Chapter 3 - The Assignments

                                    

                                          
Maddie was excited! Even if she still had a few days to wait. Her parents already gave her the 'okay' to take the car. Things seemed to be really aligning this time. 
She stayed on top of all her homework, making sure that nothing is piling up so that she can have a free weekend. Sometimes it was a bit difficult, when every teacher assigned something, but Maddie pushed through. She was determined to get everything done. 
Everything seemed to be going really well, that is until on Thursday, her English teacher decided to give the class an essay to write, and she set the deadline for Monday. 
Maddie thought to herself okay, I can still do it, and she went to the library at lunch time to at least get started on the essay. She knew that there is a chance she might manage, if she used her time wisely. 
The bell rang and Maddie quickly saved her work onto a USB stick that she always carried with her. She logged off the computer, grabbed her notebook, and headed for her next class - Spanish. 
In Spanish they have been working on questions and answers for their speaking assessment. Today their final draft was due. Throughout the lesson, while the class was working on exercises from a textbook, Señora Gonzales has been marking their work. 
At the end of the lesson, when everybody got their marked work back, came the words that made Maddie doubt she'd be able to see Adrian this weekend. 
Now that they had their questions and answers back and corrected, their homework was to learn it all - memorize it. 
Maddie knew that this was not something she could leave to the last minute. She contemplated still going to visit Adrian, but she knew that if she went, she'd have to take her homework with her - and that wouldn't be much fun. 
After school, defeated, she decided to call Adrian. 
"Hey, babe! Only one more day and - what's wrong?" He stopped mid-sentence, noticing Maddie's facial expression. 
"I tried so hard to stay on top of everything, but today both Miss Fitzgerald and Señora Gonzales set us these task and I just don't think I'll manage. If they gave us like an extra day, I could possibly get it all done for Tuesday, but for Monday? There's just no way! For Spanish I have to memorize so many answers, and of course they had to be lengthy so it's like a paragraph to each question. It just really, really sucks 'cause I was so looking forward to seeing you again and exploring New York with you, and now I don't think I'll be able to go as the stupid Spanish speaking assessment is going towards our final grade..." Maddie explained, taking a breath at the end, tears brimming her eyes. 
It could be because she was really upset about the whole situation, or because she was really burned out from all the hard work she did to keep up with her homework - sometimes she went to bed really late to complete tasks, and then she had to wake up early the next day for school.
"Babe," Adrian said for like the fifth time, but this time Maddie actually heard him. "It's okay." 
"No, it's not okay! It has been way too long since we last saw each other in person. Plus, I did all this work to stay on top of everything and now it looks like it was for nothing!" She snapped, clearly upset about this whole situation. "Sorry, I know it's not your fault, it's just been hard. And I'm tired." She hang her head low, and fidgeted with her ring. 
"I get it. No need to apologize." He gave her a sympathetic smile. 
"And I really, really miss you." She added, looking back at her phone, tears falling from her emerald eyes. 
"I miss you too." He said, and she knew he meant it. Adrian wished that he was there right now so that he could wipe the tears away from her cheeks. It pained him to see her like this.
They talked some more. Adrian tried to cheer up his girlfriend as best as he could. He decided that it would be best to change the subject from school as that topic was clearly upsetting Maddie. 
Lately they spent a lot of time planning what they would do in New York when Maddie arrived, but that was another topic they'd better steer clear from. 
At the end, Adrian decided that the best topic to help get Maddie's mind off school work and the whole situation, would be to talk about movies and shows. 
It worked. Maddie soon lit up from talking about the awesome show she started watching. Adrian knew that it wouldn't be something he would be interested to see so he told her that it's okay if she tells him all the things that happen. 
"... and then it turned out that she actually does have magic and oh my gosh! I can't wait to watch more of it!" She excitedly said. 
"Yeah, sounds like it is something your style." He smiled, glad to see Maddie smiling again. 
"I know! I can't believe I never heard of it before!" She said, and even though she wished she had, she was not sad, because she did eventually find it and loved watching the show. 
"Look on the bright side, now you'll be able to binge as much as you like and won't have to wait for weekly episode releases." He offered, trying to keep the positive atmosphere. 
"That is true... it's so good when there is a cliff-hanger and I can just go straight to the next episode." Maddie couldn't hide the smile on her face. Talking about the show brought her excitement. 
"See?" Adrian smiled.
"Maddie, dinner is ready!" Linda called from downstairs. 
"I'll be right down, Mom!" Maddie called back. "As much as I wish I could keep talking to you, I have to go... you know my Mom's rules - no eating in your room, dinner time is family time and -" 
"And no phones at the table. I know." He finished off her sentence and said understandably. 
"Thanks for talking so long with me, I know you probably have a lot of college work to do." 
"No worries. Glad to see I could help. Now go before your food gets cold." 
"Okay. I love you. Talk to you later." She sent him a kiss. 
"Love you, too." He replied.