A tree

"Oww, owww, oww, don't do that, I'm not a squirrel." Maddie giggled as she tried to move away.

"Aww, the fact that you're still giggling makes it hard for me to believe you don't enjoy it." Annie laughed.

"Curse you stupid chortling caterpillar, I didn't ask to step on you!" Maddie giggled, she sounded pained almost.

"Well you did, and due to your own carelessness, you weren't being careful enough." Matt scolded.

"Oh, ha, ha you guys should have warned me." she said.

"Like you would listen to us." Ollie replied.

"Whatever, let's climb the trees." Maddie said.

"Why?" they all asked confused.

"Well because I just remembered that I haven't climbed a tree in a long time and I want to climb one now." she laughed.

"I can't tell if you're actually being serious or you're just playing with us." Matt said.

"I'm actually serious guys, come on, if we're going to be out here we might as well be fully immersed in nature." she giggled.

"And when the heck is this giggling going to stop!" she said as she giggled aggressively.

"Maybe in an hour or so, depends on how hard you stepped on that poor caterpillar." Ollie said.

"The caterpillar is not the poor one, I am! Can't you see how I'm giggling like an insane person!" she giggled vehemently.

"Alright, don't get so worked up, we get it, it's annoying." Annie said.

"Whatever, what do you say? Let's climb the trees, because this is certainly the last time I go outside, so you might as well make the most of it with me." she said.

"Well alright, even though it's a weird request, but you've asked for weirder." Matt replied.

"Really? When?" Maddie asked trying to recall when that happened.

"I can't think of when right now, but I'm sure it happened." Matt said.

"Oh, weird, anyway, on we go!" Maddie said as she started to climbed the tree.

"This is way harder than I thought." she groaned as she pulled herself up using the branches that she hoped were strong enough to hold her weight.

"Well you're the one who wanted to climb trees in the first place." Annie replied shaking her head, she could not believe she was also climbing a tree right now, just how did Maddie manage to get them to do the things she wanted to do?

"Yes, I am, which is why, I'm not going to stress myself." Maddie smiled as she floated gracefully onto a branch that she sat on.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Annie declared.

"No it not, no one said anything about using magic, besides, what's the point of having magic when you don't use it?" Maddie giggled.

"True, but using magic all the time will make you lazy, which is why it's best you learn how to live without it before you become dependent on it." Annie said as she also floated and sat down on a branch.

"Says the most sensible of us all as she proceeds to do the exact same thing I did." Maddie laughed.

"Don't judge me, I don't like climbing trees, I prefer nice safe walks on the ground!" Annie replied as Matt laughed.

He was already seated on a branch of the tree he picked to climb, because he was part vampire, it was easy for him to climb things.

"You don't even need to say anything Matt, you're a show off." Annie said as he just laughed.

"Hey blondie, what are you still doing down there?" Maddie asked as she looked down to see that Ollie was the only one of them that was still on the ground.

"Umm, I don't think climbing trees is safe, especially these trees." he said.

"Why not? Are they dangerous?" Annie asked.

"Well not really, they are just really high, and you can fall and break something." he said.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights blondie." Maddie laughed.

"No, I'm not afraid of heights." he replied.

"Then what is it dude?" Matt asked, his reluctance was easily noticeable.

"It's just that... I've never climbed a tree before..." he admitted embarassed.

"What??! You've never climbed a tree before?" asked Maddie as she burst into laughter, this time, actual laughter from her bones.

"Maddie, be nice!" Annie shouted.

"No, I can't be nice, the blondie has never climbed a tree before, how come?" she laughed.

"Hey, it's not everyday your friend just suggests you climb a tree." he replied.

"I mean, climbing a tree is not something I was allowed to do, I could have hurt myself, or torn my clothes." he said.

"Ahh, I see, so you're goody two shoes nature didn't ever think of breaking the rules just once and climbing a tree?" she asked.

"Not everyone is as rebellious as you Maddie." he responded.

"Good, I'm glad you know that." she laughed.

"Dude, it's perfectly fine if you don't feel comfortable climbing a tree, you can just stay down there." Matt said.

"Yes Ollie, Matt's right, unlike some people, we don't force anyone to do what we want." Annie said as Maddie scoffed.

"Oh please." she said.

"No guys, it's alright, I want to climb a tree, to show some of the naysayers among us that I'm not that bland." he said as he walked to a tree and started to climb it.

"Don't hurt yourself blondie, just use a spell to get on the tree." Maddie mocked.

But Ollie seemed to ignore her as he continued climbing before sitting down on a branch.

"You did it!" Annie and Matt clapped as Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you see Maddie." he said as she ignored him.

"So... now what?" he asked, they were all up in the trees, what exactly did this add to their lives?

"We take a break, relax and talk." she said smiling.

"Hey, you stopped giggling." Annie said.

"*Gasp*, Wait, I actually did stop giggling!" Maddie exclaimed as she laughed, it felt so good to not hear herself giggling again.

"Oh, finally, gosh, remind me to watch the ground when I walk." she said as Matt laughed.

"So, what do we talk about?" Matt asked.

"Oh, I have an idea, weren't our test results supposed to be out by now?" asked Maddie.

"That's true, I forgot all about that, they are supposed to be out by now, so we can know if we failed or passed." Annie replied.

"It's strange, I thought it wasn't supposed to take long." said Matt.

"That's true, do you guys want me to ask on your behalf?" Ollie asked.

"No, there's no need blondie, I'm sure as soon as the results are out they will tell us." Maddie said.

"It's funny how you're the one who reminded us about the test and yet you don't want to know anything about it." laughed Matt.

"It's not my fault I'm not forgetful like you two." she replied as Annie shook her head.

"I have to admit, you aren't forgetful." Matt laughed.

"Yes, I'm not only intelligent, pretty, but I'm really attentive." Maddie said blowing her own horn.

"Have you always been so proud?" asked Ollie.

"Yes." Matt and Annie replied on her behalf as they all laughed.

"What? You guys act as if being proud of your accomplishments makes you a bad person." she said.

"No, it doesn't, being confident is one thing, being proud is another." Annie said as Matt and Ollie agreed with her.

"I don't see a difference, if you're confident in your abilities, then it means that you're proud of your abilities as well." Maddie said.

"Yes, true, it matters on what form of the word pride you're using, sure being confident isn't a bad thing, but the kind of pride we're referring to is overconfidence, which sometimes is wrong." said Ollie.

"True, overconfidence blinds you to your weak spots." Matt added.

"Wow, how long have you three been planning to corner me like this?" asked Maddie as she laughed.

"Funny enough, we didn't plan this, it just happened, I guess that we're so in sync." Annie laughed.

"Oh, ha ha, not funny." Maddie scoffed.

"You know what, I think that's enough fresh air for today, let's head back to the castle, there's a bowl of ice cream calling my name." Maddie said as she dropped down.

"Alright, fine." said Annie as she dropped down as well.

"I'm actually proud of you Maddie, you kept your word." Annie said as she smiled.

"You should know by now that I always keep my word." said Maddie as her feet lifted off the ground.

"What's wrong?" Annie asked.

"I am not going to risk stepping on another chortling caterpillar." she declared as Matt laughed.

"Wow, it really spooked you." he laughed.

"Say whatever you want, it's better to be safe than sorry." she said as the others laughed at her.

"Come on, let's go already." she said floating ahead of them.

"Maddie can just be really unbelievable sometimes." Annie said as she Matt and Ollie walked back together.

"It's part of her charm." Ollie smiled.

"That is true." Matt said as he smiled.