by Laura Dower
“Hey, Finnster!” Hart came up from behind and nearly scared the crown off Madison. “What’s up?”
“Oh! Hart, hey,” Madison said. She turned sideways in the caftan and almost lost her balance. “Whoa!”
Hart grabbed her elbow.
“Thanks. This dress is so long, you know, it’s hard to …” Madison’s voice drifted off.
“Cool costume. Who are you supposed to be?” Hart asked, adjusting his own wizard cap.
“Um … well …” Madison thought for a moment. He’d noticed her outfit finally, but she couldn’t very well tell the crush of her life that she was Aphrodite, goddess of love. And she didn’t have a backup answer.
“I know!” Hart suddenly said. “You’re like a walking Greek myth.”
“Well, I’m a Roman or Greek mythical character,” Madison said politely. “Take your pick.”
“Hercules!” he joked.
“Umm … I don’t think so,” Madison said.
“What’s that thing?” Hart pointed to her neck.
Madison reached up and felt her neck. She was sweating. A bead of sweat was trickling down her back. Of course, Hart hadn’t been pointing to sweat. He was talking about her necklace.
“Is it real gold?” he asked.
Madison chuckled. “Not. My mom got it from some movie friend of hers. Sometimes it’s pretty convenient having a mom who has access to weird things like costume jewelry. You know?”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t really wear jewelry.”
He laughed and Madison squirmed a little.
“Maddie!” Aimee skipped over toward them. “We have to dance to this song. Hart, get Egg and Drew to come dance.”
Pretty soon, Aimee, Fiona, Madison, Hart, Egg, Chet, and Drew were out on the dance floor along with dozens of other Far Hills students. Everyone was twisting and shaking together.
It was one of those songs where everyone is supposed to do the same motions at the same time. During a slower part in the song, everyone sinks down, down, down to the floor and then jumps back up again.
Madison was bouncing in her caftan and waving her arms like before. She lifted the bottom of her dress up a little so she could move her legs more during the song’s faster parts. It was hard doing everything at the same time, though. Right next to her, Hart moved up and down to the rhythm the best he could, too.
Madison could not believe that she was dancing right next to Hart Jones.
He was so cute!
After a while, the music slowed down and everyone started to sink toward the floor. Madison followed along, happy for the slowed-down pace. She listened close because she knew that in the next part of the song, everyone was supposed to get back up again.
Madison believed with all her heart that if she jumped up at the perfect, timed moment, Hart would be impressed.
The music pumped a steady beat. Madison held her breath and then …
Jump!
She jumped up so fast—and didn’t trip on the hem of her long caftan!
The only problem was that when she jumped, no one else did.
She stood there, upright, staring down at an ocean of costumed faces. Everyone stared back. Hart stared back. Three seconds went by.
It felt like slo-mo eternity.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Some kid across the room screamed as he leaped into the air on the proper beat. Everyone was knocking around and shaking bodies upright again. Aimee spun in a few twirls.
Madison felt hot all over. She stopped dancing right then and there—and made a beeline for the punch with flies.
Ivy was standing there next to the drink table. “Like your costume, Madison,” she said when Madison sped over, breathless.
Madison didn’t believe her, of course. “Yeah—you too,” Madison said.
“I made my costume, you know,” Ivy bragged. “I figured that being a devil was fun, so I sewed this together.” She was talking about the teeny skirt wrapped around her waist.
“Mmmm-uh-huh,” Madison replied, taking a bite of a potato chip from the bowl next to her. She nibbled on the edge of the chip so it would last longer.
“You guys were all dancing as a group,” Ivy said. “How cute.”
Madison wanted to say, Didn’t see you dancing, but instead she nodded and said, “Mmmm-uh-huh,” again.
“This music really stinks, right?” Ivy complained. “Total disaster.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be a little more positive?” Madison asked. “Seeing as how you’re our seventh-grade class president and all?”
Before Ivy could snap back with some clever answer, Aimee rushed up. “Where did you go?” she asked Madison. “I turned around and you vanished.”
“I was thirsty. This costume is hot,” Madison said.
“Later,” Ivy said, snapping her gum. “I’m going to go dance.” Ivy walked directly over toward the boys. Madison watched her stand next to Hart. She started talking to him, smiling and flipping her hair, leaning in because the music was loud. Hart didn’t seem that interested, but Ivy kept pushing herself up against him. She turned around once and caught Madison’s eye—and smiled.
Madison never knew a smile could feel like a punch in the gut.
Eventually the music died down a little and a slower song came on. Madison figured at that point, Hart would stop dancing altogether. Maybe, in the utterly fantastic world of her imagination, Hart would ask Madison to dance.
But he didn’t do either of those things. He danced with Ivy.
Madison’s eyes were on them as they rocked back and forth to a pop song that she didn’t like one bit.
“Check them out,” Chet said, motioning to the dance floor. He was looking for a drink at the table.
Madison just shook her head, not looking. She didn’t want to see any more.
“I can’t believe they’re dancing together,” Chet said. “I really didn’t know Egg liked my sister.”
“Your sister? Wha?” Madison looked up and did a double take.
It wasn’t Hart and Ivy Chet was watching. Egg and Fiona were the ones dancing together. Egg even had one of Fiona’s leis around his neck. They weren’t standing that close, but close enough so they were swaying back and forth to the same rhythm. Close enough to be holding hands, too, but Madison couldn’t see if they were doing that.
Madison spun around to see if Hart and Ivy were dancing together. But they had disappeared. There was no wizard hat or her fire-red costume anywhere in the room. Aimee was also missing! Madison felt her pulse race.
“My wife tells me you’re a whiz at computers,” Dr. Wing said, walking right up to Madison. He had removed his wolf-doctor mask to get a drink of fruit punch.
“Oh,” Madison said, startled to see him. Aimee was right. He was very cute.
“You help her with the Web site. That’s hard work,” Dr. Wing said.
“I guess.” Madison caught herself staring with nothing to talk to him about. She fished for information. “What kind of doctor are you, Dr. Wing?”
He smiled. “I’m a wolf-doctor, remember?”
Madison chuckled. “No, really. What do you do for a job?”
“I’m serious!” he said. “Well, some people call me a veterinarian.”
Madison gasped. Mrs. Wing’s husband was a vet? She couldn’t believe it. Madison had dozens … no, hundreds … of questions.
“I love animals!” Madison blurted.
“Well, me too.” Dr. Wing smiled.
“I mean, I think I would be a good vet someday,” Madison explained. “I don’t know how you become one, but I love animals more than anything on the planet. Really and truly.”
Dr. Wing grinned. He told Madison about an injured bird that had come to his office that morning. Just then, Poison Ivy fluttered by. She and her drones gave Madison a meaner-than-mean look.
“I have to go,” Madison said abruptly, shaken by the look. She wanted to find Fiona and Aimee. “Nice meeting you,” Madison added.
Dr.
Wing reached out to shake Madison’s hand. “Anytime you want to, come around my office. We have a boarding, grooming, and pet adoption shelter attached to our building.”
“Far Hills Animal Shelter? You’re in charge of that place?” Madison said in disbelief. She knew exactly where he worked. It was where Aimee’s family had adopted their basset hound, Blossom.
“Maddie!” Aimee came by again and grabbed Madison’s wrist. “Sorry, Dr. Wing, I need her now.”
“Aimee, did you know that Dr. Wing is a vet? Isn’t that awesome? I just—”
“Come on!” Aimee pulled her over to a row of chairs and sat down.
“Let go of me.” Madison rubbed her hand. “You’re acting so weird.”
“I saw Fiona and Egg dancing together,” Aimee said.
“I saw them, too. Where were you, anyway? I was looking for you everywhere.”
“Maddie! I was dancing with Egg and Fiona. That’s why I’m so weirded out. We were goofing off together and then all of a sudden, Egg grabbed one of the leis off Fiona’s neck.”
“And … ?” Madison probed for more details. Had he held her hand? Grabbed her arm? Touched her head?
“I mean, for Egg to do that is like … a major whoa.”
“It’s just a dance, Aim,” Madison said. “You said so yourself that a lot can happen here. You said our entire seventh-grade existence could be made by this dance. That’s what you said.”
“What does that have to do with Fiona and Egg?” Aimee asked.
“Maybe they like each other,” Madison replied. She wanted to hear Fiona’s side of the story before jumping to any conclusions.
“You’re right, I guess,” Aimee said, hanging her head. “I know you’re right. It’s just weird to me. Egg is like another brother, and I can’t think of him that way.”
“What way?” Madison said.
“Like a boy.” Aimee shook her head.
“Everything’s getting weird this year,” Madison said.
Aimee lifted up her head. “Speak of the devil,” she said, laughing, because Ivy really was dressed as a red devil tonight. “It’s Miss Weird herself.”
Poison Ivy walked right past Aimee and Madison and out the doors toward the bathrooms. Hart was right behind her.
“Hey, Finnster,” Hart said.
“Hey, yourself. How—how’s the dance going?” Madison asked, stuttering a little. She was so surprised to see him stop.
“Have you been in the scary hallway yet?” he asked them.
“Scary hallway? I went a little while ago,” Aimee said. She’d gone in with some of her dance friends when Madison had been talking with Dr. Wing.
“You went, Aim? I haven’t gone yet,” Madison said. “Is it good?”
“I haven’t gone, either! You wanna go with me?” Hart asked. “The line looks pretty short now.”
Madison shrugged. “Okay. I guess.”
Aimee didn’t even suspect anything. She said she’d be fine with Fiona, Egg, Chet, and some other friends.
Madison and Hart went off to get on the line—alone. At least they were alone for five seconds.
That’s when the red devil appeared—back from the bathroom already.
“Hey, Hart,” Ivy said, talking right to him. “Oh, hello, Madison.”
Hart was gearing up for some serious screaming inside the scary hallway. “Chet said overall it’s kind of lame,” he confessed. “But I say maybe it’s fun to go through and try to scare the people who are already in there. Right?”
“We’re gonna be scaring people?” Ivy asked.
Madison piped up. “Ivy, he just said that. …”
“Um, excuse me. If I needed a dictionary, I’d go to the library, thank you.”
Madison bit her lip. “Like you ever go to the library,” she said under her breath.
Hart turned to both girls and said, “This is so cool.”
“I know,” Ivy said, sliding up in line right next to him. They weren’t holding hands or anything, but they were practically touching.
“Welcome to Scary Hallway!” a voice from behind a rubber mask croaked. Madison could tell it was Mr. Gibbons from the deep voice. “Aha!” he cried. “Look who we have here … more unwitting seventh graders to pass through the scary hallway … ha, ha, ha, ha!”
“Let’s go, the line’s moving,” Ivy said to the kid who was standing in front of her, even though he was in another grade.
“You okay, Finnster?” Hart leaned back and whispered. “This looks pretty dorky now that we’re actually here. I imagined something a lot different.”
“I know what you mean,” Madison said. She grinned and hoped in some secret way, underneath it all, he was talking about Ivy.
“C’mon!” Ivy said, yanking Hart inside, leaving Madison a step behind.
Madison growled to herself. They were gone. In a Halloween world, Madison was dealt the same thing every year: tricks after tireless tricks.
Chapter 13
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!” SOMEONE SCREAMED IN Madison’s ear.
She screamed back even louder, almost keeling over in her Aphrodite dress.
Welcome to Scary Hallway.
Maneuvering in her caftan had been tough on the dance floor. It was even more difficult in this space. Plus it was hard to see where she was going. Madison felt so uncomfortable.
Up ahead of her, she heard Hart’s whisper.
“You still there, Finnster?” he said.
“Yeah,” Madison said. Where else would she be?
To her left, some kid with a rubber ax in his head leaned over and said, “Help me.” He had fake blood oozing out of his mouth.
“Gross,” Madison mumbled.
Another boy had one of those plastic fake hands that moved. “Here, let me give you a hand,” he said, cackling. Madison laughed. The hand was one of the objects she and the other members of the committee had collected for the decorations. He must have lifted it off a table.
“Finnster!” Hart whispered again. “You there?”
“Yes!” she said again, but she really couldn’t see anything now.
There were no scary people in her path for a few feet. Now the scary hallway was more like being blindfolded. Curtains folded in around her body as she walked farther along through the maze.
“Hart?” Madison whispered, coming to a sudden stop. She froze. Was someone there? She turned around but didn’t see or hear anyone. “Hart?”
“Hart!” Ivy’s voice boomed somewhere up ahead. “Don’t go. Hold my hand!”
“I want to suck your blooooood!” Some girl with vampire fangs swooped over. She reached out and grabbed Madison’s caftan.
“Don’t touch me!” Madison screeched, stumbling backward. Now things were getting scarier.
Behind her somewhere, a group of kids started to scream. Not just little eeeks however. These were big, fat, loud screams—the kind to break an eardrum. They were just goofing around, but it was very annoying.
All of a sudden one of the kids inside the hallway was right up at Madison’s back. He started to push. Madison was jostled.
“Move,” the boy said.
Madison snapped, “I can’t move.”
When she said that, he pushed back a second time, much harder. “I said move,” he yelled. Everyone was yelling. Madison felt hotter than hot.
She got her balance only to have him shove her a third time. And with that push, Madison went flying for real—dress, crown, scepter, and all.
Flying into Hart, that is. Much to her surprise, she had been jostled right over to the scary hallway exit.
Madison fell through the curtain opening and landed, hard. On top of Hart.
Hart got up first and then reached out to help Madison onto her feet. Taking his hand, Madison stood up, teetering. He had a warm, pink, sweaty hand, but she didn’t mind. This was the hand she had hoped and prayed and crossed her fingers that she might hold at the dance.
Of course, the holding only lasted a split second. The moment Ma
dison was back on two feet and Hart shook himself off, the hand was history. And not so long after that, the dance was history, too.
Fiona, Aimee, and Madison logged on to TweenBlurt.com later that night so they could keep talking about the dance even after it was over. No one wanted the fun to end. They met up in a Friday night, private chat room called LYLAS, which meant “Love Ya Like a Sister.”
