He smirks and nods as if sayingAnd there it is…and my stomach hurts ever so slightly. It’s not like I want to be like this. I don’t know when I became so-Sourall the time, but I don’t know how to exist without being it…
I want to ask him,Why did you help me? Why did you help the girl who hasn’t said a kind word to you since she can remember?But of course, those thoughts are buried way deep, and I wouldn’t want to allow them to become reality because I’m a coward. Just like everything in my life is controlled by fear, so is something as basic as speaking.
West passes by me and answers with as much content as one should, not caring about my hostility.
“Who knew you couldn’t?”
There. That’s better. That’s what always happens. I’m rude, and he’s rude back. I don’t feel guilty, and he… Well, I don’t know what he gains, but I guess it annoys me…?
The speaker starts booming a somewhat familiar song, and I turn around to find Allison and Riden holding their phones as microphones.
They start singingCan You Feel The Love Tonight? from the Lion King soundtrack.
“Seriously, Alls?”
“They might have a point, you know…” West says from behind me, but too close, and I freeze.
“Shut up.”
He chuckles as Allison continues, an arm now around Riden’s shoulders while a hand points at West and me.
I cross my arms, but I can’t help smiling a bit.
Andthere’s the mocking, sarcastic French accent. I purse my lips, determined not to budge.
They start shouting.
“Okay, knock it off, you animals.” I throw a pillow case at their impression of Timon and Pumba, and they stop, laughing.
I glance at West, and he looks the other way, pretending he wasn’t looking at me. I place every sheet in the baskets and, without saying too much, bid goodbye to the boys, leaving Allison with them for a little while longer.
I come through the kitchen door and trip over the entrance mat.
“Woah, Maddie, what’s wrong?”
I look at my dad with a numb face and shake my head.
“Nothing, I’m just- Low social battery.” I tell him, and he takes the basket from my hands. Then he places his arms around me and carefully hugs me. Then he kisses the top of my head.
“I know, believe me. Being adopted by extroverts is exhausting.” He squeezes me, feeling my tiredness.
“Have you taken your pills?”
I shake my head and move to said pills.
I take them and say to my dad, I’m going to bed.
I have suffered from insomnia ever since my mom left, and finally, I was taken to a psychiatrist to get it fixed.
My social battery just… goes down sometimes. I love Allison, and I don’t entirely hate our interactions, but sometimes it’s too much, and it drains me. I know it’s also related to severe anxiety, something my therapist and my psychiatrist love to conspire about, I bet.
I pull the sheet over me, and my head crashes onto the pillow. My body’s tired, but my mind is still very much alive.
As I lie on my bed, I try to think positive thoughts about tomorrow.
Tomorrow, after lunch, my job at Miss Patty’s Library starts, and nothing could be more wonderful. I mean, it’s only once or twice a week, but it’ssomething.
When I was a kid, I didn’t like to read. But one day, when I was in the main square, Miss Patty herself came to me with the first book I’ve ever read. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’sStone. After that, I read the whole series, but it was the only fantasy book I’ve read because after that, I discovered the art of romance books and only read romance-related books. I mean, I did read fantasy and sci-fi, butonlyif it had romance in it.
