Chapter Four.
Title: A Plant of Slow Growth (Chapter Four)
Author: carbondalien
Pairing/Character: Kelly, Pam
Rating: PG13 for language
Summary: Pam is going through a change while Kelly is getting over her break-up and the two worlds collide. Takes place in the months post "The Job."
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: Me no get an agenda, me no own The Office.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
-Goethe
Chapter Four - Capable of Being
It wasn't that Kelly thought there was anything wrong with the outfit Pam had worn to work. On someone else it would have been fine... like, say, a fifty year old woman. That would have been the perfect outfit for a woman close to retirement age who loved muted blues and stripes. Pam, however, did not belong in that outfit and Kelly had gently let her know that. And then she promptly demanded that they go shopping after work under the guise that Kelly needed a second opinion on some shoes. They hadn't been in any shoe stores yet and Pam was currently in the dressing room at Charlotte Russe, so Kelly thought she was doing a pretty good job so far.
"I don't know," Pam said.
Kelly leaned against the wall and examined her fingernails. "Come on, come out. That outfit is totally adorable - there's no way you could mess it up. Unless you wore ugly shoes with it, but that's totally why I came with you."
Pam mumbled something and emerged from the dressing room, wearing a charcoal satin pencil skirt and a purple V-neck blouse with short sleeves. She tugged absentmindedly at the sleeves and frowned.
"It feels too dressy for work," Pam said.
"No," Kelly told her. "That is perfect for work. Plus, it's perfectly acceptable for going out in after work, so it's like two outfits. This is fate, seriously. God wanted you to have this outfit, Pam. Not buying it would be a crime against God and nature. Besides, you'll totally land a man in that outfit."
"Right," Pam said as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Kelly examined Pam's expression closely. She wanted to see what her reaction was to the "land a man" comment, because she was pretty sure that Pam had already landed herself one. It was just a matter of finding out who and why and when they were going to get married and have babies. She crossed her arms.
"That Ted guy from your art class is cute," Kelly tested. "You could totally snag him with that outfit. Not to mention he's already, like, completely in love with you."
Pam laughed and turned to Kelly. "What?"
"He is," Kelly told her. "Like when he talked to you during class."
"He just wanted to borrow my black oil pastel," Pam said.
Kelly rolled her eyes. "He had a black one on his easel. I saw it. He was just making up an excuse so he could talk to you. That's what boys do."
And what I do, Kelly thought but didn't say. She couldn't count the number of times she asked a man to borrow a pen when there was one in her purse.
"Well, still," Pam said. "I don't want to date Ted anyway."
"Why not?" Kelly pressed.
Pam tried to hide her blush by looking down at the floor but Kelly saw it. That was enough for Kelly. She'd put this conversation away for later when she could devote her full attention to weaseling details out of Pam. For now she had to concentrate on Pam's outfit, because it would have been a crime if she sent her friend out into the world looking like a fashion don't.
"Buy the outfit," Kelly said. "You'll love it, a boy will love it - you can't lose."
Pam straightened up and looked herself over in the mirror carefully. She had to admit that this outfit was definitely nicer than anything else in her work wardrobe. Kelly always did look so well put together, so maybe she knew what she was talking about. Besides, a new attitude deserved a new wardrobe, didn't it?
She dug her credit card out of her purse. "I'm buying it."
Kelly clapped her hands. "Awesome! Now we can totally accessorize! And you'll need new shoes! And Macy's is having a sale! Oh my God, this is going to be the best day ever, Pam!"
It seemed to be a little more than what Pam was in for, but... why not?
* * * * *
Kelly pulled into a spot in the Wal*Mart parking lot and shut off the car. She turned to Pam and said seriously, "You're not allowed to buy clothes here unless they're pajamas. The rule is, if you can buy your groceries there, you can't buy your clothes there."
Pam agreed for the sake of avoiding a lengthy lecture on fashion. Kelly had already helped her enough today (helped her spend $150). That three digit number was frightening, but Kelly somehow made it feel alright, like it was a good deed or something.
They walked into the store and made a beeline for the hair care aisle. While Kelly debated the virtues of each hair straightener, Pam wandered over to the rows of fish tanks. Her favorite ones were the fish that looked clear except for a stripe of neon color in their bodies. Her parents had a fish tank of those fish when she was little and whenever she did her homework in the living room she would always stop to watch the fish because she liked the glint of color. She and her father used to argue whether they glowed in the dark and he would always give up, bring her a bowl of ice cream and say, "You win." That was the only time she ever liked doing her math homework.
When she turned around to look at the beta fish shelf, she saw Kelly was standing at the aisle's edge looking at her.
"This is your best bet," Kelly said as she held up a hair straightener. "It'll give you volume, reduce frizz, blah blah. It's like what hot sex would be if hot sex was a hair straightener, basically. Are you paying attention to me or just looking at those dumb fish?"
"I'm listening," Pam said. She was closely examining a blue beta fish that had a shiny red tail. "Beta fish listen when you talk too, you know."
"It's a fish."
"Yeah, but haven't you ever had one?" Pam said. "I had them growing up and they always came to the top when you were talking."
"They probably just thought you were going to feed them," Kelly said. "It's just a fish. Fish don't listen."
"Sure they do," Pam said. She carefully picked up the small bowl with the blue beta fish inside. She held it out to Kelly.
Kelly looked down at the fish skeptically. "What do you want me to do with that?"
"I'm gonna buy it for you, to show you that they listen," Pam said. "Everyone needs someone to listen to them once in a while."
Pam could tell by the look on Kelly's face that Kelly thought she was completely insane, but Kelly carefully took the fish bowl from her anyway.
Pam smiled and said, "I think you should call him Winston."
Author: carbondalien
Pairing/Character: Kelly, Pam
Rating: PG13 for language
Summary: Pam is going through a change while Kelly is getting over her break-up and the two worlds collide. Takes place in the months post "The Job."
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: Me no get an agenda, me no own The Office.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
-Goethe
Chapter Four - Capable of Being
It wasn't that Kelly thought there was anything wrong with the outfit Pam had worn to work. On someone else it would have been fine... like, say, a fifty year old woman. That would have been the perfect outfit for a woman close to retirement age who loved muted blues and stripes. Pam, however, did not belong in that outfit and Kelly had gently let her know that. And then she promptly demanded that they go shopping after work under the guise that Kelly needed a second opinion on some shoes. They hadn't been in any shoe stores yet and Pam was currently in the dressing room at Charlotte Russe, so Kelly thought she was doing a pretty good job so far.
"I don't know," Pam said.
Kelly leaned against the wall and examined her fingernails. "Come on, come out. That outfit is totally adorable - there's no way you could mess it up. Unless you wore ugly shoes with it, but that's totally why I came with you."
Pam mumbled something and emerged from the dressing room, wearing a charcoal satin pencil skirt and a purple V-neck blouse with short sleeves. She tugged absentmindedly at the sleeves and frowned.
"It feels too dressy for work," Pam said.
"No," Kelly told her. "That is perfect for work. Plus, it's perfectly acceptable for going out in after work, so it's like two outfits. This is fate, seriously. God wanted you to have this outfit, Pam. Not buying it would be a crime against God and nature. Besides, you'll totally land a man in that outfit."
"Right," Pam said as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Kelly examined Pam's expression closely. She wanted to see what her reaction was to the "land a man" comment, because she was pretty sure that Pam had already landed herself one. It was just a matter of finding out who and why and when they were going to get married and have babies. She crossed her arms.
"That Ted guy from your art class is cute," Kelly tested. "You could totally snag him with that outfit. Not to mention he's already, like, completely in love with you."
Pam laughed and turned to Kelly. "What?"
"He is," Kelly told her. "Like when he talked to you during class."
"He just wanted to borrow my black oil pastel," Pam said.
Kelly rolled her eyes. "He had a black one on his easel. I saw it. He was just making up an excuse so he could talk to you. That's what boys do."
And what I do, Kelly thought but didn't say. She couldn't count the number of times she asked a man to borrow a pen when there was one in her purse.
"Well, still," Pam said. "I don't want to date Ted anyway."
"Why not?" Kelly pressed.
Pam tried to hide her blush by looking down at the floor but Kelly saw it. That was enough for Kelly. She'd put this conversation away for later when she could devote her full attention to weaseling details out of Pam. For now she had to concentrate on Pam's outfit, because it would have been a crime if she sent her friend out into the world looking like a fashion don't.
"Buy the outfit," Kelly said. "You'll love it, a boy will love it - you can't lose."
Pam straightened up and looked herself over in the mirror carefully. She had to admit that this outfit was definitely nicer than anything else in her work wardrobe. Kelly always did look so well put together, so maybe she knew what she was talking about. Besides, a new attitude deserved a new wardrobe, didn't it?
She dug her credit card out of her purse. "I'm buying it."
Kelly clapped her hands. "Awesome! Now we can totally accessorize! And you'll need new shoes! And Macy's is having a sale! Oh my God, this is going to be the best day ever, Pam!"
It seemed to be a little more than what Pam was in for, but... why not?
* * * * *
Kelly pulled into a spot in the Wal*Mart parking lot and shut off the car. She turned to Pam and said seriously, "You're not allowed to buy clothes here unless they're pajamas. The rule is, if you can buy your groceries there, you can't buy your clothes there."
Pam agreed for the sake of avoiding a lengthy lecture on fashion. Kelly had already helped her enough today (helped her spend $150). That three digit number was frightening, but Kelly somehow made it feel alright, like it was a good deed or something.
They walked into the store and made a beeline for the hair care aisle. While Kelly debated the virtues of each hair straightener, Pam wandered over to the rows of fish tanks. Her favorite ones were the fish that looked clear except for a stripe of neon color in their bodies. Her parents had a fish tank of those fish when she was little and whenever she did her homework in the living room she would always stop to watch the fish because she liked the glint of color. She and her father used to argue whether they glowed in the dark and he would always give up, bring her a bowl of ice cream and say, "You win." That was the only time she ever liked doing her math homework.
When she turned around to look at the beta fish shelf, she saw Kelly was standing at the aisle's edge looking at her.
"This is your best bet," Kelly said as she held up a hair straightener. "It'll give you volume, reduce frizz, blah blah. It's like what hot sex would be if hot sex was a hair straightener, basically. Are you paying attention to me or just looking at those dumb fish?"
"I'm listening," Pam said. She was closely examining a blue beta fish that had a shiny red tail. "Beta fish listen when you talk too, you know."
"It's a fish."
"Yeah, but haven't you ever had one?" Pam said. "I had them growing up and they always came to the top when you were talking."
"They probably just thought you were going to feed them," Kelly said. "It's just a fish. Fish don't listen."
"Sure they do," Pam said. She carefully picked up the small bowl with the blue beta fish inside. She held it out to Kelly.
Kelly looked down at the fish skeptically. "What do you want me to do with that?"
"I'm gonna buy it for you, to show you that they listen," Pam said. "Everyone needs someone to listen to them once in a while."
Pam could tell by the look on Kelly's face that Kelly thought she was completely insane, but Kelly carefully took the fish bowl from her anyway.
Pam smiled and said, "I think you should call him Winston."