Dad glanced at me in the rearview mirror and Mom turned around in the passenger seat.
“Honey, maybe you should talk to a financial advisor, figure out exactly what you need to do before you give any away,” Mom said.
“Either way, I know I want to do at least that much. You’ll let me, right?”
“Let you?” Dad said. “You’re eighteen now. It’s your choice.”
“Well, that’s what I want.”
My mom reached back for my hand. I took hers and she squeezed. “That’s very generous of you, Maddie,” she said, sounding choked up.
“Yes, thank you,” Dad said. “That will take a big burden off of us.”
That’s what I’d been hoping for.
“And Beau, too. It will make a real difference in his life,” Mom said.
I hoped so, because I felt like all our lives could use a big difference.
My mom turned back to face the road. She reached across the center console and put her hand on my dad’s knee. He immediately took one hand off the wheel and placed it on top of hers. I smiled. That was already a very good start.
At home, I stood outside Beau’s door. It was after eleven o’clock in the morning, but he was probably still sleeping. I knocked quietly and there was no answer. I knocked again. When he still didn’t answer, I turned the handle.
The door opened with a creak and I walked into near blackness. I flipped on the light and Beau grunted and shaded his eyes. A bottle of cold medicine sat on his nightstand.
“Are you sick?” I asked.
He mumbled something unintelligible.
“Beau.” I shook his shoulder. “Wake up.”
“What? What do you want?”
I picked up the cold medicine. There was only an inch of the purple liquid left at the bottom of the big bottle. “Are you sick?” I asked again.
“What? No. It helps me sleep. Can you turn out the light?”
I did. “Can I talk to you?”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
“Funny. Don’t be a jerk or I might take back my gift.”
“What gift?”
“Listen, I know what Mom said yesterday about this being my money and all … ”
This had Beau sitting up, rubbing his eyes.
“But I want to give you some. I want to give you a million dollars and pay off your loans.”
Beau’s knees had been up, and he dropped his head onto them for a long time. I couldn’t see his face but I hoped this reaction was happiness. The way his shoulders slightly shook, I thought he might’ve even been crying. But it was dark in his room and maybe my eyes were deceiving me because when he finally looked up the only thing I saw on his face was a smile.
“Maddie, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I think I do. And I’m glad it will help. You can finish school now, right? Go back and be with your friends. You could even move into the dorms if you wanted.”
He stood and pulled me into a hug. I returned it for a minute before I pushed him away. “You seriously need to shower.”
He laughed and then tried to grab me again. I screamed and ran out of the room with him chasing after me. When he finally caught me and administered another hug, he said, “You’re the best sister ever.”
I smiled.
“But I really need to shower now.”
A few minutes later, I sank onto my bed, my heart close to bursting. Maybe now I didn’t need to worry so much about my family. My win would solve everything.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to tell my friends, or anyone for that matter. Hey, I’m a millionaire now, so … you know, just treat me like you always have. Nothing’s different. I actually didn’t feel that much different. Lighter, for sure. Like something that had been resting on my shoulders for years had been lifted. That was a good feeling. An amazing feeling. But still, I was me. Still Maddie. The money wouldn’t change who I was, deep down.
It was Monday night. My family had just finished eating takeout from a fancy French restaurant we’d never been to, with a name I couldn’t pronounce. All I knew was that I’d never spent fifty dollars on a steak before and now I had. It was delicious.
Now I was in my room, lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling and wondering if I’d ever felt this happy in my life.
There was a knock on my door and I sat up. “Come in.”
“Blaire is here,” my mom said, poking her head in.
“Blaire?”
“Yes, you do have a friend named Blaire, right? Or was that in your previous life?”
I smiled. “I just wasn’t expecting her.”
“Should I tell her to come in?”
“Yes, of course. Thanks, Mom.”
I took a deep breath. Had Blaire heard about me winning somehow? Did the lottery announce stuff like that? Had it been tweeted out to everyone without me knowing? I should’ve told my friends right away so they didn’t have to find out through social media.
But when Blaire appeared at my bedroom door, she didn’t wear an excited expression, one that said, you just won the lottery, how are we going to celebrate? Instead she wore a worried one.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“What? Why?”
“Your birthday.”
That’s right. I’d almost forgotten about my birthday.
“My grandma had to go to the hospital.”
“Oh no, is she okay?”
Blaire rolled her eyes. “She thought she was having a heart attack but after a night in the ER, it turned out to be heartburn. Can you believe that?”
I laughed a little. It was much easier to forgive people after winning the lottery. “I wish you would’ve called or texted. I was worried.”
“I’d left my cell phone at home and my parents and I didn’t get back until the next morning. I wanted to sleep all day so I sent you a quick text but you never answered.”
“Yeah, I was kind of mad at you.”
“I figured. And what about all the texts I sent today?”
“Today?” I scanned the room for my phone, but didn’t see it anywhere. I hadn’t looked at it once since I’d gotten the news about the lottery. “It’s probably out of batteries somewhere.”
“That means you didn’t get Elise’s texts either.”
“No, I didn’t. Did her grandma have heartburn, too?”
Blaire gave me a side hug. “You had the stupidest birthday. I’m so sorry.”
That wasn’t an answer to my question. “What happened to her?”
“Boyfriend got sick. He was barfing and everything.”
“Was Elise sick, too?”
She cringed. “She wanted to take care of him. Bring him soup and wipe his brow. She wants to major in nursing now.”
A lump was forming in my throat and I tried to swallow. Okay, so winning the lottery only made it a little easier to forgive. “She should’ve texted.”
“Well, now she’s sick. She stayed home from school today and everything.”
“That sucks.”
“Karma, I say.”
I hit Blaire’s arm and she laughed.
“Yes, it sucks. But not as much as your birthday must’ve sucked. I really am sorry.”
Now was the time I told her about winning the lottery. Now was the time I remembered how lucky I was, regardless of the fact that my friends stood me up for kind of lame reasons. That didn’t matter. The universe had made up for my bad birthday in a big way and I needed to get over it. “It’s okay. Really. I’m happy actually.”
“You’re happy we missed your birthday?” Blaire’s phone chimed in her pocket but she didn’t reach for it. The noise was familiar, one I hadn’t heard in a while because I didn’t have my phone. It made me a little twitchy.
“Well, no, I mean—”
Her phone chimed again.
“You can get it,” I said.
“No, it’s just my calendar reminder.”
“What’s it reminding yo
u of?” I was sure I was missing something, too, since I’d skipped school and hadn’t looked at my phone in about twenty-four hours.
“Test tomorrow in History. Don’t you have that, too?” She looked around my room and saw the books on my desk. “Of course you’re studying.”
“Yes, I am. I was. Well, I was thinking about it.” Sort of. “Do we have anything else this week?”
“Just the reading for English.”
I’d remembered that.
“Are you okay, Maddie? When you were absent today, I realized we’d really messed up. You never miss school.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. It wasn’t about my birthday. I just … ” My mind froze, why couldn’t I just spit out my news? “I had a bad headache. But I’m feeling better now.” Why did I say that?
“Good.” Blaire squeezed me into another tight hug. Her phone chimed, again. “I better go. We both have a lot of work to do.”
“Okay.”
Then she was gone.
“I won the lottery,” I said easily, to my now empty room. “Let’s celebrate.”
The house phone rang in the distance and then stopped. A couple minutes later my mom poked her head in my room again. “Hey, that was … ” She looked around. “Where did Blaire go?”
“She had to study.”
“What about you? Do you need to study?”
I nodded halfheartedly.
Mom stepped all the way inside. “If you’re still planning on going to college, you need to keep your grades up. They don’t care about your lottery win.”
“I know,” I said quickly. “I am still planning on it.” That had always been the plan, from the time I was in the third grade. Why would Mom think that would change now? The only thing that changed was I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to pay for college.
I didn’t have to worry about paying for college! Excitement bubbled back up my chest with this reminder. It was an instant jolt to my system.
“Anyway,” Mom was saying. “That was ABC7 on the phone. They want to interview you.”
“What? Why?”
My mom laughed. “Because you won the lottery.”
“But how did they know that?”
“Lottery winners are public record.”
“Oh … ”
“You don’t have to do the interview.”
“What would you do?” I asked, biting my lip.
Mom shrugged. “I’m not sure. I probably wouldn’t really want the whole town to know. Just my friends.”
“That’s true.” I nodded. “You’re right. I’ll tell my friends on my own. I don’t want to do an interview.” The thought of being interviewed on TV sounded like pure torture, anyway.
Mom ran a hand down my hair. “Good choice. I’ll let them know.”
The next morning, I pulled into the school parking lot, parked, and stepped out of my car. I didn’t know what I expected to happen (a big sign posted over the school announcing my good fortune, maybe?), but nothing was different.
I found Blaire and Elise huddled together around Blaire’s locker.
“Hey, guys,” I said as I approached. My heart sped up. This was it. I had to tell them now.
They whirled around, looking guilty.
“What is it?” I asked.
Elise had her hands behind her back, and when I tilted my head to see what she was hiding, she brought them forward, revealing a wrapped box. Then she and Blaire smashed me into a hug.
“I’m sorry about your birthday,” Elise said. “I’m an idiot. Boyfriend distracted me. But I dumped him. For you.”
“You dumped him? For me? Why would you do that?”
“Because we made a pact. And I’ve never let a guy distract me like that before. You’re my best friend and I missed your birthday to take care of a boy. That’s why we made the pact, right? To make sure stuff like that didn’t happen.”
“You didn’t have to break up with Colton for me,” I said.
“Oh, now he has a name?” Elise asked in fake indignation.
“You did the right thing, Elise,” Blaire chimed in. “We’re proud of you.” I elbowed Blaire but she just shrugged. “What? She did. Long live the pact.”
I sighed.
“It wasn’t only for you,” Elsie said. “Colton and I took our first selfie together the other day and I noticed his head is smaller than mine. I can’t date someone with a smaller head than mine.”
I laughed. “I hear you’re majoring in nursing now.”
“I am. I’d make a killer nurse.” Elise rocked to her toes, then back down again, and pointed at the wrapped box with a smile. “We got you a present.” She placed the gift in my hand.
“And,” Blaire said, “this weekend, we’ll take a break from studying and … ” She paused as if she wasn’t sure a world existed outside of studying.
“And do what?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Bowling? We’ve bowled before. Remember that one night?”
I laughed. “Oh my gosh, we’re pathetic.”
“We have fun,” Blaire protested. “People don’t have to go out and do things to have fun. We have fun sitting around and talking and studying.”
“Now, open your present!” Elise said.
Blaire was right, of course; we’d had plenty of fun over the years. I untied the ribbon and ripped open the bright red paper. Inside the box was a card with a picture of a monkey on it. A quote bubble said: Thank you for the donation.
“You guys donated to the zoo for me?” I asked, glancing up with a smile.
“Yes!” Elise exclaimed. “You always talk about how they’re a small, struggling zoo and if they had more money, they could do more things. Blah, blah, blah—we tune you out at that point.”
I shoved her shoulder. “This is perfect,” I said, meaning it.
“You like it?” Blaire asked. “I thought maybe we should just give you money to use toward dorm room stuff. I know you’ve been stressed about that.”
“No. I mean, I have been, but I’m not anymore,” I said, without thinking.
“Did you get birthday money from relatives?” Elise asked.
“Not exactly.”
They stood there, silent, waiting for me to explain.
“I wanted to take you both out to dinner and share the news but I’ll just do it now.” I took a deep breath, still not sure how to tell them. The lottery office needed to hand out a book: How To Tell Your Friends You’re A Millionaire Without Making Them Hate You. I chastised myself for the thought. My friends wouldn’t hate me. They’d be happy for me.
“You’re scaring me. What happened?” Blaire said.
I tucked their gift into my backpack, stalling. “I won the lottery.”
Blaire laughed and Elise looked confused.
“What are you talking about?” Blaire said. “What’s wrong?”
I must have had a worried look on my face. It was a face that wasn’t backing up what I was saying at all. “No. Really. I won the lottery.”
Blaire’s mouth dropped open. “Really really?”
“Yes. I promise.” I put my hand over my heart and held the other one up as though I was swearing in at a court of law.
A smile spread across Elise’s face and she cussed. I’d never heard her swear in my life so it made me laugh.
“Maddie!” Elise shrieked. “That is amazing! A miracle, really!” Blaire poked her and she lowered her voice. “When did this happen?” she whispered.
“On Sunday,” I said. “Well, I found out on Sunday. I bought the ticket Saturday night, on my birthday,” I rambled. “Oh, and that’s why I was absent yesterday,” I explained hurriedly, glancing at Blaire. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you last night. I think I was still in shock.”
“Understandably,” Blaire said, looking totally shocked herself.
“How much money is it?” Elise asked, wide-eyed.
I gulped. “When all is said and done, about thirty million dollars.”
Blaire glanced t
o her right and left, then whispered, “That’s probably not something you want to go around announcing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nobody here pays attention to us. Do you think they’re going to start now?”
Blaire got her serious face on. “Listen, Maddie. You need to see a financial advisor right away.”
Elise raised her hand as if she needed to be called on to speak. “If I won thirty million, I’d drop out of school and travel all over Europe. There’s something to be said about life education. Books can’t teach you everything.”
Blaire put her hands on her hips. “Do not do that, Maddie. It wouldn’t be smart.”
“I’m not going to do that!” I exclaimed. Although it did sound pretty awesome.
“Why not? It would be amazing,” Elise said.
She and Blaire argued back and forth for several minutes about why it would or would not be a sound decision. Then Blaire reached over and squeezed my arm. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks,” I said as she and Elise smushed me into a big hug again.
I smiled, feeling dazed. Now that I had told my friends, it was absolutely real.
At lunchtime, I headed across campus toward the library, where I assumed Blaire and Elise would be. I stopped short when the smell of barbecue invaded my senses. I wheeled straight around to the food truck and proceeded to order three brisket sandwiches. I didn’t even blink at the total. With a bag full of goodness in hand, I pulled my phone out and sent a text to Elise and Blaire: Do not eat. I have food. I repeat, do not eat or you will regret it.
That was how I was, head bent over my phone, thumbs typing, when I slammed forehead first into someone. My phone flew up, I flew back, and both me and my phone landed on the cement. Somehow I’d managed to save the sandwiches, though. Apparently my subconscious had the wrong priorities.
“Oh crap, oh crap,” I said, scrambling for my phone. It now had a huge splintered crack running all the way down the screen.
A frustrated sigh had me looking up to see who I’d run into. Trina Saunders. The Ms. Popular party-thrower herself. She held a soda that was now dripping down the front of her shirt.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
I expected her to say something snarky but instead she shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. I wasn’t looking. Are you okay?”