Maddie looked at her friend in shock. “You. Did. Not. Just. Say. That.” What a shocking revelation. She sank back in her chair, blinking. If the world hadn't been taken over by zombies, would Caitie have been smart like George was? Was that why Caitie didn't like George? It made sense. Caitie was super-sensitive about being thought of as dumb. “Never would've taken you for a nerd.”
She snorted. “Yeah, maybe Alaska would've managed that if the phone company people didn't get zombified.” Maddie didn't know much about how the system of phone service worked, but she'd gleaned from other people that someone had to activate phones and whatever so calls could be made. Probably why they were only able to send texts.
In a twisted way, Maddie's offer of friendship had been something akin to charitability. Offering friendship when Caitie expected to be scorned and tossed out of Sing Sing. Maddie didn't realize that was what it was back then, but she could see it now. She was glad she'd given Caitie a place in the compound. “Not everyone hates you. Just the usual suspects. And those same people hate me, too, so at least you're not alone in that boat?”
Grabbing her coffee, Maddie moved over to Caitie's bed so she could see the pictures. She blinked when she saw a younger, browner-haired Caitie looking... “Really pretty.” She blinked again when she realized she'd said that out loud. Clearing her throat to try and recover, she nudged her friend in the ribs. “Liar. That's not poodle-ish. It's a boring brown, yeah, but definitely not like a poodle.”
She snorted and shrugged. “It's still a lame day. I challenged Girl Luke to a drinking contest at George's party, though. Since everyone thinks I should get to know her.” Of course, this bit of logic didn't really make sense, considering everyone wanted Maddie to be friends with Nick... and that just wasn't gonna freakin' happen.