Pam loved school. She was making friends, and she was learning new things. Her teacher often doted on her, as she was one of the smartest in the class. She had just discovered her love of drawing, and spent hours with her crayons. Everything was great – except for Max.

            Every day, it was something new. “Pampers is a poopy baby.” “Hammy Pammy.” Today, “Pam is stoooopid. Pam is stooopid.” Max never stopped teasing her. She tried ignoring him like her mommy said, but it never worked.

            “AM NOT!”

            “Stoopid Pam, Stoopid Pam.”

            “Shut up, Max! Stop being mean!”

            “Pam is a doo – doo head.”

            Pam just couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed Max as hard as she could, and he landed with a thud on the ground.

            Max started crying. “Miss Jo! Miss Jo! Pam pushed me!”

            Miss Jo walked over and comforted the crying Max. “Pam did you push him?”

            “Yes, but he was – ”

            “Pam, it isn’t nice to push people. Go sit over there on the bench for the rest of recess. I’m going to have to tell your parents about this.”

            “But Miss Jo! Max was tea – ”

            “Pam. Bench. Now.” It was the first time Miss Jo had to raise her voice at the normally sweet Pam.

            It was eighth grade, and Pam had just moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Her father got a better position at Marywood University, and so Pam’s family left the only home she had ever known and moved to Scranton.

            Pam fidgeted in front of the mirror, adjusting her shirt constantly.

            “Sweetie, you look fine. It’s time to go.”

            “Mom… my hair is too frizzy. This shirt is old – it looks like something I wore in elementary school.”

            “Pam… You are going to be late. You look fine. Now shoo. Get in the car.” 

            It was her first day of school at Dunmore Middle. Pam knew she had to make a great impression, and already, nothing was going right. She woke up and her hair was frizzy and knotty. After she finally got her hair somewhat under control, she tried to find clothes – but everything just looked out of date and unpopular. She just knew she was going to be laughed out of school.

            After the arrived at school, Pam walked slowly around the courtyard. There were reunions all around her – people telling stories of summer adventures and inside jokes. Pam tried to find a friendly face in the crowd, a potential friend, anyone so she wouldn’t feel so alone.

            “Hey, you,” said a tall girl, beckoning Pam over. She was standing with a group of friends, and even Pam could see they had the air of importance about them. She took a deep breath and plastered on the best smile she could.

            “Hey.”

            “You new?”

            “Yeah, I just moved here from Wake Forest. My dad got a new job at Marywood. I’m Pam.” Pam eagerly stuck out her hand.

            “I’m Becka,” the tall girl said, ignoring Pam’s hand. “This is Abby, Sara, and Jenna. Just so you know, we are this school.”

            “What?” Pam asked meekly.

            “Listen kid, don’t be stupid. We can make your life hell. Just stay out of our way, okay?”

            “Um… okay.”

            “Good. Now bye bye little one…” Becka shooed Pam away with her hand.

            As Pam walked away, she could still hear the girls talking.

            “God, what type of name is Pam?”

            “Sounds like a little country bumpkin or something.”

            “Well, you saw the way she’s dressed.”

            As they laughed, Pam ran inside, the tears stinging her eyes.

“How do I look, Mom?” Pam twirled around in her light pink prom dress.

“Gorgeous. Now stay still so I can take some pictures.”

            “Mommmm!”

            “It’s my daughter’s first prom, I am going to take pictures whether she likes it or not.” 

            “Roy will be here any second. I don’t need you snapping pictures like there is no tomorrow when he shows up.”

            “Oh, sweetie. He will understand. Okay, now, walk down the stairs; I want to take a picture of you like that. Nick! Come see your daughter.”

            Pam walked slowly down the stairs – more for her benefit than her mothers. She was wearing heels, and was afraid she would trip. Pam knew she looked beautiful. Her hair was done in loose curls that tumbled down her back. Roy was bringing her a corsage that she had helped him pick out the day before. Pam couldn’t believe the transformation, she felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. She knew tonight would be special – it was prom after all.

            Just then, the doorbell rang. Roy stood there in his rented tux, holding the corsage awkwardly.

            “Hey Pam. You look real pretty. I, um, I brought this for you.” He held out the corsage.

            “Oh. Okay, thanks.” Pam hesitated for a second, expecting him to help pin it on, but did it herself when she realized he wasn’t going to.

            After what felt like an hour of picture time, (her mom kept squealing, “Oh you two look so cute!”) Pam and Roy left for the prom.

            The prom was everything that Pam expected and more. She felt amazing, and couldn’t help but picture her wedding with Roy as they danced on the floor. She felt as if the world was at her fingertips and she couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with him at her side.

            Near midnight, Roy started asking if she was ready to leave, “Come on, Chris has some beer in his truck, let’s go.”

            Pam sighed and said goodbye to her friends. She didn’t like beer, but it was prom night.

            By one thirty, Roy had knocked back more than a few beers, but Pam was still sipping on her first one. They were sitting on the tailgate of Roy’s truck, and Roy started to come onto her.

            “Come on, Pammy. It’s prom night,” he said, giving her a sloppy kiss.

            “Don’t call me Pammy, Roy. I told you I didn’t like that.”

            “Aww, Pammy. Don’t be so uptight. Now just take off your dress.”

            “No, Roy. You’re drunk. And I told you not to call me Pammy.”

            “Come on, you know I’m just kidding around.”

            Pam could tell that Roy wasn’t going to last much longer – the alcohol was getting to him. She had wanted this night to be special, but he had ruined it by getting drunk. If she could just keep him off of her for a few more minutes, he would pass out.

            True to form, Roy was out just a few minutes later. The last thing he said that night was, “Come on Pammy. I’ll show you a good time.”

            “Spamster!”

            “Pam – M – S”

            “Pammy want a cracker?”

            Honestly, she should have seen it coming when she interviewed.

            “Pam Beesly… the Paminator. So, you want to be our receptionist. It’s very important, because you are the face of the company, you know. You are the first one everyone sees. At least you are hot. The last person who interviewed – yech.”

             “Um… yeah. I know I don’t have a lot of experience, but I am organized and dedicated.”

            “I see you are dating Roy from the warehouse – ”

            “Actually, we just got engaged,” Pam smiled as she showed him her ring.

            “Wow. That’s… that’s just great. I always wanted to get married. I was engaged once. Susie Edwards. 5th grade. She moved away before we got married though. Broke my heart.”

            “Oh… um, sorry.”

            “Oh well. Her loss, you know.”

            “Yeah, definitely.”

            “Well, I can tell you are going to fit in great here. You’re hired.”

            “Fantastic. Thank you so much.”

            “Ah, you mean PAMtastic.”

            “Pam-a-lama-ding-dong.”

            Pam sighed and brushed a stray hair from her face, “What, Michael?”

            “Making copies. Eeew, busy work.”

            Pam glanced at her computer, her game of Freecell in progress. “I’m not making any copies.”

            “So, Pamera, messages. Information superhighway. If you can’t keep up, get out of the way.”

            “No new messages, you just checked five minutes ago.”

            “Oh,” Michael looked crestfallen at this news. “I guess I will go back to my office then. Unless…” Michael’s voice trailed off, hopeful.

            “Nope, that’s all.”

            “Okay, Pamalicious. Back to work now, you hear me?”

Pam couldn’t pinpoint when it happened – when it went from just ‘Pam’ to something more. When it stopped being just her name to it being everything right in the world. The way he said it – it was as if he was putting all his emotions in those three letters.

Every time she asked him about it, he didn’t know either. Maybe it was just a gradual process, they decided, with no defined line from coworker to friend to lover.

No matter what he was saying, it was always perfect the way he said her name. They could be having a screaming fight, both yelling at the top of their lungs, and somehow, whenever he said Pam, she always stopped, because it had that power over her. Or when he said it in that low, sexy voice, her heart melted and she just loved him even more. It was impossible for him to say her name and it not affect her.

He always encouraged her to go for it, to chase her dreams, to prove that she wasn’t just Pam, but Pam. Now, finally, after all of those years, they were finally here. Pam couldn’t believe it. She stared into Jim’s eyes as he said those fateful words…

“I, James Halpert, take thee, Pamela Beesley,
to be my lawfully wedded wife,
knowing in my heart that you will be
my constant friend,
my faithful partner in life,
and my one true love.”