Summer rushed by and, like the episode of Dallas the other night, came to an anti-climatic conclusion. So when the first day of school dawned and the alarm clock blared, Madison was already up and halfway ready. The only thing left is to eat breakfast and choose an outfit. It's the first day of Senior year, and what she wears today will set the tone for the whole school term. At least according to both Sassy and Teen magazines, the Bible for teenage girls everywhere.

Sure, she's been labeled a nerd, and she wears glasses. But there's no rule saying she can't be a cute nerd, right? Madison's hand ran over different shirts, pants, and skirts in the closet until it landed on the right thing. In a flash, Maddy pulled out the white overalls and grabbed a fitted lilac t-shirt. She put the outfit on, rolled the pants legs just past her ankles, and added a pair of purple glossy slingback sandals to finish the look. In the full-length mirror, the sandy-blonde turned this way and that viewing herself at all angles, then determined, "This is as good as it's gonna get. Wish me luck." And winked at herself for effect.

After taking the backpack off the side table chair and walking downstairs, the smell of darkened flour and a little bit of butter greeted her. It's that buttery smell when it melts in the pan and suddenly becomes brown butter–a little sweet and a little nutty- that smell makes Maddy's mouth water. Because it can only mean one thing, pancakes!

Her father makes the most fantastic pancakes, even better than Aunt Gertrude's (who owns the coffee shop). And they're always the perfect size because Bob is nothing if not a perfectionist in math. He uses six inches per cast iron skillet- which the skillet has to be cast iron. Nothing less will do. Thanks to the cast iron, they always come out a bit crisp on the edges, which is pancake excellence.

Over the smell of food cooking, her father greeted her with a huge smile. "Morning, Maddy Joy, and welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!"

Nope, those words didn't make her stomach knot up at all, or the nerves start to careen out of control. Not one bit, except they did because it was the first day of the rest of her life. The whole school year lies before her like a book waiting to be read. So everything has to be perfect, like the pancakes. And that's when it hit her.

It's the first day, a fresh start, and it's hers for the taking. Just as the first snowfall of the season makes everything ugly turn beautiful again, the slate of past school years has been wiped clean. That's because this is Senior year, the best year of all. That means she can be the girl she's always wanted to be- a suave, sophisticated, fun, and flirty girl. Why she can even be cool, maybe. It's all one step at a time, starting today. Motivational power began replacing the nerves with a bunch of positivity.

So when her father followed up by asking, "Are you ready?"

Madison responded with a bright, happy "Yes."

Then Bob plated the pancakes he had cooked and told her, "Look. I made your favorite blueberry pancakes. I even have real homemade blackberry jelly. I stopped by Grandma Sadie's farm and got a jar for us. Eat up, Kiddo. You'll need your strength to maneuver the chaos of the first day."

As he handed her the plate of blueberry pancakes, he launched into a terrifying tale of his own first day of Senior year. It started with, "There I was minding my own business, walking down the hallway, when out of nowhere, someone tripped me. To my horror, I fell flat on my face, but I survived. Do you want to know how? It's all due to my trusty headgear. It caught my fall, and the only thing I broke was my pride..."

Her father was the ultimate geek. Hearing his stories of growing up does not help the fact that she's a geek too. It only adds to the issue of how to escape that stigma. Unfortunately, Maddy was so lost in her thoughts (and bites of food) that she failed to hear Bob's full story. "So, Maddy Joy, what can you learn from my tale of woe?"

Oh, God! What can she learn? Thoughts were fleeing her mind at the moment, so she chewed slowly- real slowly. When a suitable answer broke free, she responded, "Well, I definitely know to look out for driveby trippers."

Bob chuckled and declared, "Exactly! And remember, you're not a nerd. You're an intellectual gladiator. So, go forth and conquer the day."

After polishing off the pancakes and wishing her father a good day for work, that's precisely what Madison did, or at least tried to do. She met her besties in the Hawkins High parking lot, where Katie announced, "This is it, ladies. We have one year to live it up and be irresponsible. Let's make the most of it. Our GPAs are so high they can coast themselves into college."

As students started arriving by car, by bus, by truck, and by motorcycle, Maddy got more skittish. The nerves ran rampant when she spotted Steve's car rolling into the parking lot. That prompted her to do some deep breathing, after which she remarked, "I don't know, Kate. I mean, look around. We're just bland little minnows in this great big sea of pretty tropical fish. Don't think I can do it, even as a Senior."

Jen grabbed her arm and asserted, "Okay, so we're a little weird. Who isn't? Last I checked, Monica Stephens has a hairy upper lip, and guys still kiss her. None of us have that issue going on, thank God. Sure, we're a little different from everyone else. So, we work with what we've got. We own our nerdiness because it's better to be a nerd than part of the herd. You know?"

Kate added, "Right! We're secret geniuses. They're all jealous."

The mindset from earlier that morning pushed its way to the front. Her friends are right. Putting on an award-winning smile, Maddy exclaimed, "Let's kick Senior year in the pants. We can do this, right? Right."

So, arm-in-arm, the girls entered Hawkins High and started the first steps in the journey to graduation. Everything was spectacular, just as they had planned. Who cares if they ate at the loser table in the back of the cafeteria, the trio didn't mind. The girls had almost every honor and AP class together, except for electives where they differed in opinion. As the week crawled to a close, life was going smoothly for a change. Until Friday afternoon, when Maddy was walking from her locker with Jen to AP chemistry. Then out of nowhere, someone barrelled into her, and...

Splat!

Before something incredible can happen, everything has to break apart. And it did. On the dirty school floor, Maddy searched for her missing glasses. She squinted and felt around, telling Jen, "I'm practically blind! I'm like a vampire in the sun! This is so terrible!"

In the fall, they came off, and as the duo was searching, she heard a loud crunch. Both inhaled sharp breaths. Jen handed the broken glasses to her friend, which the embarrassed girl put on. Something is better than nothing, even if it is busted. Turning to Jen, Madison blurted, "I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about dog food. And I can't see a thing! I'm like Helen Keller lite over here."

That's when a pile of books was shoved into her hands. The voice of her haunted past spoke. "Sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble," Steve explained. He ran a hand through his big hair.

Hearing the guy's voice pushed Madison over the edge. She criticized him. Although it was rather humorous coming from a girl shorter than him, wearing broken glasses, and talking to the locker instead of Steve himself. Jen had to turn her in his direction. Then Maddy pointed her finger and noted, "How do I say this without being rude? You, Steve Harrington, are a menace. You are a bringer of chaos. How that much stupidity is packed into one person defies logic. It must have to do with your hair. Clearly, you've inhaled too much hairspray. You think the world revolves around you, and one day you're going to wake up and realize it doesn't. I only wish I could be there when it happens. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have glasses to replace."

She turned around and allowed Jen to lead her to the school office. Steve stood there looking at Maddy's retreating back again, and he ran another hand through his hair. That seems to be a theme, her leaving. But it was her words that made him pause. They hit him like, whoa. It could be because his whole relationship with Nancy is iffy at best. It could be because he's at a place where he sees things more clearly and is ready to make some changes. But one thing's for sure, Steve feels terrible for breaking the girl's glasses, and she would know it if she could only see his face. However, the sweet-faced girl couldn't for practical reasons.

As the friend duo walked to the office, Maddy wondered aloud, "Is it possible to die of embarrassment?"

A smile came over Jen's face. "If it were, we'd be dead long ago," she responded. The two laughed and stepped inside, where the secretary gave them a pass for the rest of the day. Madison obviously can't drive herself. So, there went her Saturday plans out the window with her dignity. The blurry-eyed girl spent that Saturday at the eye doctor getting fitted for new glasses, but she had a thought.

"Wait! Daddy, can I try contacts? I'm older now, and I think they might be easier. Please," she persuaded with puppy dog eyes.

Bob, hating the fact his little girl isn't so little anymore, consented. Although he told her, "For what it's worth, you looked fine with glasses. But now you'll look even lovelier. I'll have to beat the boys off with Luke's lightsaber. Maybe I should buy Darth Vadar's. It would strike fear into their hearts." Those thoughts of boys were enough to keep him awake at night, so he buried them.

That Monday, it was like a whole new Maddy Newby appeared at school. Well, that's what everyone, besides her two best friends thought. Literally, the student body believed Madison was a new student. By mid-week, the attention became irritating. "I've been going to school here forever, suddenly, I get contacts, and people act like I'm an exchange student. I don't know if I should be offended or not," she stated.

Katie's eyes danced, and the lovely dark-skinned girl told her, "Oh, you should so cash in on that."

At that moment, Ben Raglin, from the football team, yelled, "Hey, new girl. Come to the party tonight." His friends all high-fived him thinking he had achieved the equivalent of a touchdown.

"I would rather organize my notecards, thank you," Maddy shouted back. Like she would be caught dead at one of those drunken sex parties. She'd rather listen to her father sing Kenny Rogers.

Putting her books in her locker, Katie told her friend, "One day, someone's going to come along and make you forget all about your notecards. They will fall in love with your quirkiness, and you'll fall in love with theirs. I can't wait for that day because it means I will no longer be subjected to Madison Newby's infamous test study session timetables."

Maddy rolled her glassless eyes. Then declared, "Yeah, well, my prince charming must have been riding a sloth. It obviously rode in the wrong direction, got confused, and decided to take a nap. So, you'll be getting a study schedule soon." The bell rang, and the girls headed to class.

Unfortunately, life has a funny way of proving you wrong at the most inopportune moments. After the final bell, Dr. Morrison, Madison, and Katie's math teacher stopped them. "Miss Newby, could you spare a moment."

Madison happily agreed to the request and told her friend she'd catch up later. "Yes, Dr. Morrison, what can I do for you?" she asked the stocky, balding man.

While straightening papers on his desk, he spoke. "I have a student who requires tutoring. In order to continue playing sports, this student needs help. His coach came to me a few days ago."

The man glanced up and saw the look on his best math student's face. So he explained, "I realize it's early in the school year, but this situation can't be overlooked because the athlete in question almost flunked math and science last year. He passed by the skin of his teeth. So far, his grades are on that downward trend again. You instantly came to my mind because you do some tutoring after school. Would you be willing to take this student into your care?"

That is a loaded question. One that Madison wasn't prepared to answer. Should she forfeit even more valuable time to tutor some unknown jock, who's most likely dumb as bricks? Or worse, the jock has a big ego and is handsy with the ladies. Yikes! But putting those variables aside, Maddy responded sweetly, "Sure. I'd love to, Sir."

Dr. Morrison looked up from his lesson plan book and said, "Wonderful! He'll meet you in the library tomorrow afternoon after school. I'll let his coach know."

And so Madison walked out of the advanced trig room into the unknown waters of athletic tutoring. That began the worry thoughts in her head to go haywire and a three-way on the phone that evening. Her friends tried to talk her down from the ledge, and it almost worked. But, Maddy told them, "I think I'll just explain to Dr. Morrison that I've got enough stress in my life. I don't need to tutor some jock who's flunking out."

Before her friends could talk her out of doing that, Bob came on the line and said, "You girls have eaten up my phone bill for the month. You can solve the world's problems tomorrow at school. Time to say goodbye." The girls groaned but got off the phone.

Madison placed the pink receiver back onto its cradle and laid her head on the soft pillow. Staring up at the ceiling, and for the hundredth time that afternoon, she wondered, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Before she fell asleep, she told herself some positive affirmations. "It's okay, Maddy Joy, you can do this. You can do hard things. After all, you single-handedly helped the mathletics team score a victory over Anderson High last year. So, stop stressing. Take a deep breath. Everything will be fine, you'll see."

When the new day dawned, Madison prepared herself for the day. Part of that was readying herself for the new tutoring client this afternoon. Since the guy was flunking both math and science, she'd have to start with the basics. That made her pull down copies of precalculus and physics textbooks, which immediately went into the tutoring tote bag. Inside that bag is everything needed to succeed: extra pencils, notebooks, erasers, white-out fluid, textbooks, copies of notes, tutoring contracts, folders, and snacks.

Snacks are an essential part of the session, especially for her. For instance, if a client is mind-numbing or, worse, completely inept, food is needed to keep her from yelling. Sometimes a client will say the dumbest things. For example, she and a client once reviewed islands and water supply. The client asked, "Why don't islands float away?" Maddy sarcastically responded, "Because massive rocks are holding them down."

The client actually wrote that response on the paper. She could not believe it. That's one of those special times when she's been close to shouting, "Are you always this stupid, or is today a special occasion?" Hopefully, that won't happen this afternoon, but you never know.

Once all the tutor supplies were in the bag, she slung it on her shoulder and headed downstairs. Bob had already left for work, but he did leave her a bowl of fresh fruit in the fridge. Maddy quickly ate and double-checked her outfit. She's not sure about these pastel multicolored, floral pants that Katie made her buy. Sure they're cute and fit in all the right places, but they're a bit wild for her taste. Typically Maddy would rather blend into the fabric of life, but Kate and Jen have been pushing her to stand out more. These pants are part of their pushing. Luckily her shirt is plain, so that helps.

Ignoring the desire to go change, Maddy took the car keys from the key holder and headed out for another day of school. The day was slow, and everything seemed to move at a snail's pace. But that could be due to the nervous excitement of what the afternoon will bring. Madison kept her eyes on the teachers, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She kept thinking about how things happen when you least expect them to. Good things can happen to good people; they just can. And that brought her peace. So much so that Maddy forgot all about the jock she's tutoring.

When the final bell rang, she gathered her things and met Katie and Jen at her locker. "Are you ready?" Jen asked.

While putting her books away, Madison replied, "As ready as I'll ever be. Hopefully, this will not be a major letdown."

Leaning on the locker beside her friend's, Katie added, "And if it is, then you can do what you said last night. You can tell Dr. Morrison that it's not working out, and you've already got too much on your plate."

Madison halfway smiled with the tutor tote bag on her shoulder and the everyday backpack there too. She told her friends, "Absolutely! But I've been thinking that maybe this won't be so bad. Good things come to good people. So surely this will be my reward, right?"

"Exactly!" Jen exclaimed.

The girls walked the halls to the library, where Katie peeked in first. Fast as the wind on a breezy day, she stepped back. Jen noticed and glanced inside as well. Her mouth formed a wide "Oh." That made Maddy's stomach bunch up and her pulse race because it could not be good. Stepping to the door, she opened it a bit and peered inside. Her eyes scanned the room and noticed a few students at a table close to the window; that's not her jock. They examined the other side and found a pair studying together; she knew that was not him either. Then she saw a guy at a table in the middle, all alone. To be honest, her heart fell to her feet because he's not what she had pictured. He's all homely looking and not at all cute, and that just stinks- not that Madison's interested in this dumb jock. But then a pair of guys saved her from tutoring disappointment when they plopped down at the same table.

Inspecting the rest of the area, her hazel eyes came to rest on one person in particular. And if her pulse raced before, that's nothing compared to now. Sitting at a table away from traffic flow, as if embarrassed, was none other than the king of Hawkins High himself. Maddy's heart fell to her feet, and a flood of middle school memories returned as her eyes rested on Steve Harrington.

In an instant, everything changes in the blink of an eye. You can leave the past behind and speed into the unknown, the future. The problem with the future happens when you refuse to accept change and cling to old habits. But you see, the future may never arrive if we tightly hold on to the past. You have to let go of plans and conceptions (good and bad) and let the unexpected change your life. That's when the adventure begins.