March Madness (3)
Madison “Maddie” Rittenhouse is watching into her high school album on this rainy cold weekend. She’s 24 years old working a job she loves in a company she loves too with her fiancé Trent. She was student in Calhoun High School in Hardin, Illinois.
She looks into the pictures, a smile on her face as she remembers the people, their names, their surnames… she remembers this time of her life long before the pandemic, long before she realizes… Trent… her high school sweetheart is a douchebag, cheating on her with his boss’ secretary. Madison looks pictures of her classmates until her eyes meet… Jessica…
Before meeting Trent, Madison was best friend with Jessica Henchfield, same age as her, she was in the volleyball team and Madison wanted to be there also because she had a massive crush on her at this moment. However when Madison wanted to change sport from cheerleading to volleyball the coach told her that all the spots were taken when she knew it wasn’t true but Madison didn’t ask further… in the same moment she met Trent, football captain and they started to fall in love with each other.
Thinking about all this, Maddie feels her head getting heavier and falls asleep. She starts dreaming, back in 2018 at this moment Maddie was 16 years old she sees something she has never seen before, a memory showing Jessica and Trent together, as Trent tells her to never come closer to Madison since she belongs to him because he knows the girls have soft spot for each other… and another memory showing Trent with the volleyball coach paying her 10,000 $ to refuse Madison in the volleyball team then she sees Trent tampering with Jessica’s car and sent her to death as she was about to tell everything to his father.
Madison hates him more than anything as a soft voice is telling her: “This is what happened in this possible future Maddie… yes it’s only a possible future if you choose to let it go… or you can go back in the past, change the course of future by telling his dad before he meets Jessica and humiliates him the way he deserves as you deserve to be loved…” Madison wishes to return in the past as the soft voice says: “So be it… welcome back to 2018…”
When she wakes up that morning, Maddie realizes something is wrong… she’s no longer in her room, Trent is not with her… she feels something wrong with her body, she feels smaller, her body feels lighter and muscular. Her neck tingles with her hair as she feels something on her teeth… it’s only then she remembers what the voice said… she realizes this her teenage room… she is in her parents house… before they left the State after her graduation… she is back in the past… watching her phone she sees the date on her red iPhone 8 saying Monday October 22nd 2018 and showing a picture of her with Jessica.
As she sees the date she whispers: “What the freak… shoot… yes… I never swore before… like it’s after high school with Trent, I learnt that… like oh my gosh…”
As she goes to the bathroom next to her room, she sees her appearance back in 2018 with her long chestnut hair, her braces, her smile innocent and full of life. Then she goes downstairs as she sees her mom in the kitchen doing pancakes as she gives her a big hug as the mom says: “Aw morning baby girl… why this sudden love… aw you’re so cute… love you baby girl…”
She does the same with her dad as he reads the newspapers with a huge picture of J. B. Pritzker and the mention “vote for change” Maddie smiles… so happy to finally come back through time. After breakfast she goes to high school, her bag on her shoulders as she sees her friends from cheer squad then Jessica. She shouts at her, Jessica turns and smiles, running toward her for a hug that lasted minutes…
Maddie tells Jessica she has something to do before going to class, she goes to see the volleyball coach… Nina Ramirez who accepts her with pleasure in the team and when she sees Trent with a bag full of money as he gives cash to a guy for weed. Maddie takes discreet pictures she sends to his father saying:
Trent’s father sees the message while at meeting, first he thought it was some prank or very bad tasting jokes from Trent but when he checked his accounts, thing he never does since he’s really wealthy, he realizes there’s a large amount of cash withdrawn… 15,000 $ and when he checked who withdrawn the sum, it was Trent. He starts believing the message from Maddie, he wants to speak to his son but as Maddie says, he’ll have his answers tomorrow morning… he spends a restless night, and after morning he leaves the house, Trent on his way to high school, he doesn’t find Jessica or her car because Maddie went earlier that morning and went to school together sharing a hug and a kiss… the first of so many loving kisses as they confess their love for each other.
Around 10 am after a break, Trent goes to the volleyball before first team training routine, coach Ramirez is alone and he comes to her, putting a bag full of money saying: “Hello coach Ramirez… I know you have lots of problems recently… I give you these 10 grands only if you refuse Madison Rittenhouse’s apply to your team. If you do so… this money is yo… Dad!”
At this moment Trent’s father is in front of him, eyes full of anger for what he has just seen and heard as he says: “Is this how I taught you to go in life… to behave like this… to get what you want and play dirty… it’s not what I do in my deals… your behavior is despicable Trent… we’re going to have a little discussion with the principal… and you’re going to explain to her why… this Madison Rittenhouse interests you this much…”
Trent turns pale, he wonders how he knows everything… then he goes to the principal office where he’s officially expelled and sent to a military prep school where he forgets about Madison. Along the weeks, Madison is officially member of the volleyball team, Jessica is beyond exciting to play with her now official girlfriend, their hearts swell together and they’re considered as the best duet of the team, one blink of an eye and the other team sees a just a cannon ball flying to them.
Finally the day of the finals is coming, that morning Madison wakes up at dawn, after a quick shower, she takes her breakfast with her parents, she brushes her teeth, gets ready wearing orange and white t-shirt with number 6 from Asics, black shorts Nike, black and white sport bra also from Nike, socks and shoes, she’s ready as her mom brings her to high school that beautiful Saturday.
Once there and after a big hug, Maddie runs to her teammates and especially Jessica, they warm up all together as coach Ramirez reminds them to focus only on the game and at this moment, Maddie wears her knees protection. Now it’s time for the game… the girls from the other team are good, they mark points but Maddie and Jessica shoot cannon balls and count on the amazing defense behind. The girls are so focused they barely realize at the end of the match, the school won 35 to 15.
The girls scream in a massive moment of joy, a hug, kisses… minutes blur but when things finally calm down, Maddie and Jessica hug their moms who are also best friends and take together this adorable picture with Jessica on the right a bit taller with her school jersey saying 5 and on the left Maddie with her cute braces smile, her cute sport bra revealing under her jersey. Their hands hold the trophy of Regional Champions of the Illinois High School Association for the 2018 Girls Volleyball while their other hands are behind their backs. Few hours later Maddie back home publishes the picture saying:
Eight years later back in 2026 the trophy from this day is proudly exposed among her other trophies, Maddie lives, works and married to her baby girl Jessica as she loves calling her. They own a lawyer cabinet for unfavored people in Illinois, helping them. Maddie is radiant in her new life, and she wouldn’t want to trade it again for a second.
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