Play It Again

by Laura Dower

Meanwhile Hart disappeared to the other side of the room with Chet and Egg. They were talking to Rose and Joanie.

  Madison wanted to gag.

  She watched the hordes of people swirling around the room: mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and students from all the grades in Far Hills Junior High. Everyone was buzzing in a figure eight from the brownie table to the auditorium doors to the parking lot.

  Except Madison’s parents.

  Her mom and dad stood in the same place—next to each other the entire time. If she didn’t know any better, Madison would have thought that her parents were still together. They were standing there like they always did for her whole life, laughing and nodding like nothing would ever come between them.

  “Maddie!” Fiona shrieked from a few feet away. She hurried over. “Can you believe it’s over? I am so bummed.”

  “Yeah,” Madison said, glancing at Mom and Dad again. Endings were sad.

  Aimee came over right after that, trailed by Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie and the entire Gillespie brotherhood. Roger, Billy, and Dean congratulated Madison and chatted up her parents. Doug, the Gillespie ninth grader, quickly disappeared, looking for a few of his friends.

  “Do you want a ride to the cast party?” Aimee asked, hugging Madison’s shoulder.

  Madison pulled away. “The cast party?”

  “Yeah!” Aimee said. “Oh my God, it should be great. Everyone is going.”

  Madison couldn’t believe it. In the chaos of the crowd and Mom and Dad’s reunion, she had forgotten something so important.

  The cast party.

  At Poison Ivy’s house.

  “Everyone is going to be there.” Fiona giggled. She was looking around the room. “Including Egg. He’s going, right?”

  “Fiona!” Aimee said. She still cringed whenever Fiona brought up his name, which she did at every opportunity.

  “Ivy didn’t exactly invite me,” Madison said. “I don’t know if I—”

  “You’re invited, Maddie! Everyone is gonna be there,” Aimee said.

  “But Ivy and I—” Madison started to say.

  “Forget Ivy,” Aimee declared. “The cast party is the absolute best part of the show, Madison. It’s the whole point. If you don’t go, I won’t go.”

  “It’s just that—”

  “Maddie, it’s a cast party, not her party! She may be a good witch in the play—”

  Fiona interrupted. “But she’s a bad witch in real life.”

  They all laughed.

  When Madison slipped backstage again to get her orange bag, she bumped into Lindsay. Lindsay was sitting at one of the mirrors in the dressing room, brushing out her hair.

  “Oh,” Lindsay said, surprised to see Madison in the mirror’s reflection. “I was just getting ready to go home.”

  “Home? What about the cast party? You have to go to the cast party. Everyone’s going to be there,” Madison said.

  “Nah, I don’t think so.” Lindsay sighed.

  “But you’re Dorothy! You’re the star of the show!”

  Lindsay smiled. “Yeah, of the show, maybe, but not the party. I don’t feel like it. In case you didn’t notice, I don’t exactly have a million friends.”

  Madison sat in the chair next to Lindsay. “What do you mean? You have friends.”

  Lindsay ran the brush through her hair again. “Forget it.”

  “You have friends, Lindsay. I’m your friend.”

  Lindsay turned to Madison. “That’s nice of you, Madison. But I know we were just friends during the show. It’s okay.”

  It was definitely NOT okay.

  Madison thought about Aimee and Ivy pretending to get along during The Wiz. Was she doing the same thing with Lindsay?

  “Lindsay, you have to come to the cast party. Come with us.”

  “Us?”

  “Me and Aimee and Fiona.”

  “That’s okay. Really. You go.”

  Madison stood up again. “You sure?”

  Lindsay nodded. She pulled her hair back on both sides with her heart barrettes.

  “You should really wear your hair down,” Madison said. “It looks better that way.”

  Lindsay looked into the mirror. “Really?” She took the clips out.

  “And you should really go to the party, too,” Madison added.

  Lindsay stood up and started to pack her bag. She shook her head. “Maybe another time. I’m just not into it. Not tonight.”

  “How are you getting home?” Madison asked.

  “I’ll just walk.”

  “By yourself?” Madison cried.

  Lindsay laughed softly. “I always do.”

  “Where are your parents?” Madison asked.

  “They don’t come to these things,” Lindsay said simply. “But it’s okay.”

  It was definitely NOT okay.

  Lindsay started to walk away from the dressing tables. “See you later, Madison. Thanks again for everything.”

  Madison waved her arms up. “Hey, wait! I still really think you should come to the party. Won’t you just come for a little while?”

  “Maybe.” Lindsay waved and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Madison got her own bag and went off to find Aimee, Fiona, and her ride to the cast party. She was disappointed that nothing she’d said seemed to help with Lindsay.

  Aimee was standing out in front of the school building, spinning around. Her brother Roger was pulling the van up. Fiona stood nearby, chatting with Mr. Gibbons. He had Chocolate on a leash.

  “Fantastic,” the teacher said, clapping Madison on the back. “What fine work, Madison. Just grand.”

  Roger pulled up, and they all got into the van.

  “Good-bye, Mr. Gibbons,” Aimee yelled out. “See you at the party!”

  Madison sank into the backseat and stared out the window as they pulled away. The Wiz was over. She felt relief and sadness at the same time.

  “Lindsay didn’t want to come?” Fiona asked.

  Aimee nodded. “Yeah, where is she?”

  Madison shrugged. “She went home.”

  “Hey.” Aimee nudged her brother. “What reeks?”

  Roger’s van smelled funny, like old socks. Fiona and Madison pinched their noses and Aimee fanned hers.

  “I don’t smell anything,” Roger said. He opened the window and a rush of cool, fall wind blew in.

  “That’s better, stinky,” Aimee said. Fiona and Madison were laughing in the backseat.

  “You guys were dynamite onstage tonight,” Roger said, peering into his rearview mirror to see Madison and Fiona in the backseat. “And offstage, too. Miss Stage Manager.”

  Madison felt herself blush a little. Just like Dad, Roger knew how to say the right things. If she had to have a runner-up crush on anyone in the whole world, it would be Roger Gillespie, with his stinky car and all.

  When they arrived at the Daly house, Roger could barely get into the driveway. There were too many cars dropping off kids and parking at the side of the road. Everyone really was there.

  When the three friends walked into Ivy’s front hallway, it was like walking into a magazine spread from House Beautiful. Mrs. Daly had little china dishes set out on each table with peanuts and other snacks. The dining room table was decorated with flowers and punch bowls. Everywhere she looked, Madison saw food, people, and more food. Mrs. Daly was floating from room to room, making sure the guests were eating. She had on a witch hat like the ones from The Wiz.

  “Hey, Madison!” Drew came over and said hello to the three girls. “There are these little pizzas inside, and everyone is hanging out in the den.”

  Aimee answered for everyone. “Thanks for the info, Drew.”

  Chet bounced over with Hart in tow.

  Hart.

  “Hey, Finnster!” he said. “Hey, Aim and Fiona.”

  Madison couldn’t take her eyes off him. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and he looked cuter than cute. As he walked toward the food, Madison started to follow, but
then she heard a familiar voice. A voice she didn’t expect to hear.

  Lindsay?

  She turned to see Lindsay hanging up her coat in the front hall closet with Mr. Daly’s assistance. Her hair was down like it had been in the dressing room.

  “Hey, look who’s here!” Aimee saw her, too.

  “She looks different,” Fiona said. “What’s different?”

  Madison smiled. Everything was different. Lindsay had taken Madison’s advice and turned up for the party.

  As Madison rushed over, she noticed people staring at Lindsay. Wearing her hair down had made all the difference.

  Lindsay looks pretty, Madison thought.

  The house was filling up quicker than quick. Kids crammed into the different rooms, while a fleet of teachers made their way to the hors d’oeuvres table. Madison overheard Mr. Gibbons asking Mrs. Wing what she thought of cheese puffs and spinach dip. Mr. and Mrs. Montefiore had already taken a seat at the Daly piano and were playing a jazzy tune.

  Aimee came over to Madison and Lindsay. “Let’s go scope out the action in the other room,” she said.

  “Okeydokey,” Lindsay replied. She tugged on her black cowl-neck sweater.

  They both followed Aimee out the door.

  “Maybe the party won’t be so awful after all,” Madison said to Aimee, smiling.

  Chapter 14

  CHET WAS SHOWING EVERYONE at the party how he could balance a spoon on the end of his nose. Aimee tried, too, but kept dropping it.

  Drew and Egg were busy throwing peanuts into their mouths. Egg flicked one over toward Hart.

  “No way, man—I’m allergic to peanuts!” Hart said.

  Madison made a mental note. She’d have to add that information into her Hart file—NO PEANUTS.

  “Come on, you guys,” Madison said. She wanted some punch.

  “Did you hear about Mrs. Wing?” Fiona said.

  “What?” Madison said. She couldn’t believe she didn’t know something about her favorite teacher.

  “I heard that her husband is a spy,” Fiona said.

  “Get OUT!” Aimee laughed.

  “Seriously,” Fiona continued. “Or a detective. Anyway, he’s supposedly really cute.”

  Madison knew Mrs. Wing’s husband would be cute.

  “Didn’t they just get married or something?” Aimee asked.

  Madison’s head spun. There were so many things she knew nothing about.

  They all walked over to the drink table. Mrs. Daly had food and beverage stations set up all over her house.

  Madison looked for Lindsay as Aimee poured her a drink. Lindsay was right there on a sofa, talking to a techie and another teacher, Mr. Lynch. He was the faculty advisor who helped set up the show’s light board.

  “Excuse me.” Poison Ivy pushed Madison to the left to get a cup of pineapple punch. “Having a good time?” she asked, smirking.

  Madison shrugged. “Sure,” she said.

  “Really?” Ivy said, sipping her punch.

  “Um … where’s the bathroom?”

  “We have three,” Ivy shot back. “You can use the one down there next to the den.”

  As Madison wandered out of the bathroom, she made her way into the Dalys’ den. She was attracted to all the books. Shelves had been lined with leather volumes, and an antique spoon collection hung framed on one wall. Silver frames gleamed like they’d been polished this morning.

  Everything felt a little untouchable, kind of like Poison Ivy herself.

  Madison saw a photograph of Ivy that must have been taken back when they were in second grade. The photo seemed so familiar, and it took Madison a moment to realize why.

  She’d been there.

  In the picture, Ivy was seated on a log and her head was thrown back, midlaugh. Madison remembered that she was the one who made Ivy crack up that day. She had been standing just outside the frame of the photograph when it had been taken. Back then, Ivy and Madison knew how to make each other crack up on command.

  Madison remembered everything about that day, from cherry ice cream cones to sitting on the log in the photo, making frog noises.

  “Hey!” Aimee burst into the den, talking a mile a minute. “Oh my God, Maddie, what are you doing in here? You have to come into the living room and see what Hart Jones is doing. He knows these magic tricks and it is way cool. Come on!”

  Madison followed Aimee back into the bustle of the party. A bunch of kids and teachers had gathered around the coffee table. Hart was kneeling down.

  “Okay, Egg, pick a card,” he was saying. “Any card.”

  Egg cracked, “What is that, a fixed deck or something?”

  “Just pick a card, man,” Chet said.

  Egg pulled a card out of the deck and looked at it. He put it back again. After shuffling the deck, Hart went through each card until he reached the jack of diamonds. He looked up at Egg.

  “No WAY! How did you know that?” Egg said.

  Everyone laughed.

  Madison watched as Hart did the trick again for Egg’s sister, Mariah. Once again, he identified the right card.

  “He’s like a real wizard,” Fiona said. Hart had put on his purple cape with the stars again as a joke.

  Madison wished she had the nerve to go over and do the trick with Hart, but she didn’t. She just watched as he flashed the cards to the rest of the group.

  “Hey, Madison.” Lindsay came up to her, smiling.

  “Hey.” Madison grinned. “I’m glad you came to the party, Lindsay.”

  “I was leaving the building and Mr. Gibbons saw me walking away. He said he wouldn’t let me go home alone, so he gave me a ride over. He’s so nice.”

  Madison nodded. “It’s a fun party. Are you glad you’re here?”

  “I’m really here because of you,” Lindsay said softly. “You were right about everything. So thanks for that. Thanks for being a real friend.”

  Madison couldn’t help but smile.

  Ivy was perched on a chair across the room. She announced, “Sundaes in the kitchen! Does anyone want ice cream?”

  Everyone hustled in. No one would turn down homemade sundaes. Mrs. Daly had hot fudge and whipped cream and a whole lineup of toppings, on the counter. Ivy was waving an ice-cream scoop around like it was a magic wand.

  As fate would have it, Madison ended up in the ice cream line next to Hart.

  Magic.

  “Cool tricks you were doing in there,” she said.

  “Thanks, Finnster,” he said. “My dad got me magic lessons for my birthday last year. I know a pretty cool rope trick, too. I’ll show you sometime.”

  “Hello, Hart.” Ivy appeared with a bowl of ice cream. She handed it to him. “If you want toppings, they’re all over there.”

  He grabbed the bowl and walked away. “See ya, Finnster.”

  Ivy looked at Madison and tilted her head to one side. “Having fun yet?” she said. “Everyone says my party is great.”

  Madison didn’t want to be rude. “Everything’s great, Ivy.”

  Ivy shrugged. “I know.” She walked away.

  Aimee was standing away from the ice cream and sauces. Madison went over to talk to her.

  “No ice cream, Aim?” she asked.

  Aimee shook her head. “Nope. I have to watch what I eat. I don’t want to get all bloated.”

  Aimee was always worrying about her body. She said she needed to be careful because of dance. She wanted to look good in her leotard. Madison thought she looked just fine.

  Fiona wasn’t worried about anything, however. She had piled ice cream, caramel sauce, and nuts in a bowl and was headed across the room toward Egg. She’d probably be back for seconds, too.

  “Look at that,” Madison said to Aimee when she saw where Fiona was headed. “Look who Fiona is sitting with.”

  “Oh my God!” Aimee said. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

  “I dunno.”

  Now it was Aimee and Madison’s turn to giggle.

&nb
sp; “Pssst! Look at that guy over there,” Aimee said. She nodded in the direction of a tall kid with a crew cut. He looked like he had an earring. He’d been one of the techies who’d helped to rig Emerald City and some of the other set pieces, including the oversized trees Mom helped get.

  “He’s in ninth grade, isn’t he?” Madison asked.

  Aimee raised her eyebrows. “So?”

  Madison pushed her friend. “Aimee, I can’t believe you.”

  “I’m gonna go talk to him,” she said.

  Madison watched as Aimee approached the nameless ninth grader. She didn’t stop smiling once. Aimee sure knew how to get a guy’s attention. Madison wondered what magic was involved in that.

  The party kept up until almost nine-thirty. Madison didn’t see Lindsay again, so she figured she must have left.

  Fiona was hanging out with Chet, Egg, and Drew on a sofa, talking about computer games. Fiona was sitting right next to Egg. Madison wondered if they would start dating. She pushed that out of her thoughts real quick.

  “Guess what?” Aimee suddenly reappeared with a giant smile. She said that her brother Roger would be coming to pick them up in a few minutes.

  “What happened to that ninth grader?”

  “He was nice,” Aimee said, not revealing much detail.

  “So what are you gonna do?” Madison asked.

  Aimee shrugged. She had no idea what she would do. It was just fun to flirt.

  “You know what?” Aimee asked all of a sudden. “You’re a great friend!”

  Madison was surprised. “Why are you saying that, Aimee?”

  “Because. You’re so nice. To me. To Lindsay….” Aimee’s voice trailed off. “Seventh grade just stresses me out and I’m not so good at being nice. I know that.”

  “You’re great, too,” Madison said, wrapping her arm around Aimee’s shoulder. “You’re my best, best friend.”

  Aimee had a big grin on her face. “We made it to junior high, Maddie. We used to talk about this. Parties. Boys. All of it. And now …”

  Madison sighed. “We’re really here.”

  With arms locked, they glanced around the room. Madison had come this far and now she wished she could just go a little more. If only she could flirt better! Madison hadn’t spoken more than five words to Hart since the party started. And even when she did speak, Ivy always showed up in the middle of it.