Every Little Letter

*Chapter One*

~Madison~

I sat at the edge of my desk chair, frantically tapping my pencil an chewing my fingernails down to disgusting stubs. My eyes were locked on Mr. Chalker's desk; the stack of tests that were worth 50% of our grade. I knew that very few people were worried... I mean, for most of the class English was an easy subject. For most people it's just read it, write it, ace it. For me, it's nearly the exact opposite.

I'm just so lucky to be born with dyslexia. For as long as I can remember, my motto has been: "death is easy; reading is hard."

To add to my stress, Alexa Wheeler, or better known as every guy's dream girl, waltzed into the lecture hall without a care in the world, strutting in her little black dress and stilettos, her bleached blonde waves flowing around her smiling face.

It was like looking at a human-sized Barbie doll. James Hawthorne, her football quarterback boyfriend, stood up and planted a kiss on her cheek. You could almost see other girls weeping and guys raging in jealousy.

I frowned. This was so cliché it was almost unreal. Alexa flipped her extended tresses and checked her ridiculously perfect manicure.

I wiped sleep out of my eyes and yawned. It was the first class of the day, and I'd been up all last night studying. Not to mention how my incredibly chatty roommate Mia had kept me up all night talking about how nervous she was that her boyfriend was going to propose. We were only twenty, but she was so shy that it would be hard for her to say no.

I fiddled with my dangly ladybug shaped earring, and nearly had a heart attack when I hear the door slam.

Mr. Chalker entered the room slowly, tapping his shoes elegantly on the floor.

He said nothing as he passed out our tests one by one. I breathed in deeply as he passed the desk in front of me. He folded my paper in half and slid it in to my hands. I took a deep breath in and opened it. 65. I slump down in my seat and covered my face with my hands. My parents are going to kill me. If it's not a 100... let's just say you might want to spend the weekend at your friend's house. I sit up and shove it in my tote bag, hoping never to see it again.

I picked around at my Ceaser salad, and Mia glanced at me, but then looked back down at her phone. The sky around us was nealry navy blue, since we had decided to eat a late dinner.

"Mads, I don't know what to do. I-I really DO love Thompson... but... but..." Mia slammed her head down on the table, which caused a few not-so-nice looks from the people sitting next to us.

"Why do you even think that he's going to propose?" I asked, ripping off a piece of bread from the side of my salad.

"Well," Mia set down her phone. "I heard him talking to his friends. He asked what ring size I might be."

I shrugged. "You don't have to say yes."

Mia groaned. "If I don't, it will break us up. I'm way to young to be married!" She picked up her tuna melt and chewed ferociously.

"Maybe you're misinterpreting this whole thing." I suggest. "It might not be so bad."

Mia clicks open her purse and pulls out a picture. She looks grim as she places it on the table. It's a picture of her and Thompson. Mia looked great- long red hair, baby blue eyes, and of course, red lips.

Thompson looked... right into her eyes, and almost like nothing would ever seperate them. His messy brown hair was sticking up more than usual, and his green eyes looked so intrigued.

"This," Mia choked. "will all be gone if I decline."

I didn't know what to say. She was right.

I looked up, and was surprised to see a tear roll down her cheek.

"Oh, Mia," I cheesily say, pulling her into a hug.

The waitress comes by, but gives us a funny look and moves on to the table behind us.

Mia gets a lot of... facial fluids... on my shirt and tries to apologize, but I tell her that I will change later.

Driving back to school, Mia looks at me, but I can tell her eyes are somewhere far away.

"I don't know what has gotten into me. The old Mia would have said yes without any type of bad thought. The old Mia would convince herself that everything will be alright... that I can..." She struggles to speak. "Do this."

"It's good to be cautious. Never expect the expected." I say, sounding like a granny.

Mia musters a smile. She brushes her hair out of her face and attempts to sound happy, changing the subject. "Well, Madison Rosemary Frost, you are officially twenty years old in one week."

I take in a deep breath and clutch the steering wheel of my old, red Chevy pickup truck.

Mia chuckles. "It's not so bad."

She had turned twenty about three weeks ago, and never let me live it down that she was... what... four weeks older than I am?

"Yup," I nonchalantly grin. Twenty couldn't be all that different from nineteen, right?

If I only thought that now.

Mia grabbed her keys out of her purse and shoved them in the lock, clicking open Dorm Room 121.

It looked nothing different than how we had left it. Mia's makeup strewn over her desk, my shoes jammed into my closet, and our beds made neatly on the outside, but the sheets all bunched up on the inside.

Mia opens the mini-fridge and yanks out a diet coke, setting it down next to her textbook.

"What'd you get on that English test?" Mia asks chirpily. "I got a 93."

I slump on my bed. Mia... didn't know about my problems with dyslexia. And I never planned on telling her. It's not like anyone would understand.

"I... I... I got a..." I stammer. "92."

I couldn't believe I had just lied to my best friend like that. I groaned and threw myself onto my bed, tucking myself under the fluffy duvet.

"Brush your teeth like a good girl," Mia cooed.

"Yes, mother."

I checked my watch. It was only 9:00. Much too early to go to bed.

"Want to watch a movie on my laptop?" I suggest, following her into the bathroom.

"What movie?"

"Zombie Apocolypse: the Final Killing!" I joke.

She stares me down. "NO."

"Okay, okay. How about The Little Mermaid?"

"Shut up," Mia laughs. "I'll pick the movie."

We were up half the night watching Mia's favorite romance flicks. Mainly Nicholas Sparks.

When the clock struck 2:00 AM, we decided to turn off the lights. I climbed into my bed, and shut off my bedside table light. A cold breeze blew in the window, and I shivered. The night was almost over, and light would soon begin to dawn.

That was the last thing I remembered before I fell into sleep.

~Mia~

While I heard Madison snore, I only heard myself weep. I was nervous, sad, upset, and tired. I couldn't sleep at all, and my thoughts were only consumed about what I shouldn't do. I would be breaking up with Thompson if I were to say no, but if I said yes, my family would practically disown me for being married so young. I was a twenty year old woman for crying out loud! I could make my own desicions. But... I guess some people don't feel the same way.

(A/N) Hope you guys all enjoyed this first chapter, and the next one will be updated soon! Thanks for reading!

~damelily