Maddie Nears

## Madison Nears

**Madison "Maddie" Nears** is a young teen girl who became stuck in the afterlife and decided to investigate her mysterious death.

## History

### Childhood

As a child, she was neighbors with Claire Zomer and they were friends. One day, Claire came to Maddie's house, frantically knocking, asking to be let in because she wanted to escape her parents' fighting. Maddie's mother was drunk, so Maddie told Claire she couldn't come in, then closed the door, ignoring Claire's continued knocking. Claire then moved away with her dad for a year before returning. After that, Claire never spoke to Maddie again.

### Car Accident

Not long before her death, Maddie was involved in a car accident. Her mother had driven drunk and went off the road, colliding with a tree. Maddie called Mr. Anderson, who had given her his number and confided in her that his father was also an alcoholic. Mr. Anderson arrived and Maddie claimed responsibility for the accident, even when Mr. Anderson realized what had really happened. Maddie said losing her license would be better than losing her mother. He drove Maddie's mother home and then came back to talk to the insurance company with Maddie.

### Last Day

On the last day of her life, Maddie talked about the plans she had with Simon to go to see Night of the Living Dead. She asked if it was okay if she brought her boyfriend, Xavier, but Simon didn't think he would enjoy it as he didn't like horror movies. Simon asked about her mom and she said her mom was sobering up and Maddie had the house to herself for two weeks. Simon suggested throwing a party with all their friends, so Maddie invited Nicole, their only other friend. Then they went to class, but Maddie spotted Xavier out in the parking lot, sitting in his truck, so she lied and said she had to use the bathroom so she could go out there.

Maddie surprised Xavier by showing up. He said he was skipping class to charge his phone, but couldn't find his charger. Maddie knew he was lying and he admitted he was skipping class to get high. She told him she'd join him if he was driving into the sunset, but instead, she'd leave him to it. Then she told him to lay off the drugs because she needed him to stay out of jail until homecoming so she didn't have to skip it alone. Maddie then walked back to class. On her way back, she looked out the window and used her phone camera to zoom in to see Xavier on his phone, which she found suspicious because he'd said his was dead. She got a text from Xavier, but her phone died before she was able to check it.

### Death

When Maddie spotted her mother parking at the school, she went and met her by the school entrance. Sandra told Maddie she'd left rehab because she didn't need it. She also surprised Maddie by saying she purchased a cabin from a guy she'd met in rehab. Maddie got angry when Sandra further revealed that she'd used the money they stored away after Maddie's dad died to buy it. Maddie told her that money was for her college and she wanted to go to college in Chicago to get away from Sandra. When class let out, she led Sandra down to the boiler room, where she asked Sandra to give her the guy's contact information so she could fix it. Sandra said it was too late, as she'd already written him a cashier's check. Maddie got angry and said that that money was for Maddie from her dad and Sandra should just take everything he left her. She took off her necklace and threw it at Sandra, saying she could probably get $40 if she pawned it. Sandra took the necklace and left. Maddie sat down and cried, but stopped when she heard someone calling for help. She tracked the noise to the fallout shelter where Mr. Martin was arguing with Janet Hamilton. Maddie opened the door and Mr. Martin told Janet not to move. Janet ignored him and ran into Maddie, throwing her body back and transferring Janet's spirit into Maddie's body and Maddie's out.

When Maddie woke up, she had a gap in her memory that covered the time and circumstances of her death. As she adjusted to being dead, Charley told her all the ins and outs of being dead, including reminding her that no one around her could hear her as she watched the school assembly about her disappearance, as no one alive was aware that she was dead, not simply missing. After three days of her wandering around the school, Charley took her to the gym, where the Split River High Afterlife Support Group was meeting, led by Mr. Martin. At the meeting, Rhonda asked her how she died and the whole group was shocked that she didn't remember, as everyone before her had.

When Charley noticed Maddie watching Xavier and being concerned because he didn't seem well, he encouraged Maddie to try to move on, as the alternative was ending up like Dawn, a ghost from the 70s who just bopped around campus. He also showed her six band members who had died there in a bus crash and still marched in a circle, playing their instruments.

Maddie was shocked to learn that Xavier had her phone and wondered how he'd gotten it. Despite this, she refused to believe Xavier killed her, even after Charley reminded her she might not like the answers to the questions she had. While walking to Wally Clark, Maddie realized that her backpack and phone had been with her the last she remembered before dying, but weren't with her after she'd died, leading her to wonder where they'd gone. Maddie tried to get the other ghosts to scare a confession out of someone for her, but they told her she couldn't do that. Again, they encouraged her to try to move on. Maddie called the rest of them out, saying they didn't seem like they were moving on. Then she tried to leave the school campus, only to find herself thrown back into the boiler room, where she could see the blood stains and evidence markers on the wall. After failing to leave campus a few more times, Maddie went back to the support group. She was surprised to hear Rhonda joking about her dead. Wally said Maddie should find that encouraging, because it meant someday, she'd be able to joke about her death as well. While they talked, a large group of people entered the gym for Maddie's vigil. Maddie watched as Sheriff Baxter kept Xavier from entering the vigil and talked to him outside. Xavier told his father that he had Maddie's phone because he'd accidentally texted her instead of Claire and wanted to delete it before Maddie saw it, because the text revealed that he was cheating on her with Claire. He didn't know Maddie wouldn't be coming back.

Maddie then follow Simon to Ms. Fields' classroom. When he cried about Maddie disappearing and how he knew something bad had happened because Maddie would never run away, especially without telling him, Maddie told him thank you. She was shocked when he turned to her and talked to her. After he recovered from the shock, Simon asked Maddie if she was okay and what happened. She told him she didn't know, but did explain to him why Xavier had her phone. When Nicole came in and told Simon the vigil was over and they were going to search for Maddie in the woods, Maddie told Simon to go with her. As soon as he left the classroom, he was unable to see or hear Maddie anymore. Maddie tried to join the search party, but as soon as she stepped off campus, she was thrown back into the boiler room. Charley reminded her that she couldn't leave the campus. She asked if Mr. Martin could explain why Simon was able to see her, but Charley told her not to mention it to the others, not wanting her to become a messenger service. Despite this warning, Maddie asked the support group if anyone there had spoken to a living person. Mr. Martin misunderstood why she was asking and reframed it into a question of how they could say goodbye to living people. He also suggested Maddie write her own obituary, as the others had all done it and it helped them. Maddie refused, even after he provided sample obituaries to inspire her. Maddie said she didn't want to move on and was worried about her mother. He warned her against clinging to those she'd left behind.

Maddie woke the next morning in the teachers' lounge. Rhonda was also there and told Maddie it was where they could hear all the good gossip. Maddie wasn't interested until the teachers started talking about her. They had learned that the blood on the boiler room wall had been confirmed to be Maddie's. Rhonda told Maddie that in a week, the teachers would move on, but Maddie refused to believe it and said Simon wouldn't let them forget her.

Maddie found Simon in the cafeteria and had him hold up his phone to pretend to be talking someone so he wouldn't look like he was talking to himself. Maddie asked him to help her prove that Xavier killed her. She went over everything she remembered about the day and they determined that she died between study hall and eighth period. Simon thought maybe Xavier and Claire worked together. He told her that Xavier skipped biology that day and wasn't in eighth period.

Maddie talked to Charley about her talking to Simon and he suggested that maybe if someone really couldn't move on, that person could see and hear you. He also told her that some cops had come to the principal's office and he was sure it was about her.

Maddie went to Simon, who was in Ms. Fields' class, and told him that the cops didn't believe the phone Xavier had was hers. Simon struggled to talk to her with Ms. Fields watching, so she told him to meet her in the auto shop.

In the auto shop, Maddie told Simon that she dated Xavier because she liked that he didn't care what anyone else thought. Simon also found a piece of frosted green plastic that he believed was part of Maddie's phone. In the cafeteria, Maddie said they could use the serial number to prove that the phone the police had wasn't Maddie's. When Mr. Anderson came in, Maddie told Simon to tell him what they knew, hoping he could help them. Simon showed him the piece of the phone and said he believed it was part of Maddie's phone. Mr. Anderson asked him where he found it.

After watching Claire rescue a swimmer from drowning, Maddie said she no longer believed Claire had any part in her death. Late that night, Maddie met Simon in the auto shop again and asked him why Xavier would want her gone. Simon told her to stop giving him the benefit of the doubt. Then he found another piece of her phone, but was surprised by Mr. Anderson, who told him to let the people in charge do their job and figure out what happened. Maddie watched as Mr. Anderson led Simon out of the school and into his car.

The next morning, Maddie and Simon talked at the bus stop, which Maddie discovered was another place where he could see her. He believed that Mr. Anderson was involved in Maddie's death, but Maddie objected that that couldn't be true, as Mr. Anderson was one of the good ones and had shown up for her.

At the support group, Mr. Martin asked if Maddie had made any progress on her obituary. When she said she hadn't, he said it seemed like she was getting tired of being at the school and proposed moving up Field Day. Wally was very excited by this, though the others were less enthused.

Maddie watched Simon get into Mr. Anderson's glove box, where the piece from Maddie's phone was. Simon was convinced Mr. Anderson was involved in her death, but Maddie maintained that he couldn't be. They argued about it and Maddie said she'd solve her murder on her own. She went outside, where Wally found her. He was driving a golf cart and invited her to take a turn driving. When she ran into a sign, he cheered her on, then steered them into a stack of water coolers. He explained that their field day was about destroying things to get their frustration out. Maddie started breaking things. When Charley noticed that Maddie seemed upset, he asked her about it and she told him about the fight with Simon and how he believed that a teacher she looked up to was responsible. Charley told her she should go talk to Rhonda.

Maddie went to Rhonda and asked to hear the story of how Rhonda died. Rhonda explained that her guidance counselor seemed to care about her and she loved that, but when she got into Berkeley, things changed. He became angry and killed her when she tried to leave his office. He got caught and died in prison, but that didn't make things better for her.

Maddie went to the library, where she found an old year book with a picture of Mr. Manfredo in the guidance office. She realized it was Mr. Anderson and Ms. Fields' rooms and they'd divided them after Rhonda's death. She went to Simon and told him that and also told him the reason they were able to talk in those classrooms was that Rhonda died there. Someone died in all the places where he could see her. She apologized for pushing him away and admitted he might be right about Mr. Anderson. She said she needed his help to search Mr. Anderson's room for clues. They both started searching. When Mr. Anderson came in, Simon hid in the closet and Maddie heard him tell someone on the phone he shouldn't have given Maddie money. Maddie didn't remember asking him for money. She also told Simon she'd called Mr. Anderson after the car accident instead of Simon because her mother was actually the one who crashed it and she didn't want Simon to see how awful her home life was. After Mr. Anderson left again, Maddie noticed a false wall on one of his shelves and pulled it back to reveal a large amount of money. Simon said he was sure it had something to do with why Maddie was dead.

### Talking to Other Ghosts

Maddie went to Mr. Anderson's classroom while Simon was in class the next day. She kept trying to get him to unlock his phone so she could check it and became frustrated when he didn't. She went to the afterlife support group, where they were planning a movie night. Troubled, she asked what they knew about Mr. Anderson. When they said they didn't know anything, she was upset. She wondered if the ghosts who weren't in the group had seen anything. The other ghosts opposed her asking them because they were all relieving their last days on earth and if she was there when they spiraled out, they might pull her down with them. Maddie decided she wasn't scared of other ghosts and said she needed their names. Wally and Rhonda told her their names. While they were talking, Simon came up to Maddie and said he needed to talk to her at the bus stop. Rhonda and Wally were shocked to learn that he could see her, but she ran off before they could say anything about it.

At the bus stop, Simon said it was too risky to return Mr. Anderson's phone, so Maddie said they needed to stick with things they could prove. The other ghosts arrived and after Simon left, they confronted her about Simon being able to see her. They were even more upset when they learned that Charley knew and had stopped Maddie from telling them.

Maddie went to the theater to talk to Mina, who had been crushed by a stage light. Mina thought Maddie was a disgruntled actor and told her that no one ever appreciated the work she did up there making sure people stayed safe. While she was leaving the theater, Maddie found a devil patch on the floor and picked it up. She also spotted Dawn, who was looking for things that students had left behind.

Next, Maddie and Dawn went to talk to the bus crash kids, but they refused to acknowledge her because she doesn't play an instrument and went back to practicing. Maddie noticed the same devil patch on their uniforms.

After watching Simon get taken in by the police for questioning, Maddie lay in the grass outside the school. Charley joined her and told her that she wasn't the only ghost who had unfinished business. He told her about his: Emilio Figueroa, who came to Split River as an exchange student and then became a teacher there. When he finished his story, he told Maddie that he told her that to show her she wasn't alone. They were all Split River Devils. Maddie wondered why he was a devil and she was a bandit.

Rhonda explained that after the marching band bus crashed, some people said the devil was to blame. The survivors refused to wear their old uniforms anyway, so they changed the mascot and got new uniforms. Maddie thanked them and said she'd tell Mr. Martin and the others about Simon, but they told her she shouldn't.

Maddie found some flowers and took them to Mina in the hopes of buttering her up. She also said that Mina deserved recognition for her work keeping others safe. Maddie was trying to do the same thing, making sure no one else met the same fate she had. She showed Mina the devil patch and asked if she'd seen anything like it. Mina said Mr. Anderson was always banging around in the theater and showed Maddie a room under the stage, which held costumes and props. They went down there and discovered more devil patches, plus a sewing machine and invoice for new band uniforms signed by Mr. Anderson. They had Simon call the company on the invoice and learned that it was a fake company. Mr. Anderson took the money that had been raised for new uniforms and pocketed it. Then he took the old band uniforms and replaced the patches to make them seem new. After Simon shared this information with proof at the faculty meeting, he and Maddie watched as the cops took Mr. Anderson away. They figured he'd be questioned and arrested, but not for murder. Simon said he could give the police Mr. Anderson's phone, but they'd never find out who he called. Maddie went to the ghost movie night, where she gave Charley a notepad to write a note to Emilio, promising she'd get it to him. When Maddie spotted Dawn using a phone, she asked where she'd gotten it. Dawn said a freshman had left it behind and she used living people's phones all the time, so she knew everyone's passcodes. Maddie got Mr. Anderson's passcode from her and went to Simon with it. They unlocked the phone and called the number Mr. Anderson had called that night. When the voicemail picked up, they learned it was Claire's phone.

### Homecoming Game

Maddie and Simon watched Claire as she continued her campaign for Homecoming queen. While they were watching her with her friends, Simon questioned if Claire's friends would be willing to kill for her. He also asked Maddie about being friends with Claire. Maddie explained that they were neighbors, but after Claire moved back after spending a year away, she never spoke to her again. Simon said maybe she was holding onto that.

Maddie and Charley then searched Claire's purse, but found nothing. Then they watched as Claire questioned Principal Hartman about Mr. Anderson under the guise of being concerned about her parents, who had donated some of the money he stole. Rhonda then told Charley and Maddie they needed to come back to the gym to help decorate for Homecoming.

Maddie helped Wally paint a banner. It was an annual tradition for them to decorate for Homecoming and let Wally relive his glory days. Wally told her he died during his Homecoming game and his family still shows up every year. While they were painting Maddie saw her mother come in and ask to be directed to Ms. Fields's room. She followed her there and listened as Sandra got Maddie's missed work and talked about wanting to be a better mom for her. When Sandra left, Maddie followed her until she saw Simon in Mr. Anderson's classroom. She went in and he showed her that he'd found all of Claire's essays for the year. They were all the same essay, yet she had As on all of them. Maddie told Simon that her mom had come to the school and she was sober. She wanted to pause the investigation so her mom could get her life back.

At the Homecoming game, Maddie told Wally about her mom and how well she was doing and he shared that he never really liked playing football and only did it because his mom wanted him to. Maddie said she thought maybe the hope that Maddie would come back would be enough to keep Sandra going and Wally reminded her that she wasn't coming back.

Simon came to Maddie at the game and showed her a video of Claire blackmailing Mr. Anderson about the money he'd stolen in order to get straight As. He said if Claire knew about the video and thought Maddie took it, that was motive. Maddie decided to resume the investigation, saying she couldn't protect her mother by giving up. Her mom needed to know that she was never coming home so she could move on. Maddie decided that Simon needed to get Xavier to ask Claire to the Homecoming dance and get close to her again in order to get her to crack. Through Simon, she dictated exactly what Xavier's text to Claire should say. At the end of the game, Wally came to Maddie and thanked her for helping him get free. Then he asked her to the Homecoming dance and she said yes.

Simon told Maddie he thought he knew who sent the video as he remembered Mr. South was watching a video when he'd visited him earlier to get the key to Mr. Anderson's room. They went to ask him, but learned the video he was hiding was of the graffiti on the walls of the boiler room, which was unfavorable to Maddie. While they talked, Maddie walked away. She found a door and through Simon, asked Mr. South where it led. They opened it to find a fallout shelter. At the other end of the shelter was a passageway, which Simon was sure Claire used to move Maddie's body out of the boiler room.

### Homecoming Dance

Maddie told Simon that she was going to the Homecoming Dance with Wally, which shocked him, but she said she didn't want to talk about that and instead wanted to talk about Claire. When Xavier said Claire had said she'd go to the dance with him, Maddie, through Simon, told him to have Nicole help him get ready.

Maddie then worked with Rhonda to find a dress for herself for the dance. She asked Rhonda if ghosts could have sex and Rhonda confirmed that they could and that all of them had. Rhonda was surprised that Maddie hadn't.

Charley gave Maddie the finished letter for Emilio and Maddie encouraged him to cut it down and write it as himself when he was alive, so it wouldn't freak Emilio out. She also told him that once he sent it, he'd have to forgive himself and live his death.

Xavier told Simon he felt like he was walking into a trap with Claire, but through Simon, Maddie said he couldn't back out because he owed her.

Maddie met up with Wally, who gave her a paper corsage with his football number on it. They went to the dance, where Simon told her he had the letter ready. She told him to give it to Mr. Figueroa and pretend he found it in an old library book. She told him how much it would mean to Charley. He could finally move on. Simon asked if she would cross over once they solved her murder and she said she didn't know.

Maddie went back to Wally, but got distracted watching Xavier and Claire. He finally told her he didn't think she was ready to be dead yet. She reminded him she'd only been dead for two weeks.

Maddie talked to Charley, who said that being a ghost sucked a lot of the time, but he got to watch Emilio close an old, deep wound thanks to Maddie. He felt like he was ready to forgive and live his death like Maddie had suggested and hinted that Maddie could do the same.

Maddie found Wally and apologized for ignoring him at the dance. Then she kissed him. Maddie and Wally went back to the dance, where Maddie drew Simon's attention to a conversation. They both listened as Principal Hartman and Mr. Figueroa talked about Mr. South being detained by police in connection to a possible murder weapon the police had found.

### Anti-Séance

Maddie decided to work on unlocking her memories of the day she died. The other ghosts decided to help her, despite Mr. Martin's objections. They had her eat a burrito, which was her last meal, and sang the last song that she remembered hearing. Neither worked, so Wally suggested hypnosis, but Dawn said hypnosis was too dangerous. She suggested an anti-séance instead, which Maddie agreed to try.

Maddie was in the room while Simon was interviewed by an alum from Northwestern. She became agitated when he tanked the interview and then left early. She later found Simon at the bus stop and he told her that he learned the boot print they found in the woods they thought was Maddie's wasn't hers after all. He also explained that Northwestern didn't feel right anymore without her. She told him he couldn't stop living just because she had. Simon brushed that off and said he thought Nicole might have something to do with her disappearance. Maddie said she wanted them to be sure before they confronted Nicole as she would never forgive Simon.

At the anti-séance, Maddie struggled to recount her last day, so Dawn decided to take them back to her own last day and told them the story of how she'd died. She died trying to hide from her friends as she overheard them talking about her being flaky and spaced-out. When Dawn was done, she said it should have been them instead of her. Maddie suggested trying something else to conjure her memories.

Maddie went back to Simon, who said that Nicole might have taken the video of Mr. Anderson and Claire and used it to blackmail him, though Mr. Anderson thought it was Maddie. He also expressed sadness that solving her murder might lead to her crossing over, which would take her away permanently. She reminded him he'd be graduating in June, which might mean he would leave before her.

Maddie watched as Simon confronted Nicole, who admitted to blackmailing Mr. Anderson, but said it was to get the money so she could go to Chicago with them, as both schools she'd applied to didn't think her portfolio was good enough to get her a scholarship. When Simon said they needed to turn the money into the police to prove Mr. South's innocence, Maddie followed them as they went out to the woods. Dawn stopped her on the way and apologized for not being able to help her. Maddie said it was fine and if anything, Dawn was owed an apology for how those girls had treated her. She said Dawn wasn't a joke and she regretted the times in her life when she hurt people instead of being there for them.

Maddie followed Simon and Nicole out to the woods, where they attempted to dig up the money, but couldn't find it. Maddie saw someone coming toward them from the woods and tried to warn them, but went unheard. Then she had flashes back to her mother yelling at her. When Simon took off after the person after hearing them, Maddie begged him to stop. Then she had more flashes of her mom yelling at her. When Rhonda, Wally, and Charley found her, she told them she needed to talk to her mom because she thought her mom might have killed her.

### Confronting Sandra

Maddie had Simon search her house for the money, believing Sandra had taken it. When he came back, he told her he hadn't found the money, but did find Maddie's necklace, which wasn't with her when she died, despite her wearing it earlier that day. She asked him to get her mother to the school so she could question her.

Maddie then talked to Wally and admitted she was scared to learn the truth about her death. He reminded her that she was the one who taught him to face his fears.

Simon got Sandra to the school under the guise of accepting an award on Maddie's behalf. He questioned her about the last day and then asked her why she had Maddie's necklace. As Sandra started crying, Maddie remembered what had happened. When asked, Sandra said she'd lied about seeing Maddie that day because she was ashamed of what had happened. After hearing Sandra talk about it, she realized her mother hadn't killed her.

After watching Sandra accept the fall English award on her behalf and give a speech about how Maddie was a caring person, Maddie told Mr. Martin she thought she was ready to write her obituary. She finished it as Simon found her. She read it to him and told him how much it meant to her to have him and how it made life bearable. He was the only person who loved her unconditionally and never asked for anything of her. He said he wished that were true and showed her a video Nicole had sent him of the driver who had hit Xavier. The video showed Maddie, leading him to believe that Maddie had actually run away and she was some kind of figment his brain made up to cope with losing her. Maddie told him she was real, but he left. She followed him out to the bus stop and tried to follow him as he left, but got thrown back to the boiler room, where she finally remembered how she'd died. Then she heard Wally, Charley, and Rhonda calling for help from the fallout shelter. They warned her that she couldn't trust Mr. Martin, unaware that Mr. Martin was already watching her.

## Relationships

### Romantic

She was dating Xavier Baxter at the time of her death, but was unaware he was also hooking up with Claire Zomer. During their relationship, Maddie never allowed Xavier inside her home. They also never had sex because Maddie said she didn't want her first time to be in the auto shop. She went to the homecoming dance with Wally and they ended up kissing.

### Familial

She had a strained relationship with her mother Sandra Nears, who began drinking after her father died.

### Friendships

Simon Elroy and Nicole Herrera are her best friends. When she learned that Nicole was a talented artist, she declared that Nicole needed to be surrounded by things that inspired her and promised to take her to all the art museums in Chicago when she came to visit Maddie and Simon at Northwestern.

## Notes and Trivia

* She was 5'7" and 117 lbs.
* She was 18 at the time of her death/discorporation.
* Her house' number is 595.
* She hates cilantro.
* She was pescatarian.
* She has shoulder length blonde hair, fair skin, green eyes.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Séance Anything
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Fault of Our Scars
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Twilight End Zone
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Grave the Last Dance
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Dead and Confused
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 My So-Called Death
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Madison's Body
8. ↑ Ghoul Intentions