The first day was finally here. I was finally a big kid. I was in kindergarten. Man, was today going to be great. No more being a baby. I was going to make a bunch of new friends and learn so much this year. I could already feel how great the day was going to be. Best of all, my best friend Madi was going to be in the class with me. Her real name is Madison, but she hates it when people call her that. We met two years ago, and we have been inseparable since.
I feel my heart race as I my dad shows me the way to the door to my new class. I peek my head around the corner and immediately see Madi talking to the teacher. She seems nervous, so I yell for her as I race over toward her. This year was going to be a great year.
Kindergarten was nothing like preschool. We had this thing called recess where we got to go outside and play instead of staying inside all day. We also got to learn all sorts of cool new things, like math. To my disappointment , the day came to a quick end.
At the end of the day, I follow the teacher outside and immediately spot my dad, making a mad dash for him. I couldn’t wait to tell him about the day! Before I could say anything, though, my dad spoke.
“C’mon you two. Madison’s dad is getting a snack ready for us back at her house.”
“Don’t call me Madison!” Madi protests.
I smile at the constant issue between Madi and my dad. He never called her Madi, and she hated it. I decide to hold out on all my stories, and I follow my dad back to the car.
As soon as we got to Madi’s house, I grabbed Madi’s hand and pulled her straight to the backyard. I make a mad dash up the rope ladder that leads to our treehouse. I turn around and see Madi still at the base of the tree, staring at the ladder hesitantly. She’s always been a little uncomfortable with the ladder.
“C’mon Madi!” I shout down at her. “You can do it! C’mon!”
But she remained at the base of the tree, staring at the ladder with horror. She began backing up slowly, obviously seeing something I couldn’t. Suddenly she makes a mad sprint for the back door. I keep yelling at her, but it's no use. Her older brother Nicky opens the back door and scoops her up. They share a short conversation that I can’t quite make out from my spot in the treehouse. I make my way back down the ladder rope and over to Drew, one of Madi’s brothers, who’s on the other end of the yard kicking a soccer ball around.
“Hey Drew!” I say as I approach him.
“Hey little Matty. What’s up?” He replies cheerfully.
“Madi ran off. She wouldn’t climb up the ladder. What’s wrong with her?”
“It’s just a girl thing buddy. Don’t worry about it.”
Right as he finished, Nicky and Madi walk over. Drew picks Madi up.
“Did you scare yourself again?” He jokes with her.
She sticks her tongue out at him in reply. Suddenly, Madi’s mom calls us from the back door and we all make our way up there. She orders us to wash our hands.
“Madi doesn’t need to since she was too chicken to climb the ladder again,” I joke before receiving a hard hit to the back of the head.
“Ow!” I cry, pulling at her braid in response.
Soon we were on the floor in an all-out wrestling match. She fought back hard for being a girl. Eventually, Nicky pulled her off of me, much to my relief. She almost won.
“Now, you don’t want to beat up your best friend do you?” He retorts.
“Yes I do,” She snaps back as she struggles in Nicky’s arms.
The rest of the family just laughs.
“That, I believe, is our cue to leave before anybody gets hurt. Any more that is,” my mom says, standing up from her spot on the couch. I follow my mom out, mentally plotting my revenge for tomorrow.
The next morning I walk in already in a bad mood. Madi had given me a black eye from yesterday. She starts laughing, my anger continuing to grow.
“Shut up Madison,” I growl.
“Don’t. Call. Me. Madison. I’ll give you another black eye and you know it,” she retorts.
As I watch her walk away, my mind locks in its plan. I’m going to give her the one thing girls can’t stand—cooties.
Recess finally rolled around and I knew my mission. I went straight for Madi, pulling her away from her friends. She looked annoyed, but decided to humor me. Before she can say a word, I lean in, planting a giant kiss on her cheek. I dash off before she can react. I watch her face turn a bright shade of red as she begins the pursuit.
When I finally make it home, I’m bursting with pride.
“How was school today?” My dad asks.
“It was wonderful,” I reply with a smirk, the memory of victory still fresh in my head.
It took Madi a few weeks to talk to me again, but due to the fact that our families had dinner together every week, she couldn’t stay mad at me for long. Now, it was almost the end of the school year and I was so looking forward to a summer of fun with Madi. And, who knows, we may be in the same class again next year.
