Maddie
As crazy as it might sound, I used to actually be excited to start school.
That was when I was young, like eight or nine. Back when having a lunchbox with unicorns and rainbows on it was considered cool. I still had that lunch box actually. I had brought it to school until seventh grade when my social IQ decided to double, and all I could feel was pure embarrassment for basically everything I’d done leading up to that year.
“Maddie!”
Groaning, I pulled my blanket over my head. Remembering seventh grade and Kendall Vertes’s bitchiness was not nearly as bad as accepting the fact that I had to go to school and actually see her today.
“Mads. Madelia. Maddie. Madison Ziegler.” Wait, I knew that voice.
“Five more minutes,” I grumbled, but since I was still halfway in dream land it came out more like. “fimoremini.”
“C’mon, Mads,” my sister said as she pulled the blankets off of my bed. “You have to get up.”
Frowning, I curled up into a ball. “No.”
Waking up meant school, and school meant…hell.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked learning, but going to a school where your sister was pretty much on her way to becoming valedictorian combined with the American education system kind of sucked.
Mackenzie let out a sigh and plopped down on the edge of my bed. “I honestly can’t be tardy today. I have AP Psychology first period, and you know how much Mr. Mitchell hates it when we’re-”
“Okay,” I mumbled, kicking her butt. “Just leave. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Even when my sister wasn’t trying to, it seemed as though she was bragging. Mackenzie was way smarter than me, and I knew that, but sometimes I hated accepting that. Being the stupid twin had never really been all that fun.
Slowly, I got out of bed and threw my blankets into a lump. I’d never really seen the point of making my bed.
“Bye, buddy,” I said, patting my pillow. When I was younger, I had hated going to bed, but now…? Sleep was my best friend.
Well, second best friend. My best friend was Nia Frazier, and I’d known her since preschool. On the first day, our parents had dropped us off at the same time—way too early—and we’d instantly bonded.
Hands on my hips, I stood in front of the closet I shared with Mackenzie. We were pretty much the same size, but I had absolutely no desire to wear her clothing. On my side of the closet at least some of the items were cute.
Like what I planned to wear today.
Last night, I had decided on a simple white polo, black skirt, and teal sweater. I left my light brown hair loose and applied a light dusting of makeup.
Even if I was going to be harassed I might as well look nice as it happened.
Still not feeling that great, I left the room I shared with Mackenzie and headed into the kitchen.
“Hey, Momma,” I said as I grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl and began to peel it into a prefect spiral.
My mom was definitely someone I respected. She deserved everyone’s respect really. She’d gotten pregnant in college, and when my dad found out she was pregnant, he left. I had never talked to him, but I didn’t want to. Right now, we weren’t necessarily living well, but we were fine.
