𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖲𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗌 || 𝖣𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖬𝗈𝗆𝗌

The New Star?

"Well, are ya' comin'?"

"Where?"

"Why―To the North Pole, of course! This is the Polar Express!"

"Oh my gosh." I covered my face with my hands. "This is so scary."

It was December twenty-first, two thousand and seven, and it was the last day before Christmas break at school. To celebrate, my homeroom teacher ― Mrs. Mattson ― put on a movie for us. It was "The Polar Express", and it was very creepy-- At least for me. I couldn't understand why she thought the movie was good for five-year-olds to watch-- Maybe because they all liked it. Most of my classmates were really into it, but I was way too scared to enjoy it.

We were all sitting on the floor in front of the TV, and I sat cross-legged between two of my friends. The one on my right was a boy, my other friend, and I sat at the same table with Elliot, and the one to my left was my best friend, Maddie. The two of them were loving the movie, but I, on the other hand, could only cover my face for so long.

"Don't be ridiculous." Maddie swatted both of my hands away from my face. "It's not bad―And it's the same guy from "Toy Story"―"

"I'm not saying the voice is creepy." I pointed out, pouting as I looked at the brunette. "I love Woody, and I think Tom Hanks is cool―But this movie is just way too creepy for me."

"Didn't you watch Halloweentown?" Elliot questioned.

"That's not scary." I deadpanned, holding in the urge to roll my eyes. "Just look at this movie. It looks too―What's the word?"

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Realistic?"

A grin came onto my face. "Yes!" We were then shushed. "Sorry."

I looked down at the paper plate in front of me. For every group, we had one plate, and we would choose what we wanted from the dubbed "snack bar". Like we were at the table closest to Mrs. Mattson's desk, we got to go first, and we grabbed most of the brownies. Hadley gave us a literal death glare when we walked past her with our plate. Along with that, Elliot grabbed a few other things, and Maddie took care of the hot chocolate. Even as we all sat down and got ready to start watching the movie, Hadley was still giving us the stink eye.

Hadley Adkins is sort of a bully―At least that's what my big sister Giselle said. Hadley doesn't like Maddie. At all, which is weird. Maddie's always nice to her, but then Hadley pulls her hair every time she's standing behind the brunette. I've told her multiple times to stop doing that, but it seems like it entertains her to cause someone else pain.

Yesterday, I planned something. After she tormented Maddie for the thousandth time during lunch, I decided I was going to get even. I already knew about what we were going to do today ― "Tomorrow's pajama and movie day" ―, and I also knew about Mrs. Mattson serving hot chocolate. I planned to "accidentally" drop the foam cup on her lap and spill the hot chocolate over her, but look at me. I can't even watch the movie without covering my face.

My plan to get back at Hadley Adkins had failed.

But luckily for us, she wasn't giving us the stink eye anymore, and I knew Maddie would get upset if I did something. For some reason, even though Hadley treats her badly constantly, the five-year-old didn't want to cause any more conflict. She was way too nice, and I was way too scared to go ahead with my plan. Adding to all of that, I was sitting right between the girl and Elliot. There was no way I could get out without them noticing me, even if the room was nearly pitch black, the only source of light being what came from the TV screen.