Bionic Chaos [Leo Dooley]

Chapter Eighteen

Being grounded in high school is very humiliating. Somehow, someone found out that my parents grounded me for a week because of coming home after curfew and has spread the news to everyone that my parents are the worst ever and that I'm trapped under their thumb. I blame Caitlin for finding out that I'm grounded, especially because I had to tell her yesterday that I couldn't go out with her because my parents wouldn't let me. She is the only one who knows, so she's the one who takes the blame.

"Is little Magdalena grounded?" I whirl around to see Reese grinning at me from her locker. There's a piece of paper gripped in her hands, and my stomach drops. "Can she not join the spring play because she's grounded?"

"They announced what the spring play is going to be?" I ask her, taking a step closer to her. She holds the piece of paper closer to her chest, laughing softly at me. "What is the play going to be, Reese?"

"Well, you can't really do it, so why should I tell you?"

"My parents will understand --"

"I've met your parents, Maggie, and I know they would not understand for some silly play."

I don't like that she's right. I don't like that my parents are so overbearing. I don't like anyone right now, especially Reese, with a gigantic smirk on her face. Anger floods through my whole body at everything that is going on in my life right at the moment. There's a huge part of me that wants to slap the silly look off of her face, but then I hear Bree's voice behind me. I give Reese one last glare before spinning around and stalking away from her. 

My eyes fall onto the retreating figures of Bree, Chase, and Adam, and for a second there, I want to run after them just to get away from Reese. I shake my head instead, glancing at the clock on the wall. It's too close to the start of class for me to go after them. 

"Maggie!" Leo's voice rings out at the other end of the nearly empty hallway, and I can't help but smile at his figure at the end of the hallway. 

"Hi, Leo!" I give him a short wave.

"My short film about the alien principal has won an award in the Amateur Sci-Fi Film Festival!" Leo says excitedly. I watch as he runs up to me, and my stomach flip flops at the sight of his cute grin. His happiness makes me smile, even though I'm not really happy right now. It doesn't matter, though; his happiness is contagious, spreading through my chest with a warm feeling. "They're going to show all the films that won an award at the local theater in a month or so, Maggie. Isn't that awesome?"

"It's great!" I tell him, grinning widely. "I knew it was great the first time I saw it!"

"Do you want to go with me to see it premiering on the big screen?" he asks quickly. His eyes go a bit wide, like he couldn't believe he just said that to me. I'm also not really sure he just said that because I can barely hear over the sound of my heart thudding against my chest. "I mean, you obviously don't know what you're going to do in a month, so it's not like you can --"

"I would love to go with you," I say before he could get his foot farther down his throat. "I have to support you somehow before you become a world-famous director, right?"

"Hey, you'll be a world-famous actress, so it doesn't really matter," Leo says with a laugh. 

Before I even know what's happening, he throws his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into one of the most awkward hugs in my entire life. We both pull away from the hug as quickly as possible before shooting each other awkward smiles. I swear he can hear my heart racing in my chest, but if he does hear it, he doesn't mention it.

"You know, when we become famous, we could be a directing-acting duo!" I'm glad that Leo has pushed past the awkwardness that he created by hugging me because I wouldn't have known what to say. "We could be a package deal, you know? I would direct the things you act in."