Finding Maddy

Meeting

AS she stared into the mirror at her reflection, she could only shrug. “I guess this is as good as it's gonna get.” She thought to herself.

She was a realist, she knew how she looked. Her appearance would never have be on the cover of a magazine, but she thought she was ok. She was a little bigger than most girls. Ok, alot. At a size 16, she had body to spare. With pale skin that never tanned, ( She had tried a few times to get a bit of colour. The bright red shade she turned was not what she was hoping for.) Her blue eyes sparkled as she grabbed the book she was currently reading. Hoping to get a few more chapters in before she needed to leave. As she curled up on her bed ready to delve back into the fantasy worlds she found joy in, her elder brother barged through the door. “If we leave now, I can give you a lift.”

As she looked up at Michael, she couldn’t help but wonder how they are related. He was so freakin handsome that she would have gotten annoyed if he also wasn’t so kind to her. He was a musician. Classical, jazz, rock. There was nothing he couldn’t play or sing. With hair so black it had a blue shine and grey eyes that flashed silver when he was angry. Long legs, broad shoulders. He looked like he should be playing football. He was also the only friend she had and she was not so secretly pleased that he chose to go to a University that was only an hour away.

She let out a small huff, closed her book back up and scooted to the edge of the bed. As she leaned over to grab her black converse, her long brown hair slid over her shoulder and flicked her face. She sat up, brushed it back and pulled on her sneakers. As she stood up, he couldn’t help but ask “ why don’t you ever wear the clothes I buy you to school". She looks down at her skinny black jeans, dark green tee and black hoodie. “you got me these jeans. “ The look he gave her told her that wasn’t what he meant. “because most of what you pick draws attention, and that is something I am trying to avoid.” She rolls her eyes as she pushes him out the door and they walk down stairs.

Michael had great taste. However, he thought she was beautiful and wanted her to wear clothes that she would love to wear also. If she was a size 12. She thought he needed to get a girlfriend. It would be easier to distract him if he had someone else to split his focus.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, he grabbed her arm. “You aren’t having any problems at school, right?” the concern in his eyes made her go soft and she pulled him in for a hug. “nothing I can’t handle". He scooped up her bag and locked the front door as they headed out. She gave him a questioning look, “the parentals left already. They should be flying off now.” Our parents weren’t bad people. They just.... shouldn’t have had kids. Or atleast more than 1. They treated Michael well, I was just pretty much invisible to them. They were high school sweethearts. Captain of the football team and cheerleading squad. They couldn’t understand how they had a daughter like me. They tried in the beginning, but as I got older and they couldn’t relate to me, they just stopped. I didn’t hate them. But I also didn’t really love them either. I had stopped feeling guilty about that though. You just have to accept you can’t change people. “when will they be back?” I asked as he started the car. “who knows.”

“come on Mikey, it’s not like it makes a difference if they are here or not. They are always wrapped up in each other.” She gave a quick shudder as thought of all the PDA they had witnessed. They were still as in love with each other as when they first started dating. If they weren’t her parents, she would find it romantic.

By the time the car stopped in front of her school, they had both gone back to being the annoyingly friendly siblings that they always were. Back before he graduated, the girls had started in on her because of their jealousy. After he graduated, some of the guys joined in and school had become even more unpleasant. Even though she had just turned 16, she was already planning how to graduate early. Luckily she had a few good teachers that were willing to help her with all the necessary background work. By then end of the year, she should have enough credits to get out of that place. Mikey was trying to convince her to go to his Uni. She was nearly sold on it. It was great school. The campus was beautiful and the main selling point. Her brother was there. She knew that their bond was a little strong for siblings, but they had pretty much taken care of each other for most of their lives.

She gave him a quick smile and he ruffled the top of her head. She gave him an eye roll, hoped out the car and watched him drive away. She quickly walked in, dumped her bag and got out her lap top. As she moved through the crowd and into home room, she spotted Dominick and his pack. He was the most popular guy in school. A golden god of high school hopes and dreams. Tall. Gorgeous. Smart. He looked like he would be the star of any and all sports teams that exist. But for some reason, he didn’t play anything. Much to the dismay of the teachers and Principal. The same could be said about his friends. The group of 5 guys drew attention wherever they went. She was grateful that they never picked on her. Unlike most of the school, they just tended to ignore her. Which was why she was surprised to see him staring at her as if he had never seen her before. They had been in the same class since kindergarten . They were even born the same day. It was a coincidence that she kept to herself so she didn’t give the girls another reason to be mean.