: Where is it?

He walks over to the window, opens it, and takes a step back, making room for us to look out.

This can't be true.

Somehow they attached the canoe to the outside of the building right under their window. Inside of it is soil and... No way.

I turn around to face Zahid: "You mean it is a pot-pot now?"

They really have a weed plant. In a canoe. Under their window. On the outside of their building.

"Zahid!", Elsa and dad shout in unsion.

"You need to put that thing down immidiatly! Or at least plant some flowers... But get rid off this weed!", Elsa exclaims.

Izzie and I give each other an amused look. Who thought it was a good idea to let two boys - especially Sam and Zahid - live on their own?

~~~

Izzie

The ride home was very... entertaining. Doug and Elsa went off about this whole pot-pot thing. The good thing about all of this was, that Casey didn't get in trouble for stealing a picture off the wall. I even think Elsa might have forgotten about it, considering the only topic of conversation was Sam and Zahid having a weed plant in a canoe  on the outside of their building.

When we got home Casey and I went upstairs and into Sam's old room, which is now my new home.

I think we did a pretty good job with it. After our war paint Casey and I drove to Home Depot to get new paint. I ended up picking lemon, and it looks way better than faded salmon. Casey's parents gave me an old cupboard they got from friends, so I could store my few belongings. I use an old foldable table and a garden chair as place to do my homework.

We tried to decorate the room with some posters and plants, but it turns out neither Casey nor I have an eye for such things.

It isn't much, but I won't complain. I'm just so thankful for everything Elsa and Doug did for me.

I got a cute little succulent at Home Depot for Elsa as a sign of gratitude. Her eyes lit up and she told me about a thousand times it wasn't neccasary, but I think it was.

Doug talked Sam into leaving me his old bed. Elsa said I should sleep in my room at night, but little does she know I sneak into Casey's room as soon as they go to sleep. I mean, it's not hard to secretly go into Casey's room. I just have to walk through the bathroom.

Casey plops down on said bed and kicks off her shoes.

"God, this mattress is teribble, you couldn't sleep here, even if you wanted too", she jumps up and down.

"Maybe I do want to", I answer.

She looks at me and laughs: "No, you don't."

"Right, I don't", I sit down beside her when both our phones start ringing.

"Quinn?", Casey asks.

"Yeah. An invitation to a party tonight?"

Casey reads the whole message before answering my question: "Well... Looks like we've got something to do this night. I mean if you want to go, party pooper."

I don't know if she's just trying to make a joke, or if she's alluding to the happenings of the last party we went to...

"Text Quinn we're coming", I tell her.