The greatest love

TWO

Maddie

Twelve months earlier

There is math test today. The fourth graders have math tests every other week and Maddie is well prepared for it. She studied last night and was fairly confident she would do well today. When the time started, she began filling out her answers correctly.

She was in full concentration mode, so she didn’t feel the tap in her back about halfway through the test. On the second tap, she did feel it though, and she turned around to see Phoebe leaning forward and whispering to her.

“Let me see your paper. Quick! “

Maddie whispered back. “No.”

She turned back to her paper, after quickly checking that Mr. James did not notice that encounter.

She felt Phoebe's fingers digging into her back again.

“Give me your paper now, or I will tell Mr. James that you are cheating.”

“I am not cheating!” Maddie said, astounded, forgetting to whisper.

At that moment, Mr. James called out. “Why do I hear talking? Is there a problem, Maddie?”

Phoebe raised her hand, and said, “Mr. James, I see Maddie has her textbook open in her bag and she keeps looking at it.”

Maddie could not believe her ears. She did not have any book open. Mr. James walked over to her seat. “Is that true, Maddie?”

Maddie felt her cheeks flush. “No, Mr. James, I don’t have my textbook in my bag, and I am not looking at anything except my paper.”

The teacher looked quickly at her bag, and after making sure there was no book in her bag, walked back to the front of the class. “All right then, please continue with your work. Everyone please be quiet and focus on your own work.”

Maddie tried to refocus on her work, but a few minutes later she heard Phoebe whispering behind her.

“Give me your paper now, or I swear I will make your life hell.”

The thing is, Maddie knew it was no idle threat. Phoebe and her group had been bothering her these past few months. It was little things like pushing her while they walked past her, saying she was fat and smelly and laughing at her. Mostly it did not bother Maddie, but she knew they could get worse. She had seen them bullying another girl a few months back until the girl had cried during class. They had backed off then, and it seemed like Maddie was their new target. Maddie had hoped they would get bored of her soon, but she could not antagonize Phoebe further. So she slid her paper quickly behind her while whispering through her teeth.

“Hurry up then, I haven’t finished. And don’t blame me if you got it wrong.”

Maddie felt anger boiling in her heart. She worked really hard for the test. That girl does not deserve to copy Maddie's answers. It is not fair that she should get top marks on the back of Maddie's hard work. And Phoebe was the last person Maddie would ever help, if she ever decide to help someone who needs help.

At lunch time, Maddie was walking to an empty table, holding her lunchbox in her hands. Sally was her only friend, and she was absent from school today because she had the flu. So Maddie would have to sit alone today. Everyone else have their own groups, and very rarely they sit with someone else outside their group. Maddie wondered when that started, because she remembered early when she started primary school, everyone was friends with everyone else.

All of a sudden, she felt someone swipe her lunchbox from her hands, and it fell clattering to the ground. All the food inside fell out to the floor.

“Oops, I’m sorry. Oh look it’s Maddie the fatty. Guess you won’t be having lunch after all. But look on the bright side, maybe we are doing you a favor. I mean, look at the size of you. You don’t need so much food right?”

The snooty voice came from Donna, one of Phoebe's friends. She laughed along with the rest of her friends.

“Come on guys, don’t be so mean. She did help me earlier with the math test, you know?,” said Phoebe with a smirk at her friends, in a way that means she is just making fun of Maddie.

Maddie was completely speechless. She could hear some other kids laughing too. She held herself together while she picked up her lunchbox, then walked out of the canteen without a word. It was only after she locked herself in a toilet cubicle that she finally let her tears flow. What did she ever do to them? She is not even fat, maybe slightly overweight, but she has always had a chubby face ever since she was little.

Later at home, when her mom asked if she ate all her lunch, she said she finished it all.