Cracking Zeenath

October 31st, 2015: Touch and Go

    I stood in my room, looking at myself in the mirror. Today, we were all supposed to meet up at Madison's house. She said she had a "surprise" for me. I made a face. Hopefully, this wasn't one of her crazy tricks. A T-shirt and jeans will do, right? I grabbed my keys and walked over to Clara's room, knocking lightly.

"Ya ready?"

I heard her moving around inside until she opened the door. "Yeah," she shot me a smile. "Let's go."

      Twenty minutes later, we were driving down a quaint little road with cute little houses lined up along the sides. I gripped the steering wheel and looked around. "This looks so adorable," I touched the roof of my mouth with my tongue, trying not to laugh. It looked like it came straight out of a cartoon. "Where do we stop?"

"Yeah, they're cute aren't they?" She paused and looked around. "Stop...three houses down from here."

I pulled into the driveway in front of a red brick house, white picket fence running around the edges and a swing set tucked beside a cluster of bushes in the background. I smiled. How cute. It looks all...cute.

We got out and Clara rang the doorbell. I shifted my weight from foot to foot as we waited, looking around to keep from seeming awkward.

"You look awkward."

I turned to Clara. "Tch. It's my first time here, leave me alone."

She chuckled. "It's okay. Stop looking so darn tense. Relax." She stared at me for a second and giggled.

"This isn't Damian's house ya know."

My eyes bulged out and I whipped around to glare at her. "What...why.." I stammered, flustered, feeling my dignity fall to pieces.

       She laughed just as the door swung open and I gave her one last glare before turning towards the doorway. A small lady stood holding the door, dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled at me. I wasn't sure where she was from...looked kind of like somewhere in East Asia...She's pretty. I gave her a timid smile, wondering if we'd come to the wrong house.

"Is Madison home?" Clara asked.

"Of course. She's waiting for you in her room."

I stood still until Clara nudged me. "This is Zeenath. Zeenath, Mrs. Andrews."

Henh? I thought she lived with her dad. Maybe it's her step-mother? Sure. She said something about her dad remarrying...

Mrs. Andrews nodded at me, kind eyes meeting my own. "I've heard a lot about you. Come in."

I stiffened, standing up straighter and smiled slightly. "Nice to meet you."

      Clara lead the way up the staircase and I followed her, trying not to look like I was looking around the house. Which I was, of course. There were paintings and photographs hung along the walls along the staircase, each showing something different, another stage of Madison's life. I caught glimpses of Madison's red hair, different places, different expressions, as we climbed the stairs.

      Eventually, Clara turned and lead me into a room painted a soft yellow color all over the walls. Little butterflies and glass spheres hung from the ceiling, casting colored shadows across the room, and various paintings were plastered to the wall, some straight and others crisscrossing on top of one another. A little bookshelf stood against the wall with books spilling out onto the floor. On the other side of the room, a dressing table was cluttered with different makeup items and pencils. My eyes landed on Madison sitting on her bed facing the window with her back to us. She was holding a dress with one hand as she pulled a needle through it with the other.