“Aren’t we lucky? I picked the right third-grade classroom to find our little friend.”
Sawyer came out with his eyebrows fused.
“What’s going on?”
I was so upset I threw my arms around him. Sawyer jumped back at. First, I buried my face into his shirt. I tightened my grip.
“Sawyer…” I couldn’t finish my sentence as I started to cry into Sawyer’s shirt.
Sawyer slowly put his arms around me, and we held each other in the hallway.
Part Two
Eight years later
3
Sawyer
I was finally an upperclassman in high school. I was no longer the scum below everyone’s feet! I even got my license last week, but now I just had to get the money to get the car. All the money I was earning at work was going towards one. I had a month or so longer until I had enough for this old car our neighbor was trying to sell. The neighbor and I worked out a deal last month. The agreement was just between the two of us, and my dad didn’t know. Everyone knew how my dad was.
Thankfully, until I got a car, Ricky, a friend of mine who was a senior, was driving me to school while Madeline took the bus for her freshman year of high school. She was trying to give me space by taking the bus, I guess. She didn’t ask to ride with Ricky. Madeline just got her stuff and went to the bus stop.
As I walked towards the school from the parking lot, laughing at something my friend Ricky had said. I then saw a couple of buses pull up to let students off. The first bus stopped and let off the students. A little thirteen-year-old brunette hopped off the bus reading as she made her way into the school, ignoring the people around her. The girl’s hair was thick and dark to the middle of her back. The sun shined off her hair as she strolled towards the building. Madeline was wearing a jean skirt that was down to a little above her knees with a short sleeves shirt that was her typical shade of pink. Father made her buy pink if he had to get her clothes. I never understood why he was so specific about the color.
“Woah, when did your sister get legs?” Justin, my other friend, commented as his eyes watched her.
“Dude, she’s thirteen years old. Leave her alone. Secondly, she’s not my sister.”
“If she isn’t your sister, then you wouldn’t-”
“Leave her alone. Madeline doesn’t need to get mixed up with the likes of you. I’ve seen how you are with girls, and you aren’t allowed to go out with her. She’s off-limits.” My voice was firm.
I glared at my friend, who I knew wasn’t listening to my warning. Madeline has spent enough nights crying herself to sleep; there was no reason she should be crying, moreover Justin. I so didn’t need my friends drooling over Madeline; that would be so awkward. She wasn’t my sister, but we were close. My dad made sure to let me know, every chance that he had, that Madeline wasn’t my sister. It was a fact that was well drilled into my head like the sky was blue. The two were the same in my father’s eyes.
“You told her to pretend that she doesn’t know you, didn’t you?” asked Ricky knowingly.
“Nope, no point, everyone in town knows about her and my family by association. I’m sure we could go to China, and people would know who we were, mostly her. So that warning would be worthless.”
Of course, I had to get eighth-period lunch. I couldn’t figure out how I was going to make it to the last period of lunch. I’d eat lunch, have one class, then go home; that was pointless. I didn’t know how the school expected any guy to wait that long for food. At least I had friends to sit with, and since we were upperclassmen, we could sit at the round tables at the back of the room. I bit into a chicken nugget our school served as I saw little Madeline sauntering into the cafeteria. Her eyes were wide while they scanned the room. Madeline’s books were pressed against her chest as her arms wrapped around them tightly.
She had two girls she kind of called friends. I doubted the relationships. I glanced around the room to see if I saw either of them then when I didn’t, I got up and walked towards her. She was standing in front of the room, skimming the room, still holding her paper brown lunch she made tightly in her grasp.
“Come on, Madeline, sit with us,” I said as I looked down at her, there were four years between us and several inches.
“Are you sure?” her green eyes stared into mine sadly.
“If I wasn’t would I be telling you to come?”
She sighed as she followed me. I smiled as I ruffled her hair, and she squeaked in annoyance. Madeline tried to smooth down her dark brown hair that had some lighter chestnut pieces before she sat down next to me.
“Hey, guys.”
Madeline put on a weak smile as she greeted my friends. She has met them before, but she was a thirteen girl around senior and junior high school guys, a bit intimidating for her. Being small for her age didn’t help. I smiled as Ricky started to talk to her; he has known us for years and is like an older brother to us both. I usually didn’t invite my friends to hang out
