Maddie came over when she got out of school today to remind me that Scully and Mulder aren’t real (rude) and give me all the details about Tilly.

I saw her pull up in her reliable red Jetta through the window which was nice because I had enough time to suck the spicy Cheeto dust off my fingers.

I could tell right away that something was up. She didn’t say anything about the empty pot of coffee on the coffee table, or the box of donuts, or the spicy Cheetos or my greasy hair or the fact that it was almost three o’clock and all I was wearing was a t-shirt. She just sat on the edge of the armchair next to me and stared at the tv.

I said “Mads? Everything okay?”

And she said, “the theory with the secret sorority. It doesn’t make any sense, right?”

Look, she has a point. There are definitely some pretty serious holes in the secret sorority theory — like if it’s senior girls being chosen then who’s choosing them?

But like — what other possible explanation exists? What could possibly explain multiple girls a year waking up in the same spot in the woods without knowing how they got there? It’s a secret sorority or it’s

and either way everyone in town has pretty much accepted it at this point.

So I said, “I mean if you have a better theory by all means enlighten me.”

Maddie plucked at her lips. She has an old scar that dimples her lower lip in half like a cherry and she’s always fiddling with it.

She said, “I’ve been having super weird dreams.”

This perked me up because usually we agree that other peoples dreams are boring as shit unless they’re scary or sexy and I was expecting something juicy but she didn’t say anything else. Instead she got abruptly to her feet, took one of the donuts out of the box and took an enormous bite before I could protest.

“Those aren’t vegan!” I yelped but she ignored me and started to pace. Maddie’s been vegan since the 8th grade and I’ve never seen her cheat.

“I’m so tired,” she said, but she didn’t seem tired. She was pacing back and forth across the rug, her hips and torso silhouetted by the tv.

“You should get some sleep then,” I suggested, and she fixed me with a look of contempt and irritation that took the temperature of the room down several degrees. I didn’t make any other suggestions I just sat there, bewildered, watching her pace and chew.

I waited for her to collect her thoughts and explain what was irritating her for a long time, but she didn’t. Instead she said, “sorry, I should go.”

“Okay?” I said, getting up and following her to the door. “Maddie? Are you alright?”

She said something vague and reassuring, but she dropped the half eaten donut on the welcome mat as she left, and she literally ran to her car.

I’ve been texting her all evening though and she seems totally normal. I asked if there was something wrong and she said she failed her Spanish test, which makes no sense because she’s never failed a test in her life. When I asked her what she was dreaming about she just said Georgia with a half dozen winky emojis.

I dunno. She’s probably just cracking under college application pressure. I’m sure she’ll be fine.

I have to go to school tomorrow 😩