Dispatched || Maddie Buckley

Chapter Twelve- Mikey and Maddie Begin

It was the fall of '04. The leaves on the trees had turned into shades of orange and yellow and the air had chilled to a comfortable temperature. The college semester was finally at its beginning.

Mikey was a smart kid, having been accepted into college on a scholarship due to his high school GPA being above average. He worked hard for his grades and worked even harder to make it into medical school. He was going to medical college in order to become a surgical technician.

It was a Monday morning, a day that Mikey hated. He felt as though the beginning of the week was never a day to celebrate. His mood was always off on Mondays, he was always tired. Maybe it had to do with the weekends being so hectic but Mikey just blamed the day of the week as anyone else would.

Mikey walked up to the big steps of his new college. A college that he never dreamed of seeing himself getting into. He threw his book bag over his shoulder and began his journey to his first class of the day with the anatomy professor, Mr. Mcnealy. From what he had heard, the professor was a pushy one, one that pushed his students to the brink. He was overbearing and had the highest of expectations. His biggest pet peeve was the lack of preparedness from those in his class. If you came to class unprepared, you would undergo the consequences of losing what you were taught and risking a failing grade on upcoming exams.

As Mikey took his seat in the far back of the class, he glanced around at all of his peers. The lab equipment splayed across the tables in front of him. It was a hands-on class from what he could tell. He smiled, this was the best way he learned. Notes and Acts.

Soon enough, he was joined by another student, a girl around his age. She sat next to him as the professor began to speak and introduce himself to the new students.

Mikey looked over at the girl. She was pretty, he couldn't help but notice that specific detail. Her hair was brunette and fell down her shoulders naturally. She wore a bright red shirt with a big flower detail on the front. He cleared his throat, refocusing his attention on the front of the class. He reached in his bag and grabbed his notebook and pen and began to jot down the logistics of what the teacher was speaking of.

He noticed that the girl next to him was searching through her bag, a little nervous and paranoid.

Mikey leaned over and whispered, "Hey, you need something?"

The girl looked up at him from her bag and smiled nervously, "I'm sorry, I can't find my pen."

Mikey smiled and shook his head, handing over his own pen. "Here, take mine."

"I couldn't do that. How will you take notes?" She questioned, pushing his hand away.

Mikey tapped on his temple with his index finger, "I've got it all locked up tight in here." He flashed her a wide smile and sat the pen down on her notebook. "I insist."

The girl chuckled quietly, "Fine, but don't fail this class over a pen... uh– what's your name?"

"Mikey. And yours?"

"Maddie."

-

The two ended up forming a friendship after that day. They hit it off pretty quickly and were in most of the same classes. They would walk together to class and eat lunch together, mainly because Maddie would always have to remind Mikey to eat or else he'd forget. They would even skip the first half of class on some days just to hang out in the courtyard. They were best friends, it was clear to see. It had been months of banter and laughter. A bond grew stronger between them, or so Mikey thought.

Mikey and Maddie's biology class had gotten cancelled for the evening, leaving them with an hour to do nothing. Mikey was predominantly excited to be able to relax his mind after the weeks of non stop studying for his exams.

The two grabbed their lunches from the food trucks and met up behind the college complex.
Mikey laid a blanket down on the ground and took a seat, crossing his ankles over one another while leaning back on the palms over his hands. "These exams are going to kill me off, I swear."

Maddie sat opposite of him, crossing her legs while eating her sandwich. "You're telling me." She said, speaking with her mouth full. A piece of lettuce fell from her lips then down her chin and she chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You're supposed to eat the sandwich, Maddie, not wear it." He laughed, grabbing a napkin from his side bringing it to her chin.

Their eyes locked for a moment and Mikey's heart skipped a beat. He knew he couldn't fall for his best friend. She was with someone, supposed to be getting married. He wouldn't disrespect her in that way but the way they were gazing into each other's eyes, he couldn't help the feelings that came with it.

A phone notification pulled the two from the tension that had built between them so suddenly.

Mikey cleared his throat as Maddie lifted her cell phone. Her eyes widened and she jumped to her feet, gathering her things into her arms. "I have to go." The fear in her eyes was clear yet Mikey was confused.

"Wait, why? What happened?" He said, standing to his feet.

"Michael.. You don't get it okay? I have to go now." She insisted, turning her back to him and walking away.

Mikey took a step forward, "Maddie!" He called out to her but she just continued to walk away. "What just happened?"

-
After that, it was as if the two had never spoken in the first place. They had reverted back to strangers. Maddie made sure not to cross paths with him and even switched her class schedules to avoid him trying to talk to her. Mikey spent the next few months wondering, confused, and annoyed that she just up and left that day with no explanation and has made it very evident that she wants nothing to do with him.

One day, however, they had gotten stuck with the same class schedule. Mikey took this as an opportunity to get down to the bottom of things.

As class was dismissed, he followed Maddie out of the doors and pulled her to the side.

"Maddie, what the hell is going on?" He asked in a hushed tone, "You've ignored me for months. Was it something I did? Was it Doug? What happened?"

Maddie shook her head, "Michael, I can't talk to you okay? Please.. Just leave me alone." She tried to walk away but Mikey gently grabbed her hand.

"Maddie, no. I'm worried, okay? You were fine and then you just– weren't. What happened?"

Maddie looked towards the ground, "Doug saw us, Michael. He saw us."

"He saw us eating lunch. That's what friends do. They eat lunch together." Mikey said, still confused. "Wait, why– why was he watching you?"

"It doesn't matter.. Just please for the both of us. Leave me alone."

That was the last conversation they had. Distance and timing had separated them once and for all. For years, there was no contact. They walked the halls of the college as ghosts of each other's past.