The Mask Effect (EDITING)

Chapter 18- And This Is Why I Don't Like The News

Dedicated to @RosesnWater because. Her. Stories. Are. As. Beautiful. As. Her. Art. 

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Maddy's POV

Note to self- next time I plan on falling asleep at my desk, bring pillows.

Everything was stiff and sore. I'd managed to fall asleep bent over the desk, so my entire right side was squashed as flat as a pancake- or so it felt. Peeling myself off the desk, I tried to stretch my legs. They smacked into the opposite wall.

Judging from the bright sunlight, it was at least eight in the morning. I groaned. I'd wanted it to be seven, so I could pretend to have a suitable- or even remotely plausible- excuse for cursing the world and falling back asleep.

And then I remembered the very incomplete math worksheet I'd used as a pillow.

I stumbled to the bathroom as quickly as I could, making a visible effort to break every known record for speed-brushing. After what I hoped was a shorter time than the world record, I finished wiping off a toothpaste goatee, already planning my next moves. Then I caught sight of my older brother.

He was peacefully asleep.

Something remarkably like righteous anger rose inside me. I carefully cupped water in my hands, speed-tiptoeing to Noah's bed. He looked so serene lying there; chocolate curls smushed against the pillow, mouth open as he slowly breathed in and out.

I shook all the water onto his face.

My brother blinked rapidly, water sliding down his cheeks like he was crying. I deemed it a success. "It's a fresh day! Time to greet the world!" I paused. It couldn't hurt to tell the truth this early in the day. "Besides, I couldn't miss the opportunity to wake you up."

"I don't want to greet the world," Noah moaned, curling up tighter. "I want to sleep."

I gave him a knowing smile as I pulled off his blanket, bundling it by the foot of my brother's bed. "Poor Noah. Let me help you."

Noah curled into a ball at once, wrapping both arms around his legs. It must've been cold, being suddenly exposed to crisp morning air from the depths of sleep.

"WhatdidItellyouabout-" My brother yawned and stretched, then pulled his blanket back over himself. "-waking me up early?"

"That if I kept waking you up, you would tell Mom I did her job for her." I crossed my arms and smirked. "See, I remember."

Noah did his best to give me the Heart-Rending Moan - but I was practically immune. After all, I'd invented it. I grinned, and he gave up on it with a sigh. "It's eight o'clock, you idi-"

"Eight!" Noah jerked off the bed, both legs still tangled in the blankets. He was left to shiver on the floor in the wrong clothing- the kind that definitely wasn't designed to keep you warm after falling onto a tile floor.

"Cold!" Noah said, teeth chattering. He kicked off the blanket and pulled himself upright. "Why?"

I bit back a smile. "Because early morning temperatures-"

"You know what I mean!" Noah tried to look stern, but between his sleepy expression and lack of that element of 'sternness', it wasn't working. I considered telling him, but he probably wouldn't appreciate it much.

"Because I care about you, and would hate it if Madeline and I were late to school." Before Noah could reclaim his blanket, I tossed it toward my bed- safely out of reach, even if it did end up landing on the floor beside it.