The greatest love

EIGHT

Maddie

Four months earlier

The next day Maddie was walking on clouds all day. She told her mom in the morning that she did not need to be picked up because she had plans with Sally. She didn’t mind when Phoebe and her friends She spent most of the days on the bed crying and feeling sorry for herself. Luckily her mother didn’t pry too much because she was busy tending to Timothy who was still recovering from his injury at home. into her backpack and everything fell to the floor. She didn’t even mind when Phoebe asked to borrow her test paper. Nick did not say anything to her but he smiled once when they passed each other outside the classroom. Maybe he didn’t want anyone to know that he was friends with Maddie. But then why plan to meet in the front gate, where everyone would be walking outside at the same time? Maddie shrugged off the thought.

After the bell rang, Maddie headed to the front gate slowly. She saw Nick and his friends going to the lockers. She would wait for him outside as planned. Maddie felt excited and nervous at the same time. What would they talk about? What if he decided she was as weird as everyone says? What if they had nothing in common? Maddie has never had a long conversation with a boy before.

While she was standing and waiting, she saw Phoebe and her friends gathered outside and talking. And then Nick with two of his buddies walked past her without a single glance at her. They stopped a little further, seemingly waiting to be picked up. Maddie was confused. Did he not see her? She moved closer to Nick, and heard him discussing about a computer game and talking about going to the friend's house.

When she was about hearing distance, she called out timidly, “Hi, Nick, should I wait for you?”

Nick turned to her with a confused face. “Hi, Maddie. What’s up?”

Maddie felt a bit nauseous. She noticed Phoebe and her group moving closer to them. Some other kids were looking in their direction too. Perhaps they were thinking, what could Maddie the weird girl be talking about with Nick?

Maddie gathered her courage and said, “Um, you texted me last night?”

She watched his brows knit together and felt a sinking feeling in her tummy. “What? No, I didn’t. I don’t have your number,” Nick said.

Maddie did not know what to answer. What she really wanted to do was to run from there, fast. Unfortunately, Nick seemed to be genuinely perplexed and waiting for her answer.

“Oh sorry, I must be mistaken. I thought it was you, but it must have been someone else,” she replied lamely.

Then she heard Phoebe and her friends burst into laughter. Maddie turned to them and realized at once that it was them! They sent that message to her, pretending to be Nick!

Nick looked uncomfortable now. “It's alright. I guess I'll see you around then,” he said. Even his friends were smirking now, realizing the joke. To his credit, Nick did not seem to find it funny.

Maddie said quickly, “Ok, bye”, then walked out of the school gates fast. Her face was burning and she felt close to tears. She heard Phoebe saying loudly to anyone who could hear her, “Oh my God, she thought Nick had texted her? And she was waiting for Nick! To do what, hang out together?”

Then one of her friends replied, “As if anyone would hang out with her! She is so ugly!” Then they laughed cruelly. She heard Nick's friends laughed too, but she did not turn around to see Nick's face.

Maddie walked all the way home. It took thirty minutes. She let her tears fall without bothering to wipe them. She must have looked a sight to the passers by. Maddie could not understand how they could be so cruel. And she fell right into their trap! How could she be so foolish as to reply to that text?

The next couple of days Maddie did not come to school. She told her mother she was sick. And she did feel sick. She couldn’t eat much, she couldn’t sleep well and she had tummy ache. She spent most of the days on the bed crying and feeling sorry for herself. Luckily her mother didn’t pry too much because she was busy tending to Timothy who was still recovering from his injury at home. Maddie did not want to tell her mother; she could not possible understand how Maddie was feeling.

When Maddie finally braved herself to school three days later, she hoped everyone would have forgotten about her. Alas, she still heard whispers and laughing whenever she walked past. Girls would point at her and guys would snicker. At her locker door, notes were posted on it, saying “LOSER”, “WEIRDO” and “UGLY”. Maddie did not read them all. She just ripped them and throw them to the dustbin. There were times Nick would attempt to catch her eyes, but Maddie turned her face away quickly. She did not want to be ridiculed by Nick, or worse, pitied.