This is chapter three of my story, if anyone is reading it. I know the first two chapters were boring, but this one is when things start to get a bit more interesting. Now let’s begin. As I walked down the sidewalk near the park, I hear a familiar laugh and look over my shoulder to see Madison running up to me. “Jack!” She says as she spins me around, then shakes me by the shoulders. When she lets go I stumble back a bit and grab my head, my surroundings blurring a bit as I try to steady myself. When I can finally see straight I look at Madison and she smiles, trying to contain a laugh. She wore a much different outfit today. She had on light brown slacks and a white shirt with a school crest on the front that had two big Ms and a big S on it. She also had a pair of brown loafers and a jean jacket with the same crest on the shoulder. “Hey.” I say as she walks up beside me and we continue to walk down the sidewalk. She smiles again and I ask where she is going. “To school silly!” She said as she punched me in the shoulder. I wince, then rub my shoulder and laugh a bit. “I’m assuming that’s where you’re going?” She said and I nodded. “How do you get to school from here?” I ask. “Well, I walk down the sidewalk, take a few turns, then I’m there. Sometimes I’ll ride-“ she starts and I cut her off. “No, like which streets do you take.” I said. “Oh,” she said as she rubs her neck and turns a bit red from embarrassment. “Um, usually I walk down Princeton street, take a turn at the second stop sign, then I turn left, no wait, right, when I reach Grads street.” “Same. Except for at Grad street, I turn left there.” He said. “Makes sense.” she said looking up at the rising sun. “Mapplewood and Jakefield are almost on opposite sides of town.” I nod, and she suddenly grins. “Wanna race to the stop sign?” She asked, but I knew it wasn’t really a question, and she raced off. I sighed, tightening the straps on my backpack, then I raced after her. Now, I knew I wasn’t gonna win because Madison was super fast, but as she raced off, I had to stop and lean against a no parking sign to catch my breath. “How. Is she so. Fast with a. Heavy backpack.” I managed to pant out, then I stood back up and gulped, then raced after her again. Finally I could see the stop sign, and Madison had just arrived. I watched her slap a sticker on that said “Never” on it right above where it said stop. I laughed a bit as I realized something. “There you are!” She said as she spotted me barely jogging up. I couldn’t respond as I tried to catch my breath, and she smiled and laughed a bit. After I caught my breath I looked up and saw her looking around, as if searching for someone. “You good?” I asked and she smiled and nodded. “Someone keeps taking my stickers off the stop sign. I mean I get it’s sorta “illegal”, “ she said making air quotes with her fingers. “But sometimes people need motivation, and it’s not like it says something awful like sh-“ (she was gonna say sharp cheddar guys, I swear.) she started but I cut her off as I started to laugh. I stopped after a moment, still sorta out of breath, and she looked at me questioningly. “What” she said as I looked back up. “Nothing, nothing.” I said, smiling. “Whatever.” She said and she ruffled my hair. “Hey” I called, trying to straighten out my hair, as she rushed off. Making sure she didn’t look back I pulled the sticker off, (like I did every time, because you don’t want to confuse some naive drivers.) and raced after her, tossing the crumpled sticker into the trash. Finally I caught up to her because she stopped in front of a cafe, her nose in the air. I looked at her and laughed, then asked “hungry?” She looked back at me, and she shook her head, but her stomach growled. “Okay, maybe a little,” She confessed as she rubbed her stomach, “forgot to grab something this morning.” I looked at my watch, which read 7:30, which meant we still had 30 minutes to get from here to our schools. “Well, I’ve got time if you do, maybe we can grab something to eat for on the way.” I said. “Okay.” She said after she looked at the time on her phone which she had pulled from her pocket. She slipped her phone back into her Jean jacket and opened the door for me, bowing as she said “Mr. Jack.” “Why thank you Miss Madison.” I said as I stepped inside and she laughed a bit. I walked up to the counter and looked up at the options. Madison eyes grew wide as she eyed all the options. She pulled out her wallet from her bag to check how much money she had, and when I I noticed her frown I said “Don’t worry, I got it. I need to pay you back for the concessions.” She smiled, covering her previous frown, and said thanks, then continued to look at the menu. She looked so much more natural happy. Her face must just be meant to be happy. I stepped forward and looked at the girl behind the cashier, who was staring at Madison. Continue
I cleared my throat and she looked at me. The girl had pretty gray eyes and long black hair that she had tied up in a pony tail. “I’ll have a black coffee and a croissant.” I said as my stomach growled in agreement. I heard a scoff from behind me and Madison said “Boring!” As she walked up to the counter. She leaned her arm on the counter and said “Jakefield kids, am I right.” And the girl giggled a bit, which made Madison smile. It reminded me of me and my friends when Madison’s group came racing up the stairs. I assumed they went to the same school, because if Madison said that to a Jakefield kid they would probably get a bit defensive. “Well, I, the less boring one, will have a caramel cold brew and a chocolate croissant.” She said, making sure to specify the chocolate part about the croissant. The girl nodded and smiled at Madison, then I handed her twenty bucks and she handed me my change. “And what’s the name for that order?” She asked. “Jack.” I said and she nodded then smiled. “It’ll be right out.” She said and she turned to start making our order. I walked over to a table and sat down before I noticed Madison lingering at the counter for a moment before walking over and sitting at the seat across from me. I smiled as I wondered if the girls were good friends. Madison was tugging at her Jean jacket sleeve and she was looking at it intensely, and when she looked up and saw me staring she smiled and asked “What?” “Nothing.” I said, then after a moment of silence she looked back down and I asked “are you okay?” She looked at me and laughed lightly, then said “Why wouldn’t I be?” And I just shrugged, and decided she was probably just thinking. I mess with stuff when I think, helps me focus a bit. As the girl at the counter called out our order Madison stood up and said “I’ll get it.” And she walked to the counter. She and the girl exchanged a smile then she walked to me and handed me my drink, then we walked out of the store. As we walked down the street, Madison handed me my croissant and I started to eat it while it was warm. She smiled at me and asked “Is it good?” I nodded, not wanting to speak with my mouth full, and the swallowed and said “Very.” Madison pulled hers out of the bag and smiled as she sniffed it, then took a bite as she tossed the bag into the trash. She took a sip of her coffee, then smiled and said “Not plain at all.” She laughed and I rolled my eyes at her. She gasped dramatically and said “Was that attitude?! I think the good boy is going bad!” She said. A few people looked at us, and I turned red as Madison laughed some more. I was careful not to roll my eyes at her for the rest of the walk since more people were on the sidewalk now. Even though that was very hard, seeing as how she kept teasing me about my “Plain choices.” What can I say, I like my coffee plain and my croissants not jacked with chocolate. I looked at Madison, who had just finished her croissant and was chugging her cold brew. I grimaced as I thought about all the sugar, and I asked “How can you eat that all at once. Doesn’t it rot your teeth.” Madison side eyed me as she finished her coffee and she smiled wide and asked without moving her jaw, “See any rot?” And I laughed and looked away. As we arrived at Grad street I smiled as Madison dramatically said “I guess this is where our journey ends my friend.” I chuckle and asked, “Hey, we should hang out again. Maybe we can meet in the park after school?” And she smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” She said and she jumped up onto the lamp post and spun around and said “See you later~” in a sing song voice as if she was in a corny romance musical. I laughed and waved and she stared for a moment as I disappeared into the crowd of kids in Jakefield uniforms, headed to school. I looked back, and saw Madison jump down from the lamp post and disappear into the far faster moving crowd of kids headed to Mapplewood. I smiled as I turned back around and continued my walk, the Jakefield Middle school coming into view. I smiled as I spotted Eddie and Sam at the steps waiting for me. I walked up to them and smiled. They looked at me for a moment then smiled back and we walked up to the steps as the bell rang.
