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Caught in the Web

Page 4

by Laura Dower


  Read pages 101 to 151.

  “I know that’s a lot for thirty minutes, so do as much reading as is humanly possible,” Mr. Stein urged, shuffling a few papers in front of him. “But no talking, okay?” He sat down at Mr. Danehy’s desk with a thunk.

  Chet leaned over to Hart and whispered, “Am I crazy, or is this guy a walking science experiment?”

  Madison sighed audibly. “Shhh!” She opened her textbook to do the reading. There had been enough monstrous moments for one day.

  A few minutes later, however, kids got restless. First they started to mumble. Despite Mr. Stein’s instructions, whispering came over the room like a breeze. Madison was trying as hard as she could not to listen to any of it, but she couldn’t help overhearing Ivy’s whispers to Hart because they were just a foot away.

  “Hart, are you asking anyone to the Halloween dance?” Ivy was using her soft, sweet voice.

  “Nah,” Hart answered. “I’m just gonna go with some friends.”

  Ivy leaned in closer. “You can ask someone if you want. To the dance, I mean.”

  “Yeah,” Hart said. “But I don’t wanna.”

  “Do you wanna help on a dance committee?” Ivy asked. “You were at the meeting, weren’t you? What task team are you on?”

  “Not sure yet,” he said.

  “Why don’t you help with decorations, Hart? You could help hang up stuff. I bet you’d be really good. That’s the committee I’m on.”

  Madison thought she saw Ivy press her leg against Hart’s leg, but she wasn’t so sure. Were there rules about that? Hart’s knee looked a little jumpy.

  He cleared his throat. “Did you say decorations? Well … that sounds kinda … well … not for me. Thanks anyway.”

  “You could do the scary hallway, Hart. That’s an important job.”

  “I guess—look—”

  “Please,” Ivy begged. “Pretty, pretty, pretty please.”

  Madison knew Poison Ivy was using her whole bag of tricks to get Hart on her side. She even smelled like flowered perfume. Ivy knew 101 ways to get boys to do things. She’d say anything to get what she wanted.

  “Okay, okay,” Hart said. “I guess I could be on a decoration committee. Just cool out, all right? I gotta do this science now.”

  Madison couldn’t hear the rest of what was being said—only that Ivy laughed. And Hart laughed right back.

  Was he laughing at her or with her?

  And there was his knee, still bouncing up and down like a jackhammer. Was he nervous? Having a seizure? Madison dreaded the thought that Hart was actually in the middle of liking Poison Ivy Daly right there in front of Mr. Stein and everyone else in science class. Madison couldn’t take her eyes off that leg.

  “Hey! What are you looking at?” Ivy snarled. She’d caught Madison staring. She always caught Madison staring. Ivy flipped her red hair and leaned in. “It’s rude to stare, you know. You’re being rude, Madison.”

  But Hart’s legs were still moving—bounce, bounce, bounce.

  Madison secretly wished he would just fall off his stool.

  Chapter 5

  The Dance

  Rude Awakening: This Halloween is turning into Shalloween.

  They should put warning labels on people. Since Ivy joined the decorating team, the Halloween dance is doomed. She sits in our meetings with her pink smartphone sticking out of her bag and her nose stuck up in the air and I could just scream! Anytime anyone said anything, she was like, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Not only that, but I saw her outside the cafeteria (she didn’t see me) talking to this cute boy, Nick, about helping with the dance. She wanted to know if he had a date. A DATE?

  There’s no dating! This dance is for EVERYONE, not just couples. Right???

  I wonder why Hart hasn’t called me Finnster in a long time. Has he forgotten? I know I hate it when he calls me that, but I kinda miss it.

  MADISON HIT SAVE AND looked up to see the clock on top of Mrs. Wing’s filing cabinets.

  It was two forty-eight.

  She had twelve minutes to go before the last bell of the day rang. Today was one of the most anticipated soccer games of the school season—the one scheduled against Far Hills’ biggest rival school, Dunn Manor. Madison was meeting Aimee down at the lockers right after the final bell. Most of the seventh grade would be in attendance, screaming and rooting for their favorite infielders. They wanted to cheer the loudest. Aimee was even skipping her dance troupe practice for today’s game.

  It had been a hugely successful soccer season for Fiona and the rest of the Far Hills Rangers. The entire team was touted as an early contender for the district championships, and today’s match was supposed to be closer than close. The only minor problem was the rain. The Far Hills soccer field would be a little muddy, since it had been drizzling all day. Madison didn’t mind, but Aimee was obsessing about her hair frizzing.

  “Bummer! I can’t believe it’s raining.” Aimee groaned, opening her locker. Inside she had a mirror glued to the door. She combed her hair and applied a dab of all-natural lip gloss. She extended the container to Madison. “Try some.”

  Madison shook her head. “Since when do you wear makeup?”

  “Gloss is not really considered makeup,” Aimee said. “Besides, this company doesn’t test on animals. So it’s cool. And it tastes like candy.”

  Madison stuck her finger into the little pot of gloss. It was better than the strawberry kiwi smooch stuff she’d used in the past. She smacked her lips. They did shimmer. And they tasted like purple lollipops.

  Aimee brushed her blond hair some more. Madison just laughed. “What’s the point, Aimee We’re just going to get wet anyhow.”

  Madison adjusted her own ponytail and Aimee closed her locker. Dozens upon dozens of students, parents, and teachers were moving out the front doors down to the soccer field.

  Even with the light rain, seventh, eighth and ninth graders showed up. Most kids ignored the drizzle, but parents sat holding umbrellas. The game hadn’t started yet. Players from both teams were milling about on the field.

  Madison flailed her arms to catch Fiona’s attention, but Fiona didn’t see. She was in the middle of pulling up her shin guards. Madison pulled her hand down quickly so no one would spot her waving to someone who wasn’t waving back.

  “Go, Far Hills! Go, Fiona!” Aimee screeched. She would have danced around, too, but it was very damp and cramped where they were sitting. Instead she just twirled her hips and screamed.

  Aimee’s screeches and moves were as embarrassing to Madison as her own waving incident. Every time Aimee said something or did something, Madison was sure kids turned around to stare. She wanted to dive under the bleachers—and run back to her locker.

  “Look! There’s Egg and Chet!” Aimee yelled their names. “EGG! CHET!”

  They didn’t hear. They were down closer to the field, talking to a couple of seventh-grade girls. Chet had his hands in his pockets, and one girl was tugging on his sleeve. Madison couldn’t hear them but she knew exactly what they were talking about. It was like the Ivy-and-Hart conversation in science class.

  Madison wished that she could learn to flirt like Ivy and the girls who were talking to Egg and Chet.

  The Rangers were huddled in a semicircle by the sideline bench. The opposing team, the Mallards, did the same, arms locked, shirts dripping wet. The only difference between the two huddles was that the Rangers were outfitted in blue and white while the Mallards were sporting red-and-gold uniforms. Girls from both teams had mud on their legs even though they hadn’t started the game yet.

  Whoooooooooooo!

  Someone blew a whistle and a roar exploded from below. Both sides were clapping as they took the field. Everyone in the stands clapped, too. Fiona and the rest of the Rangers looked superconfident. There weren’t very many cheers for Dunn Manor, just a small group of boys and girls closer to the bottom of the bleachers. Madison saw someone’s dad holding a yellow s
ign that said WE’RE NOT DUNN UNTIL WE BEAT FAR HILLS!

  Madison felt a surge of irresistible energy being there. Soon she was cheering as loudly as Aimee.

  “Go, Rangers,” everyone shrieked together. “Go! Go! Go!”

  By now Egg, Drew, and Chet had found Madison and Aimee in the stands. They pushed their way up to their rows.

  “Yo!” Egg screamed. “This is so awesome, right? Better than elementary school games.”

  Egg and Drew whistled the kind of whistle where they stuck their two fingers into their mouths. It was way louder than the plain old pucker whistle that Madison was trying.

  Chet screamed, and everyone looked down onto the soccer field in time to see a Mallard take off with the ball. But there was no shot at goal.

  Not yet. But Fiona was on the move.

  “There she goes!” Chet screamed. It was funny, Madison thought, to see him looking so happy, almost proud, at what his sister was doing. In spite of the fact that he was the most annoying part of her life, Chet and Fiona were so totally bonded. Madison couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a twin.

  Fiona raced up and down the soccer field in the spitting rain. She got her chance to kick on goal—but missed. The crowd sighed together.

  That’s when Madison saw Hart. He was wearing a Far Hills sweatshirt. He never looked up, so he had no idea Madison was there, but she kept her eyes glued on him. She scanned the area around him, but no Ivy.

  “Madison, isn’t this the best?” Aimee squealed. “I came to soccer games before with my brothers, and it was never like this.”

  Everyone around them took a deep breath at the exact same time.

  “Ahhhh!”

  The crowd howled as the Rangers jumped around on the field. There was a penalty and an offside kick. The crowd waited. The clock ticked. Fiona kicked.

  “Goal!”

  The ball flew right into the goal net. She was a star! The Mallards’ goalie collapsed into the mud. She looked madder than mad.

  “Woooooooo!” Aimee jumped up and started to do a wave, only no one else followed. This time Madison didn’t care.

  By the time the soccer game ended, the Rangers were the hands-down winners with a score of 2-0. Fiona and another wing named Daisy Espinoza had scored the game-winning goals. Teammates slapped each other’s backs and said, “Good game, good game, good game.” Madison could hear them from where she was sitting. This victory meant the team would go on to the district championships, the first time in twelve years for Far Hills.

  Madison and Aimee hurried down the bleachers to find Fiona.

  “You won the game!” Madison said the moment she spied her soccer star friend.

  “Thanks for coming,” Fiona said. Her blue-and-white shirt was soaked through. “Hey, you guys, have you seen my mother? She was supposed to come, too.”

  “Great job!” Mrs. Waters said, appearing out of nowhere. She hugged Fiona tight. Chet was right behind, ready to give his sister a high five.

  Everyone was shivering and laughing at the same time. The coach came up to congratulate Mrs. Waters on her daughter’s success.

  “Nice kicking,” Chet said.

  Fiona couldn’t stop grinning. She looked so happy doing what she did best. It was the same look Aimee had after dance recitals.

  “So are you girls coming to our Halloween sleepover tomorrow?” Mrs. Waters asked.

  Chet laughed. “Girl party! Maybe I should invite some guys over, Ma.”

  “Chet Waters!” Mrs. Waters said. “Why don’t you just go help Fiona get her stuff over to the car?”

  “He’s not going to be there.” Fiona leaned in to whisper to Aimee and Madison. “My brother is such a geek.”

  “We’re definitely coming.” Aimee grinned. “I would never miss a sleepover. It’s really nice of you to have us over, Mrs. Waters. Thank you.”

  “I can’t wait,” Madison said. “Hope it’s not a dark and stormy night or anything like that.”

  “Like today!” Mrs. Waters laughed.

  Madison looked upward and drops pelted down onto her face. She stuck out her tongue and swallowed a little bit of rain, cool and warm at the same time.

  “Why don’t I give you girls a ride home?” Mrs. Waters said, trying in vain to hold her umbrella out over Madison and Aimee. The rain was coming down harder now. Everyone ran to the Waterses’ minivan.

  Madison saw Hart again as she was running, but he didn’t see her. Actually, she saw Egg and Drew standing there, too, but she didn’t wave like she’d done with Fiona earlier in the afternoon. One non-returned wave was enough for one day. It would be twice as mortifying if Hart was the one who didn’t wave back.

  “Race ya!” Aimee said to Fiona as they approached the minivan. She leaped over a puddle gracefully, as only a dancer could.

  “Last one there is a rotten—” Fiona was already halfway to the car.

  Madison stayed back and walked more slowly alongside Mrs. Waters. She was afraid that if she ran, she might fall and land right on her wet behind, right in the middle of the deepest puddle.

  Madison didn’t want to risk any more embarrassing episodes around Hart Jones—or anyone else.

  After a Chinese takeout dinner with Mom, Madison logged on to TweenBlurt.com home page. The writing contest deadline was fast approaching, and she needed to get some work done on her story. If only she had some ideas.

  Enter the Caught in the Web Contest TODAY!

  First Prize: Your Story on the Web plus a mystery game (valued at $25)!

  The site flashed brighter and faster than she’d remembered. Fortunately the contest deadline had been extended by a couple of days. That made her breathe easier. It gave her more time to make her story scary. She needed all the time she could get.

  While online, her Insta-Message box blinked. It was Bigwheels!

  They met in GOFISHY, their favorite chat room.

  : Ur online!

  : Didja get my EMSG?

  : Y

  : ggg

  : Howz dance comitee

  : committee (sorry)

  : ok. SHE’S still around but whatever

  : who?

  : IVY MY ENEMY

  : IC

  : :>(

  : Howz Hart?

  : He’s :-9

  : I wish I had a BF

  : Wait a minute, he’s NO

  WAY my BF

  : N e way, I have to forget him, I think my chances are like NONE

  : Don’t say that! I’ve never met you F2F but I bet ur cool and pretty

  : Whatever—he likes HER I know

  : Other fish in the sea then

  : Like on TweenBlurt? LOL

  : ;-]

  : Are you entering that contest on the home page of this site

  : Huh?

  : CAUGHT IN THE WEB

  : No u asked me that already

  : Oh I am

  : What’s ur story gonna be? I can’t write stories only poems I think should I write a poem?

  : I want to write something scary

  : Why don’t you write about that GIRL who’s ur enemy @ school she sounds scary

  : Good idea!!! Or I could write about my life … LOL

  : Yeah IMO real life is the scariest thing

  : :-0

  : Good nite

  : Sleep tight!

  : *poof*

  Chapter 6

  “YOU WANT GRAVY ON that?” the lunch lady, Gilda Z, asked, ladle in one hand and giant fork in the other.

  Madison stared down at her tray. Was this mystery meat moving?

  Gilda slopped on gravy. Most landed on the tray, not the plate. “Next!” she cri
ed.

  Madison moved along. She peered over her shoulder and saw Hart standing a few kids back. He was peeling a banana. For a split second, she pretended not to notice him. But it was too late.

  “Hey, Finnster!” he called out. He’d spotted her. Even though she suddenly felt nervous to talk to him, she also felt relieved to hear his nickname for her.

  “Hart? H-h-h-hey,” Madison replied. Her lips quivered like Jell-O. Crushes can make a person speak gibberish sometimes. Madison was so crushed out.

  “What’s on the menu today?” Hart asked. He glanced down at Madison’s plate. “Whoa, that meat loaf looks sick.”

  Madison’s helping of meat loaf didn’t look like real meat because it was absolutely the wrong color. The gravy didn’t help. Gray-vee. It had a weird brown crust, too.

  “Oh … not so bad with ketchup, maybe?” Madison smiled nervously. She wanted to say the right things in front of Hart. But all she could do was defend her lunch.

  Hart made a loud “yeeeeech” noise. “You have more guts than me, Finnster. I’m having a bologna sandwich today.” He cut ahead and moved down the line.

  For dessert, Madison grabbed a cupcake with orange frosting. It was decorated like a jack-o-lantern on the top with chocolate chips for eyes. She asked Hart if he wanted one, too. He didn’t.

  “Um … do you want to sit at our table in the back?” Madison asked. She tried to say it casually, but it came out kind of forced. “Sit. Table. The orange one.” She gestured like an orangutan who had just learned language.

  Hart shrugged. “Yeah. Egg’s there already. I can see him. Sure.”

  She followed him to the back of the cafeteria, past the table where Poison Ivy and her drones were sitting.

  “Hey, Hart,” Ivy said.

  He gave Ivy one of those guy nods and kept right on walking. She looked surprised. So was Madison.

  Madison held her breath. She didn’t want to do anything stupid like burst into a merry chorus of “nah-nah-nah-nah-nahs.” She didn’t dare look back.

  When they reached the orange table, Hart stuck out his hand and Egg slapped it. The table was three-quarters full: Egg, Drew, Aimee, Fiona, Chet, and a few floaters at the other end. Hart squeezed in at the opposite end from Madison. Sadly, there would be no accidental knee knocking over lunch.

 

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