Chapter 6
Suddenly there was a knock on Maddie's bedroom door. "Come in," she said, and her mother stepped into her room. She saw the two girls had pillows thrown across the room, and Maddie's hair was messed up. "Having a pillow fight, I see," said their mom. Maddie bit her lip. Vida rolled her eyes. "So what if we were?" she asked. Their mom rolled her eyes, but had a smile on her face.
Maddie breathed a sigh of relief that their mom wasn't upset. "Dinner is almost ready," she said and walked out of the room. Madison went to her bathroom, got a brush and began brushing her long dark hair. Vida did the same. "So…" Vida said, wondering what she should say. "Do you like Nick?" she asked. "And tell the truth," she added quickly. Maddie glared at her sister. "Of course not," she said and continued to brush her hair. Vida felt almost completely convinced, but wasn't so sure.
The day after, they all arrived at Rootcore, ready to train again. They trained hard, and improved on their skills that included fighting, using their codes, and using their staffs and powers for various reasons. "Well, I'm tired," said Xander, after the long day of training. "Me too," moaned Vida. "Me three," said Maddie, sitting down on the stair steps and looked through her bag. "Darn it, I forgot my camera at home," she muttered to herself. She shrugged her shoulders and went to sit next to Chip, who was eating.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to what Chip was eating. "It's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with mustard, chili and cheese," he said, taking a bit. Maddie felt herself almost throw up, but she didn't. She made a disgusted face when some of the chili oozed from the sandwich. "Okay, I'm just…. going to leave you to it," she said Chip and walked over to where Nick was. "Um, hey," she said shyly.
Nick nodded. "What's up?" he asked. "Nothing," she said, wondering if she should sit down or just go away. "So, um… what do you for fun?" she asked. What kind of question is that? Come on, Madison, it's not like your talking to your crush. Snap out of it, she thought to herself. Nick shrugged. "I like working on my bike," he said. She nodded. "Cool," she said, sitting down beside him. The two didn't say anything for a while, and Maddie was relieved when Vida finally spoke up. "Hey, how about we all go to the movies or something," Vida suggested.
Xander nodded. "Sure," he said. "Cool, I'll go," Chip added. Maddie smiled and nodded excitedly. "Are you going to go?" she asked Nick. He thought for a second. "No, I'm okay. I still need to work on my bike," he explained. "Well, can't you take a break?" asked Vida coming over to him. Nick shook his head. "I'll be okay," he said. "But you should come. It'll be fun," Maddie said. "It's okay. I'm way behind on my motorcycle as it is, I mean with all this saving the city stuff," he began, "So, thanks, but I'm not going," he said. Maddie rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself," she said and walked back over to Xander, who was talking to Chip about who to take to the movies with him.
Maddie smiled and rolled her eyes. Xander always had hot dates lining up the block for him. She thought it was funny, because he never stayed in one relationship. It only lasted a day, and maybe two, but that was rare.
"Hey, Xander, how about you take Leelee?" she suggested, teasingly. Leelee was a girl that both Xander and Chip thought was hot, but she didn't like either of them. She always turned them down, and she was the snobbiest girl ever. Maddie hated her, and she didn't know why all the guys adored her. "Oh, wait, she's not into you," she teased, and Xander glared at her, and she smiled innocently.
That night, she arrived at the movies with her sister. Her long hair hung over her shoulders and she wore jeans with a white tank top and a jean jacket. Chip arrived two minuets later. "I wonder where Xander is," murmured Maddie to her sister and her friend.
"Hey, guys, look who decided to join the party," said a voice from behind them. It was Xander, and Nick was with him, along with a girl who they all knew too well. "Nick? We that you weren't coming," said Vida. "Me too, but Xander here wouldn't stop trying to talk me into the going with you guys, so I decided to tag along," he said. Maddie smiled, but it faded with she saw the girl. "Leelee?" she asked. She smiled and nodded.
"I took your advice, Maddie," Xander said, giving her a teasing glare. She rolled her eyes and forced a smile. "Well, come on. We're going to be late. You guys want to see Transformers or Hairspray?" asked Vida. They voted for Transformers.
When they found their seats, Vida looked over to Xander and gave him a thumbs up. Maddie wondered what they were up to. He nodded and whispered something in Leelee's ear. Then he took her hand and they stood up. "Where are you guys going?" asked Maddie suspiciously. "We're going to sit apart from you guys, that way it'll seem more like a date," he said. "But can't we stay, I want to sit with Nick," she said, winking at Nick, "And the others," she added quickly. Xander shook his head and they went away from the three.
Just then, Chip's eyes widened. "I don't think I should've eaten that sandwich. I think I'm going to puke," he said, standing up and running to the restroom. Vida made a face, but stood up and went after him. Maddie's own eyes widened. "Vida, wait, don't leave me," she whispered desperately, but Vida was gone. She was alone with Nick.