Season 1. Episode 11: Lord of the Ridge
"Peeps? I don't have any peeps" Truth be told, at that point in his life Roddy Callahan didn't have a lot of anything, let alone friends. It was one of the reasons he had decided to help out Maddy at the paper. Being the little brother of the most popular guy in school has a fair few drawbacks. One of which being an inert loneliness that drifted through ones heart like a debris across an ocean. He smiled gently as he placed his hands into his pockets.
"How about this? I'll go with you as far as the library and then I'll leave you to your own devices ok? I know you're a big girl an all but southside is southside, can't be too careful. What do you think, deal?"She had started to fret about getting her first ever late fee from the library. Maddy could absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt,
not let that happen. That sort of thing could go on her personal record! Couldn't it? She was sure it could. That meant a smudge on her school records- surely she could kiss any kind of scholarship goodbye. They needed to leave. They needed to leave now. The girl could feel herself start to hyperventilate as she clutched the book and her keys in her hands, the metal edges of her house key digging into her skin. Turning away from Roddy, she feverishly nodded her head.
"Fine, fine. We need to hurry. I can't let this happen. I don't do this. This never happens to me. This could be the end of me for all eternity!"Rod raised his eyebrows in curiosity. Madeline Diller sure was a strange one.
"Alright lead the way" He followed as the girl lead him out of Edenridge High and into the car park. The trek to the Southside shouldn't take too long. Edenridge was a small enough town after all. They could get there, Maddy could drop off her book and Rod could walk to his house, demolish some of his fathers brisket and be jamming to Jimmy Eat World in no time. He gazed across the skyline that stretched out towards Boston with a little smile.
After nodding her head just a few more times, she grabbed her book bag and dashed out of the room, straight for the parking lot. Her car wasn't much- a little hand-me-down mid-size from her oldest brother. He definitely didn't have use for the car in the city. Maddie rushed over to the door and quickly unlocked it before sliding into the driver's seat. Tossing her items into the backseat, she fumbled with the keys as she tried to make contact with the ignition. She let out a frustrated breath before finally securing the key.
"Drive, you fool!" Maddie rarely even noticed that she threw out quotes from Lord of the Rings; it had become a part of her normal vocabulary. When the engine cranked over, she let out a small squeal.
"A-ha!" She glanced over at him.
"Seat belt. Now. Let's go, let's go, let's go! Losing time here!"The Lord of the Rings references were strong with this one. Roddy climbed into the car alongside Maddy watched as she faffed around with the car keys. Immediately his brain was telling him this was a bad idea, the girl was clearly insane and he was probably going to die in this car with her. Yet his heart felt the need to continue on with this journey, to complete the epic quest they had begun about two minutes prior.
"If you're having trouble, Mad I can go grab someone? I think Decky Boaz should still be around, he's handy when it comes to cars and he's a Southside local! He'd be perfect for our little trip"Blinking at him, she tilted her head in question.
"Decky Boaz? But he's..." She cleared her throat and shook her head, yet was unable to disguise the pink tint to the top of her ears..
"My car's fine. Totally fine. Nothing I can't handle." With another nod of her head, she went to hit the gas when the car suddenly died.
"No! No, no, no, no!" Maddy groaned and laid her forehead on the steering wheel in defeat.
"There goes my scholarship. I'm going to end up working at Walmart for the rest of my life. Be a cat-lady. It's all gone."Rod's eyes widened as Maddy went off on her tangent.
"Breathe, Diller. I'll go get Decky and we'll be at the library before you know it" Maybe jumping head first into Maddy's quest was not a good idea...well too late for that now. Rod climbed out of the car and headed towards the school. Sure enough, still hanging around shop class was Mordechai Boaz.
"Decky, kind of need a hand over here. If you're not busy would you mind taking a look at this car?"