Boy, Oh Boy!
Page 8
: not school no
Fiona was AFK, or Away From Keyboard. Madison scrolled back up to reread what they’d said so far.
Madison grinned and nodded at the computer screen.
Fiona was a good friend, too.
The next morning, Madison left for school extra early so she could tally and present the latest poll on the school site. After the conversation with Fiona, she decided once and for all that she really should leave the whole Ivy episode behind. She could get back to her computer duties and get back into gear.
There was no need to feel embarrassed! Madison had real friends where it really mattered. Not only that, but today the Web site looked sabotage free, thankfully. And the online poll taker was working perfectly.
As of today’s tally, girls ruled.
9/18 CURRENT STANDINGS:
What candidate will do the most for Far Hills?
48% Ivy Daly
32% Aimee Gillespie
12% Montrell Morris
8% Thomas Kwong
Unfortunately, girls named Ivy ruled better than girls named Aimee. But Madison told herself to ignore that gigantic lead. She had to focus on the good stuff, not the bad stuff. Aimee still had a chance to win.
The bell for homeroom rang.
In the middle of roll call, Madison realized she had done all her homework for the day except science. Why hadn’t she finished her science reading? She’d have to sneak into the girls’ room before class to skim-read the chapters. Sometimes Madison would hide out in a stall to finish math problems or read through essays before class started. That way she could show up a little late and say she was “in the bathroom.”
Unfortunately, as Madison discovered that afternoon, the science reading had a lot of new vocabulary. And Madison read so fast the chapter wasn’t making much sense.
There would probably be a pop quiz today, too.
It was several moments after the bell had rung, and still Mr. Danehy had not shown up. Some kid poked his head into the classroom.
“Mr. D’s stuck in a meeting and he’ll be late.”
The class began humming. From all corners of the room, different conversations started up like chain saws.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
“Hey, Finnster,” Hart whispered loudly across class. “You okay? I mean, considering …”
Madison made a face. “Yeah,” she said. Of course she was okay. Why would he ask her that? Considering what?
“You have a lotta nerve,” Rose Thorn said not-so-nicely from her seat at the front of the room.
Another kid mumbled, “Show-off.”
Madison turned toward her seat.
What were they talking about?
“Nice Web site!” a boy from the back of the room yelled. The rest of the class laughed, especially, Poison Ivy.
“Now, settle down.” Chet banged on Mr. Danehy’s desk, pretending to be the teacher. “I will not stand for these reee-diculous deee-sruptions!”
Hart was laughing so hard his face turned all pink.
Were they laughing at her?
“Hey, Maddie,” Phony Joanie called out. “How does it feel to be a screen star?”
Madison shook her head. “What are you all talking about?” She flipped through her textbook frantically, trying to ignore everyone and study more.
Ivy let out a big “HAH!” She was doodling “class president” all over her science book cover.
“Ivy, is there something going on that I don’t know about?”
Ivy adjusted her skirt and crossed her legs. “Oh, Madison, poor you. Don’t you get it?”
The tone in Ivy’s voice told Madison that something was definitely wrong.
Madison knew it must have to do with the Web site. “Is this about the skunk again?”
“What do you think?” Ivy said.
Madison wanted to run to the nearest computer just to check and make sure the skunk wasn’t back again, but no sooner had she stood up when Mr. Danehy came into the classroom. He was waving papers in front of him.
“Pop quiz, kids!”
Everyone let out a dejected “Awwww” even though they had all seen the quiz coming.
Madison clutched at her throat. Panic was working its way up, faster now than before. She felt hot all over. She had to get to a computer—NOW.
Every bit of classroom chatter sounded ominous.
“Messed … Web … she … joke.”
She only could catch a few words here and there, but she was sure that they were targeted directly at her.
“Mad … Wing … site … can’t … bad … Madison.”
There was more whispering and rustling as Mr. Danehy passed out the quizzes—and funny stares all around.
Madison looked down at the pop quiz. It was a gray blur.
“Class, you will have fifteen minutes to complete …” Mr. Danehy explained what the quiz was about.
“Gee, Madison.” Ivy leaned in close to her. “Don’t you have the scientific data to fill in this quiz?” Ivy laughed softly and twirled a piece of hair around her finger, waiting for Madison to take the bait.
“Ivy, your idea of scientific data,” Madison said, “is a scientist who likes to go on dates!”
It was a good answer, but it didn’t count for much.
Ivy was still laughing.
Madison’s skin flushed. Her neck was sweating. She could feel the room starting to spin a little.
And when Hart bellowed, “Way to go, Finnster!” Madison really lost it.
“Yeah, GO Finnster!” Ivy cried a little louder. “GO take a look at the election Web site.”
Everyone got very quiet. Even Mr. Danehy stopped explaining for a split second. Dozens of eyes landed on Madison’s hot skin.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to …
RUN.
“Miss Finn?” Mr. Danehy was surprised and more than a little rattled. Science teachers were not typically trained to deal with freaking-out seventh-grade girls. “Miss Finn? Are you all right?”
Madison bolted out of her chair.
What was she doing?
She ran out the door, down the hallway, down past the girls’ room, past the hall monitor, down the stairs, all the way to Mrs. Wing’s classroom.
No one was following her. She gasped for air.
Feelings are like fuel that jet-propel you into places and situations you don’t even expect.
“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Wing asked as Madison rushed into the technology lab, breathless. “You’re purple!”
Madison’s felt the tears and anger making her face all blotchy.
“We have to check the Web site, Mrs. Wing,” Madison gasped again.
“Oh dear, I think you need to see the nurse,” Mrs. Wing said.
But Madison had already logged on to the computer station and punched the right keys.
“Madison, I really think you should slow down and tell me what it is that you are looking for,” Mrs. Wing added.
“Oh no.” Madison turned to look up at her teacher.
Mrs. Wing stared back at the monitor.
There was the home page for the school’s election site—but with one big difference.
The photo of the school was gone.
In its place, there was a picture of Madison Finn with three little words: FINN FOR PREZ.
Chapter 11
MADISON LEARNED LATER ON that day that thanks to her crying and fleeing, Mr. Danehy had lost all sense of order in his classroom and thereby decided to forget about the science pop quiz. So what had started out as the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to anyone, ironically ended up winning Madison more friends. Her entire science class was ready to high-five her, as if Madison’s freak show had somehow turned into the perfect pop-quiz-blocking method of all time.
Nothing made any sense anymore.
“Are you okay, Maddie?” Drew asked her later on in Mrs. Wing’s tech lab. Madison was fixated on the screen image: FINN FOR PREZ. She couldn’t even delete it this time.
“What IS that?” Drew asked.
The photo of Madison kept shifting in and out of focus. Mrs. Wing walked over to the classroom phone and dialed the Administration office.
“Do you think someone is doing this on purpose?” Drew wondered out loud.
“Don’t you? Or maybe it’s just a coincidence that they put FINN FOR PREZ? I don’t think so.”
“Principal Bernard is coming up right now, you two,” Mrs. Wing said as she clicked a few more keys. Madison watched Mrs. Wing jump from computer screen to screen, checking in once again on all of the other pages. Madison wanted to be like her almost as much as she wanted to be like Mom. Mrs. Wing was so smart, Madison thought again. She wanted to be smart, and wear iridescent earrings, and sip hot coffee in the morning.
Madison wanted a lot of things.
“Where is Mr. Diaz?” Mrs. Wing asked. She was smart, but she was also very annoyed. She didn’t like the way this computer prank was turning out. It was jeopardizing the entire school election.
No sooner had she asked the question than Egg appeared.
“Sorry I’m late, Mrs.—check that out!” Egg spied the sabotaged home page screen. “Maddie, you’re on the home page! Hey, Mrs. Wing, do you—?”
“Walter, would you please just sit down. This is a serious problem.”
Egg was surprised by Mrs. Wing’s stern tone of voice. His crush had just dealt him a crushing blow.
“Walter, take a seat please,” Mrs. Wing repeated.
He collapsed into a chair. “She hates me,” Egg whispered to Drew.
Meanwhile, Madison kept trying to figure out everything Mrs. Wing had been explaining about strings and substrings and things. She looked at what was typed up on the screen.
Source of message.
Proxy server location.
Time of use.
“Is Mrs. Wing in here?”
Principal Bernard was at the classroom door. Mrs. Wing got up to speak to the principal “privately” for a moment.
Drew had a blank look on his face. He didn’t want to get into trouble with the principal.
Egg wore a look of devastation. The wisecracker had cracked.
Madison tapped a few more keys and finally found the “history” of the Finn photograph flashing up on the screen. She was surprised to see that the photo had been downloaded last Friday.
The source of the message was a serial number.
Madison turned to Mrs. Wing, Principal Bernard, and the rest of the room. She grinned proudly. “I know where the photo was sent from.”
“Madison?” Mrs. Wing smiled. “You do? Well, good for you. You were paying close attention, I see.”
“Miss Finn, I am impressed,” Principal Bernard said. “Does this mean you can tell us who the prankster is?”
“Way to go, Maddie,” Drew pumped his fist in the air.
Egg looked up, too. “Can you really tell who did it just by looking—”
“Maybe!” Madison nodded. “The photo here was sent from a computer up on the sixth floor,” she explained. “See, I figured out that each computer has its own code based on its location.”
Mrs. Wing was smiling wider now, as if she was proud. She gave Principal Bernard a sidelong glance.
“So computer 611FH is the only unit with a six in the code,” Madison continued. “The older main building is the only building with a sixth floor. And the only computer on the sixth floor is in the library.”
Mrs. Wing was genuinely impressed.
“Whoa,” Egg said. “You figured all that out from looking at that code?”
Principal Bernard piped up. “Don’t they keep logs so people who use computers have to sign in and out of the media center?”
Mrs. Wing held up her hands as if to say, “This is your ball, Madison Finn. Run with it.”
So Madison ran all the way up to the sixth floor.
She wondered what she’d find in the log. Maybe the culprit was Rose Thorn or Phony Joanie?
Mr. Books was just closing up the library as they climbed the stairs.
“Hello, there. What is the big rush?”
“We may have a little computer problem happening from your station up here, Mr. Books. I know it’s hard to believe, but quite true. Miss Finn here seems to have found the source.”
The library computer logbook was laid out on a wooden table near the station. Madison rushed over to it, followed by Drew, Egg, Mrs. Wing, Mr. Books, and Principal Bernard.
“Okay.” Madison searched in a frenzy. She flipped back to Friday’s entries. “I know the download happened at ten-forty P.M. So, that means I’ll find it right here.”
Madison ran her finger down the list of sign-in names—and stopped.
She took a step backward.
“Who is it?” Mrs. Wing asked with concern. “Madison, is it someone you know?”
“Worse,” Madison groaned. “Drew, look.”
There was nothing listed for a 10:40 download. There was no one in school then. No one had used the computer over the weekend, either.
But on the list was a very familiar name.
Madison Finn.
“I guess that’s not who you expected to see, right?” Egg said.
“Very funny,” Madison grunted.
Drew elbowed Egg in the side.
Everyone else was tongue-tied.
And Madison was right back where she had started.
Which was, basically, nowhere.
The Conspiracy
Rude Awakening: Sometimes it’s easier to believe your enemies than your friends.
I am at the center of a Far Hills Junior High conspiracy, I swear. Of course, I shouldn’t be talking about it so much. That’s like whammying myself to have even worse luck. But I can’t help it.
When Aimee got back from her dance troupe tonight I told her everything. She almost died when she heard. She said it was like a REAL conspiracy. Like a movie. I sent mom another e-mail too and told her about it, since she is the movie person, after all. And Fiona and Bigwheels know too, of course. I couldn’t leave them out.
At least this election Web site is only accessible at school. But I don’t think I will ever recover from the embarrassment.
That evening, Maddie set up her laptop in a corner of Aimee’s bedroom to do her homework. But she just didn’t feel like studying. What was the point in attempting to solve a tough math equation when she couldn’t even figure out who had invaded the school Web site?
Madison wanted to work more on her files. She wanted to get to the bottom of the Web site mystery. She considered the suspects.
Poison Ivy Enemy #1>
Rose and Joanie
The other candidates: Montrell? Tommy?
Definite not Aimee, Egg, Mrs. Wing, or Fiona
Hart Jones?
After she typed Hart’s name for the first time Madison got a little distracted. She entered it a few more times.
Hart Hart Hart HART hart
Maddie + Hart
Madison Jones
When Madison realized what she was really typing, she pressed DELETE. What if her file got into the wrong hands?
Plus, Gramma Helen h
ad always told Maddie never to write anything that she wouldn’t want someone else to see. “Think before you ink, Madison,” Gramma would say.
Madison figured the same rule had to be true about stuff keyed in on the computer. She didn’t want anyone to know the way she felt about the guy who called her Finnster. It was way too embarrassing.
When Mrs. Gillespie screeched from downstairs, “Frittatas! Come and get it!” Madison wasn’t sure what to expect.
Would tonight’s dinner selection be better or worse than the sand or vegetables from the nights before?
Phinnie was, of course, waiting in the dining room. He was such a little beggar. Madison poured kibble into the PHIN FOOD dish, and he muscled in for his chow. Blossom howled too. Together they looked like they were performing a doggy comedy routine.
Dinner was unusually quiet. Mr. Gillespie made dinner conversation with the “girls,” since none of his four sons was eating at home tonight. Things were definitely less interesting without the boys around.
“Aimee, have you written your campaign speech yet?”
Aimee chuckled. “I’m working on it, Daddy.”
Madison added, “It’s going to be great, Mr. Gillespie.”
“Maddie’s gonna help me write it, Daddy.”
“Yeah,” Madison continued, “Aimee’s saying really smart stuff. Better than Ivy Daly anyway.”
Aimee nodded. “That’s for sure.”
“Ivy Daly? You mean Jack Daly’s girl?” Mr. Gillespie said. “Now, weren’t you girls all friends at one point?”
“Only like a million and a half years ago, Daddy!” Aimee swallowed a mouthful of lentils. They were little brown beans piled high on a platter in the middle of the table, a platter that Madison was avoiding at all costs. Maddie opted for extra helpings of potatoes instead.
“I could have sworn you three were still friends.” Mr. Gillespie was perplexed.
Madison thought about how funny it was that parents could fall so far out of the loop of friends and acquaintances sometimes. There was a time in life once when everyone’s moms and dads knew everyone’s friends, those friends’ parents, and all the friends’ pets. But things were different now. Way different.
“We were friends in elementary school,” Madison said to clarify things. “When we were kids.”