Nostalgia | TWD: M. Greene

.:Chapter Three:.

From that point on, Willa and I considered each other friends, often taking to hanging out, during breaks, after school, or on the weekends. A lot of the time we were joined by Owen who was shocked to see me with anyone beside him, and he made sure to let me know as such too. On other occasions, Willa's friend, Tess, would drop by if not to say hi then just to exchange information related to a shared class. My days were always eventful now and I found myself enjoying my time a whole lot more as the weeks passed.

It was to the point I had almost forgotten my goal of befriending my old childhood friend and underclassmen, Maggie Greene. Outside of sending a small greeting her way in the halls of the school, I hadn't made any progress what-so-ever. In fact, I was nearly at the point of giving up when my mother informed me that she had invited the Greene family over for dinner this coming weekend.

"'M sorry, what?" I asked, the fruit loops splattering droplets of milk around the table as the circular food fell off my spoon. I slowly lowered it from its spot mid-air, placing it back in the bowl as I turned my full attention to my mum. If I wasn't awake before then I was now, especially as she continued speaking as if what she said was the most natural thing in the world.

"I have hesitated to invite others over 'cause I was worried 'bout you," she began explaining, looking down at her hands before making eye contact with me. I could tell how genuinely anxious she was for my well-being by the way her eyebrows furrowed slightly and her lips twitched downward. "But these days you look better."

"So you invited Mr. and Mrs. Greene here for dinner?" I reiterated, hoping she wasn't being serious. It was one thing to talk to Maggie at school when we both were going separate ways and could escape. But it was another to suddenly have her thrust into my house at the whim of my mother. She had no clue how low my standing was with the girl.

"Well, them and their three children, yes," she corrected, going on to ramble about Shawn, Maggie, and Beth, and how she would have loved to have a large family like them, but she was blessed with the perfect little boy she could have ever asked for. She continued on until eventually she realised she got off topic and brought it back around. "Won't it be just lovely havin' company?"

"...If it will make you happy then I agree." I smiled at her, fiddling with my spoon as I thought about having people come to my house. I hadn't even brought Willa or Owen around yet, but now I was going to have five near strangers over. The idea made me sigh, but I wasn't entirely opposed to it when I thoroughly thought it through. That was until my mum once again dropped a surprise right into my lap.

"Oh good! Then would you mind takin' that Maggie girl with you to the shops?" She clapped, already preparing to the best of her abilities for her potential guests. "That way we can get somethin' for everybody."

"Uh, mum? I don't think she would like that," I tried to let her down gently, knowing I was probably one of the last people Maggie wanted to see after our previous interactions. Though, from what I gathered, I wasn't special in the fact that she didn't like anyone outside of a select few.

"What do you mean?" My mum tilted her head, confused about what was so hard about such a request. In her eyes, everything was perfect and all I had to do was just ask. Of course that was not the case but I wasn't sure how to get that idea across.

"Well, we aren't exactly friends," I began slowly, picking my words carefully as to not worry her with silly teenage problems. I didn't think she needed to know the ins and outs of my relationships, just the important details. Such as, I actually had people around me and I wasn't a full-fledge hermit yet.

"What? But of course you are! You even said you spoke on the bus." She fervently denied what I said as if she was there to witness the conversation. It left me bewildered and unable to comprehend whether their was anything I could do or say to turn this situation around.