"Was it really that bad?" Matt asked with a frown. Annie remained silent as she pondered.
"It was that bad, worse than bad." Maddie nodded. "I was the mean girl, the rich one no body could trust." Maddie said.
"It was that bad huh?" Ollie asked, Maddie looked at him and frowned.
"When I say it was bad, it was bad. And in elementary school, everyone's more or less equal, this is before the kids care about money or social status and kids never suck up to anyone, they tell it how it is, which is nice but a bit annoying." Maddie said.
Matt laughed and shook his head. "Of course you say that, so you were not as popular as you wished to be in elementary school?" he asked.
"Nope, not at all, far from it." Maddie said. "But once we got to middle school and high school things changed, so much and for the better." She smiled.
"You mean for the worse for me." Annie said.
"Hey, hey, it's not my fault." Maddie said flipping her hair.
"You are right about one thing though, back then, no one liked you or trusted you." Annie said. "And I'm really sorry about that, I'm sorry that I didn't believe you when you were right and I'm sorry that back then I picked Trina over you." Annie said.
"It's alright, it's alright, water under the bridge." Maddie shrugged.
"Really? Is it now? Because to me it sounded like the memories were still very fresh in your mind." Matt laughed and Ollie nodded.
"Hey, they were fresh yes, but I have forgiven Annie for being so naive." Annie frowned hearing Maddie call her naive while Matt and Ollie laughed.
"She's my best friend and I love her." Maddie said hugging Annie which stopped her frowning.
"Awww, you're my best friend too." Annie smiled giving her a hug.
"Besides, I would have been angrier if Trina and her mother had succeeded in their plans to steal her dad, but luckily, the truth was exposed before it was too late." Maddie said letting go of Annie.
"But that has to be the most absurd thing I've heard. Why would you want to steal someone else's spouse just because you don't have yours?" Ollie frowned, it baffled him.
Imagine having a friend whose sole intention was conniving with her mother to steal one of your parents for herself.
"I tell you blondie, some people have no shame." Maddie scoffed. "Just because you are unhappy does not mean that you should wish other innocent people unhappiness.".
"Wow Maddie, you sound really annoyed." Matt laughed.
"Of course I am annoyed, I would never do that, never, not even to my worst enemy and Annie was my worst enemy at one point." Maddie said strongly.
"Hey, why was that so?" Ollie asked as they all turned to him. "I mean, why were you enemies with Annie?" he asked.
"That's true, why did you dislike Annie so much?" Matt nodded, he too was curious, he never knew the real reason although he had some sort of idea about it.
Maddie sighed, she laughed and looked at Annie. This conversation had turned to fingers being pointed at her and although she preferred conversing other than reading, this was a really deep question, one that she did not know if she should answer in the moment.
"Do you know?" Matt turned to Annie and asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure, I think I do." Annie said, she sounded a bit unsure.
"Well, what do you think it is then?" Ollie asked, he wanted to know.
"Well, I always thought that she hated me because I never liked it when she mistreated others just because she was rich, and because of that, I never let her manipulate me like she did others and when I was way younger, I used to stand up to her, probably the only one who did in elementary school and I guess that's why when everyone starting sucking up to her in middle school, high school and I didn't, she got even more upset?" Annie said, she was still unsure, after all, she did not know what was going on in Maddie's head at that time.
"How accurate is that?" Ollie turned to Maddie and asked.
"Not accurate at all." Maddie laughed and Annie frowned.
"I don't think so, it's accurate enough." She said.
"Not at all, if you actually believed that I hated you because you stood up to me, that's just a teeny tiny portion of the pie." Maddie laughed.
"Alright, if you say so, then why did you hate her?" Matt asked.
"Back then, Annie was everything I wanted to be, she had the life I wanted, she had the most cool and loving parents in the entire town, she was their little princess and most of all she was nice which meant she had lots of friends." Maddie began.
"I guess, I saw all those things coupled with how unintentionally we misunderstood each other and she was not mean, I was very broken and shattered, so I allowed the misunderstandings make me go further away and be offended instead of clearing them up." Maddie said.
"Hmm, you seem to have forgotten something." Annie said.
"What?" Maddie asked.
"Oh, just how you basically stole away every boy I liked as soon as I showed interest in them or they showed interest in me." Annie crossed her arms.
Maddie laughed, she had a feeling Annie would bring this up since they were looking back at their past and history together. She did not blame here, since they were on the topic, it was good that they cleared up everything.
"Well, I won't lie, I'm not perfect." Maddie laughed.
"Why? Why was it that every guy I liked, or had a crush on, or had a crush on me, you dated them?" Annie asked, this was a serious issue.
Maddie had singlehandedly made her life a living hell for many years, many, many years because of Maddie, she had no friends, not even someone who liked her.
"Hey, because I was unhappy with you, I did not want you to be happy either, it's that simple." Maddie laughed.
"I thought you said you were not the type of person to wish innocent people unhappiness just because you are unhappy." Matt said repeating her words.
Maddie laughed even harder, she could not believe her words had come back to stab her in the back.
"Yes, of course I said so." Maddie said as Ollie and Matt laughed, they wondered how she would get out of this one.
"But that was in regards to when we're adults. I mean, marriage is very serious and I would never directly or deliberately do something to separate a married couple just because I am unhappy in my own relationship of being alone." Maddie reiterated.
"Right, right, so we're all just going to pretend like we did not already know what you actually meant." Annie said. "We'll just leave you to think that we believe your new explanation." She added.
"Whatever." Maddie said.
"You know what, I find that hard to believe, you know, the Maddie I know would probably find a way to break Annie up with someone she does not like." Matt laughed.
"Of course I would break them up if I don't like him." Maddie admitted.
"And you admit that?" Ollie asked.
"Of course I do."
"I thought you said that you would not break up someone's marriage?" Ollie asked.
"Hey, that's why I will break them up before they get married." Maddie said confidently.
"Hey, hey, hey, relax everyone." Annie laughed, it was amusing seeing how protective Maddie was of her in her own little overreacting way.
"That's so sweet, but you're just reminding me not to introduce you to a guy I like immediately, not until I am sure she will like him." Annie said.
"Don't worry, don't worry, just wait, I am not blind, you cannot hide anything from me." Maddie said. "Once I see you like someone I don't like, I'm shutting that relationship down." Maddie insisted.
"You say that like you're her mother." Matt shook his head. Maddie could be like this... he knew she meant well, but she could take it a bit too far sometimes with her care.
"Hey, I'm older than her, I am practically her mother." Ollie burst out in laughter as he heard Maddie's words.
"You are only one years older than me, not old enough to be my mother." Annie corrected, she laughed, Maddie was taking this thing too far.
"Same difference." Maddie shurgged.
"No, no, no, not the same difference." Annie corrected. "Anyway, lets just play the game before things get too crazy." She said.
"Things have already gotten too crazy." Matt laughed shaking his head.
"Yes, so the game." Ollie said as he bounced up and down, he and Matt had been so engrossed in the stories Maddie and Annie were telling.