SnowAngel:
what is it?
mad maddie:
i need u to go to 2620 moreland avenue. ask for a guy named willy.
SnowAngel:
excuse me? who’s willy?
mad maddie:
tell him ur picking up the package for madigan kinnick. it’s already paid for, so u don’t have to worry.
SnowAngel:
maddie … what kind of errand r u sending me on? i thought u were done with your life of crime!
mad maddie:
oh plz. yeah, willy sells pot from behind the cash register, and i’m sending u to get it.
mad maddie:
give me a little credit, will ya?
SnowAngel:
what is it, then?
mad maddie:
don’t open it until i tell u to. there’s 1 for u, 1 for zoe, and 1 for me.
SnowAngel:
a surprise? i love surprises!
mad maddie:
so u’ll do it?
SnowAngel:
of course. i have to go out anyway, cuz i need to buy a new charger for my phone. i kinda lost mine.
mad maddie:
well, thx. text me tomorrow after school lets out!
Mon, Feb 7, 4:05 PM E.S.T.
SnowAngel:
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO YOU (MADDIE) AND ALSO TO YOU (ZOE) FROM ME (ANGELA)
mad maddie:
yes?
zoegirl:
hi!
SnowAngel:
i have picked up the “surprises” per your instructions, maddie. i have delivered 1 to zoe and 1 to u, which your mom should have given to u now that ur home from school. did she?
mad maddie:
i’ve got the box right here. u haven’t opened yours yet, have u?
SnowAngel:
no, but i am extremely tempted!
SnowAngel:
i waited so that we can open them together. okey-dokey?
mad maddie:
let’s do it, then. does everyone have her box?
SnowAngel:
zoegirl:
yes!
mad maddie:
1, 2, 3 … open!
SnowAngel:
omg!!! *squeals and jumps up and down in a frenzy*
zoegirl:
maddie, it’s beautiful!
mad maddie:
yeah, yeah, yeah. i know.
SnowAngel:
oh, mads, it’s just like the one i lost!!!
SnowAngel:
are y’all’s the same? do they both say “believe” too?
zoegirl:
mine does
mad maddie:
mine too. aren’t i corny, getting us matching bracelets? i am so corny i can hardly believe it.
SnowAngel:
i love it sooo much!
zoegirl:
me too, me too!
SnowAngel:
but i’m confused. my original bracelet didn’t come from that store on moreland ave. it came from curiosities. and zoe, didn’t u go back to curiosities after i moved? and they didn’t have any more!
zoegirl:
that’s true, they were all sold out.
mad maddie:
when u want something bad enough, u MAKE it happen.
SnowAngel:
but how???
mad maddie:
dude, i went to every single store in little five points, and NOBODY had any “believe” bracelets. finally this lady told me to talk to willy at a store called moon daughter, cuz he’s a silversmith and he makes stuff like that. so i told willy what i wanted, i even drew him a little picture, and he said, “sure, i can do that.”
SnowAngel:
aw, maddie, ur the best friend ever!
mad maddie:
no, u r!
SnowAngel:
no, U r!
zoegirl:
hey—what about ME?
SnowAngel:
*gives zoe a noogie* and u r 2, of course
SnowAngel:
we’re ALL the best friends ever! *melts into a mush pile of affection*
mad maddie:
i put the order in for the bracelets a long time ago—back when u were still in california, angela. i wanted to cheer u up, and i hated that i couldn’t do anything to make things better for u.
mad maddie:
but then u made things better for yourself. ur a stud, girl.
SnowAngel:
u know why, tho, right? cuz of u and zoe. if u guys were willing to take control of your lives, then i should be too.
mad maddie:
fat lot of good it did us. we’re both grounded!
SnowAngel:
well, guess what? *giggles behind hand* i am too!
mad maddie:
wtf?
SnowAngel:
i told zoe already, when i dropped off her bracelet. zoe, tell maddie.
zoegirl:
she’s grounded at her aunt’s house, supposedly until the end of time. but we think her sentence will eventually be lifted. it’s mainly just angela’s parents’ way of proving they can be long-distance parents.
mad maddie:
long-distance parents?
mad maddie:
what r u saying?
zoegirl:
she can stay!!!
SnowAngel:
i can stay!!!
mad maddie:
r u serious?
SnowAngel:
i am the epitome of all seriousness. i have grown a beard, that’s how serious i am. i will only wear tweed, with leather elbow-patches.
mad maddie:
u r punch drunk
SnowAngel:
*twirls about giddily* it’s true, i am. i’m drunk on magnolia trees and sweet tea and true-blue friends forever and ever.
mad maddie:
i’m still trying to soak this in. yr parents said, “sure, u can live in atlanta”? just like that?
zoegirl:
just for spring semester, and then they’ll reevaluate. if things don’t work out, or if angela’s aunt says there’s a problem, then angela gets shipped back pronto. but that’s not going to happen.
SnowAngel:
especially not since i’ll have u two to keep me straight. after all, ur SUCH good influences.
zoegirl:
haha
mad maddie:
maybe it’s good that we’re all locked in our respective houses, huh? at least it’ll keep us out of trouble.
mad maddie:
in fact, i dare say … yes, yes … this calls for a googlewhack!
SnowAngel:
what r u gonna try? “grounded girlies”?
zoegirl:
“punished pals”?
SnowAngel:
“caged cuties”?
mad maddie:
ok, stop. ur starting to sound pornographic.
mad maddie:
i’ve got it, “virtuous rebels.” cuz that’s really what we r, right?
SnowAngel:
and what’s the verdict?
mad maddie:
damn! 37,100 hits!
mad maddie:
will i ever find the one???
zoegirl:
i found the one, and it’s doug.
mad maddie:
i meant “the one” googlewhack, fool. as in, the googlewhack that results in just one hit. must it all be about doug?
zoegirl:
i’m sorry, i’m sorry. it’s just that it’s only been two days of being grounded, and already i miss him so much!
SnowAngel:
oh, poo. stop being so dramatic.
zoegirl:
me, dramatic? you’re calling *me* dramatic?
mad maddie:
quit yer whining. u’ll see him saturday night at kidding around, won’t u?
zoegirl:
yes, only my mom has informed me that she’ll be dropping me off and picking me up so that there’s no “unsupervised contact.” joy.
mad maddie:
u want joy, try living at my house. the moms honestly and truly held up an egg this morning and said, “this is your brain.” then she cracked it into the skillet. “this is your brain on drugs.”
SnowAngel:
mmm, scrambled eggs!
SnowAngel:
now that the weight of the world is off my shoulders, i’m starting to get my appetite back.
zoegirl:
doug did something cute at school, though. he gave me a hug, and without telling me, he slipped a bendy heart into my jacket pocket. it has little rubber arms and little rubber legs and a glued-on picture of his face.
SnowAngel:
awwww!
mad maddie:
retch, retch
zoegirl:
he wrote me another poem too. it’s about how he values our friendship just as much, if not more, than all this other stuff. it ends like this:
But for now just let me hold you close As I hear your breath and feel your sighs, And let me take a healthy dose Of your essence, smile, soul, and eyes.
SnowAngel:
that’s so sweet!
zoegirl:
isn’t it?
SnowAngel:
*jabs maddie in the shoulder* don’t u have anything to add, mads?
mad maddie:
er … what angela said
zoegirl:
maddie! i *know* you’re rolling your eyes, so you can just stop.
zoegirl:
but i don’t even care, because i know there’s something between us. he really is the one.
SnowAngel:
i think that’s great, zoe
mad maddie:
it IS great. i thought i had that with chive, but obviously i don’t.
SnowAngel:
*puts arm around maddie sympathetically*
zoegirl:
anyway, i’ve been thinking a lot about it … and my honest prediction is that we will, you know, make love.
SnowAngel:
*lets out low whistle*
zoegirl:
just not anytime soon, obviously
mad maddie:
unless u do it in the supply closet at Kidding Around …
zoegirl:
maddie!
mad maddie:
jk
mad maddie:
i, on the other hand, will NOT be getting any action in the near future, cuz i called chive and told him that we’re done fooling around. now there’s a twist, huh?
SnowAngel:
maddie! i am SO proud of u!
mad maddie:
well, it’s like my dad says. why buy the cow if u can have the milk for free?
zoegirl:
yes, absolutely. and you’ll *know* when it’s real, mads, you really will. just like i do with doug.
mad maddie:
yeah, shut up. that sounds a little too much like rubbing it in.
zoegirl:
maddie, no! i’m not trying to rub it in at all!
mad maddie:
whatevs
mad maddie:
but we’ve discussed it enough, ok? it’s not easy, even tho i know it’s the right thing to do.
mad maddie:
i always learn my fucking life lessons the hard way.
SnowAngel:
ah, mads. but at least u’ve got us.
mad maddie:
so … u guys really like your bracelets? really and truly?
SnowAngel:
i love mine. i completely and fully love it.
zoegirl:
me too. i can’t wait to see what it looks like on.
mad maddie:
OH! that reminds me. the rule is that we have to put them on for each other. none of this “bracelet breakthrough, i-don’t-need-anyone-but-myself-so-i’ll-tie-it-to-a-necklace” business, got it?
zoegirl:
huh?
SnowAngel:
she’s talking about this great method i invented of putting bracelets on.
SnowAngel:
but she’s right. her way is better.
zoegirl:
that means we can’t wear them until we’re all together, though.
mad maddie:
no worries, we’ll find a way around this foolish grounding business.
SnowAngel:
surely your parents will let u come see ME, won’t they? dear pitiful me who’s been gone for so long?
SnowAngel:
my aunt sadie could be our chaperone and make sure that no one smokes pot or does the nasty.
zoegirl:
haha, very funny
SnowAngel:
ahhh, my friends. i think things r looking up.
mad maddie:
yeah, life is good, even when it sucks.
zoegirl:
we’ll see each other soon, then?
SnowAngel:
very soon. so altho i’m signing off—*draws hand to heart emotionally*—it is with the comfort of knowing that it is the most temporary of farewells.
zoegirl:
you make me laugh, angela. but yeah, i should go too.
mad maddie:
laters, dudes
SnowAngel:
and btw, i DO believe! i do, i do!
mad maddie:
u sound like tinkerbell, u nut
SnowAngel:
*wiggles cute little bottom suggestively*
SnowAngel:
ttfn!!!
Tues, Feb 7, 4:49 PM E.S.T.
zoegirl:
maddie!!! i’m so excited, i can’t sit still! i can’t believe i’m going to see doug in 2 hrs!
mad maddie:
i hear ya—even i’m kinda excited to c the guy. i wonder if he’s changed?
zoegirl:
do you *ever* check his instagram? he’s gotten tanner. his hair is longer. he is even more handsome than he used to be, which seems impossible.
mad maddie:
deeper changes. like, changes on the inside.
zoegirl:
it’s been SIX ENTIRE MONTHS. *6 months* of no doug!
zoegirl:
aye-yai-yai—what if he doesn’t like me anymore?
mad maddie:
oh, please. doug is doug is doug, and no semester at sea is gonna change that.
mad maddie:
anywayz, haven’t you guys been skyping every single day?
zoegirl:
that’s true, but it’s still different from being with someone in person.
zoegirl:
what i liked even more than skyping—maybe—were the snail mail letters he sent. well, snail mail postcards, mainly, from all the different places they docked. sooo romantic.
mad maddie:
speaking of romantic, what’s doug gonna say when angela and i show up at the airport with you?
zoegirl:
er … hi, maddie? hi, angela?
mad maddie:
he’s not gonna be pissed?
zoegirl:
why would he be pissed?
mad maddie:
that it’s not just the 2 of you
zoegirl:
course not. 1st of all, his parents are going to be there. and 2nd of all, i’m way too nervous to go by myself.
zoegirl:
i have to have my maddie and my angela—he knows that!
mad maddie:
how’s he gonna feel, waltzing back to school in the middle of our senior yr? is that gonna be weird for him?
zoegirl:
PAST the middle of the year. i was *supposed* to have him back at the beginning of the semester.
mad maddie:
i’m still reeling from the unfairness of that, btw. let’s pretend i was the lucky 1 who jaunted off to Sea the World. would the administrators let ME take an extra month off to travel with my parents? i don’t think so.
zoegirl:
but you don’t have straight As like doug—no offense.
mad maddie:
none taken
. i’m proud of my Bs.
zoegirl:
doug’s mom called it “cultural enrichment.” that’s the excuse she gave the school. but i say he’s seen enough of the world. now he needs to see ME!
mad maddie:
ah yes, now it’s time for him to be enriched in OTHER ways, nudge-nudge, wink-wink.
zoegirl:
maddie!!!
zoegirl:
i’m just glad we’re going to be together again. i mean, he had a great time, and i’m proud of him for doing it, but he’s definitely ready to be home.
Ttfn Page 23
