Mal mulled that over, swirling their milk in its carton. “I don’t know.” Everything still felt so dull and so spiky at the same time. But there was a look of determination on Maddie’s face, lighting it up even in the dim cafeteria. The smallest part of that brightness rubbed off on Mal, spreading a smile onto the corners of their lips too.
“A hug, probably,” they said.
“Absolutely got you there,” their sister said, and leaned in. She wrapped her arms tight around Mal’s shoulders and squeezed.
The pressure of the hug held Mal together, like it waspushing all their squirming and uncomfortable pieces back into place. “A little more squeezy, please.”
With a small squeak, Maddie squeezed even harder, until all of Mal’s pieces solidified. When they finally said, “Okay, thank you,” and pulled away, they felt at least 37 percent better than they had before the hug.
“Anytime. Now, do you got this?”
Probably not, Mal thought. But they knew that this was not the answer Maddie was looking for, so they nodded.
“I got this,” they said.
And with a plan and the promise of coffee, Mal really hoped they did.
Monday
August 26
7:15 COLLAGE Meeting
Introduce self as Editor in Chief (friendly) (use notes)
Hand out style sheets
Discuss change in revision process
AP BIO: Mom to sign lab waivers (dueTOMORROW)
ECON: Free market find-a-word
BRAINSTORM!
• NEWSPAPER
It’s kind of like Collage!
It also got cancled.
• YEARBOOK
This one could be a good fit!
• VIDEO GAME CLUB
ESPORTS
It’s called esports now.
Either way, playing Animal Crossing as a club is cool! Try it!
• SPORTS?
No.
• Band
