Honor Among Friends (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 5-A

The day of Madison’s first “official” FEC meeting had arrived and she had nothing to bring—although, truthfully, she hadn’t tried that hard. The mere thought of stealing from someone broke her out in cold sweat. She was beginning to realize that putting lip service to something was easy, but physically doing the act? Well, that something else entirely.

Maybe she could create an excuse as to why she didn’t have anything and they would let her off. She pictured Wyatt and Kelly’s face and rejected the idea. They would have no problem rescinding her membership. In fact, she had a pretty good idea Wyatt would love the chance to kick her out. 

Sighing, she threw her hands behind her head and sunk deeper into the mattress. The early morning sun shined bright. Rays filtered through her window, highlighting her room. The emptiness of the walls mocked her. She didn’t have one picture, one poster, not even a small shelf nailed to the wall. How ironic that she was contemplating stealing something precious, something that held a memory, something that adorned someone’s wall, just so she could fill her own wall up.

She felt selfish and it wasn’t a pleasant emotion. It crawled down her spine leaving a trail of doubt and self-loathing. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing it into a cage and locking the door. She wanted to stay in the club—no, she needed to stay in the club. It was the first time since moving here that she started to feel some semblance of control over her life. She wasn’t weak. She wasn’t powerless. Her and her alone, decided what she was going to do.

Feeling more assured she ran through a list of people she could steal from. It wasn’t a long list, as she didn’t get invited over to people’s houses often. In fact, the depressing truth was that she didn’t go anywhere except her house, the library and school.

Wait.

Madison bolted upright. Could the answer really be that simple? She ran through all the FEC rules in her head.

Yes. Yes, it could.

Excited, Madison threw back the covers and jumped in the shower. She threw on a pair of jeans and a new top she bought with Avery. She ran a brush through her curls, detangling the knots, and then bounced downstairs.

“Someone’s happy today,” her dad commented from the kitchen sink. He rinsed a plate and put it in the dishwasher. “You’re practically skipping.”

“It’s a glorious morning,” she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

“I’d say so. What’s put you in such a good mood?” His round eyes narrowed till they were slits. “Its not a boy is it?”

“And if it is?”

“Let me polish my gun.”

“You don’t own a gun.”

“I’ll polish your mother’s.”

“No one touches my gun,” her mom stated, coming up behind her.