We crowd around the old laptop Maddie rests on her knee as she sinks further into the thrifted brown leather couch. The screen shakes with every bounce of her leg and mom places a comforting hand on her thigh to stop the computer from falling onto the ground. Her face is a mix between excitement and worry, and I find myself mirroring the expression. It's March 10th. Decision day. Fairridge is the first to release their decisions, sending out the letter bright and early at 5 AM. Dad passed out at a bar last night, so he's not here for the big reveal, but he's never here, so it's not like it's anything new. I swallow down a lump of disappointment, and urge myself to smile a little brighter for Maddie. She never lets dad dull her smile and I'm so desperately trying to follow suit.
Maddie's email finally loads up on her computer and we hold our breaths at the new email titled "Fairridge Decision." The slowness of her computer has never been more antagonizing. She takes her time using the provided link to log into her portal. It's almost as if she's dragging out this moment with mom and I breathing down her neck.
"You're going to get in," I tell her, earnestly. No one is smarter than Maddie.
"Thanks, Sadie," she takes the time to smile at me, even when mom freaks out from seeing the "View Your Decision Letter Here" link.
"Okay, I love you girls, but, Maddie, please open it before I die from this anticipation."
Maddie laughs, the computer shaking, once again, on her leg. She obliges, though, and clicks the link. Immediately, the screen fills with confetti and we don't have to read the letter to know what it says.
"Congratulations, Maddie Jones. We are pleased to offer you admittance into the class of..." mom reads, but she's quickly cut off by my squeals as I throw Maddie's computer onto the couch and engulf her in a bone-crushing hug. She returns it with the same force, mumbling "I did it" over and over again into my hair.
"I'm so proud of you," mom sobs, snatching up the computer to reread the letter.
It doesn't take long for the financial aid and scholarship information to come through in another email to mom's phone. She opens it with shaking hands and her eyes roam up and down the page before she breaks down, throws away the phone, not noticing that it falls onto the carpet, and cries into the palms of her hands.
"What is it?" Maddie asks, tentatively taking mom's hands away from her face.
"You got a full ride," she whispers. And then Maddie is crying and I am crying and we're all drowning in sobs fuelled by pure joy.
I bury my face in Maddie's pink oversized sweatshirt, the scent of her floral perfume surrounding me. "I am so, so proud of you, Mads."
Winning is a high that I never want to come down from.
Are you proud of me for winning, Maddie?
Damion was an easy opponent that got fluttered by even the most simple POI. Just asking him to explain the relevance of one of his points–that made absolutely no sense to me–had him stumbling over his words and contradicting himself every few seconds. When the debate was finished, the judges revealed my near perfect score and I stood there beaming extra bright just to rub it in Damion's face.
Now, I'm trying my very best to find my way out of the dark corner that homed the room I just debated in. I think I'm still on the same floor as the cafeteria, where Carter said to meet him. I'm looking down at my phone, trying to soothe Angie and Ana who are blowing up my phone with questions, as I walk down the hall. I'm smiling from the amount of celebratory emojis Ana is using, not realizing that I just crashed into a solid chest. I stumble backwards, nearly falling down, before a hand reaches out and grips my wrist, dragging me back up.
I look up to see a boy who appears to be a year or two younger than me. His red hair is unkempt and his clothes appear to be the same condition. He's only an inch taller than me and I recognize him as the guy Carter was talking to in the conference hall.
He lets go of my wrist. "Hi. Sadie, right?"
"Yes," I say. "And you are?"
"Felix," he reaches out his hand for me to shake it.
"Hi, Felix."
"So, how was your first debate?" He asks, walking with me toward the cafeteria.
"I won," I tell him and I'm surprised when he raises his hand for a high five.
"That's awesome. I won, too."
"Congratulations," I say.
We've walk out of the dark halls and spot what appears to be the cafeteria. It looks more like a mall food court. There's an array of tables and chairs in the middle of the open hall. One wall holds a pop up store with a hot bar, serving a line of students. Most of the tables are occupied with reunited teams with a few unlikely groups of students merging schools. I have yet to look for Carter, so I crane my neck to look around. I'm annoyed that I spot him right away, leaning against a counter lined with barstools. His brown hair is streaked with gold under the bright lights on the high ceiling and it's perfectly unruly and strangely fluffy. Even from where I stand, I can see a few silver rings sparkling on his fingers. I can't help but notice how every girl seems to have their eyes trained on him like he's some damn GQ model. I guess he could be, looking like that, but they could be more fucking subtle.
Felix follows my line of sight until he's staring at Carter, too. "Oh, there he is!"
"Yeah."
"Can I join you guys? I don't think Mariana wants to hang out with me; her cousin is here competing."
I don't really feel like fraternizing with the enemy, but him and Carter seemed to get along fine and I remember hearing something about them going to hang out later, so I say fuck it and nod my head, walking towards Carter. Clearly the black flats I'm making are really loud because he looks up instantly as I near him. He pushes himself off the counter and walks to meet me in the middle of the sea of students and tables. I swear a few girls shoot me jealous glances when he smiles–flashing a dimple–at me. It almost distracts me from the fact that Carter sweeps forward and hugs me. I'm hyper aware of every contour of his body through the thin button up and his warm breath down my neck. More so, I can't help but notice how I melt in the comfort of his embrace, closing my eyes to savour it.
But I sober up quickly, pulling away. He's beaming down at me. "Hey, winner."
"Hi yourself," I say. It's nice knowing that Carter and I each have a win under our belts.
"Ms. Davenport is freaking out. Something about us being one of seven schools to have had both team members win the first debate."
"I'm sure she is," I tell him. "The lady'll be pawning for updates every hour."
Carter laughs, "Definitely."
Carter and Felix greet each other before we all head over to get lunch. The line has died down for the most part. I consider 10 AM too early to indulge in the delicious-smelling mac and cheese, so I settle on an iced tea and grilled cheese. Mom used to make cheese on toast for Maddie and I every morning and grilled cheese is the closest thing to that. Carter gets a small paper cup full of fries and a container of cubed fruit. Felix doesn't seem to realize or just doesn't care how early it is because he gravitates toward a double cheeseburger with a side of potato wedges. With our trays loaded up, we go back to the bar Carter was standing at and plop down in the leather barstools.
Carter opens his small plastic cup of fruit and I immediately pick up a piece of watermelon with my fingers. He tries to swat my hand away, but he's too late and I'm already popping the sweet cube into my mouth.
He hums in disapproval, "Do not take what isn't yours, Jones."
I give him an innocent shrug, licking my lips before taking a sip of my tea.
"Are you two dating?" Felix asks.
I practically choke on my drink and Carter stares at him with wide eyes. "No," I manage to say. "We are not."
"Really? You act like it," Felix states, nonchalantly, bringing a potato wedge covered in ketchup to his mouth.
"We do not," I insist. "Didn't you just meet us?"
"I guess." He shrugs, "So, what are you guys? Best friends? Siblings?"
"What about none of the above?" I say.
"Yeah, she hates me," Carter says, jabbing a finger in my direction.
"Whatever," I grumble. "You hate me, too. The feeling is mutual."
Felix is flicking his eyes between the two of us. "Wow, I didn't see that coming. So, why do you guys hate each other?"
"Because I'm a better student than her," Carter says, chewing on a fry.
"You keep telling yourself that. Maybe then you'll be able to tell the difference between authors."
Carter just replies by sticking his tongue out at me.
"Huh," Felix says, mostly to himself.
We eat in silence for a few minutes before Carter speaks up. "What about you, Felix? You and Mariana dating?"
Felix breaks out in a fit of laughter. "Me and Mariana?" He chokes out. "Fuck no. She thinks I'm lazy and annoying and a bunch of other things I forget. This partnership is not by choice. Plus, I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that."
"Who's your boyfriend?" I ask. I doubt I'll know him because Felix's uniform is the first time I've ever heard of Fale Academy.
"His name's Timothy. He's a year older than me–grade eleven–at my school. He's on the debate team with me, but he wasn't volunteered to go because Mariana practically hounded Mr. Kell to let her go."
"He sounds nice," Carter says.
"Yeah, but Mariana sounds like a bitch," I add, finishing off the last of my grilled cheese.
"She is," Felix groans.
I volunteer to put away our trays since we're mostly done eating. I weave through the groups of tables until I find a trash can located beside a table holding a microwave and condiment packets. I don't know how many people are in this competition, but, from the looks of it, it's a lot. So many people have flooded the hall that some groups have settled on sitting on the tiled floor to eat lunch. The teachers are just awkwardly standing around, not even talking to each other. Just like the students, they have their game faces on.
When I return to our seats, Felix is pouring the rest of his broken potato wedges into his mouth and Carter is reading something on his phone. Settling in my seat, I see a small plastic package sitting on my spot with only watermelon left in it. I look over at Carter, who's still immersed in his phone, and smile before popping a piece into my mouth.
...
A/N
A shorter chapter today, but the rest of day 1 of the debate tournament will be continued from Carter's POV.
Also, what do y'all think of the little flashbacks in these chapters? I've done a few about Sadie and Maddie and one about Carter moving into his dorm for freshman year. I love writing them, but I want to make sure they're interesting to read.
Hope you enjoyed and happy reading!
PS - My word document says that this story has hit 40 000 words :)