Madison's Journey

Chapter 8

Madison spent the rest of the weekend exchanging text messages with Derrick and was glowing as she walked to school on Monday morning. When she arrived at their usual table for lunch, it was more crowded than usual; all four girls were there, as well as Brad, Derrick and a few of Derrick’s basketball buddies, who were chatting with Christy and Kelly.

“Hey!” Madison smiled shyly at Derrick, and he stood up from his spot and gave her a quick kiss. She felt her cheeks heat up as she beamed up at him.

“Hey back. Here, you can sit here.” He pulled out a chair for her, and then sat down right beside her. He leaned over so that he could whisper in her ear. “So, do you want to do something on Friday night?”

Madison eyes shone and she felt butterflies in her stomach. “Sure.” She smiled, and Derrick grabbed her hand under the table. After lunch, Derrick walked her to her locker and kissed her again. Shivers shot down her spine and she couldn’t wait until Friday. The rest of the week consisted of tons text messages with Derrick and lunches with the whole g**g. Madison felt like her life was starting to turn around a bit. She was happier than she had been in a while. 

On Friday night, Madison couldn’t wait for Bill and Lisa to get home, and as soon as they walked in the door, she flew out. Lisa and Bill exchanged glances, not sure what was going on.

“See you on Monday, Maddie. Have a nice weekend.”

“Thanks, Lise. You guys too.” And with that, she was out the door and down the street before Lisa could close it behind her. Madison ran the entire way home. Derrick was picking her up at seven, so she didn’t have much time to get ready. She had been jumping out of her skin by the time Bill and Lisa arrived home. This was her first real date, and she was both nervous and excited. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she had been talking to him so much over the past week that she was feeling more and more comfortable around him. They had decided to go mini golfing. Derrick had just passed his driver’s test, so he was going to drive them. When she got to her house, she flung the door open, threw her bag on the couch and ran to her room. She had been trying all week to find the perfect outfit but had changed her mind more times than she could count. She stood in front of her closet and wished that she had the same extensive wardrobe as Amy.

“Ugh…nothing is good enough,” she yelled at the floor length mirror and looked at the discarded outfits on her bed. She glanced at her bedside clock. “Six thirty-five. Madison, you need to get ready.” Frustration flooded her mind and she wished she had asked Amy to come over to help her. She walked away from her clothes and went to the bathroom to put on some make up and brush her hair. Taking a deep breath, she admired herself hard in the mirror and then smiled. The smile turned into a giggle, and suddenly she was laughing so hard she could barely breath. “Oh my God, Madison, you’re ridiculous.” She laughed for several more minutes before getting it under control. “You’ve been living on your own for two months now, and this is what you’re getting worked up about?” She shook her head and went back to her room. She pulled on her favourite pair of dark jeans and her favourite dark blue sweater. It was a light sweater, which would be okay since mini golf was indoors. As she was giving herself a final once over, she heard a knock on the door. She took a deep breath, “You got this,” then she headed to meet Derrick at the door. 

“Hi,” she smiled at him and her breath caught as she looked at him. He was gorgeous as usual; his black jacket and dark hair made his blue eyes pop. He took her breath away. 

“Hey. You look beautiful.” He stepped forward to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks,” she blushed.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yup.” She grabbed her purse and coat from the hook and pulled the door closed behind her. Their conversation was lively as they made their way to the mini golf park. They talked about school, their friends, and his siblings. He had two younger brothers, and they seemed to be full of mischief; his stories about them had Madison roaring with laughter. They arrived at the mini golf park and were soon embroiled in a very competitive game of mini golf, which Madison won.

“Well, I didn’t realize I was playing with a master mini golfer.” 

“Me either. I haven’t played much in the last two years. Maybe it’s like riding a bike.” She laughed and so did Derrick.

“Yeah, maybe.” He grabbed her hand as they dropped off the golf clubs and led her to the concession. “Ice cream?”

“Mm…yes please. Chocolate.”

“One chocolate coming up.” Derrick ordered their ice cream cones, and they found a table in a quiet corner. “I had fun tonight.”

Her face beamed in response. “Me too!”

“I know you’re really busy with work and school, so maybe we can try to make this a regular Friday night thing.”

“Oh, you want to see if you can beat me at mini-golf, do you?”

“Yeah, of course,” he chuckled, “But I meant just going out, it doesn’t have to be mini golf.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

His eyes twinkled as he smiled across the table at her. “Good, I’d like it too.” They finished their ice creams and headed to his car. When he dropped her off at home, they spent a few minutes kissing in his vehicle before she pulled away.

“I’d like to do this a lot longer, but I work at seven tomorrow morning.” She looked at him with regret and leaned in for another kiss. That kiss lasted another ten minutes, and by then, she knew she really needed to go. It was after eleven, and she knew it would take her a while to relax and get to sleep. He reluctantly let her get out, and she quickly slipped into the back yard. She watched him pull away from the curb and skipped to her front door. She spent an hour in bed thinking about him, reliving every moment of their date before sleep finally got the best of her.

When Madison woke up the next morning, she knew she had been dreaming about Derrick all night and couldn’t stop smiling. She got ready for work in a daze and spent the entire walk to work thinking about his lips on hers. She wished she could have spent all night in his car.

Work was busy when she got there and stayed that way for the entire day. People were out Christmas shopping, and since Burger Town was right by the mall, it was a popular place for people to stop.

Madison didn’t see Derrick for the rest of the weekend, but they spent a lot of time messaging back and forth. She was starting to miss him by Sunday night and couldn’t wait to get to school on Monday morning. On Sunday after work, as she was working on her calculus, she got a text and cursed under her breath as soon as she read it.

‘Hey! How’d it go?’ It was from Amy. She had meant to text her on Saturday after work but had been so busy studying and chatting with Derrick that she had forgotten.

‘So great. Can I call u?’

‘Yes, please. I’m dying over here. Lol :)’

Madison dialed Amy’s number as she abandoned her books and got cozy on her bed. As she waited for Amy to pick up, thoughts of Derrick filled her mind, causing her stomach to flutter. She was lost in her thoughts when Amy’s voice startled her back to reality.

“Hey!”

“Hi, Aim. Sorry I didn’t call or text sooner. I’ve been busy with work and studying.”

“And Derrick?”

Madison giggled. “Yeah. I haven’t seen him again, but we’ve been messaging a lot.”

“So…tell me what happened. I’ve been dying to know.”

Madison giggled again, and then proceeded to tell her friend about her fantastic Friday evening. They had been talking for a while when Madison heard Mrs. Fernie yell “Supper!” and realized it was already six in the evening.

“Oh, Mads, I got to go. Have a good night.”

“You too, Aim. See you tomorrow.”

“Yup. And Mads?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m so happy for you.”

She said it with such tenderness that Madison almost teared up. “Thanks, Aim. Love you.”

“Love you back, girlie. See you tomorrow. Oh, and Mads, one last thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Christy and Kelly are dying to hear about Derrick. I think we may have to have a girl’s only lunch tomorrow.”

Maddison chuckled at that, “Okay. Sounds good. Night.”

“Night!”