Evidently, that good feeling Mark had was misleading.
Six thirty a.m., Mark and Maddy creep out of the apartment to go next door. Out in the hall, Foster is slumped up against the door, sleeping on his gun. Mark pauses. "I swear," he says, "it may not look like it a good majority of the time, but your family really is in good hands. You're safe." Maddy just laughs, but Mark quickly hushes her. If he thinks that Maddy punches hard in the mornings, Mark would hate to cross Ken.
Mark shifts his weight from foot to foot as he decides the best way to get past the sleeping guard. If they open the door and he wakes, they could get shot, which wouldn't be great. Of course, on the other hand, if Mark wakes Ken and he jumps, they could still get shot, which still wouldn't be great. Mark steps in front of Maddy and gently sticks his foot out, nudging Ken in the arm with the toe of his combat boot.
Disoriented, Ken jumps to his feet and stumbles around but luckily doesn't shoot. "Damn it," he murmurs as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes. "I didn't mean to … I ja-just sat down for a minute."
Laughing, Mark claps his co-worker on the shoulder. "It happens to the best of us, man," he says.
Finally awake, Ken looks around the dimly lit hall, eyeing Maddy curiously. "Where were you two?" he asks suspiciously.
Maddy rolls her eyes, blushing slightly. "Studying," she says.
Ken shakes his head, dropping the issue. As Maddy steps toward the door to scan her hand and unlock it, Mark holds Ken back. "You keep your mouth shut about this and I don't tell Reilly that you fell asleep on duty." Ken looks at him, speculating. "I swear," Mark promises, "this isn't as bad as it looks." Ken rolls his eyes. "We were really just studying!"
"Do you know how often Addie and I used that line?"
Mark shoves Ken back, pushing him up against the wall. "Foster, I swear to god-"
Ken cuts Mark off, "Deal! No need to get so defensive." He pushes Mark back, but Mark is stronger. "Can you get off?"
Maddy turns around curiously, giving the two an odd look. "You guys coming?"
Mark just nods. After Maddy steps inside, Ken laughs. "You know, I think that's the first conversation I've had with her directly."
"Yeah," Mark says, "she's quiet like that."
"Seems like you'd know," Ken quips.
"Foster!" Mark snaps, not liking the other guy's implications. But Ken is already slipping through the door.
Inside, Elisabeth is already dressed and standing in the kitchen with her arms crossed. Maddy is sitting at the table in front of her, apparently pleading her case with her mom. "I already said that I'm sorry!" she says. "I didn't mean to worry you. We just fell asleep watching the video. It was an accident. And you fell asleep before I got back too, so …"
Elisabeth shakes her head. "This isn't like you, Maddy," she says. "You've never missed curfew before. You are lucky something didn't happen, especially in times like these. You're lucky you're safe."
"I'm … I'm sorry," Maddy says dejectedly. "It won't happen again." She slides off the chair and goes to get changed, frustrated to no end. What she wanted to, but didn't dare, say to her mother was the only reason she's never missed curfew is that she's never had a reason to. It's no secret that she's never been popular, but the friends that she has had never lasted. She never had a reason to spend the night with a friend or be out of the house at night. She's never been in a relationship.
What gets on Maddy's nerves most of all is that this is the crap Josh pulls all the freaking time! And Maddy was next door, not at Kara's which is on the completely other side of the school. And really does Elisabeth think that Mark would have let anything happen to her? He's literally being paid to keep her safe. Not to mention that if someone were to target the family, they would go looking at their apartment, technically making Maddy safer hiding next door.
But Maddy, of course, doesn't say any of this. Because Josh is the one who argues and messes up. Maddy is the one who is supposed to have her head on straight, and smile, and keep the family functioning even when things are chaotic. She brushes back tears as she climbs into the loft to get ready.
Downstairs, Mark stands awkwardly by the door. "There you are," Reilly says darkly, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
"Okay," Mark cautiously, "I already know what you are going to say, and I'm sorry that she wasn't back by curfew. We fell asleep. And if you were so worried why didn't you come check on us?"
Reilly frowns but before she can speak, Elisabeth interrupts. "Enough everyone," she says. "It has been a difficult few days. Everyone is tired, not getting enough sleep. I understand it was a mistake, now can we just agree to try and remain punctual from now on?"
Everyone nods tersely, then resumes getting ready for the day. Maddy forgoes breakfast and flies out the door for school as soon as possible. Mark jogs out of the apartment to keep up with her. "Don't you want to wait for Josh?" he asks.
"No," Maddy quickly answers. She is so annoyed at Josh for getting away with so much that she doesn't want to talk to him right now. Not that Mark understands that, but she doesn't elaborate.
As soon as she gets into the large school building, Maddy pulls off her rebreather and sighs. It feels weird to be coming back after so many days off, too similar to the feeling of going back after the coma. She darts through the crowd, making her way to her locker.
The routine is so natural to her, Maddy can do it without thinking about it, which is why it is so noticeable that today something feels different. She looks up to find a few kids glancing her way, then adverting their eyes. Once Maddy turns from the main corridor to one of the hall ways and opens her locker, she self-consciously runs her hands over her hair to make sure it isn't sticking up, then tugs on the bottom of her light, long sleeved dress, pulling it lower and making sure the back wasn't stuck in her jeans or anything. Maddy doesn't detect anything wrong, so she assumes that she was just imagining it.
Turning around, Maddy gives Mark a small smile as they head to class. She feels slightly guilty that she ran out of the house so fast this morning that he didn't have time to change; he's still wearing his camo pants and olive t-shirt from yesterday. She hopes that none of the students notice his odd attire, since he usually wears civilian clothes at school.
Just as the two go to make their way up the crowded stairs, a deep voice stops them. "Excuse me … Madelyn Shannon?" They both turn in confusion to find the principle standing a few steps below them. Maddy's stomach flips, considering how unusual it is for teachers to be wandering the halls.
"Yes?" she asks tentatively.
"I have a few questions for your … friend," the man says, glancing at Mark.
Maddy looks up at him wide-eyed, but Mark is only midly annoyed. "I have the right to be here," he says. He lowers his voice when he explains, "The Terra Nova Recruitment Offices should have sent over the paperwork. The same goes for Ken Foster. He and I have been here for the last week."
"And your name is?" the principal prompts.
"Markus Reynolds," Mark snaps in annoyance. He pulls his ID card out of his back pocket, showing it to the other man.
The principal nods. "I'm sorry for the interruption," he says, "I have the documents necessary, but it seems there was an altercation last week. I have half a dozen students who claim that you beat them up, unprovoked."
"Unprovoked?" Mark repeats as if he didn't quite hear right. Maddy notes how still he's become and how his muscles bulge. He is obviously pissed. Her legs quiver slightly. She tried to tell him that it wouldn't matter what he did, nothing would help. Why did she let him convince her otherwise?
"I understand that you are employed to guard Ms. Shannon to Hope Plaza in two weeks' time," the principle explains, "what I don't understand is why you feel the need to abuse your position and take unrelated anger out on my students."
Mark blinks. "Are you kidding me?" he asks. "John and Louise? These are the same kids who beat up Maddy on a regular basis!"
The man looks sharply at Maddy, whose face drains of color. "Are you officially making those allegations?" he asks. Maddy quickly shakes her head. The principal, red in the face, turns back to Mark. "You must be mistaken," he tells Mark. "For I can assure you that John and his friends are the victims here. This may be a misunderstanding but you shouldn't have acted on it. They wouldn't threaten Madelyn in any way."
Mark looks from the principle to Maddy speechless, and Maddy can basically read his mind. He can't understand why she isn't speaking up now. The truth is, she simply knows she won't win; it won't end well for her. "Mark," Maddy says forcefully, "this is a misunderstanding. John Ward wouldn't do anything," she says through gritted teeth. "Let's just talk this out with Principal Ward." Maddy specifically puts just enough emphasis on the last names that it isn't over kill, but Mark finally understands. The principal is John's father.
"Let's move this to my office," Principal Ward says. "Madelyn, you may continue onto class."
At that, Mark really gets frustrated. "No thank you," he says smoothly. "She can come. I doubt missing class will be a problem; in case you hadn't noticed, she's brilliant."
Principal Ward eyes Mark, "Unless you want to get your employers involved, I suggest you do as I say."
"Call Dr. Shannon," Mark says with a shrug. "I don't care. But I'm staying with Maddy. It's my job."
The principal rolls his eyes at Mark's antics, but does seem surprised when Mark references Maddy's mom. "And here we come to another misunderstanding," he says, "Dr. Shannon isn't your employer, Hope Plaza is."
Mark looks at Maddy in confusion, and Maddy purposely refuses eye contact. Don't find out, she chants in her head. Don't find out, don't find out. But there isn't anything she can do about it anymore, for Mark and Principal Ward make their way down the stairs to the office.
Quickly, wanting to get away from the situation altogether, Maddy runs up the steps to get to class. As usual, she picks up snippets of conversations as she maneuvers through the halls to figure out what the current topic of gossip is. "I mean I obviously know Josh, but I didn't even know who else they were talking about at first," one girl says. "Yeah," the boy next to her agrees, "I thought it was a mistake, didn't think she actually went here. I've never personally seen her."
Maddy's brow furrows in confusion, not understanding what they meant. Were they talking about her brother?
"They are so lucky," someone else says to her left. "I would give anything to go."
Maddy continues on only to hear another conversation: "Yeah, the boy is a senior. He's in that band with Dylan, Blake, and Sierra. Oh and Kara, they're together. And their mom's that fancy doctor who was on the news a few years ago for signing a contract to volunteer at the hospital," a boy's voice says. Maddy freezes. "Wait who's his sister again?" a girl asks. Another boy speaks up, "He has a sister?" A different girl laughs, "Shut up, morons. How could anyone forget Madison; she's in our grade. She's the one who always throws off the grading curve. Pain in the ass." "Oh," the first boy says, "She's the skinny one with the dark hair who will hand over her work for a pretty smile." Maddy's face burns.
Everyone laughs and Maddy looks up to see a small group of kids she's never personally met before. One of the girls notices her and shoves one of the boys in the ribs. The rest catch on and everyone just stares at each other awkwardly. Maddy knows she should leave, but she's frozen. She surprises herself when she snaps, "My name's not Madison. It's Maddy. And I'm sorry to be such an inconvenience to everyone." With that, she takes off to class as briskly as possible. Her head spins.
Yesterday was fourteen days until the tenth pilgrimage. Exactly two weeks. At two weeks on the dot, Terra Nova Recruitment Offices announces the people who will be on the upcoming pilgrimage and the winners of the lottery. How could Maddy have forgotten that?
Maddy is incredible relieved when she makes it to the refuge of her classroom and away from the prying eyes in the hallway. She sinks down in one of the hard, plastic seats in the back of the room, hoping to avoid the attention.
The rest of the morning continues briskly enough, though Maddy is slightly concerned that Mark still hasn't returned. She doesn't know which feeling is more powerful – the fear that Principal Ward will tell him why he and the others were assigned to protect her and her family in the first place or the guilt that he could get into trouble for the whole John mess.
As Maddy fights her way through the halls at lunch, she briefly considers going to the office herself to see if he's still there. She clenches her fists when John and his crew turn the corner. They really don't want to mess with her now; she's not in the mood.
"Mads!" Louise's face lights up as if she's genuinely happy to see her. "There you are! We haven't seen you in days."
Maddy rolls her eyes and tries to walk past them.
"Where do you think you're going?" John asks. "Don't you have something you want to tell us?"
"What do you want?" Maddy asks, crossing her arms.
Louise glares at her. "Drop the attitude," she warns, "we're supposed to be friends."
"You know what?" Maddy snaps back. "We're not supposed to be friends. We aren't friends. I … I can't stand any of you! I hate you and I hate people like you. Why do you think it's okay to step on others? Why do you find this fun?" she yells.
Everyone looks at each other in surprise. "Well," John says dryly, "looks like someone's grown a pair since they found out they were leaving."
Maddy glares at everyone. "You know," she says, "I'm actually sorry I'm going to Terra Nova, only because that means someone else will be stuck putting up with your shit on a daily basis. And as much as I look forward to leaving, so I can have a second chance, I feel that sorry for you guys, because I know you will never change. All of you will just keep going through life putting others down. It's sick and pathetic."
John looks livid.
Louise glares at Maddy, speaking up, "You think that we're the pathetic ones? At least we have a life! At least we have each other. You don't have anyone! What's pathetic is that you lied about having a boyfriend since no one wants you! That guy is paid to be around you, so that your safe, not that he's even sticking around anymore," she says scornfully. "Try to understand that no one likes you and that isn't going to change 85 million years in the past." Maddy's face burns and tears glass over her eyes against her will, but Louise is just getting started. "I have a funny feeling," she continues, "that you think things will get better, but trust me they won't. If you are a freakish outcast here, you will be the same there. And I promise that we will make these two weeks leading up to your departure living hell."
"Now move out of our way, bitch," John says.
Maddy slowly pushes past the kids.
"It's too bad the coma didn't finish her off so someone worth something could have her spot on the pilgrimage," someone says.
Another member of the group laughs, "Yeah, but hopefully when she gets there she will do everyone a favor and get eaten by a dinosaur."
Tears stream down Maddy's face as she hurries away.
"You know," John says. "You guys are right. She doesn't deserve to go to Terra Nova." And with that, Maddy's bag is ripped from her shoulder and her rebreather is thrown to the floor. Maddy freezes as everything seems to happen in slow motion. Someone shoves her backward and she stumbles before catching her balance again. At the same time, John's foot comes down on her rebreather.
"I can't," Maddy stutters. "You … I – I can't b-breathe without …"
John grabs her by the arm and pulls her close to his face. "You should have thought about that before you opened your mouth. When will you understand that the world would be a better place without you in it?"
It is several minutes after everyone leaves until Maddy collects her bearings. She's sitting on the dirty floor shaking. She tentatively reaches out, picking up her rebreather. Hopeful, Maddy secures it on her face, but the airtight seal doesn't activate. She looks at the device in her hands through her tears. How will she get home? She won't make it all the way holding her breath. And what does she tell her mom?
Maddy sobs silently as she grabs her things and ducks into a bathroom. This day is off to a terrible start, and it isn't even lunchtime yet.
Poor Maddy! If the day is this bad already I'm not looking forward to what else may come …