Trouble

You're mad

Maisie Walsh was trouble. A recipe for disaster. Complete chaos. No matter how hard she tried, she never managed to behave herself for long.

At the age of 6 she'd been diagnosed with ADHD and since then, they'd tried everything to find something that worked for her. It almost never did and even if it was successful for a while, it would eventually stop working and they were back to square one.

Maisie hated having to battle with her brain, battle so hard just to be 'normal'. She wished she could just behave herself but it was impossible. Her way of doing things was act now, think later.

Some people loved this about her but some people didn't. They made fun of her and would try their best to get her in trouble. It always worked and no matter how much she explained that they wound her up, Maisie was always the one punished.

Maisie's behaviours hadn't always made her family's life the easiest but they loved her to death and wouldn't have it any different. Her parents had fought constantly for her to get the support she needed. They sat through endless meetings, spent hours researching, just to find something that would make their daughter's life easier.

She loved her parents a lot but the person she loved most was her sister. Keira was nine and a half years older than Maisie but that didn't stop them being incredibly close. Their relationship consisted of Keira telling Maisie to do something, Maisie doing it and then both of them getting in trouble for their involvement. They kept their parents on their toes but they wouldn't have it any other way.

Life hadn't always been plain sailing but things were going pretty well right now. Maisie was on a medication that had been working for a few months and she was living with Keira and her girlfriend Lucy. To some people this arrangement seemed weird but it worked for them and that was all that mattered.

***

September 2021

Maisie's morning started the way it always did.

"Come on Mais. Time to get up," Keira said, bustling into the room.

"Ugh," she groaned, rolling over and burying her head under the covers.

"Lucy's making you breakfast and your meds are on the table."

Slowly Maisie began to get herself out of bed. She wished she could stay curled up all day but knowing Keira would never agree to it, she got going.

"Morning mush," Lucy said cheerfully as the teenager walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," she grumbled in response, sitting up at the kitchen island.

"You've got some orange juice and your meds there and I'm just making you some toast."

"Thanks," Maisie replied with a big yawn. Really she was perfectly capable of doing it herself but so that their mornings were as smooth as possible, Keira or Lucy always made it for her.

She popped the two pills into her mouth and took a sip of the juice to wash them down.

"Me and Keira are going to be out when you get back from school but we'll be home in time to take you to training," Lucy said as she handed her some jam toast.

"Thanks," Maisie said, tucking into her food. Maisie was a part of the Man City academy and she had been for four years. Football was the only thing she'd ever been really good at and she wanted to follow in Keira's footsteps. So far she was on the right track, she was the star striker of the U15s but there was still a long way to go.

She finished her breakfast and headed upstairs to get herself dressed.

"Hey Narla," she said cheerfully as the dog came bounding over.