Ttfn
Page 21
mad maddie:
at glendy’s?
mad maddie:
that’s unexpected
zoegirl:
“unexpected”? that’s all you can say?
mad maddie:
what do u want me to say?
zoegirl:
i want you to say that there’s something very wrong with this picture, more than just “unexpected.”
zoegirl:
she’s disappeared off the face of the earth, and we’re supposed to believe she’s at *glendy’s*?
mad maddie:
she hasn’t disappeared off the face of the earth. sure, her phone’s turned off, but she probably just spaced it. as for not being online, she prolly just hasn’t been online when U’VE been online. did u think of that?
mad maddie:
unless …
zoegirl:
unless what?
mad maddie:
unless the glendinizer locked angela into the basement and forced her into a vest!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
zoegirl:
shut up
mad maddie:
maybe she and glendy had to do a school project or something. try to find glendy’s number and call her there.
zoegirl:
do u know her last name?
mad maddie:
sorry, charlie, ur on your own.
Fri, Feb 4, 11:59 PM M.S.T.
SnowAngel:
hi, zo. it’s super-duper late, i know. so yr prolly not awake … huh?
SnowAngel:
yeah. (sigh.) figured.
SnowAngel:
i kinda need u, zo. like, i need to talk to u. can u tell i’m not so great at being all by myself at midnight with no one to talk to?
SnowAngel:
ok, well … i know i’m supposed to handle things on my own and all that, but i might not be that strong. i’ll call u if i need u. mwah!
Sat, Feb 5, 12:04 AM M.S.T.
SnowAngel:
maddie, are YOU awake?
SnowAngel:
or are you snoring?
SnowAngel:
*drums fingers on scratchy upholstery*
SnowAngel:
yr snoring. fine. just don’t call me unpredictable ever again!!!
Sat, Feb 5, 11:00 AM E.S.T.
zoegirl:
maddie! i finally heard from angela, but it was weird. it was a late-night text, and it had to do with midnight and being alone and calling me if she needed me, only wanting to be strong enough not to have to. what was she talking about???
mad maddie:
she txted me too. she made a cryptic comment about not being unpredictable, maybe cuz for once she was up past me??? does that count as unpredictable?
mad maddie:
oh, and she said something about upholstery, which i didn’t get.
zoegirl:
well, i feel better knowing that at least she still exists. although her phone is still going straight to voicemail.
mad maddie:
dude, she’s fine. it’s 8 in the morning california time. she’s prolly sleeping, which is what i wanna do. power nap to rest up for my evening of sin and debauchery.
zoegirl:
tell me you’re kidding. you’re taking a nap at 11 am?
mad maddie:
nighty-night!
Sat, Feb 5, 7:29 PM E.S.T.
zoegirl:
sooooooo …? are you at chive’s?
mad maddie:
not yet. we’re not heading to his house until after northside’s basketball game, cuz whitney insisted they attend.
mad maddie:
are u cooking your fancy dinner?
zoegirl:
everything’s in the oven, and all i’ve got left to do is decide what to wear. what do u think: jeans and my peasant blouse or my black j.crew skirt and my gray cashmere sweater?
mad maddie:
i thought u were gonna wear your fancy underwear.
zoegirl:
but on top, dummy? i’m not going to open the door in my bra and thong!
mad maddie:
well, don’t ask me. ask angela.
zoegirl:
don’t u think i would if i could reach her???
zoegirl:
so what should i wear??? doug’s gonna be here in 20 minutes!
mad maddie:
hmm. your peasant blouse is one of those off-the-shoulder dealies, right? i say wear that, for easy access.
zoegirl:
easy access to what?
zoegirl:
never mind. god, maddie, you and your smutty mind. i’m wearing the sweater.
mad maddie:
u ask for my fashion advice and then do the exact opposite? what kind of friend r u?
zoegirl:
a smart one!
Sat, Feb 5, 7:43 PM E.S.T.
zoegirl:
oh yeah, i forgot to say one thing.
mad maddie:
what?
zoegirl:
don’t wimp out!!!
Sat, Feb 5, 8:12 PM C.S.T.
SnowAngel:
zo?
SnowAngel:
remember how i said i’d call if i needed u? well, i need u.
SnowAngel:
so call me
SnowAngel:
soon, ok?
SnowAngel:
call me soon, plz!
Sat, Feb 5, 8:14 PM C.S.T.
SnowAngel:
maddie? u there?
mad maddie:
angela! hello, hello!
mad maddie:
zoe’s been worried sick cuz of not hearing from u, btw. what’s the dealio?
SnowAngel:
i ran away. i’m txting from a greyhound bus.
mad maddie:
hahaha. hence all the mystery? hence the veiled reference to bad upholstery?
mad maddie:
where r u really?
SnowAngel:
???
SnowAngel:
i really am on a greyhound. i’ll be in atlanta in 12 hours.
mad maddie:
a-boogie, i already told u i’m the wrong girl for yr games
mad maddie:
and hey, sorry for bad timing, but text me later? i luv u and can’t wait to talk to u, but i’m kinda in the middle of something. l8rs!
SnowAngel:
maddie, wait!
SnowAngel:
MADDIE!!!!
Sun, Feb 6, 10:00 AM E.S.T.
zoegirl:
crap, maddie
mad maddie:
u can say that again. 1 day—1 FRICKIN DAY—and everything comes crashing down!
zoegirl:
i *knew* something was up. i just knew it! and now i feel terrible, like i should have done something to fix it all!
mad maddie:
what wld u have done? not even u cld have fixed this one, zo.
mad maddie:
wait a sec, how do u even know? oh god, my mom didn’t tell your parents, did she?
zoegirl:
your *mom* knows? how?!
mad maddie:
oh let’s see … cuz she’s the one who had to pick me up from the police station?
zoegirl:
the police station?! maddie, what are you talking about?
mad maddie:
i’m talking about everything that happened with chive, and … wait. what r U talking about???
zoegirl:
i’m talking about *angela*! she ran away from home and she’s at the bus station this very second! only i can’t go pick her up because i’m grounded, so you have to go. you have to go now!
mad maddie:
she’s at the bus station? the ATLANTA bus station?
zoegirl:
yes. alone and hungry and … alone. go get her!
mad maddie:
omg, she was telling the truth!
zoegirl:
she didn’t give me the whole story because her phone died, but apparently she
just couldn’t take it anymore. so she hopped on a bus and traveled for two and a half days to get here!
mad maddie:
holy shit
zoegirl:
yea, shit. but backing up a sec—the police station?!
mad maddie:
i got busted buying pot, zoe.
zoegirl:
oh my god
mad maddie:
um, yeah, so i’m grounded too.
mad maddie:
hold on—there is way too much going on here. angela’s at the bus station, i can’t go get her cuz i’m grounded, and u just said u can’t go get her cuz yr grounded too. what r U grounded for?
zoegirl:
my parents came home early from the prom. they walked in on me and doug.
mad maddie:
oh no.
zoegirl:
oh yes. it was AWFUL.
zoegirl:
it was completely mortifying, and my mother saw way more of doug than she ever wanted, and i’m forbidden to leave the house until i’m 43.
mad maddie:
fuck
zoegirl:
yeah
mad maddie:
and angela’s waiting at the bus station.
zoegirl:
yeah again
zoegirl:
what r we gonna do?
mad maddie:
well, we have no choice, do we?
zoegirl:
but how? i seriously cannot leave the house, maddie. my mom is livid. she would physically block me from the door.
mad maddie:
lemme think
mad maddie:
ok, call the land line at my house got it? say you couldn’t reach me on my cell. the moms will answer, and odds are she’ll say i can’t come to the phone cuz she’ll want to punish me by keeping me from my friends. but that’s good, cuz your job is to talk to her, not me.
zoegirl:
talk to her about what?
mad maddie:
about anything. use your good-girl charm and keep her chatting long enough for me to sneak out.
zoegirl:
how do you know she won’t see you?
mad maddie:
cuz the phone’s in the kitchen and my car’s parked on the street out front. if all goes well, i’ll be out and back without her even knowing.
zoegirl:
if not, you’ll be even more dead than you already are.
mad maddie:
and so will you, cuz i guarantee that if all of this falls apart, my mom will call your mom pronto.
zoegirl:
crap
mad maddie:
yep
zoegirl:
well, are you ready?
mad maddie:
zoe, i was born ready.
Sun, Feb 6, 11:23 AM E.S.T.
SnowAngel:
hi, zoe
zoegirl:
angela. thank god. where are you???
SnowAngel:
i had maddie drop me off at my aunt sadie’s. aunt sadie is flipping out, btw. first she made me take a shower while she called my mom. then she made ME call my mom to reassure her that i really was alive.
zoegirl:
what did your mom say? did she have any clue where u were this whole time?
SnowAngel:
of course! *huffs indignantly* what kind of daughter do u think i am?
zoegirl:
she *knew* you’d run off to atlanta?!
SnowAngel:
well, noooo, i didn’t tell her THAT part.
SnowAngel:
what i told her was … well, it’s confusing. lemme just walk u thru it.
SnowAngel:
thursday i cut school early and bought my bus ticket, and after i did that, i called my mom and said i was spending the night at glendy’s. (as if!) i told her we had an english project to do.
zoegirl:
i *knew* you would have never gone to glendy’s. that should have been my big warning sign. why didn’t i listen?!
SnowAngel:
and then friday, i called and said i was gonna stay for the whole weekend since we were having such a blast.
SnowAngel:
that was a bit of irony in case u didn’t notice.
zoegirl:
when u weren’t answering yr phone, i called yr mom, and she just sounded happy that u were off having fun. in my head i was like, “with *glendy*? i don’t think so.” but i didn’t say anything.
SnowAngel:
i’m glad—not that it would have mattered. by that point, there was nothing she could have done to stop me.
zoegirl:
man, angela. i can’t believe u hopped on a bus and came all the way across the country. i just can’t believe it.
zoegirl:
weren’t you scared?
SnowAngel:
i wasn’t scared, exactly. it was more like everything felt … unreal. like there i was, trapped in my sucky life, and there was absolutely nothing i could do about it, right? but then i DID do something—and it turned out to be so much easier than i would have thought.
zoegirl:
actually, i kind of know what u mean. like after the marshmallow incident, when i decided to just say “screw it” to being the uptight me that i’d always been.
zoegirl:
although it is true that the uptight me would never have been caught naked in bed with my boyfriend …
SnowAngel:
poor zoe! i need more details on that, u know. my phone died right when u were getting to the good part!
zoegirl:
there is no way we’re gonna talk about me when you just crossed the entire country—by yourself!—on a greyhound. my god, angela, what was it like?
SnowAngel:
like a really bad, really long field trip. mainly it was boring, especially in states where everything looked the same same same. instead of “wyoming,” i called it “i’m moaning.” “kansas” was “can’t stand us,” and “missouri” was “misery.” that’s what i did to pass the time, i made up new names for the states i went thru. i guess it helped keep my mind off what i was doing.
zoegirl:
nobody bugged u? nobody was like, “young girl on her own—better call the cops”?
SnowAngel:
not a soul. i was still invisible, apparently.
SnowAngel:
altho there was this one horrible man who boarded in St. Louis. he didn’t do anything gross like try to molest me, but he was big and smelly and of all the seats on the bus, he had to choose the one next to mine. his b.o. was REVOLTING, as in, i thought i was gonna barf.
zoegirl:
ick
SnowAngel:
so i got up and moved, with no excuses and no apologies. i was like, i’m not escaping california and the horrible glendy just to end up next to this bozo.
zoegirl:
why *did* u escape the horrible glendy? i mean, i know why in general, but what happened that day when you and i were on the phone? i heard her in the background, and i heard her say that the two of you had to talk—did she say something specific that made you run away?
SnowAngel:
*does air-blowing-out thing so that lips make p-b-b-b-b sound*
SnowAngel:
i don’t know if i can explain. mainly it’s just that i was so unhappy already, with no end in sight. she just pushed me over the edge.
zoegirl:
what did she say???
SnowAngel:
she dragged me over to a private spot on the quad, looked at me very sternly, and said, “first of all, i’d like to apologize for all the things i’ve said to u in my head over the last few days.”
zoegirl:
no!
zoegirl:
that’s psycho, angela
SnowAngel:
then she said, “but i forgive u, cuz i know ur having a hard transition. your dad told my dad all about it.”
zoegirl:
your dad discussed you with mr. boss?
SnowAngel:
she went on and on about how she wasn’t gonna let me push her away no matter how hard i tried, cuz she knew i was just acting out of pain. and then she put her hand on my knee and leaned so close that i could smell her breath, which smelled like taco salad. she said, “i know u miss your old friends from atlanta, but they’re not here. i am. and i will never leave u, i promise.”
zoegirl:
ewww!
SnowAngel:
and then the reality of that hit home, how glendy was gonna be there forever and ever, and how u guys were still gonna be in atlanta. and i was like, “no. i just can’t.”