"You would never have been friends with Annie and Matt, you would have never found yourself, your true self, not the one you put out in front of others because you want to protect yourself." He said.
"If you ask me, if everything did not happen in the way it did. I don't think you would have ever been happy, or at least as happy as I know you are now, right?" he asked.
Maddie did not know when she nodded, but she did, and she instantly regretted it when she saw him smile.
"I know you're happy, and it makes me happy to know that you are happy." Ollie smiled.
"In fact, it makes me happy to see you all here and to have you guys as my friends."
"So whether to conclude or not if bad things happen so we can appreciate good things is irrelevant, especially in some situations because we're only human, we live, we die and the things that happen to us, either bad or good, shape our future and the way we relate with people around us." He said.
Maddie huffed, she hated it when Ollie was right. She hated to admit that he was too wise for his age and as much as she wished to argue, he had already made everything clear, and if she decided to bring up another argument, she would be seen as the bad guy, which she was not.
"I think you're right Ollie." Annie smiled.
"You always think he's right." Maddie scoffed.
"Well it's the truth though, he is always right, most of the time." Matt chuckled, he and Annie agreed with each other as always.
"Alright, yeah, yeah, whatever, I just know that, this discussion isn't over yet." Maddie grumbled.
"Of course it isn't" Annie laughed.
"Anyway, I can see that some of us are already bored with reading, I have something else we can do to pass the time." Ollie smiled, of course it was only Maddie that was bored and they all knew it.
"Which is?" Maddie asked intrigued. "Because it better be something fun, or else." She said.
Ollie chuckled, "Of course it's fun, we are going to play a little game." Ollie said, he closed his book and stood to his feet.
"*Ugh* Not you and your games, they are always boring, or worse dangerous." Maddie groaned. "On second thought, I actually like the dangerous ones because I always win." Maddie chuckled.
Annie rolled her eyes. Of course Maddie was obsessed with winning as always.
"Well, we'll see if you will win this time." Ollie said. Matt, Annie and Matt stood up. As soon as they did, Ollie snapped his fingers, the terrain around them changed.
All the shelves and books pushed themselves to the end of the library, so did the couches, carpets and all the other pieces of furniture.
Then the solid, hard ground was replaced with a bouncy one.
"Oooh." Annie said, she lost her balance and fell only to bounce up.
"Did you just turn the library into a bouncy house?" Maddie asked.
"Yes, yes I did, because for the game we are going to play, we need a bouncy floor." Ollie bounced around as the celling of the library grew further and further away.
"This is fun already." Matt said, he bounced around like an excited little child.
"I know right, this makes me feel like when I was a child and my parents brought a jumpy castle home for my eighth birthday." Annie giggled.
"I remember that day." Maddie said.
"You do?" Annie turned to her surprised.
"Mhmm, I was invited remember? We were in third grade, or was it fourth grade? Anyway, I was invited and somehow, I managed to go but I didn't stay long." Maddie said.
"Wait really?" Annie asked and Maddie nodded. "Because I don't remember seeing you there." Annie frowned.
"I had to leave really early because Azazel was in a bad mood, he was tired of waiting in the car because he detests children, and back then my mom could not say anything to him to change his mind, she was so cautious." Maddie frowned.
"Anyway, you were so busy with the other children that I had no time to speak to you, but I did leave a gift." Maddie said.
"What was it?"
"A purple Alice band with flowers." Maddie said.
Annie gasped. "No way, that was you?" she asked.
"Mhmm, when you came to school and Monday and you were wearing it. I was so happy to see you wear it." Maddie smiled.
"No way, Maddie, I loved that thing, I really did, it was just so pretty, I wore it every single day, every single day." Annie said as Maddie laughed.
"I know you did." Maddie laughed.
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were the one who got it for me?" Annie asked confused.
"Well, I was about to, but then your so called friend back then Trina Runerr said she was the one who got it for you and I overheard that, I was so upset that I really did not see any point in saying anything." Maddie said. "After all, it was my fault for not writing a note. I forgot to after I had wrapped it."'
"Maddie! You should have told me." Annie bounced to Maddie's side.
"There was no point, back then Trina was your 'bestie'." Maddie said with air quotes and rolled her eyes. "Whatever she said was the truth and everything else a lie, so if I did say something, it would be either me or her, and you would choose her." Maddie said.
"Maddie, you should have told me, I loved that band, I still love it, I stopped wearing it because it got too big for my head." Annie pouted. "In fact, I still have it, it's probably back at home in Sunset Village."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you back then, it was magic, if you said the words grow to it, it would grow and change to the size of your head." Maddie said. Annie gasped and squealed, she jumped on Maddie.
"How come you are only telling me this now after years of us being friends??!" Annie groaned as Maddie held her.
"Because it never came up, secondly, I didn't think it was important." Maddie said.
"No way, it is very important, very, very important." Annie said. "Thank you so much for that gift, it was by far the most efficient thing I have ever gotten as a gift."
"You're welcome." Maddie smiled.
"I just didn't get why you didn't tell me back then, sure, Trina and I were best friends, but I would have believed you and confronted her." Annie got off Maddie.
"No you wouldn't have, I knew you back then. That Annie would have done nothing but believed that manipulative idiot." Maddie scoffed.
"*Ahem*, excuse me girls, I'm feeling left out... who is Trina Runerr?" Matt asked as the girls turned to him.
"I too am feeling left out, finally, I'm not the only one." Ollie chuckled.
"Trina Runerr was Annie's best friends from grades three to seven, until the faithful day they broke up." Maddie chuckled and Annie hit her lightly.
"She's right, Trina was my best friend for a long time, I never knew you were jealous of her." Annie said.
"I was not jealous, take not everyone, I am never jealous. I just could see through her pitiful act of being good. I knew she was nothing but pretender and a sorry one at that." Maddie scoffed.
"Besides, you picked her over me during soccer practice so..." Maddie said.
"That was ten years ago!" Annie laughed, there was no way Maddie was still holding this thing for so long. How did she even remember something from so long ago?
"It doesn't matter, it stills hurts like yesterday." Maddie sulked.
"You are unbelievable." Annie laughed. "But you are right, Trina was a pretender, and a good one at that." Annie said.
"Nope, she wasn't good at all, you were just too blind and in dire need of a friend that you picked the one person who pursued you just becasue number one, her mom was trying to date your dad while knowing he was married, and number two, because she always wanted to steal the special markers you got." Maddie said.
"Wait, wait, back up, back up a bit, this story is getting more interesting by the minute and I want to fully understand it all." Ollie said.
"I agree, what do you mean her mom tried to steal Annie's dad?" Matt asked. Annie frowned as soon as he asked the question.
"What she means is what she means. Her mom was divorced and she always made cookies weekly to bring to school, back then my dad worked part-time as a PE teacher for the elementary school in the afternoons while still working at the high school since they were low on staff." Annie said.
"Anyway, I noticed that whenever her mom came over, she always found some excuse to go to the field and meet my dad, she made him special cakes and cookies, anything she could give him, she did, and my dad was trying to be nice so he just accepted it, even though he didn't eat it, he gave it to his favourite students." Annie said.
"Power move by uncle, just in case that vile woman laced the food with a love potion or something." Maddie chuckled, Annie did not find that statement amusing one bit.