A mixed reunion part 2
Madeline went running again. That usually got her mind off things. But this time weird scary flashes of when she and Pepito were helped captive would interrupt her.
"Come on! Keep it together Madeline! Pepito will be here again soon. He should see that you're tough, brave and fun-loving. Besides, you managed to fall of a bridge and deal with nearly being drowned, you saved the school, and you were the one who taught everybody to not be afraid of ghosts when we were younger. You're an adventurer," Madeline said to herself.
"I want to pull a surprise on Pepito. A funny one!" Madeline said.
"What were you thinking of Madeline?" Aggie asked.
"Hmmm… we can all hide and surprise him dressed up as scary creature when he shows up," Madeline suggested.
"Isn't that a bit childish though?" Aggie asked.
"Can't you have a more funloving attitude? Well alright… what about… throwing confetti over him?"
"Even more childish,"
"Darnit,"
"Madeline… maybe you shouldn't try to force this. Maybe we can just prepare something fun for him. Like a cake?" Aggie suggested.
"Yes, that does sound like fun,"
"Miss Clavel, can we go bake a cake for Pepito?"
"That's really nice. But you'll need proper supervision of course and Hélène is out of town… why don't I got a bake with you?" Clavel suggested making both girls smile.
Madeline felt totally care free as she put all her focus on baking the best cake ever. The smell of flower, milk, salt, all brought back fun… though vague… memories. "Did mom ad dad bake cakes like this when I was very little? Madeline wondered.
After what seemed like forever, a really nice forever they had a nice looking, nice smelling chocolate cake. Then Madeline decided she wanted to write something on it for Pepito.
Welcome back! Old friend!
"That's so sweet!" Aggie said.
"Yes. That's really nice of you Madeline," Miss Clavel said.
Madelie sat down after all the work. She looked outside the window. Suddenly she saw flashes of herself being taken away by Leopold. She felt her hands being tied and she didn't know what was going to…" "Madeline! Are you alright?" Miss Clavel asked.
"Huh what?" Madeline responded.
"You were staring and seemed to be hyperventaliting a little. Are you okay?"
"Yes of course!"
"If something is bothering you, you can always tell me," Miss Clavel said reassuringly as she put her hand on Madeline's shoulder.
"No… really! I am fine!" Madeline insisted.
"Ok… well… I could imagine that seeing Pepito again would bring back some memories," Clavel said.
"Yeah, we had quite a fun adventure together. We turned out to be a great time… and he… he was surprisingly nice. After our initial disagreements,"
"Stressfull and dangerous situations sometimes bring people closer together. But it can sometimes lead to a warped perspective and confused feelings that…"
"What are you talking about? We just became good friends… and I am a bit tired after all the baking and running,"
"If you say so. I have rarely seen you tired though, Madeline," Miss Clavel said.
Madeline sat down in a chair and started whistling a bit. Then she fell a bit quite again. Then she started staring out of the window again till finally…
"Pepito is coming! I can see his parents' car," Madeline yelled excited as she ran out to greet him as the girls went after her. Pepito quickly got out of the car while his parents were taking their time. 'Hi girls! Hi Madeline!' Pepito said. Madeline fell silent for just a second when Pepito specifically called out her name. Then she quickly went up to him and hugged him.
"It's great to see you again," Pepito said while smiling at Madeline. "It's great to see you all again," Pepito said awkwardly.
"So much happened back in Spain. I have stories to tell," Pepito said as he went inside with the girls and Madeline accompanied him closely.
They sat down with thee and Pepito spoke of his father's promotion, a travel to Lisbon, another to Prague and even stuff the girls understood very little about. An economic miracle in Spain? Il Caudilo Franco? The Cold War? It was all related to the work Pepito's father did.
"Oh, before I forgot. While in Prague, I saw this old dollhouse. I thought it would be perfect for you Madeline so I asked father to buy it," Pepito said as he handed a stunned Madeline her present.