Disaster Usually Follows

Chapter 20

Pic of Luke^^^played by Sean Giambrone

Maddie's POV:

The final bell rang and the school exploded in madness. Screams were heard from every side and the sound of pounding feet hit my ears. My head pulsed in pain but before Blake could even take one step I had grabbed his shirt and got his attention.

"Good luck!" I shouted above the sound and winced when my head pounded from not only my shouting but the noises around me.

"Thanks!" he said, standing up.

"I'll see you after?" he said, looking over to where his friends were calling him.

"Yeah!" I said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Great!" He said, swooping down and giving me a brief hug.

"See you then!" he called over his shoulder.

I was frozen, standing in my place while the classroom emptied and Kylee came over to me.

"Looks like Mr. Jock man wanted a token of luck." Kylee teased, dragging me out of the room.

"Guess so." I squeaked, my faithful little wind-up monkey drummer doing his job and making my heart pound.

As we walked out of the classroom it was chaos. Cheerleaders were racing to the gym with their uniforms, makeup bags, and hair straighteners. Band members were making their way to the music room to practice. Jocks were running towards the cafeteria to carbo-load and pump up for the game.

The rest of the student body flooded the parking lot, half of them rushing home to get their family members and get ready. The other half was finding their already marked off tailgate spots and meeting family members. Kylee and I struggled to get to my civic, which Kirsten had gotten back for me early this morning.

I was glad to have something familiar to me back. The familiar purr of the engine excited me as I pulled out of the parking lot. I made my way over to Luke and Johnny's school and saw the situation was much the same. Families from the area also found this to be a big event and wanted to get their kids home either to get ready for the game or stick them with the unfortunate babysitters stuck with them.

When we finally made it back to the Knight's house, I saw Kirsten's car parked outside and wondered if she knew about the big game. When we walked inside although I really didn't want to, I felt lots of tension in the air.

The four of us made our way to the kitchen. Kirsten was at the table, talking to Mr. and Mrs. Knight.

"Hey guys, welcome home!" Mrs. Knight said, giving us her famous smile.

"Hey, Maddie," Kirsten greeted.

"Why don't you all go ahead a get ready for the game?" Mr. Knight said to Luke, Johnny, and Kylee.

"We would like to talk to Maddie for a minute."

When they all left I quietly took a place next to Kirsten.

"How are you feeling Maddie?" Kirsten asked. She looked at my black eye, which now looked like I just wore too much dark eye shadow.

"Better," I said, meaning it.

"Good. As you know, I have been trying to build a case against your father. But something has come up. Your father has chosen to give up custody of Johnny. I have informed the judge and an evaluation will be made on his arrangements. I am comfortable saying the odds are that the Knight's will be given full custody." Kirsten ended with a smile.