"Maddison Andrew Hastings!" His name out of her mouth sounded similar to a blender on high, strident, and trouble if not handled carefully.

Maddy turned around slowly. He saw Bill give Dee a brief greeting, before throwing his backpack over his shoulder and turning the corner, out of sight. Without skipping a beat, Dee's gaze fixed on Maddy with the acuity of a peregrine falcon. With the grace of a predator on the prowl, she stalked toward him, her black combat boots barely making a sound against the white linoleum floor.

Even before she reached him, she said, "How many times do I have to tell you to charge your phone? I've been texting you all morning!"

"My phone isn't dead. Please, Dee, keep your voice down." Maddy lifted his hand and gestured at his friend to relax. His eyes darted at different on-lookers who had stopped what they were doing, and he wondered if it was because Dee was acting obnoxiously loud or if it was simply because of the way she looked.

Her silver locks and tattoos tracing her smooth brown skin, were what caught the attention of most people, but it was her eyes that made them stop what they were doing. They were watery blue flecks, stemming from her pupils and woven into copper irises that seemed to shine brightly even without any sunlight, not an unusual color for Strange Folk, but they definitely made humans gawk.

If it wasn't her physical features that garnered attention, it was her fashion. She wore a set of large white and neon orange headphones around her slim neck, an anime T-shirt cropped to show off her stomach, and ripped jeans that hung low and loose on her waist. Maddy called this look gamer-girl clickbait. There was nothing too outrageous about it except for the fact that it was nearly winter and that's all she wore today.

Dee had told Maddy several times that she didn't mind the attention. In fact, she welcomed it with perfect teeth and a dazzling smile.

"One day," She told him, her thoughts seeming far away and reflecting in her voice, "If I don't get my shit magic under control, I'll be forced to become old and ugly." She added with a wink, "Might as well enjoy the attention while it lasts, right?"

Maddy blinked returning his thoughts to the present. When did she tell him that?

"I pay good money to come to this school, if I want to shout in the halls, I can." She announced, coming to a halt only a few inches away from Maddy's face.

Maddy thought she could be too loud, too pushy, and too stubborn. However, it was also those qualities in her that made Maddy call her his best friend. She stuck up for him, motivated him, and never gave up on him. With Dee by his side, Maddy never had to worry. They had met in first grade, and like most great friendship origins, it started when Dee traded her Dunkaroos for Maddy's knockoff Scooby-Doo Gummies.

Dee's gaze narrowed as if looking at a speck of dust on a clean wooden mantle. Questions started pouring out of her and Maddy could hardly keep up. "Do you know I had to hear what happened at Douggie's from the news?! Why were you so vague in your texts? Why didn't you come to my house after? Why didn't you come to see me this morning?" She finished her interrogation, gave him a once over, and added, "You look like shit."