Even If It Takes Forever

MAURICE GRANTE CHAP II

While meeting Zetsy's friends, a stranger caught Madeline's eye. About 6ft tall, dark brown hair crescent-of-moon eyebrows with gloomy eyes, angular cheekbones carved down towards a geometrical jaw, a gentleman's personality with a cosmic smile, this guy looked ordinarily extraordinary.
Well, it was the time for the carnival thus we all went outside where everything was prepared and everyone was waiting for us to join the fun carnival. There were food stalls and a lot of game stalls which were decorated beautifully.
As it was a carnival organised by The Earnest's so the stall keepers were new to us however they were very polite and invited everyone to their stalls.

So far Madeline was having a lot of fun. She was enjoying every bit of it however her very own classmates weren't there but she had Zetsy along with some other friends who gave her company and made sure that she wasn't feeling alone.
"Anyone who wants to register for the Windsor diploma programme must be seated here in 5 minutes" a voice announced. Doing the Windsor diploma after school was everyone's dream. I reserved my seat and quickly settled down. Miss Alice distributed some sheets which we had to fill with our personal information
and subject preference for the diploma programme.

There was pin-drop silence after which Miss Alice introduced students to the programme. The details were quite inviting and Madeline couldn't wait to fill the sheet. As she was writing down her name, she heard a dripping sound. She looked in astonishment, what she saw was the same guy she caught her eye on a few moments earlier. He dropped his pen and was sitting right in front of her.
"Hey zetsy, do you think Psychology is a good subject if one wants to pursue law?" The guy asked. "Umm I don't have an idea about this though" Zetsy replied.
Psychology was a subject Madeline picked too and she was very much eager to tell the stranger that it really will help in the law field but she wasn't confident enough to speak with strangers.

Everyone came back to the classroom as the time slot of this section to attend the carnival ended. Zetsy was busy with her friends gossiping about her ex and how he regretted leaving her. There were approximately 18 students there in that classroom and everyone was busy talking to their friends. Madeline sat alone in a corner and closed her eyes. Flashbacks of her toxic ex ran across her mind. As she opened her eyes she saw a couple of eyes fixated on her. It was the same guy peeking at her this time. Eye contact or actually their first eye contact; Madeline felt something in her chest, a sentiment she ignored. The guy moved in her direction, and Madeline's heart skipped a beat. He came and sat in front of her facing her.

"Hey I'm Maurice Grante, you don't seem okay?"
"No I am absolutely fine, how are you?"
"Um, actually Madeline I overheard you talking about taking Psychology so what made you pick this subject? what are your plans? which College are you thinking to pick?"

Maurice Grante, yes that's his name. He asked so many questions but Madeline wasn't nervous this time. She confidently answered him and told him about herself too. After a 5-minute conversation, Maurice's friend called him for some snacks and he left. Madeline felt a spark, a sudden connection or something that felt like her destiny calling out to her. She had a feeling that there is something extraordinary about Maurice. That guy seems to be a mystery Madeline wouldn't mind solving.

Days went by and it was finally the 17th of November; Madeline's birthday.
As she scrolled down her Instagram, her private messages flooded with overwhelming birthday wishes, her fingers stopped scrolling at a particular point. Yes that was when she found Maurice Grante's wish. It was just a conventional 'happy birthday' nonetheless it surpassed all the other wishes and became the first wish Madeline replied to.
"thankyou Maurice"
"typing....."
"liked your message"
Was Maurice trying to type something or was it just a glitch? It was enough to make Madeline anxious and overthink the entire thing. "what did he want to say? why do I even care so much about this person I barely know anything about? why does my chest get heavy when he tries talking to me?"
Madeline was flooded with questions within her mind. She decided to consider the gulps in her gut as a mere coincidence.

The season from November to January is excessively chilly. Days get shorter and nights get longer.
It was an evening in late December Madeline sitting by the fireplace clattering her teeth with a quivered body. A notification popped up on her phone all of a sudden:
"Maurice Grante replied to your story"
It was an overwhelming moment for her as she genuinely felt delighted after a very long time. Without wasting a second, she replied to him as they both engaged in a conversation that basically didn't end.
Whenever the conversation was to end, any one of them would bring in another topic to make it an endless conversation.
They talked every day without a gap. Never had Madeline waited for someone's texts as she waited for Maurice's.
After some weeks of continuous texting, Maurice and Madeline began talking on call for hours and hours laughing at random memes, making each other laugh, and giggling without an end to it.
Seasons changed, It was springtime. The pandemic was still there although various places were reopened.
"Hey Maddy, wanna go out for coffee today?"
"Sure till 7 in the evening"
"I'll be there"
It happened to be their first meetup outside school. Madeline cancelled all her plans and got ready for the meetup. Her excitement was equivalent to the excitement of any girl going on her first date and it bothered Madeline as they both were just friends but maybe fate had different plans.