Beauty & the Geek

Chapter 2

Summer rushed by and, like the episode of Dallas the other night, came to an anti-climatic conclusion. When will JR Ewing ever get caught? When the first day of school dawned and the alarm clock blared, Madison was already up and halfway ready. The only thing left for her to do is eat breakfast and choose an outfit. It's the first day of Senior year, and today's outfit choice will set the tone for the whole school term. At least according to both Sassy and Teen magazines, the social Bible for teenage girls everywhere.

Sure, Maddy's been labeled a nerd, and she wears glasses. But there's no rule saying she can't be a cute nerd, right? Besides, someday her brain will carry her straight to the top of a Fortune 500 company, and half the people in her class will work for her. At least that's what the business magazine in her aunt's coffee shop told her. Poetic justice!

Madison's hand ran over different shirts, pants, and skirts in the closet until it landed on the perfect thing. In a flash, Maddy pulled out the white overalls and grabbed a fitted lilac t-shirt. She put the outfit on, rolled the pants legs just past her ankles, and added a pair of purple glossy slingback sandals to finish the look. In the full-length mirror, the sandy-blonde turned this way and that, viewing herself at all angles, then determined, "This is as good as it's gonna get. Wish me luck." She winked at herself for dramatic effect.

After taking the messenger bag off the side table chair and walking downstairs, the smell of darkened flour and a little bit of butter greeted her nose. It's that buttery smell when it melts in the pan and suddenly becomes brown butter–a little sweet and a little nutty--- that smell makes Maddy's mouth water. That's because it can only mean one thing, pancakes!

Her father makes the most fantastic pancakes, even better than Aunt Gertrude's (who owns the coffee shop). And they're always the perfect size because Bob is nothing if not a perfectionist in math. He uses six inches per cast iron skillet--- which the skillet has to be cast iron. Nothing less will do. Thanks to the cast iron, they always come out a bit crisp on the edges, which is pancake excellence in his estimation.

Over the smell of food cooking, Bob greeted his daughter with a huge smile. "Morning, Maddy Joy, and welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!"

Nope, those words didn't make her stomach knot up at all or cause the nerves to careen out of control. Not one bit, except they did because it was the first day of the rest of her life. The whole school year lies before Maddy, like a book waiting to be read. So everything has to be perfect, like the pancakes. And that's when it hit her.

It's the first day, a fresh start, and hers for the taking. Just as the season's first snowfall makes everything ugly turn beautiful again, the slate of past school years has been wiped clean. It's like first-day amnesia! That's when Madison knew this school year would be the best of all.

This new way of thinking led to another realization. Maddy can be the girl she's always wanted to be--- a suave, sophisticated, fun, and flirty girl. Being popular might be a stretch too far, but being cool could work. It's all one step at a time, starting today. Motivational power began replacing the nerves with a bunch of positivity.

So when her father followed up by asking, "Are you ready?"

Madison responded with a bright, happy "Yes."

Then Bob plated the pancakes and told her, "Look. I made your favorite blueberry pancakes. I even have real homemade blackberry jelly. I stopped by Grandma Sadie's farm and got a jar for us. Eat up, Kiddo. You'll need your strength to maneuver the chaos of the first day."

As Mr. Newby handed her the plate of blueberry pancakes, he launched into a terrifying tale of his first day of Senior year. It started with, "There I was minding my own business, walking down the hallway, when out of nowhere, someone tripped me. To my horror, I fell flat on my face, but I survived. Do you want to know how? It's all due to my trusty headgear. It caught my fall, and the only thing I broke was my pride..."