Maddox Academy: Grievous Beginnings - Wattys 2022 Shortlister

Chapter Fifteen - Monopoly and Exams

Katie and I spent the next two weeks with each other.

Every free moment we had were spent studying for our exams or going through the countless pile of notes to narrow my project down a little. Sometimes Jo would join us, other times she went to the library with Grace or to the choir practice to rehearse for the village fair performance. She didn't seem mad that I spent so much time with Katie, in fact, she was the one who suggested it.

Although I liked spending time with Jo, I preferred the days when we were on our own. When Katie and I sat shoulder to shoulder without feeling the need to talk to one another and just work through our books and notes. We only spoke if it were necessary, with Katie asking questions about the work and me occasionally commenting on my note pile getting bigger. I wanted to have my final idea narrowed down before Parents Day, but that didn't seem possible.

The day before the exams, the three of us had decided not to study. We had been told by our teachers that we needed a good night's sleep, but even that seemed unlikely. Instead, I had joined the rest of the fifth years in their dormitory for a collective boardgame marathon. Some had decided to stick to checkers or chess, but a group of us had gathered to play Monopoly on the floor in the centre of the room. Katie and I sat side by side, our money spread out in front of us and the other players dotted around the board.

"I don't get how you've ended up with so much money!" Katie exclaimed, passing me the last few notes she possessed as payment for landing on one of my properties.

"Michael reckons I cheat, but I don't. I've just played this a lot," I said, sorting the money into a pile.

"Well, I'm out of the game and you have bankrupted everyone but Betty who only has about three notes left."

"Maybe our family game nights weren't such a bad thing after all." I laughed, watching Betty roll the dice and land on one of my properties, handing over her money and ended the game quicker than she thought.

"Does no one else find it odd that the only one amongst us who can't afford to be here is Betty at managing money then we are? No?" Betty looked around the room. "Next time, I'm playing chess."

"Don't play against Flick, she'll win." Katie bumped into my side and smiled at me.

She helped me pack the board up, tucking the money into the box alongside the small pieces that came with it. We left it in the middle of the room for someone to take back to the common room, although I didn't think that would happen. I stood up and followed Katie to her bed where she rooted around inside the drawer under her nightstand and threw a chocolate bar at me. We were expected to hand all confectionary over to our dormitory mother, but none of us did. We just hid it.

I peeled the wrapper off and bit into it, swinging my right leg onto the bed. Katie slumped back against the pillows of her own bed and took a massive bite from her bar. Small pieces of chocolate crumbled off the bar and onto the bed, causing Katie to grin sheepishly and lightly brush them off the bed and onto the floor. One thing I loved about the fifth-year dormitory was that there was no need for cleanliness and their things were just strewn about the room. Victoria loved cleanliness.

Katie lightly knocked her foot against my knee and smiled. She finished her chocolate bar, balled up the wrapped and then tried to throw it in the bin on the other side of the room, missing horribly. I turned my head towards her nightstand, my eyes drawn to the photograph that took centre place. A pressed flower had been leant up against the side of the frame and the top of the nightstand was the only clean place in the entire room.

"You'll give us away if you leave that there," Betty said from the bed opposite Katie's. She picked up the chocolate bar wrapper and dropped it into the bin beside her bed.