The weather was as typical as always at Snow Wood, light snow and chills running through the air. Huge, metal gates stood bravely in front of the school, drenched in frost and coldness. Strong winds and unforgiving howls of ice whipped through the pines, conducting an orchestra of branch scratching and needles dropping.
Jeff sat at his desk, staring out the large, glass window before him. It showed a serene, almost magical view of the snow falling from the sky and gently caressing the trees and ground with its whiteness. He saw a couple boys, Bill and Rayleigh, having a snowball fight in the courtyard. They were tossing both snowballs and petty insults back and forth, bearing grins and laughing all the while. Jeff knew these two boys fairly well, and had been their friend ever since he enrolled in the school all those years ago. A slight smile crept on Jeff's face as he saw Rayleigh's long, blonde hair slap his eyes to the rhythm of the wind, causing Rayleigh a little frustration.
His smile quickly faded as he returned to his tinkering. He was fixing up an old, beat-up toaster that Maxwell had assigned him as a project. For Jeff, it would normally be a particularly fast and easy task, but he was taking quite a bit longer because of his constant daydreaming. Jeff had barely begun working on the toaster once again when he heard a loud knock on the dorm room door.
"Hey, Jeff! Lemme in! I gotta grab my scarf and boots. Bill, Rayleigh, and I are going out to the shop to buy some snacks."
Jeff rose from his seat and unlocked the door. The one knocking at the door had been Tony, Jeff's only roommate and best friend.
Jeff, although occupied with his assignment, allowed Tony to come in and disrupt his progress.
"Hey, Tony. Come in; I'm not too busy."
Jeff wasn't too thrilled about the work he was doing, so any distraction he could seize was just another way to take his mind off of it.
"So, you're going to the shop?" Jeff asked, yawning a bit. He hadn't taken his usual afternoon nap, so he was a bit groggier than normal.
"Yep. Oh, yeah, you could come too if you want. Totally forgot to ask!" Tony laughed, patting Jeff's shoulder.
Jeff smirked and declined the offer.
"Nah, it's okay. I should really finish up this toaster repair for Maxwell's class. However, could you maybe bring me back a cup of coffee? I'll give you the cash-"
"Don't worry about it! It'll be on me," Tony smiled. "Now, just give us a half hour or so, and we should be back, okay?"
"All right, that should be fine." Jeff replied as he started walking back over to his desk.
Tony quickly jumped over to him and squeezed him around the waist as Jeff squirmed, trying to release himself.
When Jeff was able to escape, he jokingly scolded Tony. "Hey man, don't do that! You know how ticklish I am."
"That's what makes it so fun!" Tony giggled. "All right, torture's over. I'll be right back."
Tony was at the door when Jeff had a sudden realization.
"Hey, you'd better be back before eight, or you'll get locked out and have to stay the night over at the Tessie watching camp. Or worse yet, Maxwell might devise some clever form of punishment for you," Jeff teased.
Tony turned back and reassured Jeff.
"I'll be back in time for curfew, don't worry! And, if I don't, then I guess I'll just have to clean up Maxwell's chemistry experiments for the next semester!" Tony teased right back.
The door slammed shut and Jeff was finally left to finish his project.
Tony, Bill, and Rayleigh walked through the iron gates and headed over to the little store that lied a few feet to the right of the tall, brick fence that encompassed the school building. In the distance were a few stray dogs and gruff goats, casually and almost mindlessly patrolling the area. It was as if somebody had taken control of their minds and put them on alert.
Tony opened the door to the shop and held it for the other boys. They all took a few looks around, seeing the same elderly manager and rookie at the counter. It was only a couple of seconds, however, before they saw a completely unusual surprise to the right of the doorway: a hairy, hyped-up monkey. The boys instantly gathered around it and stood in awe, for none of them had seen a monkey in person before. Most of the kids attending Snow Wood had scarcely left the school since their early childhoods, much less gone far enough away to where they would see something such as a monkey.
"Holy crap, a monkey!' Bill blurted out. "I've never seen one in real life before!"
"Hey, you boys!" A voice yelled from across the store. It was a young, blonde woman standing near the ATM in the back. "Any of you interested in this monkey here? I'll cut you a deal: buy this pack of bubble gum, and you'll get the monkey for free!"
The boys looked at each other and shook their heads when they thought about the reality of taking care of a monkey, especially in a school that didn't allow pets. As cool as it seemed to them, they just wouldn't be able to keep it.
"We'll have to pass that offer up, ma'am." Rayleigh replied.
The woman sighed a breath of disappointment. "Well, if you ever decide to change your minds, he'll be right here."
The boys nodded and headed up to the register to buy some snacks.
"How are you gentlemen today? Can I be of service?" The rookie asked, forcing a professional tone into his voice.
Bill stepped over to the counter. "Yeah. Can I get a skip sandwich with a can of fruit juice, please?"
"Certainly!" The rookie replied, turning around to the refrigerated shelf and plucking out a sandwich and a can of juice. "And for you boys?"
Rayleigh stepped up next. "Could I have a picnic lunch with a slice of chocolate cake, please? Oh, and milk as the drink, please!"
"Of course!" the man answered, grabbing a pre-packed picnic lunch in a case and setting it on the counter. "And for you, my good man?"
Tony thought about it for a minute and responded. "Can I have cup of coffee, a couple bread rolls, and a bottle of water?"
"Great!" The man turned around once more and selected the remaining items, placing them along the others on the counter.
The boys paid, grabbed their goods, and headed out the door. They started walking back to the gates, feeling a soft sheet of snow under their feet that had just replaced the old one.
"Man, I wish that we could have taken that monkey," Tony sighed.
"Yeah, but the principle would've had our butts if we brought that thing into the dorm." Rayleigh retorted.
"It's too bad. I bet Maxwell would've liked it; he might've even let us keep it hidden from the principle somewhere," Tony interjected.
"Yeah, because nobody would notice a big, loud, and especially smelly monkey in the dorm," Rayleigh sarcastically replied.
"Yeah, finally!" Jeff cheered aloud. After some tinkering, Jeff plugged the toaster into the wall, and it started working again.
I wonder where Tony has been, Jeff thought to himself. It's been at least forty-five minutes since he left; I hope he didn't get locked out.
Jeff took a deep breath and headed out of the dorm room, going to the next floor to find a vending machine. He had worked up an appetite trying to find out the problem with the toaster; Maxwell had done something extra devious with the toaster's circuits to try and trick Jeff, but Jeff eventually caught it.
He ascended to the next floor of the huge building and saw a vending machine in the opposite corner from the flight of stairs. He casually walked over to it, puts some coins in, and got a peanut cheese bar; Jeff started munching on it on his way back to his room. When he got back inside and sat down, he had only one thing on his mind: his father. His father had left him at the boarding school many years ago and never returned. Jeff had always heard stories about him saying that he was as great as Einstein or Heisenberg. Jeff, being quite the intellectual himself, was very interested in meeting his father, especially if he was actually as brilliant as he was made out to be.
Throughout most of Jeff's life, there had been really nobody as a parental figure. The closest anybody came to being a real parent towards Jeff was professor Maxwell, who would give Jeff advice and training in scientific matters outside of the classroom. To Jeff, Maxwell was more of a father than his real father, Dr. Andonuts, had ever been.
Jeff lied down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what he wanted to do for the weekend. It was a Friday night, and he hadn't yet made any plans of anything to do. At Snow Wood, weekends are reserved for students to spend their time in any way they wish, which usually meant camping outside in the courtyard, making bonfires, and getting into trouble. Jeff himself was never a fan of partaking in this type of recreation, but Tony certainly was. Very often, Tony would drag Jeff to bonfires and stay up late with him, sitting next to him in front of the bonfire. Even after everybody had left and gone to sleep, Tony and Jeff would just sit outside together and talk. Tony always had a lot to talk about, but there was one thing that he hadn't quite had the courage to talk to Jeff about; Tony couldn't break any bonds by taking things too far.
Jeff remembered that there would be a school wide winter dance on Saturday night, and he took a few minutes to think about going or not. Most of the kids that attended were of higher grade levels, such as Jeff, who was in his senior year of Snow Wood's version of high school. He was never really one for the dances, typically because he never had anybody to go with. While he could have gone with Bill or Rayleigh, they usually had dates, so he didn't feel comfortable with being a "third wheel". As for Tony, he frequently volunteered at the events, so he had to act as somewhat of a waiter and servant to the students. This left Jeff with essentially no choice but to stay in the dorm, studying up on Tesla or electronics while everyone else was off having fun.
Jeff heard some weak knocks on the door around nine o'clock and lazily forced himself off the bed to answer. To his surprise, it was his dorm neighbor: a tan, dark-haired girl with green eyes.
"Madison? What's up?" Jeff said with concern, noticing her depressed expression.
The girl threw her arms around Jeff and began to cry, "I can't take it anymore, Jeff. Everybody around here is treating me like complete garbage."
Madison was new to the school, having only been attending for a couple weeks. In this time, she had been teased and verbally abused by many of the students for her appearance; she had a large scar above her eye, which garnered her many hurtful comments and disgust.
Jeff let her in, shut the door, and sat with her on his bed. "I'm sorry about all of this, Maddi. I've heard some of the things those pricks say, and it's horrible. Don't let them get to you."
Madison wiped her eyes and rested her head on Jeff's shoulder, still sobbing quietly. "You know Jeff, you're the only person that's taken me seriously and treated me right these past few weeks here. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
Jeff felt warm inside and smiled. He wasn't very accustomed to girly affection, but accepted it with open arms.
Jeff was the first person that Madison had met when she came to the school. Madison introduced herself to him late one evening after unpacking. It was a Friday night, and like usual, everybody was out doing something outside the dorms. Madison had no roommate, as her room was empty before she arrived. Madison knocked on her neighbor's door and began to get to know Jeff. Ever since, they had formed a strong, trusting friendship.
Jeff interrupted her soft crying to ask her a question. "Hey, would you like a cup of tea? I started brewing some with my burner a few minutes ago. Tony was supposed to be back with some coffee a while ago, but I guess he decided to go to the bonfire."
Madison smiled up at him and nodded. Jeff rose from the bed and filled two cups with green tea. After a few sips, Jeff posed a question. "What happened, Maddi?"
She perked up and tried to compose herself. "I…well…all day today in class, the other kids were talking about the dance, telling me that I should stay in the dorm and that nobody would go with me anyways. Then, about fifteen minutes ago, Rayleigh came up to me in the hall and asked if I had seen Tony. When I said that I didn't, he just started accusing me of lying and called me terrible things."
Jeff snapped his attention towards Madison, a very confused and angry expression slowly coming over his face. "Rayleigh was teasing you?"
"Yeah. He yelled at me, demanding that I tell him the truth. Then, he just ran off down the stairs. He really scared me, Jeff," She sniffled.
The confusion on Jeff's face perpetually grew. "That doesn't sound like Rayleigh at all. Something must be wrong if he's acting so hostile. And about Tony…"
Madison continued. "He said that Tony disappeared after Bill and him had gotten back inside he school gates."
Jeff had a strike of realization. "Tony must be missing. That's why he never showed up, and that's why Rayleigh is acting so irrational."
Jeff jumped from his bed to put on his jacket and boots. Madison looked over at him quizzically. Jeff noticed this and responded. "I'm going to look for Tony. Stray dogs and goats come around at night, and sometimes even bears. I gotta make sure that Tony's okay."
Madison got up and looked at him worrisomely. "Jeff, you can't go out alone right now. It's too dangerous!"
"Tony's out there, and I can't leave him to be bear food. I'll grab some stuff from the lockers downstairs to take with me just in case," Jeff told her.
Madison sat up and began to speak, smiling slightly. "If you're going, I'm going. You're the only person that I can trust, and I can't let you be bear food too."
Jeff smiled and motioned for her to head out. "Go grab your boots and jacket and meet me at the lockers, okay?"
Madison nodded and quickly went back inside her dorm, frantically putting on her garments. After a few minutes, she rushed down the staircase and flew into the storage room to see Jeff scavenging through them. He pulled out a magnum air gun, two flashlights, and a popgun. He tossed her the popgun and put the air gun in his khakis. Madison looked at the gun and then up at Jeff.
Jeff saw her confusion. "It's been modified; instead of a cork on a string, it shoots out bb's through a tube that has very strong springs. It won't kill anything, but it should be enough to hurt a lot."
Madison gave an understanding nod and put the gun in her skirt loop. "Alright," Jeff began. "Let's go."
The two opened the entrance doors and headed outside. Upon exiting the school, they saw that the gates were closed.
"How are we supposed to get out now?" Madison asked, inspecting the gates.
"I have an idea, but it would mean that only one of us could go over," Jeff replied flatly. As he finished his statement, the large school doors crashed open and a boy stood at the entrance. "Jeff! Madison! Hold on!" It was Rayleigh, looking as panicked as ever.
"Rayleigh? Look, I don't know what your problem is, but Madison told me all about what you said. I understand that you're upset, as am I, but it doesn't call for being a jackass." Jeff said sternly.
Rayleigh jogged over to them, out of breath from running around the school searching for Tony. "I'm sorry, guys. I know it was an awful thing for me to snap at you, Madison, but I just lost it. Tony is missing, and I can't find him!"
Jeff analyzed the situation. "Look, I think we can forgive you as long as you do one favor for us."
Rayleigh's eyes grew with compliance. "Yeah, yeah, anything!"
Jeff turned and gazed towards the gates. "I need you to boost Madison and I over the gates."
Rayleigh's expression became very worried. "What? You can't do that! It's too dangerous!"
Jeff whipped back around, passion in his eyes. "Tony's out there, damn it, and I can't leave him to die. Now, I gave you an option. Help us get over the fence, or you can just get out of here and we'll find another way."
Rayleigh sighed and walked over to the gate, readying his knee and hands. Jeff nodded appreciatively as he and Madison were pushed over the fence. Standing on the other side of the fence, Jeff began to talk to Rayleigh. "Don't tell anyone that you helped us; I don't want you to get your ass as deep as ours for this, too."
Rayleigh smiled sincerely. "I won't. Just be careful, okay?"
Jeff and Madison began walking down through the snowy paths and slight slopes just above the Tessie watching camp. They searched all around the area, yelled out his name numerous times, but had no luck in finding Tony. Exasperated, Jeff sat with his back to a tree. "Where could he possibly be?"
"Let's try asking around the camp; maybe they know something," Madison proposed.
Jeff agreed, and the two began walking down towards the encampment. This encampment was dedicated to discovering a mythic lake monster, "Tessie", which was rumored to live in the lake that lied south of Snow Wood.
Being that it was so late at night, there weren't any of the watchers outside the tents. Jeff looked around to see if any of the tents had a lantern lit, meaning that somebody could be still be awake. Once he finally spotted canvass glowing towards the back of the camp, Jeff and Madison headed over. Jeff went over to the tent opening and stuck his head under, meeting the gaze of a man in front of a stew cooker.
"Sorry to intrude, but have you by any chance seen a boy wearing a Snow Wood uniform and a black hat?" Jeff inquired.
The man set down a bowl of stew and thought about it. "Actually, yes. He came by a while ago and had some stew. He had some sort of chimp with him, too; Damn thing got gum stuck to my tent."
Jeff became very interested and excited. "You did?! Do you happen to know where he went?"
The man shook his head. "I can't say that I do. Check around the water's edge; that's where I last saw him."
Jeff nodded appreciatively and left the tent. He explained to Madison that Tony was indeed around this area and still could be. They both went to the edge of the huge lake, scanning for any sign of Tony. After some fifteen minutes or so, Madison called out to Jeff. "Hey, is this his hat?" She said, waving it in the air at Jeff. Jeff darted over to her and inspected the hat, confirming that it belonged to Tony. Every passing second that Jeff spent analyzing it bathed his face more and more in feelings of anxiety and fear.
"He must be around here somewhere," Jeff began. "I won't give up until we find him."
Madison shook her head in agreement and spoke. "Jeff," she started, putting her hand on his shoulder. "We won't give up. Tony's your best friend, and I owe it to you to stick with you as long as it takes to find him."
Jeff looked at her, smiling. She returned the look, and they stood looking at one another for a few seconds, Jeff putting his hand on Madison's. She squeezed his hand as they stood there, admiring one another. He gazed into her eyes, not noticing the offset one. In this instant, he saw how beautiful Madison was. Her black hair blew lightly in the wind, and her emerald eyes shined in the darkness. Jeff wanted to take things a little further, but he knew that he still had a lost friend to find.
Not now, man. We've gotta look for Tony. Give it time.
Jeff broke the silence, gently releasing her hand. "I'm going to go ask the stew guy if there's a boat we can use. I don't know if it's even possible, but maybe Tony somehow ferried across the lake and got to the other side. I gotta do everything possible to find him. We gotta,I mean." He smirked. Madison giggled back and agreed.
Jeff jogged over to the tent and stuck his head in once more. "Sorry to bother you again, but you guys don't happen to have a boat that we could borrow, do you?"
The man sat up from his leaning position against the tent post and spoke. "Yeah, I do. There's a tarp behind my tent that's covering a boat and some paddles. Just bring 'em back when you finish; I don't wanna have to report to Snow Wood that some kids ran off with my boat," he said jokingly but with a hint of sincerity.
Jeff nodded and left the tent, going to the other side to retrieve the boat. He called Madison over and had her help him carry the boat to the water. Once they got it in, they jumped on and started paddling towards the opposite side.
"As far as I know, there's only this opposite side that has any real places to go, making it likely that Tony headed here if he did in fact go past the camp. The steep hills that stand on both sides of the area in front of the school to the camp make it very unlikely that he went anywhere else,' Jeff concluded.
Madison started laughing softly. "I see the scientist in you, Jeff. It's faintly coming out with that deductive reasoning."
"It runs in the family," Jeff said, chuckling back lightly.
It was very dark outside now, and the moon illuminated the clear water. Sometimes in Winters, the lake would freeze over, given very cold temperatures. However, being that it was only early December, the lake still had a couple weeks before the ice would capture it. They eventually hit the other side of the lake and brought the boat onto the shore. Stepping out, Jeff and Madison quietly examined the unfamiliar area. Neither of them had ever been in this part of the landscape, and didn't really know what to expect. They slowly and carefully walked south and soon found a lit cave entrance. It appeared as if the cave had been constructed, like it was man-made. They were apprehensive about going inside but discovered that a large object was blocking the only other way around the cave. Jeff stepped closer to assess it, rubbing his lower chin. "It looks like a giant, iron pencil."
Madison, in a state of disbelief, observed the object herself. "I can't say that I believed you, but now that I see it, I guess you're right. Never seen anything like this before."
Jeff nodded, his mouth slightly agape with surprise and amusement. "Well, it looks like we'll have to go through the cave."
The two kids walked into the cave and took in the area. There were lines of massive, brown rocks creating a maze around the whole cave as well as large light dishes on the ceiling.
"A maze, huh? Let's do it," Madison said confidently. They both started making their way through the maze when they noticed a white box wrapped with a red ribbon sitting in the middle of their path. Curious, the two walked towards it. Jeff reached over to undo the ribbon when something sprang out of the box.
Jeff fell back, being caught by Madison. A purplish pile of goo with little black, beady eyes stood before them.
"What the hell?" Jeff stammered, completely in shock by the sight of the strange creature. "Is that a living pile of protoplasm?"
Before he had time to continue, Madison pulled Jeff's magnum air gun from his khakis and shot the pile of slime repeatedly until it melted into the ground.
Jeff looked at Madison and the defeated protoplasm back and forth, still in awe. Madison spoke. "That was…odd."
Jeff, still in a reverie, replied. "Yeah…really. Good use of the gun, by the way. Let's continue…"
They stepped over the puddle and found their way through the maze, finding the exit only minutes after fighting the slime. Upon exiting, they were greeted by a bald man wearing overalls. "Maybe it was too easy?"
The two kids turned and looked up at the man with his back leaning on the wall.
The man kept going. "Hello there guys, I'm Brick Road. I love making mazes and dungeons; it's always been a passion of mine. Anyways, since you've found you're way out, I'm guessing you're here for a reason. Nobody would be out here this late, trudging around in the dark like this otherwise."
"Yes, actually. Have you happened to see a kid wearing a Snow Wood uniform around here?"
The man scratched his head and remembered. "Ah, yes, I believe I did. He was here maybe an hour ago, but he's gone and left now. Went on through the caves over there, I think." He pointed to another cave entrance a few feet away. "Is he a friend of yours?"
"Yeah, he is. He was supposed to be back before dark, but he never showed up." Jeff explained.
"Well now, you must be real good friends of his to go all the way out here at this hour to look for him," Brick Road smiled.
"We've been friends as long as I could remember, and I was really worried about him. I'm just glad that we're on the right track," Jeff sighed, relieved. "Thanks for the help, sir. I guess we'll be heading for the caves now."
"Take care, kids," Brick Road said as he waved a goodbye.
Jeff and Madison entered the next cave, noticing that it was very dark and damp inside, much unlike Brick Road's. They shined their flashlights around and heard the sound of a monkey in the distance.
"Is that…a monkey?" Madison asked rhetorically.
Jeff had a sudden realization. "The stew guy mentioned something about some 'chimp' that tagged along with Tony. Maybe Tony somehow got hold of a monkey?"
Then, spontaneously, they heard running coming from down the cave. Jeff and Madison readied their guns and flashlights. They caught somebody in their beams, stopping in front of them for breath; it was Tony.
"Guys! What are you doing down here?" Tony asked, trying to catch his breath.
Jeff's face turned concerned and agitated. "I could ask you the same damn question. We came here looking for you because you never showed up at the school. What the hell were you thinking? You stayed out past curfew, crossed the lake, and went inside these random caves. You could've been killed!"
Tony gave a sheepish, apologetic look. "I'm sorry that I worried you, Jeff. And you too, Madison. The story is that I found this monkey at the shop and wanted to take it, but the guys didn't want to. I decided to turn back and do it anyways, leaving Bill and Rayleigh to walk back into the school without me. I thought they heard me say that I was going back, but the wind must've been too loud. So I went back, bought the monkey, and when I made my way for the school, he just took off towards the Tessie watcher encampment. I didn't want to lose him, so I followed." Tony had to catch his breath once again from talking so quickly. "And this is the part you won't believe. The monkey led me to a spot in front of the lake, and the wind started blowing; it was way harder than usual. Then, out of nowhere, something rose out of the lake; it was Tessie!"
Jeff removed his glasses and wiped his face in utter disappointment and disbelief. "Tony, did you buy some secret herbs off of Bill or something? You realize how you sound right now, don't you?"
"Jeff, I'm telling the truth!" Tony said with total honesty. "Tessie came out of the lake, picked us both up, and swam us over in front of Brick Road's maze. We passed through it, and I just got so curious that I had to keep going! That's why I ended up in here. I stopped going because…well…something creepy as hell is at the end of this place. I couldn't quite see very well in the dark, but it looked like a giant spore of some kind!"
"Let's just go. You can tell what happened in the morning when that herb has worn off," Jeff replied, just as cynical as ever.
"Fine, don't believe me. One day, you'll see that I'm not just making this up," Tony pouted.
The three kids left the cave, retraced their steps through the maze, and finally got to the shore where the boat had been lying. They pushed the boat into the lake and started rowing, becoming aware of the slowly rising sun. The sunrises in Winters were sights to behold, especially at the lake. The water was glazed with hundreds of shades of orange and purple lazily drifting in a pendulum-like motion across the ripples. The wind was halted, and the sound of the pure water splashing against itself could be heard. Jeff broke the silence that had lingered since once again going through the maze. "We can't keep the monkey, you know. We'll have to return it to the shop."
Tony shook his head understandingly but with a hint of sadness. "All right, fine. But only because you say so, Jeff."
The three kids hit the shore of the encampment and pulled the boat over to the stew guy's tent, placing the tarp back over it. With tired eyes and legs, they continued walking back up towards Snow Wood. They reached the shop and entered.
"So, who sold this to you?" Jeff turned and asked Tony.
"It was that blonde woman over there in the corner," he replied.
Jeff walked with the monkey and plopped him in front of the woman. "You can have him back. And here's the gum that came with him."
"What? I made a deal with that boy over there, and he-"
Jeff interrupted. "I don't give half a damn about any deal you made; I'm leaving this monkey here with you. The dorm won't allow it, and we can't take it. Sorry."
The blonde woman grew irritated. "Fine then. There are no refunds, just so you know."
"Yeah, whatever. It was only two dollars, so I don't really care. Bye," Jeff retorted sternly. He didn't intend to be rude, but his exhaustion and built-up frustration resulted in this caustic behavior. He motioned for the other two to leave, and out the door they went.
Surprisingly, the gates were already open. Jeff concluded that the maintenance crew had opened them up to initiate the heat generator outside the school. Quite often, it had to be rebooted due to faulty wiring.
You'd think that with a school of scientists that somebody'd fix the thing, Jeff thought, walking through the gates. For them, however, it was rather convenient.
They opened the front doors and surreptitiously crept inside, trying their best to not alert anybody, especially staff. Luckily, they had made it back to their rooms without problems. Tony went inside his room and dropped onto the bed, falling asleep instantly. Jeff smiled and stood outside the door with Madison. "Thanks for coming along, Maddi. It wouldn't have been as easy without you."
Madison smiled and blushed. "I'm glad to have. It was really nice to spend some time with you, Jeff." Madison hugged Jeff. Madison still in his arms and with her head on his shoulder, Jeff spoke. "Remember what you said about those kids in class yesterday?"
Madison formed a frown and nodded. Jeff continued. "Well, they were wrong. There is somebody that would absolutely love to go to the dance with you, Maddi."
Madison lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at Jeff with glassy, loving eyes. Smiles formed on both of their faces, and Madison planted a kiss on Jeff's lips.