by Laura Dower
Maybe all of this waiting means something. Like Hart is THE ONE, as in, the guy I’m destined to be with. Got any advice 4 me?
Oh, and BTW how r u?
Yours till the boy friends,*
Maddie
*note that this is not yours till the break ups or yours till the kiss offs or yours till the c u laters--I still DO I DO I DO have hope LOL
Madison hit SEND and waited for her screen to flash. After a split second it beeped, which meant that the message had gone through. Then Madison hit a few more keys on her laptop and exited her e-mailbox. She wanted to visit her favorite website, TweenBlurt.com. The headline on this webpage flashed in neon letters: ASK THE BLOWFISH.
Madison clicked on a teeny, yellow-striped fish swimming on-screen. A cursor popped up, and Madison stared at the row of blank spaces where she was meant to write an important question. Slowly, she typed her question into the space and waited for the Blowfish to reply.
What is going on with me and Hart?
Madison sighed. She tapped her fingers on the desk and impatiently watched the tiny clock on the computer screen. Time was passing slower than slowly. Where was her answer? A restless Phin, who had been curled up by her feet, scrambled across the carpet and hopped onto Madison’s window seat. He stared across the room at her as she waited until the answer finally appeared.
You are swimming in a flood.
“No way! A flood?” Madison cried. “What is that supposed to mean, Phinnie? This website is so messed up sometimes…”
She leaned back away from her laptop and let out a big sigh. Phin jumped from the window seat and then scurried over to the doorjamb and then made a beeline for the top of Madison’s bed. He was restless.
Madison reworded her question and retyped it into the blank space.
Will Hart and I ever go on a real date?
The Blowfish hummed, or at least Madison’s computer did. It hummed and sizzled and chugged. She waited another minute for another answer. At last it popped up.
The tide has turned.
“Huh?”
That answer wasn’t good enough for Madison, either, so she tried one last question. Now she was as direct as possible.
Tell me if Hart wants to be my boyfriend—RIGHT NOW.
The Blowfish took its time again. But its answer finally appeared on the screen in glowing yellow letters.
Most decidedly yes when the water is rising.
Madison buried her head in her hands. Yes? Rising water? She was good at English but she was no code breaker. Then again, how could she actually believe that a computer could tell her whether or not the crush of her life would come through in the clutch?
Obviously it couldn’t. Duh.
Just then, Phin woofed and flopped onto his back atop Madison’s bed. He rubbed and rolled and then took one of the throw pillows that had been on top of Madison’s comforter in his teeth and shook it.
“Rarrrrrrrrgrrrrr!”
“Phinnie! No-o-o-o-o!” Madison cried.
It was too late. The bed was completely unmade. Everything that had been on top now lay in a messy pile on the floor: a notebook, her latest copy of Star Beat magazine, her math textbook, and a small pile of new mail. Madison bent over to pick the things up.
That was when she saw something shimmer. On the front of a bright, glittery, oversized pink envelope, written in dark purple cursive letters was Madison’s name and address. In the upper left corner was a doodle of a heart with the letters NYC inside it.
Madison grabbed the pink envelope and tore it open.
You’re Invited
to a Last-Minute Party
Lindsay Frost’s 13th Birthday Weekend
What? Two overnights in the city with Lindsay and a few friends
(We will be shopping, sight-seeing, and other stuff!)
When? Friday & Saturday, December 11 & 12
Where? New York City
Lindsay’s aunt Mimi Frost’s pad
The Manhattan Towers, East 82nd Street, PH B
RSVP to Lindsay ASAP
A party! Madison’s pulse revved up. She couldn’t believe how perfect this invitation was. It was the perfect thing to take her mind off (way off) Hart Jones.
Clutching the invitation in one hand, Madison raced out of her bedroom and downstairs to find Mom, who was curled up in a ball in front of the television set. Phin trotted right behind, panting and wondering about all the fuss.
“Mo-o-o-o-om!” Madison called out, breathless. “Did you see this in my mail?”
Mom glanced up at the pink-glitter invitation and smiled. “Yes, I wondered about that. I didn’t see a return address. Who sent it?”
“Lindsay is having a party. A birthday party in New York City. Can you believe it?”
“Wow, that’s nice. Is it a lunch or something during the day?” Mom asked.
Madison shook her head. “Actually, it’s a sleep-over.”
“Oh?” Mom frowned a little bit.
“Mom, you have to let me go. First of all, Lindsay is one of my best, best friends. Second of all, it sounds like so much fun.”
“Hmmm. I don’t know. A sleepover in the city? Where are you girls planning to stay? Let me see the invitation.”
Madison handed the card over and waited for Mom to read it.
“Maybe I should call Mrs. Frost and ask her about this,” Mom said.
“Oh, Mom, the party is at Lindsay’s aunt’s apartment, so there’ll be a chaperone at all times,” Madison cried. “And Lindsay’s aunt is this very cool lady who has all these cool clothes, and she knows all the cool places to go and…”
“Gee. Sounds cool,” Mom said drily.
“Very funny, Mom,” Madison said, getting the joke.
“Well…”
Mom took her time responding. She eyed the invitation again.
“Okay, honey bear,” Mom finally said. “You’ve convinced me. You can go. I’ll call Lindsay’s mom later just to double-check everything.”
Madison lunged forward and threw her arms around Mom’s neck.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” Madison gushed. “You are the best. I won’t get into trouble, I swear, and we won’t do too much shopping and…”
“Maddie, slow down,” Mom chuckled. “I know you’ll be good. I trust you. But you had better start packing. I know how long that takes.”
Madison felt giddy. Mom was letting her go! She wondered who else would be attending the party. Had Lindsay invited everyone in their class? No, that wasn’t possible. Maybe just the BFFs—Madison, Aimee, and Fiona? That seemed more likely. Madison needed to speak to Lindsay right away and get all of the particulars.
As Mom went into the kitchen to get a snack for Phin, Madison grabbed the portable phone sitting atop a table in the living room.
“Hello-o-o-o!” an unfamiliar voice trilled. “Frost residence.”
“Um…hello,” Madison said, pausing. “Who’s this?”
“Who is this?” the voice replied. “Is this a friend of Lindsay’s?”
“Um…yes,” Madison said meekly.
“Well, howdy-doodle! I’m Lindsay’s aunt Mimi,” she said. “Sorry to say that lovely Lindsay’s not in right now. But I can take a message.”
Madison couldn’t help smiling at every word Mimi said. Each sentence came out like a little song.
“Are you the Aunt Mimi who lives in the city?” Madison asked.
“C’est moi! The one and only,” Mimi said.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. Lindsay always tells us funny stories…”
“Lo-o-o-ove it!” Mimi shrieked. Madison had to hold the phone away from her ear.
Lindsay had spoken a lot about her crazy aunt in Manhattan, who had a vault full of money that she had earned playing the stock market and investing in a bunch of start-ups, among other things. According to Lindsay, Aunt Mimi was like a character from a movie, complete with false eyelashes and fur hats. She had made her first millions developing her own “
magic” brands of quick-drying mascara, shimmer powder, and other beauty items that sold like hotcakes in boutiques around the world. She called her line of products Serious Beauty, even though she wasn’t serious-sounding in the least.
Apparently, Mimi had never married, although she’d dated movie stars and big shots in business all her life. She had no children of her own, but Mimi loved to spoil her niece. She spent her loot in wild ways, especially when it came to Lindsay’s birthdays. One time she’d rented an entire circus tent (including a baby elephant) for Lindsay’s sixth birthday. Another time Mimi had hired one of the best magicians in the city to come to Lindsay’s party—and make Lindsay disappear.
“I’m glad to meet you by phone,” Madison said. “Can you tell Lindsay that I called?”
“Sweetums, you haven’t even told me your name!” Mimi said.
“Oh, I’m Madison Finn.”
“Madison! Did you say Madison? Is this the Madison?”
“Um, yeah, I guess,” Madison stammered, holding back the urge to giggle.
“Awww! I know you! Lindsay has told me gobs and oodles about you. My goodness! How are you? How’s your pooch? You’re the one with a pug, right?”
“Right,” Madison said, impressed.
“So you’ll be coming to the big glittery bash in the Big Apple!” Mimi declared. “Fah-bulous!”
“Will you tell Lindsay I called?” Madison asked.
“Hey! Does a mosquito bite?” Mimi responded. “You betcha I will!”
Madison giggled. “Thanks, Ms. Frost.”
“Call me Mimi. We’re practically related!”
Madison laughed again and hung up.
“Time to party!” Madison said.
She jumped in front of the hall mirror and struck a pose.
“New York City, here I come.”
Chapter 3
ON MONDAY MORNING AT school, Madison found Fiona and Aimee near their lockers.
“Where’s Lindsay?” Madison asked.
“I haven’t seen her yet,” Fiona said.
From around a corner, Lindsay craned her neck and yelled, “Hello, party girls!” really loudly. She was grinning from ear to ear.
“There you are!” Aimee said.
Lindsay rushed over to her friends with arms extended, and the foursome squeezed together in a group hug.
“You can all come to my party, and I am so-o-o-o psyched,” Lindsay declared. “I thought for sure you would have some dance recital, Aim, or that you’d have soccer, Fiona, or that you’d have to work at the animal hospital, Maddie, or that…”
“Relax,” Aimee said. “We’re coming. All of us.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Fiona said.
Lindsay smiled broadly again. She held her hand up to her chest as if she were getting a little choked up, so Madison linked arms with her friend.
“Are you okay?” Madison asked.
“Yeah, I just wish it were Saturday already,” Lindsay said with a laugh.
“Hold on. I just thought of something,” Fiona said. “What do you want for a present, Lindsay?”
“Present? Gee, I don’t know,” Lindsay shrugged.
“How about hair combs?” Aimee asked. “I saw some beautiful tortoiseshell ones at the beauty shop at the mall. They would match your hair.”
Lindsay shrugged. “That sounds nice.”
“What about a book? You like to read,” Fiona said. “Did you read The Hunger Games yet?”
Lindsay nodded. “I read them all.”
“Wait! I know exactly what to get you,” Madison said.
The idea had popped into Madison’s head like a flash of lightning. She would buy one of those picture frames with a dozen different spots for various-sized photographs. During the weekend, Madison would take pictures with Dad’s digital camera and then print out the good ones in the right sizes to fit the different spaces. Then she could place a collage on top of the matting inside the frame. It was the perfect place to write secret messages and cut out words from magazines. Madison knew that Fiona and Aimee would probably want to help her out, too.
“You guys,” Lindsay said. “I really don’t care so much about the gifts. I just want to have a good time. I’ve never brought friends into the city like this before. My mom keeps saying it’s such a big deal. She was nervous at first, but then my aunt convinced her that everything would be okay.”
“I talked to your aunt on the phone the other night,” Madison said. “She sounds like a real trip.”
“Yeah, to the moon,” Lindsay said with another laugh. “Sometimes I feel like Aunt Mimi really is from another planet. She has the wildest ideas. I don’t understand how she and my mom could be related.”
“That’s what I say about my brother,” Fiona said. “I’m convinced that one day I’ll be able to prove that we are not actually twins. I just can’t be related to that moron.”
Everyone laughed out loud.
The bell rang in the hallway as the girls continued to talk about the party planning. All Aimee could think about was the clothes she needed to buy. She was ready for some serious shopping. Fiona wanted to know if they would be able to visit the Empire State Building, because she’d never been to the top before, not since she’d moved to New York from California. Madison wanted to visit the American Museum of Natural History and take a walk through Central Park.
But Lindsay didn’t know what her Aunt Mimi had planned.
“How can you not know?” Aimee asked. “It’s your birthday.”
“She told me she wanted everything to be a surprise,” Lindsay said.
“That sounds cool,” Madison said with a grin. “What’s better than a surprise?”
“I can think of a lot of things!” Aimee said. “Like knowing where we’ll be shopping, for one thing.”
Madison and Fiona both frowned at Aimee when she said that.
“It’s Lindsay’s party, Aim,” Fiona said. “Not yours.”
“Fine,” Aimee said, letting out a little huff. “Sorry, Lindsay. I guess I’m just feeling a little carried away. My mother usually doesn’t let me go into the city unless she goes, too…and I have this list of places I’ve always wanted to see…and…I guess I should just be quiet. It’s your party.”
“Maybe my aunt Mimi will take us to some of the stores you like,” Lindsay said. “She knows all the best places to shop. I told her you were a dancer, and she got this look in her eye like she knew just the place to go.”
“She did?” Aimee said. “Wow, that’s so cool.”
From down the hall, a group of ninth graders loped along toward the girls. The four friends shuffled off to the side and leaned against the locker bank.
“I hate being in the lowest grade sometimes,” Fiona said.
“Me, too,” Madison agreed.
Madison looked up at her friends’ faces. All three stood there, mouths slightly open.
“What’s wrong with you three?” Madison asked.
Lindsay just pointed. Aimee started to giggle. Fiona scowled.
“Egg!” Fiona yelled just as Madison turned around to find him holding up a sign above her head that read: KICK ME.
Madison ripped the sign out of Egg’s hands. “What are you doing?” she exclaimed angrily.
Egg was nearly doubled over with laughter. Meanwhile, Madison had quickly turned three shades of plum.
“That isn’t nice,” Madison said, giving Egg a little punch.
Fiona grabbed Egg’s arm and squeezed hard.
“I didn’t even write it,” Egg squealed. “Hart did! Jones wrote it. Leave me alone.”
Hart came up behind Madison and threw his arm around her shoulder. “I did write it. I admit it,” he said.
Madison froze. She could feel Hart’s hand on her shoulder.
Why was he standing so close? Could he feel her bra strap through the sweater she was wearing? Could he smell her shampoo?
He kept his arm around Madison for what seemed like an eternity—and
she still couldn’t move. She could barely breathe.
“He thought you’d get a kick out of it,” said Dan Ginsburg, who had come up behind the other boys. Standing next to him, doubled over with laughter, was Fiona’s twin brother, Chet.
“That really, really wasn’t nice,” Fiona said again.
Madison’s stomach grumbled nervously. It was like thunder, rumbling endlessly, and she hoped that no one—but especially not Hart—could hear it.
He was still standing there, twenty seconds later, with his arm around her.
“You guys are so juvenile,” Aimee finally said, crossing her arms. “We were in the middle of talking, you know.”
“About what, Aim?” Egg asked. “Ballet? Like you ever talk about anything else.”
“Excuse me?” Aimee barked back. She looked a little stunned by Egg’s comment. Everyone was. Sometimes he said things like that. Usually, the group took what he said as a joke, but that comment seemed to sting a little bit more than usual.
“You ding-dong,” Aimee said to Egg. “And I suppose you have so much to say about anything other than computer games. Duh.”
Madison giggled, and then everyone joined in. Thankfully, Aimee had made a quick recovery.
“That was a good one,” Hart said.
Madison had been so distracted by the comments flying back and forth between her friends that she hadn’t noticed something very strange.
Hart still had his arm around her.
Soon the boys took off toward study hall, math class, and other destinations. The girls needed to do the same, but they were slower about doing it.
“What was that about?” Lindsay, Aimee, and Fiona asked, practically at the same time.
Madison shrugged. “I know. Egg was being a real jerk.”