White Horse

one - maddy

one - maddy

~ settle down with me / and i’ll be your safety ~

 

There are many things that one can do with a cigarette.

Well, obviously, you could light and smoke it. One could also put it between their lips and let it be, as John Green’s overused metaphor stated. And, if the need be, one could pick up a cigarette from the gutter in the street and throw it away because why not?

Maddy was one of those people who would light the cigarette. She wasn’t a heavy smoker; in fact, she barely smoked at all. But honestly, what was wrong with a few puffs now and then?

But this research paper she was supposed to be working on really tested her patience. If she could just pull a damn cig out of her backpack -

Something hard knocked into Maddy’s arm. “Class is over, babe. Let’s go get lunch.”

Maddy sighed and logged out of the server and unplugged her headphones from the side of the school desktop. Her best friend scoffed when she saw what was playing on the computer screen - another Ed interview - and shook her head. “Mads, you aren’t going to finish your essay in  if you keep wasting your in-class work periods on Youtube. This is valuable time, you know, and Ms. Erickson is very generous to…”

Maddy tuned her friend out and stuck an earbud in her ear, turning a deaf ear to another one of Kathryn’s lectures about paying attention in class. Kathryn was one of those people - not a nerd or somebody who went and told the teachers details about student life, but a lecturer. She was somebody who believed in the goodness in people and self-confidence and living life to the fullest, and she was the kind of person who would lecture you about it.

Well, sure, Maddy had self-confidence. In fact, she had loads of it. It was probably the one thing she had obtained in middle school and she probably wouldn’t have survived without it. But the whole “you can be whoever you want to be” gig that Kathryn was playing up? Whatever, sure. But she didn’t need to hear about it all the time.

Maddy hadn’t even realized that Kathryn was still lecturing her on “being her best self” when Luke flicked a piece of the school’s mashed potatoes at her forehead.

“Damn, Luke, what was that for?” Maddy groaned, rubbing her thumb across her temple to wipe of the potato. Brilliant. Now she would smell like mashed potatoes.

“You weren’t paying attention to me,” Luke said, recreasing the collar of his shirt with his thumb and forefinger. He folded a paper napkin onto his lap and ate the mashed potatoes without hurling any more pieces at Maddy’s head. Kathryn began to continue her rant, but Luke cut her off. “Sorry to interrupt, Kathryn, but Maddy, what are you planning on wearing to the Winter Formal? I was thinking maybe we could wear a matching blue, or something, to go with the whole wintry theme and - “

“Wait a second.” Maddy held up her fork and jabbed it in Luke’s direction. “When did you even ask me to the WInter Formal?”

“Right now,” Luke said, eyebrows furrowing as if to say shouldn’t-you-already-know-this weren’t-you-paying-attention? He seemed to have lost place in what he was saying about their matching outfits before shaking his head and continuing.  “Oh! Right. Well, we could also do a pastel pink or something. I’ve always wanted to try pastel pink, but I think that that’s only accepted if you’re matching with your date.”

“What about Kathryn? Why don’t you ask her to the Formal?” Maddy protested, nudging her friend. Kathryn looked up with amusement playing in her eyes before smiling and shaking her head.