Unwilling to back down

Maddie let out an unhappy smile as she was out in the garden eating lunch all alone just because she and her best friend were currently in a very petty argument.

Maddie let out another sigh, she could not remember the last time she felt this alone. To tell the truth she had felt sad ever since Annie left their room in the morning looking so angry and betrayed.

She could not remember the last time she and Annie had a fight like this, it was not often that they weren't on good terms and now she was all alone; and to make matters even worse Matt and Annie were off studying for that stupid admissions test.

If Maddie could go back in time she would try everything in her power to make sure that Aunt Stella never mentioned Artrovan in the first place... but wait, she felt like she was going too far, she knew that for one, time travelling was too dangerous and she could end up erasing herself out of existence or something worse happens and secondly, she wasn't that petty, after all it wasn't Aunt Stella's fault, if anything she blamed herself for being too relaxed not to notice how much Annie missed school.

And maybe deep, deep, deep, very deep down, she missed school as well, but she just didn't want to be forced into anything, that was something that they all failed to see. Although she said that she didn't want to be forced into anything and yet she was still going to write that stupid test on Saturday.

Was she going to study though? Of course not—If she was going to fail anyway, she was going to fail on her own terms and not by stupidly studying something that she was inevitably bound to be unsuccessful in.

As much as she was bent on that fact, she still felt sad, so sad that she had barely touched her food, she didn't even feel hungry.

"Hey Maddie." said Matt as he smiled and walked to where Maddie was sitting as she looked up and smiled at him.

"Hey Matt." she replied as he sat down beside her.

"I was looking for you everywhere, I thought you were going to have lunch with us." said Matt as Maddie shook her head.

"No, I can't, at the moment Annie and I are in a huge disagreement." said Maddie.

"Hmm, I know, she told me about it." said Matt.

"Of course she did." replied Maddie.

"And that's why I'm avoiding the library, I just... *sigh*, I am tired, I don't want any more disagreements." replied Maddie as Matt could see that she was as sad as Annie had been earlier.

They were very good friends, which was why this their fight was just simply petty in Matt's opinion.

"You know, if you ask me Maddie, you were wrong for dropping your book on Annie's head, you went too far with that little prank of yours, and to make matters worse, you didn't apologize." said Matt as Maddie frowned.

"Well I was going to apologize, but then I thought, why should I be the one to apologize when Annie started it first?" asked Maddie as Matt shook his head.

"It doesn't matter who started it first, what matters is that you guys stop being angry at each other, because it's doing neither of you no good." said Matt as he could see Maddie reasoning his words in her mind.

"Come on Maddie, you know that I'm right." said Matt with a smile as Maddie blew raspberries at him.

"But hey, why do I have to be the one to apologize first? Ever since this annoying going to Artrovan thing Annie has been insufferable, she is so excited that it irks me so much." said Maddie as she was suddenly remembering why she was so annoyed in the first place.

"In fact, I have had to put up with her constant babblings of how fun it's going to be, and how much we are going to enjoy it there, when meanwhile we haven't even seen the place yet!" said Maddie as Matt could hear warning bells ringing in his head.

It would seem that instead of making things better he had only aggravated Maddie even more. If anything she seemed to remember all the reasons she got so annoyed in the first place.

"Annie thinks I'm selfish, well she's the one being selfish, sure she's never like this, but when she is everyone has to get onboard or not and I can't take that, I can't take it at all." said Maddie as she frowned.

"Maddie I don't think that's what you should be focusing on right now you need to—" said Matt as he was abruptly cut off by Maddie.

"You know what that's it, I'm not going to bend, not for you, not for her, not for anyone, I am allowed to do whatever I want to do, and that is what I am going to do." said Maddie as she stood up.

"Annie started this, so she had to be the one to finish it!" said Maddie as she walked away and if Matt didn't know any better he would have thought that Maddie would no longer pull pranks on Annie, but he did, and he could not help but feel that in a way, he made things worse...

...

Annie was on her way back to the library when she dropped one of her notes so she stopped and bent down to pick it up, but she would not have done so if she had known that in the next moment the top of her head would be hit with a very familiar object.

Annie shrieked as she felt the same book land on her head and then fall to the ground with a thud.

Annie looked at the book as she shot daggers at it. She would have destroyed the book already if not for the fact that Stella was the one who gave it to them and it had to have some meaning, value and importance, if not for that she would have set it up in flames.

"Maddie!" said Annie in a low voice, how could she be to naive to think that Maddie would let this go? 

If there was someone who was truly pettier than petty, it would be none other than Maddie Wolf. It was in her nature to be petty, after all she was talking about a girl who was mean to her every since kindergarten, so of course she had a tendency to be mean, it was sadly in her nature, she was very good at it.

Annie just shook her head, not at Maddie, but at herself for thinking that this was over, this meant war, if it this was not already war.

Annie didn't waste any time at all, she looked at the book as it laid there on the ground and it suddenly disappeared, only for her to hear a shriek coming from the corner as Maddie walked into the corridor she was in, with the book in her hand.

The two of them looked at each other, both unwilling to back down.

"That's payback for what you did." said Annie as she was the first to speak up.

"Oh I guess it is, well you don't know what you have coming Annie." replied Maddie with a scoff as she turned around and walked away as Annie scoffed, like she would allow Maddie to catch her off guard again? There was no way she would, she was to be on alert from now on.

The next day.

Annie was not joking when she said that she was going to be alert. First she woke up early to meet Matt in the lab while also avoiding Maddie.

Things were going fine, she had a nice morning, she had breakfast with Matt, they had studied in the library for a while and then they went to have lunch when as soon as she stepped out of the library the book appeared out of nowhere and landed on her head.

Annie scoffed internally, she should have known. Maddie could not be quiet for too long, she was just waiting for a moment where her guard would be down and then she would strike.

Annie didn't listen when Matt told her not to try to get back at Maddie and instead let it go. There was no way she was going to back down now. If Maddie thought that she was incapable of being as petty as she was, she was truly lying to herself.

Annie didn't say anything to Matt, she just smiled and they had lunch together while she planned for what she would do to Maddie.

It wasn't until the sun went down and Maddie was on her way from the gardens that as she entered through the door the book dropped on her head as well as she was caught off guard and she chuckled to herself. This was getting serious.

Thursday.

This time it was Maddie who woke up early and exited the room long before Annie woke up. After all she did not want to be present when Annie would get a taste of her own medicine.

Annie yawned as she woke up, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and then came back out as she walked to her closet to choose her clothes for the day.

If only she had a sixth sense to tell her not to open the door to her closet, then she would have been able to avoid getting tons of identical copies of Maddie's book dumped on her because that was exactly what happened.

As soon as she opened the door of her closet several books came pouring out of her closet as before she knew it she was drowned in a sea of books as she looked up to see the words: "How's that for studying?" written in the air as she screamed internally.

This was getting too much, but there was no way she was going to back down. Instead she casted a gathering spell and sent them books back to their sender.

Maddie was chuckling happily in the safe confines of the library when suddenly she heard a rumbling sound and before she knew it, she was drowning in a sea of her own handiwork.

Maddie groaned as she really thought that Annie would at least wait an hour before getting back at her. Who knew that Annie could truly be so petty as she was?

Maddie refused to revel in the pride she felt with Annie's capability to keep up. She hadn't heard a single complain or gesture of surrender from her, and she respected that, even though right now she would rather have her lips sewn together rather than tell Annie that.

Maddie huffed as she snapped her fingers and the books disappeared... Maybe this was enough of this little war for today, she had woken up early only to be gotten back at too quickly for her liking and she would prefer to enjoy the rest of her day.

So she decided to do nothing all day, which left Annie feeling extremely paranoid, before she turned to a corner she would look left and then right and then left again, she was far from feeling at ease. It was pure torture.

Friday.

On Friday, Annie had gotten tired of being the only one suffering, all throughout yesterday she had been extremely paranoid and yet when it was time for bed yesterday she found Maddie happy, humming a peaceful tune while meanwhile she had allowed her paranoia to consume her.

So in the spirit of learning from her master she left the room early and Maddie was extremely suspicious of Annie's early departure, which made her cautious as she took every step carefully and watchfully.

Eventually after nothing happened she forgot that she was to be cautious and she remembered that it was actually her turn to get back at Annie.

As she was thinking of her next trick she was suddenly hit on the head three times by three heavy books in succession on the exact same spot as she found herself unable to move away until they had all fallen down.

Maddie rubbed her head as she frowned. Was it only her or was this becoming more brutal and hurtful each day? Regardless of if it was, she was not going to allow Annie have the last word.

Annie had a happy smile throughout the morning, although she was scared that Maddie might try to fight back she did not let that ruin her happy mood.

It wasn't until she was discussing something with Curtis outside that she forgot that she was supposed to be on alert and she saw the reflection of something shining on the grass as panic bells started to ring in her ears and she looked left and right wondering if Maddie was watching her right now.

She did not even have the chance to answer that question herself when she felt six books hit her head appearing from nowhere in the sky as Annie tried to run but they kept on dropping on her head until all six books had fallen to the ground.

"What in the world was that Annie?" asked Curtis as Annie turned to look at him and he looked utterly confused and worried, but mostly confused.

"It's Maddie, it's just Maddie." she replied angrily as Curtis looked as if he didn't get what was going on, and he really did not.

"I think the two of you need to resolve whatever it is this fight is about before you both end up having to wear neck braces." said Curtis as Annie chuckled coldly.

"I'm not going to do that, Maddie has to do that and not me." said Annie.

"So you both are going to continue this nonsense?" asked Curtis.

"I'm not backing down, so..." said Annie with a frown as Curtis sighed and shook his head... sometimes he did not get teenagers at all. But he was smart enough to stay out of whatever this could be called.