Getting This Straight

Chapter 1

"Maddie!" My mom yells from down the hallway. "You're going to be late for school, again" she says again.

"I'm coming," I respond.

She isn't wrong. I have already racked up two tardies in the last week and another was going to land me in detention.

I quickly grab my backpack and sprint down the hallway past the many photos of my mother and I. When I was only a baby, my parents got divorced. As I got older, I continued to have a strained relationship with my father, leaving me living with my mother for the last 17 years of my life.

I meet my mother in the kitchen as she picks up her purse.

"Are you ready to go?" she asks me as she heads towards the door.

"Yes," I respond grabbing a granola bar to eat on my way to school.

"Great! I hope you have a good day. Drive safely and text me when you get to school," she reminds me as she gives me a kiss on my cheek.

"I will. See you later," I respond with a smile.

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"I still think we should have our graduation party together. It would be so fun!" Audrey said as she grabbed her water bottle off the desk. "Plus, it could be a birthday and graduation party combined. Our birthdays are almost a month apart so it totally works," she continued as we walked down the hallway.

"Honestly, yes! Why have we never thought about having our birthday parties together before?" I questioned as she giggled.

"I think we deserve a treat after such a long week," Audrey declares as we reach the doors exiting our school.

Audrey and I met on the first day of sixth grade. It was my first day at the new school and Audrey, who was quite shy at the time, made her way across the lunchroom to say hi. We ended up discussing our summer adventures and when lunch was over, we said our goodbyes only to realize we were going to the same class. From then on, Audrey and I were inseparable. We got ready for school dances, did our homework, and told each other everything that was going on with our lives. Now that we are seniors in high school, only months from graduation, it makes me sad to think about what life will be like without her always around, though I try not to think of it too often.

"I think we do as well!" I agree. "Let's get-"

"BOBA!" we exclaim together, bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Last one there pays for the winner!" she yells, sprinting into the parking lot towards her car as I take off behind her.

☆ ☆ ☆

"Ugh! Oh my gosh. Do you know who you are taking to prom?" I ask Audrey as I sip my drink.

"Not a clue," she responds dryly.

"Why don't you ask your date from winter formal?" I press as she makes a face of disgust and I laugh. I knew she would not like my suggestion.

"Ew Maddie. I cannot put myself through that again. Plus, I doubt he will even want to come to our prom," she replies, continuing to drink her tea through the large straw. "It is times like these where I hate going to a girl's school," she remarks. I nod.

She had a point. Going to a girls school definitely had its disadvantages and this is one of them. Our selection of boys for most of our adolescence has been that from the Forest Valley School for Boys. The boys were known for being smart and arrogant assholes that loved to get girls from Willowbrook Academy. Guess who was fortunate enough to attend Willowbrook?

"I know. But maybe we should start considering it. I mean it's already February. April will be here and then prom will-" I say as Audrey interrupts me.

"Yes I get it. But tell me, who are your prospects for prom?" she asks with a smirk.

"I don't have any. That's why I am saying, at least one of us needs to have a-"

"Ah!" she interrupts me, yet again. "What about Hayes? You went with him to his homecoming?" she questions.

"No. I do not like Hayes like that and I do not want to give them the wrong idea," I reply simply.

"Okay then what about Benjamin" she says as I roll my eyes.

"Audrey, I have not spoken to him in years. Why would I ask him to prom?" I raise my voice a bit. Not in an angry way, but more in an annoyed tone. Benjamin and I had talked back in middle school and it carried over into freshman year of high school. Because he went to Forest Valley, he asked me to their homecoming dance our freshman year but after I saw him in a corner making out with another girl from our grade, we never really talked again.

"Okay, okay. What about Nehemiah?" she asks as I take a breath and nearly choke on a tapioca ball.

"Nehemiah is a junior. Plus, we are just friends so there is really no need" I respond after a coughing fit.

"But maybe it is something to think about. You don't have to take someone you have feelings for necessarily. And since you and Nehemiah are good friends, you might enjoy it," Audrey says as she picks up her phone. "Shoot! My mom is calling. I should probably head home now anyway," she says as she stands up.

"I should head home too. I have a lot of homework to finish before this weekend," I say as I pick up my keys.

"Yes because we have many galentine's festivities lined up for this weekend," she says as we walk out the door.

"I'm looking forward to it," I reply as we wave goodbye.

We get into our cars and drive home, eagerly anticipating the week to be over so our festivities could begin.

Hope you are enjoying!

xoxo Ruth <3