Oh, So Typical

Oh, So Typical | Prologue

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The window fogged up from the warm, Venti-sized Christmas Starbucks cup as Madison, or "Maddie" Ziegler sat in her window seat, thinking about life.  It wasn't that hard to think about.  Her life was normal, almost steriotypical.  She could relate to everything everyone said and posted on social networks.  Her brunette hair was long and her face was hiding behind a thin layer of make-up.  The clothes she wore were cute and hipster.  Everything seemed so...typical.

What did "typical" mean anyway?  Maddie began to think of this as she sipped her peppermint mocha and looked out the foggy window at the busy streets of New York City.  The December air was picking at people, and Maddie could tell by the way they rushed from building to building.  Her apartment was unusally warm; she must've remembered to pay her heating bill.  She shook her head and continued to think.

Typical.  Maddie had known that word since the third grade.  She was twenty and in her junior year of college.  Wouldn't she know an exact definition?  Maybe definitions changed over the years by the way society used them.  That still didn't give Maddie an answer.  It didn't tell her if being typical was good or not. 

Sighing, Maddie pulled her pink iPhone 5c out of her pocket and pulled up her Google app.  She searched, "typical" and looked at the definition that popped up:

typ·i·cal

/ˈtipikəl/ adjective

1.  having the distinctive qualities of a particular type of person or thing. "a typical day"  

Maddie locked her phone and looked back out the window.  That couldn't be the right definition for typical. It just couldn't be.  That definition was too - techinical.  It was like a robot was speaking it.  That wasn't right, it just couldn't be.   Well, Maddie thought, staring at the people walking down on the street below.  What do I think typical means?  This challenged Maddie's mind.  What did she think typical meant?  On the street, she saw a man in a long, fancy coat and a brief case at his side.  He waved his leather gloved hand to the street, obviously trying to call a taxi.  Maddie thought about him.  He seemed like a typical businessman, busy and rushed.  His clothing suggested it, and his slicked back hair supported that idea.   

So, that was what typical was to Maddie.  Maybe her version of the word was a lot like Google's.  Her mind fried, Maddie sipped her mocha, inhaling the smell of peppermint through her nostrils.  When she looked down at the street, she almost dropped her cup.  There he was, walking right down her street.  Her hands shook, and she looked down at him through her fifth story window.  It was Joshua, or "Josh" Hyland, Maddie's "crush".  He went to the same, small college as her.  She was in the dance program and he was in the hockey program.  Maddie's heart melted.  Her heart yearned to talk to him, to hear his silky voice.  They were in almost all the same classes, and that's impressive considering it was college.  It was like destiny.  They had to be together.  

As she got lost in her daydream, Maddie also lost Josh.  Snapping out of her dreams, she searched for the boy that was once walking along the street.  He wasn't there.  Maddie's heart sunk.  It was Christmas break, so Maddie wouldn't be able to see Josh for a long time.  Out of nowhere, the word "typical" popped back into her mind.  Was Josh typical?  No, he had to be different.  If he wasn't, he wouldn't stick out in Maddie's eyes.

A sigh escaped Maddie's glossy lips.  She yet again sipped her Starbucks and looked out the window, just to see Josh's bright blue eyes looking into her window, his short, dirty blonde hair spiked up in the front.  Maddie gasped and ducked away, embarrassed.  She was only wearing her black NorthFace, black leggings, and black knit Uggs.  Her hair was in a high and messy bun.  He couldn't see her like that.  Daringly, Maddie looked back out the window, just to see Joshua walking down the street, into her apartment building.  Maddie's heart stopped.  No way, that wasn't happening.

Maddie was frozen to her seat by the window, tightly gripping her holiday themed cup.  She didn't even blink, she just sat there.  A few minutes passed, and there was a knock at her door.  Resisting the urge to squeal, Maddie opened it, revealing none other than Joshua.  He had a bouquet of flowers and a perfect smile.

"Hey, Maddie," Josh said in his silky voice.  "I came to ask you something."

Maddie smiled weakly, her stomach feeling queasy and her knees buckling.  "Ask away," she replied nervously, trying her best to cover it.

"Maddie, will you be my girlfriend?" Josh asked, holding out the bouquet of flowers.  Madison nodded, took the flowers, and tightly embraced Josh.

"Come in, Josh," Maddie offered, gesturing to the couch.  Josh waddled in, closing the door behind him.  He collapsed onto the couch, smiling at Maddie.  She reflected his smile.  "Do you want a coffee or something?"

"No, I'm good," Josh said, leaning back a bit.  "But thanks for the offer."

"No problem," Maddie replied, still in disbelief that Josh was now her boyfriend.  "I have a surplus of the bitter liquid."

Josh chuckled a bit, making Maddie's heart melt.  It was all about the little things anyway, right?  That's what everyone had told her.  His laughs, his smiles, his kisses, his cuddles.  That was a steriotypical relationship.

Oh, if only Maddie and Josh knew how non-typical this relationship was going to be.   

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End of prologue.  Comment your thoughts!