A Watty Award winner and a featured Wattpad novel.
Five years ago, Maddie Hyun and her best friend Peter made a pact. Now it's time to follow through.
21.04.16 → 20.10.16
At seven minutes past nine in the morning, a yawning Maddie tipped out of her father's car at Farnleigh with a promise to have a good time and a bag in her hand, leaving him with a hug as though she was going away for more than three nights. At university, there had been times when she hadn't been home for a month on end but things were different now. University was over, and Maddie felt like she relied on her father more now than she ever had before.
The train was set to arrive in twenty-three minutes. Maddie hooked her bag over her shoulder and elbowed open the door to the station's questionable coffee shop, joining the back of the queue with a five pound note clenched in her fist as she eyed the board. Generic drinks were listed in chalk at unreasonable prices but as another yawn forced her to stretch out her arms, caffeine was what she needed.
With a large cappuccino in her hand, extra cocoa powder dusted on top, she took a seat in the waiting area on platform one and forced herself to relax, though inexplicable nerves still wriggled in her stomach. There was a lot of catching up to do with Posy, things she would never imagine she would have done, and a part of her feared her friend's judgment. She sipped her drink, the steam warming her against the early morning chill, and waited for her friend to arrive.
At fourteen minutes past nine, her phone buzzed with a text that she expected to be Posy saying she was almost there, but instead she saw Nick's name at the top of the notification and it sent a warm fizz through her stomach that spread its fingers to her heart.
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He had never sent a kiss before. He hardly even sent exclamation marks, and yet there were both in one message: he had remembered, and he cared, and she knew the next year was going to be harder than she had imagined. A smile grew on her lips as she typed out a reply.
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She gripped the phone in her hand, half wishing that Nick would send another message, even if only to awaken that warmth in her heart again, but he wasn't one to keep up a conversation by text – his messages were often sent and then forgotten about, as his mind wandered onto other tasks.
A couple of minutes later, Posy appeared in a fluster of her long cardigan and hair flying all over the place, plumping down beside Maddie and dropping her bag at her feet. The zip only just contained everything inside, seams bulging.
