by Laura Dower
Nothing seemed to connect with as much meaning as it had the previous day. Madison wondered if maybe her attraction to Will were just a blip. After all, the connection to Hart was much stronger. And it would last much longer—wouldn’t it? What would her BFFs have said?
By the time camp was officially dismissed and Dad came to pick Madison up, all she could think about was getting home to check the blogs. Why were the only people who could truly have helped Madison get through moments like this now located so many miles away? It didn’t seem fair.
And why was it still raining so hard?
Back at the apartment, Dad didn’t seem to mind when Madison decided she’d rather log on than play a game of Scrabble with him. Ordinarily, she loved playing games with Dad. He usually let her win. But today, the need for blogging was greater than the need for a board-game fix.
After an hour, the rain still showed no signs of letting up.
The first blog Madison checked was Fiona’s. But Fiona had not written in a day or more. Madison wondered why—and then skipped over to Aimee’s and Lindsay’s blogs, respectively. Aimee’s was short.
08-12
Maddie you NEVER have 2 worry about Hart. 2day I was @ the pool and I saw Ivy AGAIN trying to put her mitts on him and he TOTALLY blew her off again. The best part was the drones, who were there with her highness—Phony Joanie and Rose Thorn. I think her status as Poison Ivy has made her downright poisonous. Then l8r I was getting a diet soda at the vending machine and he came over and talked to me for like 10 mins. He never talks 2 me. But I think the way he figured—I was the next best thing 2 Maddie since Maddie is soooo far away. At least that’s what I THINK was going on. Or maybe I was just a good reason to ditch the drones. Remember when he used to attempt niceness with them. Not anymore. C U. Actually I should say something else, b/c we don’t C each other online! Duh!
Lindsay’s blog was not short. It was long and juicy, too, packed with zany stories about London.
08-12 (Thursday)
OK r u ready to LAFF out loud REALLY LOUD? This is the blog entry where I have to admit that even though we’ve been sightseeing like crazy and I’ve had tea every single day and crumpets, too with clotted cream, which sounds kind of gross but is really the opposite of gross. YUM! Like whipped cream only sweeter and thicker. And for all of your information (and upon BFF request) I posed for photos inside one of those red phone booths, with a beefeater (believe it or not!), on a cruise ship traveling quite fast toward Greenwich, outside St. Paul’s Cathedral, and inside (way down) the Parliament station of the underground (aka subway). There the walls look like they’re reinforced with steel twenty feet thick. Did you know that there are no garbage cans in England like there are here—on the streets, that is? There are all these precautions here because of bombings in public places. Just thinking about bombs makes me nervous of course but they have a lot of police around here so it’s cool. It’s just as many police as we see at Grand Central Station in New York. Everyone is just trying to be safe and I feel safe. Today we went off for half the day to Hampton Court. I took the day trip with Dad and his friend—this old, whiskered “bloke” (Dad says). Duff is named after the character Macduff in some Shakespeare play. Do any of you know that play? Don’t ask me!—weird, right? The train was not so long a ride and I laughed most of the way. The Duff guy is SO funny and he talks like a real English guy. Well, probably because he is one. :>P Good one, Lindsay! Anyway Duff gave me this little pamphlet with a list of British expressions. I just know you will all LOVE them. Here are some of the best ones I like. You know them probably from all those Louise Rennison books that Egg’s sister gave you, right, Fiona? She always says “ginormous” and “chum-ettes” and stuff like that. I think I’ll use one off this list in an English paper when we go back to school. LOL.
That’s aces=It’s great
don’t give a toss=don’t care
Shut your gob=Shut up snogging=kissing
Sod off=Go away
splash out=go all out
Do you think I’m learning how to fit in in London—like a crash course in becoming someone I am not? HA HA. That’s what it feels like sometimes and we are staying in these hotels that have minibars and Dad lets me eat whatever I want. I must admit I have eaten at least ten chocolate Flakes. It is the best chocolate EVER. I know I will be covered in zits by next week. But that’s ok, right? Because no one will ever see me except for Dad and tour guides and tourists from Japan and the USA and they don’t count. It’s not like DAN is here or n e thing <:-)
I have been waiting for a day or more to see yr blog, Maddie. Where did it go? I know Fiona hasn’t written either. What’s the deal, guys? I’m writing all the time and so is Aim. Come on!!!!! And pleez keep yr fingers crossed that next wk maybe I’ll luck out. If I sing “Someday My Prince Will Come” really loud, maybe he’ll just show up at the hotel. I wish but I think maybe London is just 4 sightseeing. LOL. Then again, what if a warty frog shows up and offers to be turned into a prince if I kiss him? Wait—what am I talking about?!!!
Help!!! I better stop writing now before I go on for another 3 pages. BTW: my Dad sez HI to everyone.
P.S.: Madison did u notice that today is Friday the 13th. OMG how did that happen?
Madison held her side, she was laughing so hard. It wasn’t so much Lindsay’s jokes, although they were funny. It was the kind of laughter that comes from deep inside: happy, secure laughter. Madison felt as though her friends were right there next to her. She could practically hear Lindsay’s voice.
Madison clicked around the TweenBlurt site a little bit more; and then surfed into her e-mailbox. That was when her sentimental feelings took over.
Although Madison guessed that no one read the blog other than her friends, it was still out there in view. And she wanted to make sure that this message—her attached message—was a private one, for three sets of eyes only.
She hit NEW on Dad’s computer and composed a private e-mail.
From: MadFinn
To: Wetwinz, LuvNstuff, BalletGrl
Subject: Walk this around pleez!!!
Date: Fri 13 Aug 10:11 PM
Just read everyone’s blogs (three times) and I am bummed b/c ur all soooo far away. I could really use u right now. In honor of my best friends in the whole entire world, read the attachment pleez. MYSM … LYLAS … BFN!
((attachment :DEARFRIEND.pdf))
It’s National Friendship Week!
Show your friends how much you care.
Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
If it comes back to you, then you’ll know you have a circle of friends.
And thanks for being MY friend.
Friend: calls your parents by Mr. and Mrs.
Best friend: calls your parents Dad and Mom
Friend: laughs at your jokes when they’re funny
Best friend: laughs at your jokes when they’re not funny
Friend: borrows your stuff for a few days then gives it back
Best friend: has a closet full of your stuff
Friend: always gets you a nice birthday present
Best friend: gives you stuff even when it’s not your birthday
Friend: only knows a few things about you
Best friend: could write a show on you for the Biography Channel
Friend: would delete this letter
Best friend: will send this back to me and all of their online buddies—SO DO IT NOW!!!
THANKS, FRIEND!!!
After hitting SEND, Madison turned off the computer and the light. Maybe it was the long day spent indoors or maybe it was just the rain, but something had made Madison extra tired. She stared at shadows as they danced on the walls of the apartment. There seemed to be a dancing palm tree outside Madison’s window. Somehow the wind had picked up, which was strange for such a muggy, wet evening.
Madison remembered the warning that Fiona had mentioned—and that she’d seen on the Weather Channel, too. Was a hurricane h
eaded for the Florida coast? The tropical depression was somewhere out in the Atlantic Ocean just then. Madison wondered if the next day she would wake up to torrential rain. Where were the tornadoes and waves and debris (and cows) flying through the air? Those were the hurricane images she knew from TV and movies.
Madison had all but given up on her loggerhead-turtle-counting trick for getting her to sleep. Tonight, she’d dream of gale-force winds instead. A hurricane dream was just the right thing to whip Madison’s head and heart back into shape.
Wasn’t it?
As she lay in the darkness, Madison heard voices again—coming from down the hallway. Dad and Stephanie were back at it—arguing. They seemed to be trying very hard to keep their voices down. Madison couldn’t tell what they were saying exactly, but it sounded serious. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to think of something else.
Some kind of serious stormy weather was coming. Madison knew it.
And it wasn’t the kind of storm that could be helped with some stupid slicker.
Chapter 14
THE WEEKEND WENT BY in a blur. Everyone in the county was preparing for the possibility that a hurricane might be on its way. For Madison, it seemed as if that reality had already hit. By Monday morning, her thoughts were churning. When the chirping of birds awoke her, she bounded out of bed without putting on her slippers and logged on to her computer right away.
The Parent Trap
Is this the Big D all over again?
I feel like Dad and Stephanie are talking in code. I was going to write about this in a blog or even to Bigwheels on e-mail but I don’t actually know where to start. They fight a lot more than I remember. Y is that? I can’t tell what’s normal fighting and what’s bad fighting but there’s this weird tension in the apartment and this was supposed to be the relaxing week coming up. Stephanie has cried at least twice since I’ve been here and I still don’t really know why but I know it has something to do w/Dad. Aaaaargh! He just keeps telling me “Relax, Maddie. Don’t sweat it.”
Rude Awakening: Whenever someone says, “Relax, don’t sweat it,” why does it instantly feel a whole lot hotter?
Here’s what happened this weekend. Saturday we went shopping in the car—the three of us. When we got to the beach town, Dad wanted to go to The Lemon Drop for lunch but Stephanie and I went there earlier this week so we told Dad we’d rather go someplace else. Well, Dad had a craving for one of The Lemon Drop’s fish sandwiches and just wanted to stay there and eat on the bench and he had this little tantrum in the car—I swear. Stephanie finally talked him out of it and we went to a hamburger joint. It was this major drama for such a DUMB reason. Dad acted a little nicer after that, but I didn’t feel like talking to him.
Later on after we’d eaten, we went shopping. I saw a pair of earrings—VV cool with wooden beads and colored stones—and Dad said I could have those if I wanted. He didn’t really care. I could tell. He was bored. Then I saw something WAY better. I found this pair of identical charms—and they were alligators!! I decided that was the better thing to buy. Maybe I can give one to Aim or Fiona or Lindsay when we get back to Far Hills?? Dad told me to hurry up and pick something. He never rushes me. What’s up with that?
Sunday wasn’t much better. Dad was still acting weird so Stephanie took me to the movies alone. The sky looked dark when we came out and we worried that maybe the storm was coming AGAIN, but it didn’t. It seemed like Stephanie would start confiding in me about her and Dad, but she didn’t. Ugh!
I know I should just stay out of it. That was my problem w/Dad and Mom, too, when I always butted in. But it’s soooo hard not to want to help, since I heard all their fights and all their problems too. What am I supposed to do the second time around? This is a question for the Blowfish. Or for my BFFs. For anyone but me. Sometimes I feel like maybe this is some kind of parent trap—or test. If I just DON’T think about it, it’ll go away.
Madison quickly hit SAVE. The clock said it was just 9:00 A.M. In a few minutes, Stephanie would be running Madison over to the ELC for Monday’s rescheduled riverboat trip. There, the entire camp would board three different pontoons at precisely 10:00 A.M. and would tour on the boats through lunch. Two teams and several camp staff members were assigned to each large pontoon. Stephanie said it would be like a nature cruise; luckily, there were no gray clouds in sight.
Pontoons were good fun for groups like Madison’s camp, because they were flat-bottomed boats. If the group had had to ride on a regular boat, there would have been no place to stand and move around. This way, everyone could sit or stand or shuffle around to observe the birds, fish, and, if they were really, really lucky, a Florida panther, one of the endangered species occasionally spotted along the coast.
Once Madison arrived at the ELC, she saw a procession of kids heading for the camp docks and the river launch. Madison wanted to say something to Stephanie about the weekend, but she didn’t. Instead, she offered a regular good-bye and followed the others as they drifted down to the water. Along the way, Madison caught a glimpse of Ann and Will walking up ahead. She raced to catch up to them.
“Hey!” Madison said, a little winded from her sprint.
“Maddie!” Ann cheered.
Will gave Madison a big smile. “Mad Dog!” he said.
Madison burst into laughter. “Do you have to call me that?” She was relieved to laugh after the tension of the past few days.
Will just laughed. “Yes, I do have to call you that, Mad Dog. Why? Don’t you like it, Mad Dog?”
Madison pushed Will’s arm. “Stop!” she teased, even though she secretly loved the fact that he’d assigned her a special nickname.
“What’s the matter, Mad Dog?” Will continued, poking her in the back.
Madison raised her arm to push Will a second time, but Ann stepped between the two of them. “Break it up, you two. I just saw one of the counselors looking over here.”
Will seemed about to make some funny crack back to Ann, but just then Teeny came running up with Suchita.
“There you are!” Teeny said.
“Anyone see Logan?” Suchita asked.
The walk down to the water took a little bit longer than Madison had expected. Mangroves grew over the path in spots, and some kids (prompted by some counselors) kept stopping to identify creatures and plants along the way.
“Did you guys see Logan?” Suchita asked again.
Madison shook her head but smiled. She guessed that Suchita had a crush on Logan. That was why she always wanted to be his partner. Madison wondered if she were equally transparent about her crush on Will. She hoped not. She wasn’t ready for the entire universe to know about her mixed-up feelings. What if somehow Hart had found out?
“Look at that!” Teeny cried, pointing up at a tree. Sticking out from under a piece of bark was a long, thin snake. Its scaly skin was red, black, and yellow.
Suchita let out a little scream, and everyone jumped.
“What is that?”
One of the counselors rushed over.
“Stand back,” she said. Then she turned to everyone with a calm look on her face. “No worries,” she said. “It’s a scarlet king snake.”
“But I thought snakes with that many colors were bad. Isn’t it poisonous?” Ann said.
The counselor shook her head. “You’re thinking of the coral snake, I think. This isn’t the same color combination. I know it can be confusing. Just remember this little rhyme and you’ll be able to identify the snakes correctly. You look at the way the colors are lined up on a snake’s body—like this: red to yellow, kills a fellow; red to black, venom lack.”
“That’s cool,” Will said. Just as he spoke, the snake disappeared back into the tree.
Madison shuddered. She liked learning important facts about the wildlife and reptiles—especially snakes and alligators—but it didn’t make her any less scared of long, slimy, slithery things. No amount of love for animals could help Madison get over slithery things.
&nb
sp; After more frog- and lizard-sightings, Madison and the others finally reached the water. The path opened on to a clearing where Leonard was waiting with the boatmen. The three pontoon boats were revved up and ready to go.
It didn’t take long for everyone to board. The Alligators crowded in with the Flounders. The Butterflies and the Crabs were put together, too. That left the Dolphins and the Egrets. Madison, Will, Ann, and the others sat in neat rows of seats across their boat. Each boat carried about seventeen passengers in all—campers plus Camp Sunshine staffers and two other crew members.
The air felt cooler on the boat, for some reason. Madison soon realized that there was a large fan operating nearby—the driver told them that it was turned on to keep the bugs away. It had been a buggy month in the swamp. Each crew left the docks in sequence. Madison leaned forward on the edge of her seat. She’d been on boats many times before, including the time when she had been in the Amazon with Mom on one of Mom’s shoots for Budge Films, and on the lake near Gramma Helen’s house. But something about this trip felt different. Maybe it was the fact that she was alone here—no parents, no grandparents.
And then there was the Will factor.
For whatever reason, this boy had gotten under Madison’s skin. She kept stealing sidelong glances at him. His hair was all messy in front. He looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed. He had a tan, too, which made his skin the color of a golden raisin and made his white teeth stand out when he smiled one of his coy little smiles.
“Maddie? Is anyone in there?”
Madison shook off her daydream and realized that Leonard was standing over her.
She shot a look up at him and started to sputter. “I—I—I …” she said, unable to get any more words out.
“Are you okay?” Leonard repeated. “I saw you sitting here and you looked a little dizzy. Are you?”
Madison felt a hot breeze on her face. The boat was moving. She’d completely spaced out for almost a whole minute.
