The greatest love

FIVE

Maddie

Ten months earlier

It was recess time and Maddie went outside to the outdoor playground to sit in a bench under the big tree. It had become her favourite spot in the school. Sally didn’t want to go outdoors. She said she wanted to discuss something with a girl in the class she had become friends with. Recently they had started whispering and giggling together in class and Sally had not included Maddie. One time, Maddie had come over to Sally's seat when they were talking animatedly. Maddie had said to them, “Hey, what's up?” The girl, Patricia, suddenly stood up, said talk to you later to Sally, and went back to her seat. Sally had smiled at Maddie, but Maddie could tell she was annoyed to be interrupted. Sally was still nice to her whenever they had lunch together, but sometimes she would sit at Patricia's table with her friends. She would mouth “Sorry” to Maddie and Maddie would just mouth back “It's okay”.

Maddie was lost in her own thoughts when suddenly she heard girls talking behind her. She looked around and saw Phoebe and her gang of four girls sitting on the bench behind hers. She tried to ignore them, but she heard Phoebe talk loudly.

“Do you ever realise that when Maddie walks, she waddles? Like a duck, you know.”

They all laughed at that. One girl stood up and began demonstrating a waddle walk. “Like this, you mean?”

“Yeah, that’s totally right,” answered Phoebe and they began a fresh howl of laughter.

Maddie felt her ears redden, but she kept quiet and wished they would leave her alone. Suddenly, she felt something land on the back of her head. She touched it with her fingers and felt something wet on her hair. She turned around and saw them giggling. Maddie frowned. What had they thrown at her?

When she turned back to the front, she felt something land on her hair again. Her fingers touched something wet and sticky. She finally realised what it was. They had spit on her! Maddie wheeled around and saw Phoebe smirking at her, as if daring her to fight them. Maddie stood up and ran inside. They were laughing again as she ran. Oh how she really hated them!

Maddie tried to wash her hair in the bathroom sink but then managed to get all her hair wet. Oh well, better to be wet than disgusting, she thought. She tried to dry it with towels but she still came into the class looking like she just had a shower. “What happened to you Maddie? Did it rain outside?,” Mr. Jonah said when she came in. Maddie just mumbled “No, mister” and walked quickly to her seat.

The next day at lunch time, Maddie was eating her lunch at her table. Suddenly, someone bumped into her and spilled drink all over her. She looked up into the mischievous eyes of Phoebe.

“Oh I'm really sorry Maddie. I don’t know where I was looking.” But she was giggling as she said it, and her friends were all giggling too.

Maddie looked down in dismay. There was a red stain on her shirt and skirt. There was no way she could clean this. She would have to borrow clothes from the school clinic. She threw a hateful look at Phoebe. “Why don’t you leave me alone?,” she shouted. Maddie was usually very shy and never attracted attention, but this time she didn’t care that everyone in the canteen was looking at her.

Phoebe pretended to be offended. “But I didn’t do it on purpose. And I said I was sorry. You didn’t have to shout at me.”

Some kids were giggling while some others looked at Maddie with pity, including Sally. Yet none of them defended Maddie, even though they saw what happened.

Maddie had worn a borrowed old sports uniform the rest of the day. When later in the car her mother asked what happened to her uniform, she said she spilled a soft drink on it.