★ Prologue ★
Life is straight-up weird.
In a good way or a bad way? Both, I guess.
I was what you would call a good girl. Good as in an introverted girl that did as the teachers, parents and adults asked - always bringing in homework on time, wearing the correct uniform and holding doors open, standing on the bus when an older person needed a seat, staying neat and tidy...
Yeah. That.. that pretty much sums it up.
Looking back now, I'm glad about the changes. I mean, I'm still me, Esmerelda Taylor, and I still love Ben & Jerry's and never get sick of family comedies. But though I am still sort of good, I guess you could say that I've definitely loosened the reigns. I'm more extroverted than I was before, and by that, I mean that I'm not afraid of what peoples' opinions are on me. I'm just myself inside and out - and the boy that helped it all to happen was a Maddox Cole.
Maddox is a complete bad boy, and as soon as he and his siblings moved into the neighbourhood and our school, I knew he was going to be trouble. But I never would've guessed that some bad boys have bad pasts to match, and just hide it deep inside, showing the rest of the world their rebellious, easy-going flirtatious side. But as he taught me how to have proper fun and to learn how to break a few rules and become more confident, I taught him something at the same time. It's so much better to open up to friends and people you trust about sad memories and other things instead of keeping them locked up in your mind, weighing you down each day. No family is perfect, and every boy and girl, good or bad, has feelings.
After school clubs usually involve students to get together and have fun for an hour or two before their parents pick them up, right? Well, me and Maddox's was a hell of a lot more complex. But who knew how much things would change in the span of a year?
Note to self: good girl + bad boy = total madness.