We're Not Related Anymore...

Meet Cute

Maddie: Three Years Ago

Maybe it's sleeping in a room where pictures of the past constantly surround me. Or maybe it's being in this house again, and in this town where so many of the best and worst moments of my life happened. Whatever the reason, when I dream that night, I am haunted by my memories of this place.

-

I clutch a bag of melted-frozen peas over my bruised fist and try not to mope about the unfairness of the world. I'm also trying not to think of what my dad's reaction will be when he gets a call from the principal's office asking him to pick me up early and telling him I got into a fight. On my first day of school.

The hallways outside of the office are quiet at this time of day. It's just after the last lunch period and all the other so-called 'sane' students are happily learning in their respective classes. I, on the other hand, am waiting to be read the riot act.

There's only one other person nearby and it's the school's secretary. I see her typing away by her desk. Every once in a while, she lifts her head away from her computer and gives me a sympathetic smile. When I was marched in here a little while earlier, she leaned in conspiratorially and let me know that she would've done the same thing. Then she told me she'd call my dad and our sisterhood sizzled and died.

With the bag of peas now relatively useless, I remove the packet from my hand. I flex it a few times before folding it onto my lap. I am a little bit ashamed of myself, now that I see my cracked, oozing knuckles. If my hand looks this bad, I can only imagine what the guy I punched looks like.

I'm saved from my shame spiral when a door opens and two students pass by the secretary carrying some kind of sculpture.

"Well, what's all this now?" Miss Anderson enquires when she sees the two boys set down the heavy-looking ornament.

"It's the top of the school fountain. The shop teacher asked us to bring it in here after one of the students almost broke it," answers the shorter boy. My gaze goes to the taller one standing a little behind him. He's so tall I have to raise my head just to see his face. He's got a nice jaw, I think and then quickly turn my head away when he glances in my direction. I sink deeper into the chair I'm sitting on, hoping he didn't think I was checking him out.

"That's so good of you boys to bring it up here for him! It looks like such a heavy piece. Why don't you grab some water from the cooler and have a rest before you go on back to class?" Suggests the overly cheery secretary. I don't think I've ever met someone so perky on a Monday.

The two seem grateful for her suggestion. Now that she mentions it, the two do seem a little bit out of breath. The boy that spoke to her does as she says and gets a cup. He then not so subtly splashes the back of his reddening neck with the water.

The other boy, however, crosses over the room and takes a seat in the chair next to mine.

"Hi," I say, covering my hand a little more when he stretches his long legs out in front of him.

"Hey," he answers and I almost close my eyes when I hear how deep his voice is.

We're silent for a moment. The only sounds are the click-clacking of Miss Anderson's computer and the other boy's gulps as he drinks his third glass of water. I watch him crumple the styrofoam cup, toss it into the nearby bin, and then grab another fresh cup. Why didn't he just reuse the first one?

"I haven't seen you before," muses the boy beside me.

I almost squeak, realizing he's been quietly watching me this whole time. "Oh, today is my first day here."