I woke up to my alarm clock at precisely 6:45 am, and immediately jumped to my dresser. It was the first day of school, so I picked out a cute T-shirt and jeans. Seconds after I got my socks on, my mom called me down for breakfast. I dashed down the stairs and practically flew into my seat. Breakfast was blueberry waffles, my favorite. I ate them quickly, then grabbed my backpack and ran out the door.

I ran all the way to my bus stop. A couple of guys from school were on my bus. They seemed mad. When we got off the bus one said something to the other. The second one said something worse back, a word I don't wish to repeat. As we stepped inside, the first guy pounced on the other.

The hallways were so crowded, I got slammed into the guys fighting. Immediately, people crowded around us. By the time I regained balance, the assistant principal, Mrs. L., had scolded them.

"Are you alright Madeline?" she asked me, "You were so brave to break up a fight like that!" I started to explain, but hesitated. Last year, I had trouble fitting in. I only had two friends, Amelia and Sara. Everyone in the seventh grade saw the fight. If I say I broke it up, I'll be a hero.

But Amelia and Sara saw what really happened. If they heard this, they might be mad. But that's a chance I had to take. I finally realized that everyone was looking at me. I somehow managed to thank Mrs. L and go to homeroom. When I caught up to Amelia and Sara, they said "Hi" and we compared schedules.

Suddenly, Sara asked me, "Did you see those guys fighting? Crazy, right?" It dawned on me that they didn't see me, so I said, "Yeah, insane. I almost bumped into them." As if on cue, our new teacher came into the room.

"My name is Mr. Bowman, your new homeroom and science teacher. Alright, let's take roll!" he said with a little too much enthusiasm. "Sara Alvarez" he called. "Here" she replied cheerily. As he called roll, I imagined what I'd say when he got to me. Something cool, like "gift" instead of "present." I love word play.

"Madeline Wilde" called Mr. Bowman, pulling me out of a trance. "Present" I replied, realizing I meant to say gift. "Wait," said Mr. Bowman. "Are you the Madeline that broke up the fight this morning?" he asked hesitantly. I replied, matching his hesitance, with, "Yes." "That's amazing. Class, give her a round of applause!" exclaimed Mr. Bowman. Everyone applauded, except for Amelia and Sara, who gave me death glares.

When Mr. Bowman continued to call roll, Amelia passed me a note. It read, "What was that?" I didn't answer, just recycled the paper. During science, we paired up for ice breakers. Everyone but Amelia and Sara wanted to be my partner. I ended up pairing with Maisy Tetrick, the most popular girl in seventh grade. Last year, she got a few solos in the musical, even though we were just in sixth grade.

The ice breaker was an activity in which we had to tell each other about ourselves, then introduce each other to the class. I learned that Maisy wants to be a professional singer/actress when she grows up. Last year I would have made fun of this. However, I decided that it would be unwise to throw away such an opportunity, so I didn't laugh. I told her all about how I want to be a published poet when I grow up, even showed her some of my favorite poems. She looked them over and suddenly changed the subject. "I can't believe you would go near those guys." She said. I was confused, until I realized she was talking about the fight that morning. "I have no idea who they were." I admitted. She jumped at the chance for gossip, and told me all about the fighting kids. They were two eighth graders, Joseph and Jackson Miller, same last name, different families. They hated each other since sixth grade, and it was expected that they would eventually fight. According to Maisy, when they got back from their suspension, at least one will try to kill me.

"You should be part of my friend group. We'd protect you." She said. "Of course, you'd go through a few tests to see if you're trustworthy, but at least we know that you're popular enough." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She sounded like someone from a teen movie. "Sure." Someone said. I realized that it was me, that this was what I wanted.

After science, I headed to language arts, then social studies. After social studies, I headed to lunch, and sat with Amelia and Sara to try and talk to them. As soon as I sat down, they got up and Sara flashed me a rude gesture involving her middle finger. Maisy and her friends waved me over and I sat with them. "What was that?" asked Maisy. I just shrugged. She asked me to grab her a milk from the hot lunch line. "Sure, can I have some money?" I asked. She just laughed at me. I guessed that it was my first test. I ran up to the lunch line and grabbed a low-fat milk, because in science when we were doing ice breakers she said she was on a low-fat diet. Then I ran out of there. Luckily, nobody seemed to see me and if they did they didn't care that I stole the milk. I brought it back to her and kept eating my lunch.

The rest of the day was boring. After I took the bus home, I ate dinner and headed to bed early. Maisy's next test wasn't until that Friday. At lunch, I sat with her and all the other girls. She told me I would be in the group after one last test. I had to get rid of Amelia and Sara, or as she referred to them, "The losers you used to hang out with." She said I had until next Friday.

Over the weekend, I strategized how I would do it. In homeroom on Monday, however, it seemed I didn't need strategy. Sara tried to sit with me. I was getting ready to move when she started talking to me. "I'm so sorry that we were so rude to you. I just don't understand why you'd lie about that." Before I knew it, I told her about everything. Lying about the fight to Mrs. L. Lying about the fight to her and Amelia. Taking the milk. I told her everything. She just gave me a hug and told me what to do. When Maisy got to class fashionably late, Sara looked super mad at me and went to sit with Amelia. Maisy came over and high-fived me. "I know I said that was the last test," She said, "But I lied. One last test, and you're in. You need to come to my sleepover party this Friday." I looked over at Sara, who gave me a thumbs-up. I told Maisy I'd be there, and we started class. At lunch, I told Maisy I had to finish a test and went to sit with Sara. Even if it was only a week, I had missed Sara so much. We caught up, and I sat with her every day. On Friday, I sat with Maisy and everyone. We chatted and made plans for the sleepover. That evening, after I did my homework, I packed up and took the bus up to Maisy's house. When I got there, I realized why she was so popular. Her house was huge. I walked up and rang the doorbell. She answered and screeched with excitement. I headed up the stairs to her room. It was also astonishingly large. She had a beautiful room with a TV, queen bed, posters all over the walls, and even a kitchenette. We ate pizza and chatted until around midnight, when Maisy's mom called lights out. I texted Sara this and she gave me directions.

"Hey," I said. "Let's play truth or dare!" I said. Everyone jumped at the opportunity. Sara and I thought Maisy might dare me to do something weird as an initiation, so it was a power move for me to suggest the game. We decided that I would go first as the asker. I chose Susan, one of Maisy's best friends. She chose truth. "Okay," I said. "How long have you been Maisy's friend?" Susan thought a while, then said, "Since fifth grade." I asked everyone this, and nobody said seventh grade. Then I got to Maisy. She chose dare. I dared her to prank her mom. While she did so, I told everyone to choose truth next round when Maisy was asker. Everyone did so, and I chose dare. Maisy dared me to freeze Susan's underwear for the next day. (She was already asleep.) I did so, and chose dare for all the next rounds, eventually pranking everyone but Maisy. In the morning, chaos ensued. Everyone but Maisy and I found that they had been pranked. I told everyone that I couldn't find my clothes. Everyone gradually turned against Maisy. At first I thought that maybe I should've abandoned the plan and told the truth. Then I thought more, and decided it would be best to leave it alone. She was terrible to us, she deserved this. Maisy must've not been as dumb as I thought, because she quickly realized I had fooled her. She told me that I was dumb and would pay on Monday. My plan worked. As I left, I heard her mom yelling at her for whatever prank she chose.

I met Sara at the busstop, and we went to my house. Monday morning, I saw what Maisy meant. TheMillers were back. At lunch, one of them shoved my tray out of my arms.Everyone gathered around us. I had never been so scared. Suddenly, I saw Maisy.She whispered something to Jackson, and he nodded. Suddenly, he punched mesquare in the stomach. I almost puked. I was ready to give up, when Sara, whohad been cheering for me, jumped on Jackson. I ran as fast as I could to Mrs. L'soffice. She called my mom, Sara's mom, and Jackson's mom. We all got suspendedfor two weeks, and grounded for much longer.