“I dunno. He was like the oddball critter in McDonaldland. Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Fry Guys and, introducing, Grimace.” She made a face at the absurdity of the random character. “Maybe he represented the stomachache that came from eating too much McDonalds.” She shrugged. “Which would explain why our room would look like Grimace hurled all over it,” she added, getting back on track with what they’d originally been talking about.
Ribbon was a little too girly for Maddie’s taste, but she nodded her agreement, the slight wrinkling of her nose the only indication that she wasn’t wholly a fan of the idea. “Ribbon would work. Red and green, maybe, for Christmas. Or silver and gold.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “You know you like one more than the other; admit it,” she said, lifting a daring eyebrow.
“That works. Easy to remember, plus an extra dash of cute on the end.”
She got up and went over to the box to dig out the purple blanket. This room was warmer and less drafty than the cell, but it was still cold. She returned to her mattress and sat down, taking her time adjusting the blanket around her. It gave her an excuse to not meet Caitie’s eyes for a few moments.
Caitie started in on her explanation and Maddie listened, trying to piece together what her friend was going to tell her before she even got to the reveal. “Oh,” she said when Caitie finished. That was… interesting… And also a little annoying, too. Maddie felt herself frowning. It wasn’t the liking girls part that bothered her, but the fact that Caitie had kept it from her. After all, it had been Caitie’s idea that they share a room together. Had Caitie been taking advantage of things all this time?
“So, is that why you wanted to live with me? So you could get a free show or whatever? Is that why you don’t like George?” All the questions.