“Nope. I woke up today in my childhood bedroom, like you did, and the rest is history,” she shrugged.
Nate held her gaze for a bit before saying, “You seem remarkably okay considering the situation.”
Maddy frowned. “That’s what you got from my verbal meltdown five minutes ago? That I’m okay?” She scoffed. “Dude, nothing about this is okay. But I have read a looot of books where strangest things have happened. Like a lot. In fact, the number is so great that I’d probably feel almost disappointed if nothing weird ever happened in my life.” She considered that for a beat. “Would I have preferred it if it had been a vampire lord who had manipulated time to save me and sweep me of my feet, and then bring me to his imposing castle where I would be forced to endure his constant care and adoration? Sure. But I landed myself here, instead. To the land of school nightmares.” She paused. “Quite a downgrade if you ask me.”
She then turned to Nate. “Are you perhaps secretly a vampire lord?”
Nate was looking at her as if he was seriously re-evaluating the state of her sanity while resigning to the fact that he was probably doomed.
“Not that I know of.”
“Pity,” she shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”
“Are you always this weird?” Nate asked, dumbfounded.
“More times than not.”
Nate looked at a loss for words and was probably grateful to be saved by the shrill sound of the school bell calling them back to class.
Maddy started to move towards the door but Nate was still blocking her exit. She knew they’d resolved absolutely nothing and she could see her own complicated emotions reflected in Nate’s expression. She didn’t know how he would take it but she decided to make a first step towards a sort of joint front. Maybe they could figure things out together.
“Hey,” she said, tilting her head up so she could see his face better. “How about this? Why don’t you give me your number and we can talk later or meet up or something? Maybe we can put our heads together and come up with a game plan.” She knew that there was hesitancy in her voice and she wished she could sound surer, but right then, that was all she could do.
Nate’s eyes were dark in the semi-lit lab, his face almost unreadable. A few seconds passed until he sighed and, resigned, he handed her his phone to type in her digits. She did, and went to leave but not before she tried to hold his gaze unflinchingly in an effort to communicate a calmness that she did not really feel either.
five
What was paradoxical about growing up was the fact that, while no one can ever wait to become an adult and gain that elusive independence, that is also the moment when they wish they could be a child for just a little while longer. That, sometimes, desperate need to go back might hit when they least expect it. When they’re feeling vulnerable. When they’re hurt. When they’re homesick for a place and a time that has gone and will never come back.
And Maddy couldn’t help but think it true.
As eventful as that day had turned out to be, it had nothing on the hectic everyday life she lived. She couldn’t remember the last time she had stopped to take a break and slow down unless she’d had to. In her adult life, she was either working, or trying to catch up with everything, or buried under the pressure that built and built and built as responsibilities piled up.
But right then, she felt as if in limbo. Everything had started hitting her little by little as the hours had gone by. What it meant to be back. Sometimes, people wished desperately to relive certain moments, instances, even entire parts of their lives. To have the chance to be coddled by their mother one more time. To be able to call their father to pick them up because it was getting late and they didn’t feel safe walking home alone. To simply be able to be again in the presence of people who would do the utmost to protect them.
And maybe, to say things they’d never said.
The last bell of the day had sounded but Maddy didn’t leave straight for home. She had catapulted into a gloomy mood that she was unable to shake.
The weather looked like rain, and the occasional, wet gusts of wind whipped her hair across her face as she headed towards the little park nearby. She sat heavily on the wooden bench that overlooked almost the entirety of the park and took off her glasses for a bit to rub her eyes, wishing it was enough to cast away the wistfulness that had overtaken her.
She kept replaying her conversation with Nate in her mind. If she could call that a conversation. She scoffed, remembering the absolute nerve of him accusing her of causing this mess. It’s not like she’dmadehim come to her rescue. It’s not as if she’d known she would end up here and now, dragging him along for the ride. Or maybehe’d carriedheralong.
Okay, this was too much to process.
A ringtone that sounded suspiciously like the intro from ‘Bring me to Life’ by Evanescence sounded muffled from one of her bag’s pockets.
Maddy saw her dad’s name appear on the screen and felt her lips stretch into a beaming grin.
Maddy and her dad, Marc, had always been two peas in a pod. Both of them extremely stubborn but surprisingly capable of getting along. He’d always been the one to take her to children’s playgrounds as a kid, or to birthday parties organized by friends and classmates in elementary school.
So hearing her father’s “Hey, Little M!” as she answered the phone, she felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Since both their names started with an M, they’d developed the habit of calling themselves the ‘M & M’s, probably as silly as it got but it was their thing, so her dad’s boisterous voice calling her their private nickname made her heart squeeze with joy.
“Hey, dad! What’s up?”
“Nothing much, I’m just on my way back from work. Are you home already or do you want me to drive by and pick you up?” her dad asked.
Maddy felt a wave of affection. For as long as she could remember, her dad would always offer to drop her off somewhere or pick her up whenever she wanted, no matter how far or how late it would be. “No, I haven’t left yet. I’ll wait for you outside of school.”
