CHAPTER 14

So, how was everyone's day today?"

"It was great!" Madison's little sister Lisa squealed loudly next to her, causing her to wince. "We got to do finger painting and I drew a whole barnyard. I drew a pig and a cow and chicken and…" she went on for the next few minutes on all the animals she had drawn.

They were currently all sitting down to dinner. Madison sat between her father, who seemed to be thinking of something else, and Lisa. Her younger brother Todd was pushing the vegetables on his plate around like that would make them disappear and her mother was at the head of the table, listening animatedly to Lisa's squeals.

"How nice," her mom said when Lisa showed her the picture. "Do you want us to hang it up?"

"Yes please!"

"Great. And how about you, Madison?"

Feeling her family's questioning looks fall on her, she felt like throwing her hoodie over her face. "It was fine," she managed. "Nothing really happened."

"Just like every day," Todd, muttered.

"That's enough, Todd," her dad warned.

"But it's true. Nothing interesting ever happens to Madison."

"Todd!" Her mom interjected now, giving him a sharp look before turning back to Madison. "Are you sure honey? Doesn't matter if you think it's boring, we promise to find it interesting."

There it was again. The slight catch in her voice that revealed her true intentions. She had been trying to get Madison to speak up more for a while now, constantly telling her to make some friends or join a club or just do something. And every time she didn't, she could tell her mom was a little more disappointed in her.

But how could she tell her that she didn't have the courage to do any of those things. Sure, she had a couple friends but she wouldn't call them close. Sumin barely talked at all and she was pretty sure Travis just sat with her because he didn't really have anywhere else to sit. Actually going out looking for friends? Forget it. Just the thought of walking up to some random person to initiate a conversation made her heart beat a million miles a second and her throat close up.

As for clubs, well her mom had suggested debate to help her open up more but Madison was paralyzed of just presenting something in front of a class, much less a room full of people judging her on her speech capabilities. The only club she would be interested in was computing but there wasn't one unfortunately. And she didn't have the nerves to start one either, so that left her with zilch.

Now, her mom made it her mission to ask Madison about her day, about what she did, about basically anything, in the hopes that Madison actually would have something to say, that she had done something interesting that day. So far, nothing but she was still trying.

"Uh…" Knowing her mom wouldn't give up, Madison tried to think of anything interesting that had happened. Being called a name by Kimberly would just made them worry. Finishing her homework was nothing new though they would still praise her for it. And the thing where Travis had gotten her a pudding made her jittery and confused inside, something she'd rather keep to herself. So, she went with the only thing she could think of. "There's a new kid at school. Um, Franklin I think."

Her mother's interest instantly peaked. "Oh, and did you talk to him?"

"Uh…a little. He seems nice." Madison took a slow sip of her water, hoping the conversation was over. It wasn't.

"Well, I'm glad you're making friends."

"Well, I wouldn't say that." She winced as she said it. She should have just let it go. Now it was going to continue. "I mean, he seems more into football. Not really my interest."

"So?" her mom shrugged. "Look at me. I'm a curator at an art museum and your dad is a lawyer at the bank. No real relation there and yet we made it work, didn't we hon?"

"Huh?" her dad looked up.

"See," her mom gestured. "So don't write it off just because he likes football. Sometimes, opposites do attract you know."

"Wait, what?" her dad looked over at her. "What's this about attraction?"

"Oh, Madison's making a new friend. Some boy named Franklin."

"And you're attracted to him?"

"What?" Madison shrieked. "No! I don't even know if we're friends and I'm definitely not attracted to him. God, why me?" she muttered to herself, covering her face with her hands.

"Oh you never know where things might lead," her mom said hintingly.

"Please stop."

"Yes, please stop," her dad agreed.

"Madison's got a boyfriend! Madison's got a boyfriend!" Todd chanted, grinning at her.

"Boyfriend! Boyfriend!" Lisa joined in as well. Madison felt like sinking into the ground. She scrunched down, her hair falling across her face and providing a veil that at least hid her gaze.

"Kids, that's enough," her dad said, silencing them. "Madison, please sit back up."

Reluctantly, she did, pushing part of her hair out of the way but leaving the rest, just in case.

"So, just to be clear…" her dad began.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend. I'm not attracted to anyone. I promise." At that moment, the memory of Travis handing her the pudding popped into her head for some reason and she felt her cheeks redden.

"Are you sure?" Todd asked slyly. "Cause it seems to me that there is someon-OW!" he cried out, rubbing his leg where Madison had kicked him.

"Madison, don't kick your brother," her mom sighed. "And Todd, don't make fun of your sister."

"Jerk," Todd glared at her.

"I wish I was an only child," Madison muttered under her breath.

"Honey, the only reason we keep bringing this up is because we're worried about you. It's not healthy to spend all your free time in your room on your computer. We think it'll be better for you to make friends, interact with people outside a screen. That's why we push you. And you don't know, maybe you will find a special someone that way."

"Dear, please! Look, Madison, while I'm not thrilled with the whole boyfriend/attraction business, I do agree with your mother that you should start spending some time with other people. Outside of school."

"But dad…"

"No buts. I don't like pressuring you on this, I know how this kind of thing makes you feel, but it is starting to get a little worrying. So, we want to see you either officially join an afterschool club or bring someone home. Even if it is a…boy." He spat out that last word like it was a stray hair.

"Especially if it's a boy," her mom added slyly.

"Honey!"

"What?"

Madison tuned them out completely, just focusing on her meal and hiding her face as much as possible. Join a club? Bring someone home? Both those ideas were enough to send her stomach into somersaults and her heart racing up her throat. Why couldn't she just stay on her computer writing programs and coding software? That was easy. That made sense. People didn't. People hid their true feelings and agendas. People made her feel like sinking into the wall for all eternity.

She felt a slight tap on her foot and looked up to see Todd staring at her. "Loser," he mouthed.

Could her life get any worse?