Double Dare

by Laura Dower

  Madison made her way toward the computers. Chet was nowhere in sight. But that didn’t mean anything. He may have just gotten up for a drink of water, or gone to the rest room. Moving quietly past the stacks of reference books, Madison chose a computer in the corner, with a good view of the rest of the library. She wanted to keep her eyes and ears open for Chet.

  Even though the school computers were supposed to be used for homework and research only, Madison plugged in her flash drive and uploaded a file she had worked on the night before.

  E-vite

  Fiona and Chet’s Party

  TOP-SECRET INVITATION LIST

  Aimee

  Me

  Egg

  Drew

  Lindsay

  Hart

  Suresh

  Ben

  Daisy

  Dan

  Ivy

  Joan

  Rose

  Lance

  It’s funny, when I look at the list of people who are coming to the party, it doesn’t seem like such a huge number. But it took two of us days to come up with it—and then we still needed Egg and Drew’s help! I thought making a list was going to be the easy part, but it turned out to be the hardest. Designing the layout for the invitation is simple. Figuring out who someone’s real friends are is hard.

  Rude Awakening: Friendship is like a peanut-butter sandwich. Sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s just plain sticky.

  I know that I’ll probably regret inviting Ivy and her drones, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. Aimee and I sent out the e-vite last night when she came over after dinner. Besides, it’s Fiona’s party—and I know that Fiona wouldn’t want to hurt Ivy’s feelings by not inviting her. I think Fiona still likes Ivy … although why is a mystery to me. She’ll learn soon enough about Ivy’s true colors.

  So what now? All I have left to do is wait for everyone to reply. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and Ivy won’t come. LOL. Not too likely. Ivy never misses a party.

  Madison opened the JPEG of the invitation she and Aimee had made so she could attach it to her e-vite. They had no time left for sound effects—but the art looked great.

  Shhhhh!

  LET’S HAVE A BALL @

  FIONA AND CHET’S TOP-SECRET

  SURPRISE BOWLING PARTY!

  Day: Saturday, September 30

  Where: Gotta Bowl! Lanes … then to Fiona and Chet’s house for cake and presents!

  Time: 12:30

  (Don’t be late, or you could ruin the surprise!)

  RSVP to MadFinn@TweenBlurt.com

  (Madison Finn)

  Madison wondered whether anyone had responded to the invitation yet. She would be checking her e-mail the second she arrived home that afternoon!

  “Whooooooa!” Madison yelled, jumping nearly a foot in the air when someone tapped her right shoulder.

  When she looked, there was no one there.

  That’s when she knew who it was.

  Chet and Egg. Laughing their heads off at her.

  “Gotcha, Maddie!” Egg said.

  Madison gulped and turned to block the monitor. What was Egg doing, sneaking up on her with Chet? If Chet had seen the party invitation up on her screen, the whole surprise would be ruined! “Ha, ha,” Madison smirked. She minimized the JPEG of the e-vite and closed the screen.

  “You should’ve seen your face—priceless!” Egg said, still laughing.

  “Yeah, what’re you hiding there?” Chet asked, cocking an eyebrow at her screen. “Your webpage?”

  “None of your business,” Madison said quickly.

  “Madison doesn’t like to share,” Egg said.

  “Well, sometimes it’s good to keep your mouth shut,” Madison snapped, making a face at Egg. “Maybe you ought to practice that, Walter.” She used his real name when she wanted to make him squirm.

  Egg coughed. “You’re supposed to talk about things with your friends, Maddie,” he said.

  “What’s THAT supposed to mean?” Madison said.

  “Forget it,” Egg mumbled. He looked at the floor.

  Madison fiddled with a strand of hair. “No—really. Tell me. I want to know.”

  Egg looked at Chet uncertainly, and Chet looked away.

  “Why won’t you tell us what you’re working on with Fiona?” Egg blurted suddenly. “What’s the big secret about your stupid webpage? Are you afraid we’ll steal your ideas, or something?”

  Madison didn’t know how to answer him. He was right. They weren’t sharing. They wanted to demolish Egg and Chet—not share. What was that about?

  “It’s just that—” Madison said, then stopped.

  “Just what?” Egg asked.

  “I don’t know,” Madison said lamely, even though she did.

  “Well it’s starting to feel like you don’t trust me,” Egg said. “We’ve been friends a long time, Maddie, but maybe it’s time for me to log off.”

  “What?” Madison felt her jaw drop open. Egg wasn’t serious, was he? “Thanks a lot,” she griped. “You’re mad because I won’t tell you all about my project, but you didn’t even pick me as your partner!”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Egg said.

  “It has everything to do with everything!” Madison said loudly.

  Mr. Books poked his head around the corner.

  “Ms. Finn,” Mr. Books said, “I suggest that you and your friends keep your voices down. I like quiet in my library.”

  “Sorry. But, it doesn’t matter,” Egg declared. “Because Chet and I were just leaving.”

  “Very well,” Mr. Books said, walking away.

  Chet made a face. “That guy acts so strange sometimes.”

  “He’s not the only one!” Egg said, looking directly at Madison. He turned on his heel and strode away. Chet gave Madison a quick, apologetic look and hurried after his friend.

  Madison slumped in her chair for a moment, arms crossed. She had come to the media lab to do some work on her webpage, but she had gotten nothing done. And there was no way she could work on it now—her mind was totally overloaded. She closed her files and started packing up to leave. Fresh air would make her feel better.

  When Madison stepped into the bright sunshine, her body flooded with warmth and she felt her mood change. Checking her watch, she decided to head over to the soccer fields. Fiona’s practice would be finishing up soon. Maybe a talk with her BFF would help her forget about her argument with Egg?

  The girls’ soccer team was running drills when Madison reached the sidelines. Fiona spotted Madison right away and jogged over.

  “Hey, we’re almost done,” she said breathlessly. “Can you wait a few?”

  “Sure,” Madison said, dropping her backpack on the soft grass. It was still a little damp from rain the night before.

  “Hey, Maddie!” Daisy called from the field. She winked and gave Madison a big thumbs-up. Madison took that to mean that Daisy had read the e-vite.

  Madison watched as Fiona and her teammates practiced penalty shots and kicking into the goal. Fiona was really good. The goalie had a hard time keeping up with her powerful kicks.

  Before dismissing the team, the coach had everyone huddle up so they could end practice with a quick cheer. Fiona trotted over to Madison.

  “Thanks for waiting,” she said, picking up her bag from beside the bench.

  “No prob,” Madison said. She and Fiona fell into step as they walked away from the field.

  “I’ve got some very interesting news,” Fiona said, smiling

  “What?” Madison asked.

  “My dumb brother left his webpage up on the computer last night, and I saw it,” Fiona said, waggling her eyebrows.

  Madison stopped in her tracks. “You’re kidding!”

  Fiona shook her head. “No lie. You won’t believe this—it’s an all-science site, and it’s loaded with all these crazy graphics. It even plays this dumb song, which was totally in my head all night.”
Fiona groaned.

  “Sounds really flashy,” Madison said, biting her lip.

  “Yeah, flashy,” Fiona said with a snort. “But it takes forever to load. I think that’s why Chet wandered away from the computer—he got sick of waiting for it to pop up.”

  “Hmmm.” Madison pressed her lips together, thinking of her and Fiona’s webpage. Sure, it was useful and had a lot of links. It was functional, just as Mrs. Wing and Dad said it should be. But would the judges be more impressed with cool graphics and music? She thought again about adding the sounds …

  “And now Chet’s asked Mom and Dad for WebScore 3000 for his birthday,” Fiona went on. “It’s supposed to have amazing graphics for webpage design. But—whatever—our birthday is on Saturday and the webpages are due Friday. It’s not like he’ll really have time to use it—”

  A chill skittered down Madison’s spine. Fiona had just said the word birthday twice. Madison remembered Daisy’s wink. Had she let anything slip to Fiona about the party?

  “Uh … right … Saturday,” Madison said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Your birthday’s this weekend. Are you guys doing anything?”

  Fiona sighed. “Just the same old same old, I’m sure,” she said. “Mom’s barely even mentioned it this year.”

  “Do you know what you want?” Madison asked, looking at her friend’s face carefully. Was Fiona just pretending not to know?

  Fiona kicked at a stone on the sidewalk. “I don’t know what I want,” she said. “I’ve barely even thought about it. The thing about my birthday, Maddie, is that it isn’t ever totally special, because I always have to share it with HIM. Argggh!”

  Madison chuckled at the reference to Chet. And she was now satisfied that Fiona had no clue about the party plans.

  Either that, or Fiona deserved an Academy Award for this performance.

  So the surprise was still on—full steam ahead.

  Chapter 8

  WHEN MADISON GOT HOME, she rushed up to her room to boot up her computer and check her e-mail. Had anyone responded to the e-vite? When the screen popped up, she nearly fell off her chair.

  FROM

  SUBJECT

  Balletgrl

  Re: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  LuvNstuff

  Re: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  W_Wonka7

  Re: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  Kickit88

  Re: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  Sk8ingboy

  Re: Fw: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  Waters

  Thank You!

  JeffFinn

  See You Soon

  Madison squealed. There were so many responses so soon—and some were from e-mail addresses that she didn’t even recognize!

  “But what if …” Madison’s mind wandered. “What if these are e-mails saying people can’t come to the party? Oh, no!”

  She quickly selected the first note at the top of the list.

  From: Balletgrl

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Re: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  Date: Tues 26 Sept 10:14 AM

  Sorry, Maddie, but I’m busy that day. J/K!!! The e-vite looks great—I love the TOP SECRET stuff you added!!!! This is going to be such a blast!!!!

  Of course I’m coming … I cannot wait for us to make the cake. CU tomorrow. I’ll bring the frosting like I said.

  Hugs and kisses,

  Aim

  p.s. I bet ur stressing out about the invites, but DON’T. They look great and I know everyone will come!!!

  Madison laughed, feeling slightly less stressed. Aimee was such a good BFF. She knew exactly what Madison was feeling sometimes before Madison even felt it. Madison moved onto the next e-mail, from Lindsay Frost.

  From: LuvNstuff

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Re: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  Date: Tues 26 Sept 12:22 PM

  Hi, Maddie! This looks like so much fun—I’ll definitely be there.

  Thank Mrs. Waters so much for inviting me!

  Lindsay

  The next two e-mails were both acceptances, too. Drew said he couldn’t wait until Saturday and Daisy asked what she should wear. Madison breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did it look like this party was really going to happen, but people were sounding genuinely excited about it.

  Madison had to catch her breath when she opened the next e-mail reply.

  From: Sk8ing Boy

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: Re: Fw: Shhh! Top Secret Party!

  Date: Tues 26 Sept 1:16 PM

  Hey, Finnster! Egg told me no blading on Sat. I guess THIS is why. You are totally gonna surprise them. I’ll be there 4 sure. Coolness!

  I really like the invitation, BTW.

  Hart

  Madison reread Hart’s e-mail five more times. He didn’t just like the invitation—he really liked it. Madison hit SAVE and moved the e-mail into its own special file: HJ.

  Even better than getting the e-mail from Hart, however, was NOT getting one from Ivy or her drones. Did this mean that they hadn’t gotten the e-vite? Or were they NOT coming? Madison could only cross her fingers and toes. She’d have to be patient and read on.

  From: Waters

  To: MadFinn; Balletgrl

  Subject: Thank You!

  Date: Tues 26 Sept 2:01 PM

  Aimee and Madison,

  I am so impressed with all the work you girls have done. This invitation looks wonderful! Mr. Waters said he’d never seen such a nice invitation. Thank you both so much for all of your help.

  I do need your help with one more thing. If it isn’t too much trouble, would you girls let me know what kinds of food and sodas you think people would like to have at the party? It’s coming up so soon!

  Helen Waters

  Food? Sodas? Madison couldn’t believe how much work it was to plan a party. She shot off a quick response to Mrs. Waters, copying Aimee on the reply.

  From: MadFinn

  To: Waters; Balletgrl

  Subject: Re: Thank you!

  Date: Tues 26 Sept 3:44 PM

  Hi, Mrs. Waters!

  Lots of people have already responded to the e-vite. Isn’t that great? Thanks for saying all those nice things. It was no problem! I’ll send you a list of everyone’s names as soon as I hear from them.

  I know you were going to do it, but Aimee and I want to bake the birthday cake. Is that all right with you? I think Fiona likes chocolate. Does Chet?

  We’ll think about what other food would be fun, too, like you asked. I think people will be happy with pizza and any kind of juice. I like root beer.

  Please write back.

  Maddie

  Madison clicked SEND, and watched as the message disappeared into cyberspace. She knew the next message was from Dad.

  From: JeffFinn

  To: MadFinn

  Subject: See You

  Date: Tues 26 Sept 4:01 PM

  Dinner still on? I’ll pick you up out front of the house around 7:30. Stephanie is meeting us @ the restaurant @ 8. Indian food ok? Hope so!

  Love, Dad

  Madison got up from her desk and flopped onto her bed. She had four hours more to chill out before Dad got there—and she felt so relaxed now!

  “I guess I didn’t really realize how worried I was about this party,” Madison said to Phinnie, who was asleep by her feet, as usual. “But it really looks as though everything is coming together …”

  “Honey bear?” Mom asked, poking her head through the door. “Are you talking to someone?”

  “Hi, Mom,” Madison said. “Just talking to myself.”

  Phin waddled over to Mom to say hello and then sat by the side of Madison’s bed until she leaned over and picked him up.

  “How’s the party planning?” Mom asked.

  “Excellent,” Madison replied. “Almost everyone is coming! Now all we have to do is bake the cake, if Mrs. Waters says that’s okay. She asked if we’d h
elp make a list of other food and drinks kids would like, too. There is so much to do when you plan a party.”

  “Hmm.” Mom tugged on a piece of hair—one of her classic thinking gestures. “Well, I have an idea. Since it’s a party for twins, maybe you could serve food that comes in pairs. Like, give everyone two scoops of ice cream?”

  Madison giggled. “Yeah—on those side-by-side cones,” she said. “What else comes in twos?”

  “Twix Bars!” Mom said.

  Madison chimed in. “And Twinkies—”

  “Stop!” Mom said. “Whatever happened to carrot sticks?”

  “They don’t come in twos. Mom,” Madison said.

  Mom laughed. “I think you’re doing a super job.”

  “I hope this party is going to be greater than great,” Madison cried. “Right, Phinnie?”

  Phin rolled over so Madison would scratch his belly.

  For the first time in days, Madison felt as though the surprise party and almost everything else was under control.

  Almost.

  “Hi, Dad,” Madison said, rushing down to the driveway to meet Dad’s car. It was 7:46—not 7:30 as he’d said. He was late, as usual.

  “Hello, Maddie!” Dad said when she approached the car. He leaned over to give her a kiss. “Nice top. Is it new?”

  “This old thing?” Madison said, smiling as she buckled her seat belt. Dad was good at giving just the right compliments. “Where are we eating?”

  “Bombay Palace,” Dad said. “You like that place, right?”

  “Sure, as long as I can get that tandooey skewer thing,” Madison said.

  “Tandoori chicken?” Dad said, chuckling.

  “You bet,” Madison said. Bombay Palace was one of her favorite restaurants. Even more than the food, Madison loved the atmosphere. They played music from Indian movies, and the interior was decorated with strings of teeny white Christmas lights. But best of all, Bombay Palace had the ultimate location.

  “We go by Far Hills Animal Clinic on the way, right?” Madison asked. “Dad, could we stop there for just a second? Mrs. Wing said that one of the collies just had puppies, and I really want to see them.”