by Sarah Carter
“That’s fine. Otherwise the other one is next to Jackie.”
Her eyes widen, and Lexi says, “I will sit next to Maddie.”
“Very well, take a seat.”
Dragging her across the room, Maddie pulls her to a desk. Maddie sits down in the one in front of it, and then Lexi sits down in her seat. Maddie turns around. “So, Connor, I will warn you, he won’t stop.”
“Does he do this all the time?” Lexi asks.
“Connor? Ha ha ha. No. He rarely does, that’s why I know you are in trouble.”
Lexi sighs. “You could be wrong.”
“Not on this,” Maddie states. “I’m sorry, but he likes you. Do you not like him back? I could talk to him.”
“It’s not that. Trust me,” Lexi says. “It’s just that..dating isn’t in my world.”
“Your parents would stop you?”
With a heavy sigh, Lexi replies, “It’s not like that. There’s so much mixed into it. Dating me would go nowhere, so I have to stop it before anything happens. I don’t want anyone hurt.”
“Are you in an arranged marriage situation?” Maddie teases.
“Sometimes I think that would make my life easier, but no, I’m not. I just can’t get involved with anyone.”
“Someday you will meet someone and you won’t be able to stop it,” Maddie states. “That’s just how things work.”
Shaking her head, Lexi says, “That’s not going to happen. Trust me. I’m going to be a crazy cat lady.”
“No, no, no,” Maddie scoffs. “You’re original, so you have to have something original. Like be the crazy ferret lady. OR the crazy turtle lady. OR the crazy guinea pig lady.”
“I want to be the crazy hedgehog lady!” Lexi exclaims.
“See, be something original. Cats are dumb and dogs are overdone. Please, make sure you take care of them. Don’t let me read that they condemned your house and your dead, defenseless hedgehogs.”
Lexi shakes her head. “I’m like my father. I’m super neat and clean. Like anal retentive clean.”
“That’s good. So, I can talk to Connor for you. Tell him to knock it off.”
“I don’t want you to do that,” Lexi says. “I would love to be his friend. He seems like a great guy.”
“He is,” Maddie says. “He would treat you well.”
“Can we please stop talking about it?” Lexi replies. “It’s depressing me.”
Maddie smirks. “So, you do like him back.”
“We don’t even know each other,” Lexi snaps. “How can we like each other if we don’t know a damn thing about each other.”
“I don’t know,” Maddie answers. “How do you like each other since you just met? That’s a question you’re going to have to answer.”
Lexi rolls her eyes. “We don’t know each other. We probably have nothing in common. I will make sure to be the exact opposite of what he’s looking for.”
“I can tell you aren’t the type of girl to be fake,” Maddie comments. “Don’t start doing that.”
Her shoulders fall. “No, I’m not fake. I take pride in myself and my weirdness.”
“As well as you should. That’s why we are going to be friends. We can be weird together.”
Laughing, Lexi replies, “The bottom of the social ladder.”
“Do you really want to hang out with Jackie? I doubt it. Anyway, she thinks she’s really up there. She also thinks if you are popular you have to be an ass to people different than you. You will see that’s not how this school works. Connor is pretty popular. He’s not a douche.” Maddie shakes her head.
“Derrick is nice, too,” Lexi declares. “I like him. He makes me laugh.”
Maddie gets a dreamy look in her eyes. “He’s a cool person.”
“What’s that look for?” Lexi teases, reaching over and pushing her.
“What look?” Maddie stammers, sitting up tall. “There was no look.”
“I will be honest about Connor if you tell me what that look was for.”
She narrows her eyes. “No, because no one can know.”
“Why don’t you pursue something? He seems like a great guy,” Lexi points out.
Shaking her head, Maddie replies, “He’s Connor’s best friend. It would make things awkward if it didn’t work out. Please, don’t say anything.”
“I won’t. I’m not like that. But we are both lying to ourselves.”
“Get to know Connor. See what happens.”
“I can’t get to know him. I can’t grow attached to him. We need to stay separated. It wouldn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t let it go anywhere.”
Maddie points her finger. “Aren’t we all going to the concert together?”
Lexi hangs her head. “Yes.”
“Well, just carry a stick with you, and if Connor talks to you, smack him.” She enacts the motion.
That makes her laugh. “I can’t do that!”
“I would just pay to see you hit him with a stick.” Maddie smiles. “He’s a good person. Let him at least be your friend. So, are you going to tell me why you can’t date?”
“It’s a family thing,” Lexi explains. “I have to be with a certain type of person. There are expectations and Connor doesn’t fit into that mold.”
“Your family is that stuck up?” Maddie squeaks in shock.
Groaning, Lexi shakes her head. “No, they aren’t. There are reasons why, and I can’t get into it. I’m sorry.”
“No biggie. You just seem really cool.”
“You know nothing about me. I could be a heinous bitch.”
“Whatever,” Maddie replies, shrugging her shoulders. “I can handle it.”
Lexi leans forward. “You hate Jackie.”
“Hate is a strong word. Thoroughly dislike. But yeah, she’s a bitch, but in a bad way. Anyway, we all have grown tired of her pursuing Connor. It’s never going to happen, and he’s pretty much told her that, but she’s almost obsessed.”
“Is she going to go all psycho on me?” Lexi laughs.
“You could totally take her,” Maddie remarks back, with a nod. She winks and grins. “I would pay money to finally see someone knock her out.”
Smirking, Lexi says, “My mom is like an extreme fighter. You don’t want me to punch her.”
“Is your mom in MMA?” Maddie gasps in excitement.
“You don’t want my mom in MMA,” Lexi replies, shaking her head. “It would be a bloodbath.”
Maddie leans forward and grabs the back of her chair. “That’s so cool. My mom bakes.”
“My mom is very hard core,” Lexi snorts. “She doesn’t cook or bake. My dad is phenomenal cook though.”
“Again, that’s so cool.”
Lexi smiles and leans in really close to her. “She hasn’t met anyone yet that can beat her. Uncle Mason can hold his own but he has extra...advantages.”
“Because he’s a dude?” Maddie asks, raising an eyebrow.
Shaking her head, Lexi says, “Gender doesn’t matter with my mom. Size either.”
“Is she all manly?” Maddie laughs.
She takes her cell phone out and shows Maddie a picture. “That’s my mom.”
“Dude, your mom is a total babe.”
“My parents are that couple,” Lexi snorts. She flips to a picture of her dad.
“Holy cow. Your dad is hot!” she exclaims.
That makes Lexi gag. “God, I wish people would stop saying that. It’s my dad. Would you want me to say your dad is hot?”
Maddie shakes her head. “No, because he’s not.”
“Anyway, my whole family isn’t lacking in the looks department.”
“Well, obviously you didn’t get jipped there,” Maddie teases.
“Oh, I’m adopted,” Lexi replies. “My real mom was a psychopath.”
Raising her eyebrow, Maddie says, “Seriously?”
“Mmhmm, criminal, too. I’m very lucky my parents rescued and adopted me. They were only 19. My mom was a freshman in college. She
dropped out to raise me.”
“So, she was a stay at home mom?”
Lexi shakes her head and grimaces. “Not really, she taught people how to fight. Still does.”
“That’s so badass.”
“And my dad’s a leading neurosurgeon.”
“Is your whole family smart?” Maddie laughs.
“Pretty much,” Lexi laughs, too. “It’s sort of in our genetic make up.”
Suddenly, they hear, “All right class. Let’s get started.”
“Talk to you after class,” Maddie whispers, turning around in her seat.
An incredibly big smiles spreads across Lexi’s face. She really likes Maddie. This whole school thing might not be so bad after all.