Chapter one.
Walking from school, I can't stop thinking about Jeremy. I feel like I am having the worst day of my life and I can't help but curse silently every time my day plays itself in my head.....
"Earth to Maddie, can you hear me? Have you even been listening to me?" my dear friend Alice awakens me just as I was forgetting that she even exists.
"Oh yeah, of course!" I lie to cover up the fact that I'd rather have walked alone from school, like I always do, than with this friend whom I started talking to today at lunch in the cafeteria.
I feel her unconvinced gaze on me as we approach my apartment home. Just as she's about to ask anything else I immediately announce ;
"Well, this is where I live. Thanks for walking with me and for lunch. Bye. "
I'm literally running towards the front doors when I hear my newfound friend screaming;
"That's what friends are for. See you tomorrow."
As I enter my apartment, something seems off. My sisters are all in the same room pacing about and they immediately turn their gazes to me once I open the doors. I can only assume that the principal has already told my eldest sister about what happened at school.
I take some seconds to come up with a good excuse since I can't exactly say that I fought with a bitchy girl over my ex-boyfriend whom I only dated for two weeks and dumped him because I felt like I'd rushed into the relationship.
I'm once again interrupted from my thinking by familiar arms which take me in a surprising but warm embrace. By now, I'm worried that they're saying their goodbyes before they send me off to some nasty boarding school.
"Madison, we have to tell you something" my elder sister Esther says as she leads me to the couch. At this moment, I can feel the muscles in my body tense up and I prepare mentally for the worst news ever."Grandma Mary Ann passed on yesterday night."
I am taken aback by what they actually say to me whichis way worse than what I was expecting. I take some time to process the information and actually realize that we've lost a family member.
I'm not very surprised though since grandma was about to clock 95years and had had a pretty great life from all the stories we heard from her and she was still enjoying life. She was definitely one of those cool elders who actually goes out on Friday nights and still has the energy to go alone on a safari to Africa for her birthday weekend. She had also mentioned that when she dies she doesn't want any of her family to weep over her but instead yo celebrate her life and all herr accomplishments and she had lots of them. She was filthy rich and she always gave the best birthday and Christmas presents.
Our grandmother was honoured with a big party full of all her friends and family and it was announced that there would be the reading of the will the next week on Tuesday. This also meant that my mom and dad would have to stay in town till the will was read.
Since the wake occured on Thursday and the will would be read on Tuesday, I was excused from school till the next Thursday.
The will was read on Tuesday and it basically engrossed Grandma like the fun, loving, caring, kind and funny woman she truly was. With regards to her fortune, she seemed very fair to me. She gave 5% of her fortune to charity which is pretty much considering it's a pretty big fortune. She gave 20% to my mom and her children which left me and my three sisters flabbergasted, this was worth so much in assets and cash.
The Lawyer continued with his job but I didn't really hear anything else after that. I was too busy in my imagination as usual, still imagining all the things my family would do with that kind of wealth.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who was caught by surprise. We all loved grandma and were very close so it was undersyandable that she'd leave so much to our family.
Mom and dad even decided to stay home a little longer after the will was read on Tuesday precisely till that Saturday.
I went back to school to find a lot of school work that I had to catch up on but this soon became the least of my worries as I received way more attention from everyone at school than I felt comfortable receiving.
It was quite surprising how everyone was being so nice to me and expressing their care and concern. Just as I was about to conclude that I'd landed in an alternate universe that's when the gossip+seeking Andrew came running almost out of breath.
"Hey Madison, I just want you to know that I am really sorry about your grandma. You must feel really bad! But at least you have that great fortune she left your family, right?"
Realization dawned on me instantly and everything now made sense. From the cheerleaders being nice to me to the football team, all who had pronounced me a weird nerd.
I barely managed to escape the claws of Andrew before he could ask anymore personal questions.
I had lunch with Alice who has actually been genuine since the first time we met after which I had Chemistry class.
Of course the chemistry teacher would feel the need to dedicate 15 minutes to sending condolences and advising me on how to handle my "situation" which, quite frankly, was unnecessary and embarrassing.
The psychological torture continued even on Friday and I almost flew at the sound of the last bell. I quickly grabbed my books from my locker and then dragged my exhausted body to the doors to flee for dear life.
"Hey bestie, leaving in a hurry I see"
My face flinched at the sound of the familiar voice and I didn't need to look behind to know that Alice was full of energy even on a Friday afternoon.
The tall light skinned girl skipped joyfully towards me in her floral vintage dress and short red heels. She had a fresh coat of light mascara on her eyes and pink lip gloss. She always looked this way and sometimes I wondered how she managed to do so. She wasn't very popular but she at least had more friends than I did.
Our walks home were always full of Alice going on and on about the hot gossip at school that I usually knew nothing about and me trying my best to act like I care, then I'd flee when I reached home two blocks away from Alice's home.
I went on to my room which I share with my little sister, Savannah and changed out of the button up shirt and the black pants that brought out the amazing shape of my ass and long legs. I got my phone and headsets out of my backpack and then threw it to the far end of the bedroom.
I went back to the family room and grabbed myself a glass of juice from the refrigerator. My elder sister,Stella was in the kitchen preparing what looked like stew and our eldest sister, Esther, was talking to mom and dad in the family room.
"Family meeting" screamed Esther after she was done talking to mom and dad and minutes later, everyone had gathered in the family room.
"Since we're all I here, let me not waste any more time. Your mom and I have been thinking about the best way for you to utilize the wealth that your grandma left for us all."said my father in his deep voice
"We have decided that it would be best if Esther and Stella used their accounting and finance skills to manage the shares in the clothing company. Madison and Savannah, you can continue with your studies and help around the house at any time. Uh, also your mom mentioned that you need to do some shopping, so we will you each 500$ as allowance. Also your mom and I will be leaving for work tomorrow. I presume that is all. "
I was dumbfounded I by the mere mention that I'd be given 500$ to use as I please but I bottled up my excitement for later since I saw an opportunity to voice my greatest desire.
"Mom, dad, I really want to change schools" I said as soon as I could
"What!!!!"said everyone simultaneously with faces marked with surprise and shock.
"Greenhill High school is a nice school, yes but I really feel like it has not challenged me to my full potential. I would love to join a school where I can actually see a great future."
While this wasn't wholly a lie, it wasn't the actual reason that I wanted to change schools. I actually wanted to join a fancy school so that I can socialise with people who would understand me and finally get rid of the "weird nerd mark".
