Seems Like Royalty

XXVI: Maddie's attention lack and love's attack

A/N: This is a filler chapter! Gonna drop a major bomb two or three chapters away! LOL

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26

            I had never wanted to go back to school this badly. I guessed it came with the desperation to see my friends again…and to tell Maddie my big news. I hadn’t told her about the whole Blake thing. On Christmas and New Year, she called me wishing me a good year ahead and I said the same. Then, before we ended the call, I said mysteriously, “Maddie, I have to tell you something when we get back to school, okay?” And even before she could yell at me from the other end of the line, I pressed the ‘end’ button. I just thought that it should be conveyed personally.

            And now that I was outside my English classroom, I felt giddy. Students around me were walking hurriedly because of the sudden ring of the school bell—a signal to notify the start of another class. I was sure that Maddie would bomber me with questions as soon as I sat down.

            But I was wrong.

            When I entered the room, Maddie was sitting there in her usual seat, looking troubled—which shocked me. I settled down beside her and studied her. Because Blake still hadn’t arrived yet, I had no choice but to look at Maddie instead.

            “Hey, Maddie! I missed you,” I told her, my smile widening.

            “…” She didn’t answer back. Heck, she didn’t even spare me a single glance. Her eyes stared straight ahead and strands of her hair fell from its ponytail. It was not a usual Maddie look which surprised me. She only looked like this when she started thinking deeply.

            “Maddie? Maddie!” I started waving my hand at her dumbstruck face.

            “Oh, hey. Didn’t see you there,” she finally said, giving me a tight grin.

            What was wrong with her? Was I really gone that long that I didn’t know that she was bothered by something? “Hey. You okay? Something wrong?”

            She bit her lip and refused to meet my eyes. It was official. This girl was hiding something from me.

            But I couldn’t question her any further since Mr. Sanders had already entered the classroom, holding two large books. If you asked me, Mr. Sanders seemed to grow ten years older in a span of almost two months. No wonder there were less and less teenage girls that throw themselves at him.

            Anyway, regarding Maddie, I wasn’t really comfortable with the way she was behaving. In the past, she only became like this when she couldn’t buy pizza or her favorite pizza toppings were out or her mother…couldn’t buy her pizza. Her life surrounded on pizza. I wouldn’t blame her. Pizza was life.

            As an addition to my problem with Maddie, Blake still hadn’t arrived and Mr. Sanders was already talking. About what? I didn’t know, I didn’t care. Was Blake really going to skip classes? I hadn’t seen him since first period and it was second period now! What? Physics as my first period was not making my life any better.

            So I texted Blake under my desk.

            Me: Blake? Where are you?

            Him, after a minute: Are you texting while class is ongoing?!

            Me, starting to get irritated: Yes! WHERE. ARE. YOU.