Off the Wall

by Laura Dower

Phin curled up in a corner of Dad’s living room, chewing on the edge of Dad’s rug, as usual. Madison tried shooing him away and tossing him a chew bone, but Phin looked uninterested. The rug obviously tasted much better.

  After nearly an hour, Madison was checking her e-mail for the umpteenth time when an e-mail popped up, addressed to Madison with a copy to Dad’s e-mailbox, too. Madison eagerly clicked on the message.

  From: WEBWALL

  To: MadFinn, JeffFinn

  Subject: Re: Improper Posting

  Date: Sat 11 Nov 5:31 PM

  We have received your e-mail request #17823 and have forwarded it to our customer service area. We understand the urgency in this matter and appreciate your patience as we resolve the problem.

  You will receive a detailed analysis of your problem within 24 hours.

  Thank you,

  Webmaster @ The Wall

  “Twenty-four hours!” Madison screeched.

  Phin jumped, distracted from his rug-chewing.

  “What is it?” Dad cried. He raced into the living room. “Did you scream? Did something happen?”

  Madison groaned. “Dad, the site wrote back, but they said they can’t respond immediately. It has to be forwarded to some customer service center or something like that.”

  Dad shrugged. “I figured that might happen. Well, we’ll just wait a little longer, then. Have patience, Maddie. We’ll get it sorted out.”

  Madison started to sniffle. She cried only a little at first, but then her tears exploded into one big sob.

  “Oh, Madison, now, why are you crying?” Dad asked. He put his arm around Madison’s shoulders and patted her back with his other hand, which was still covered by a red, lobster-shaped, oven mitt.

  “Dad, I’m so embarrassed. I just wanted to be back in the loop. … To be the one who knew stuff before everyone else … and now …”Madison sniffled uncontrollably. “Now … Ivy will probably read what I posted and … she’ll hate me forever and … ”

  “Wait just a minute, Maddie,” Dad said. “I thought you and Ivy weren’t friends anymore anyway.”

  “We’re not,” Madison gulped. “But … ”

  “Maddie,” Dad said in his most serious voice. “You can’t keep fighting with Ivy this way. You don’t want to be like her. I don’t want you to think that being nasty can ever make things better. It can’t. This whole experience should have proved that. … ”

  Madison hung her head and wiped her wet face. “Why are parents always right?” she said. “And why am I always wrong?”

  “You’re not always wrong, sweetheart,” Dad said. “And as for parents, well …”Dad chuckled. “I wish I were always right.”

  “Well, you’re right a lot.” Madison sighed.

  “One thing I know for sure is that the way to win with Ivy Daly is NOT playing her game or by her rules. Fighting back gets you nowhere with some people, Maddie. Remember that for always.”

  Dad kissed the top of Madison’s head.

  Phin trotted past. He sniffed furiously at the air.

  “Is something burning?” Madison asked.

  Dad took a big sniff.

  “Ah! My Poulet à la Finn is done!” Dad proclaimed. He grabbed Madison by the wrist and pulled her up off the sofa. They headed into the kitchen for Dad’s feast.

  Luckily, dinner went by quickly—and deliciously. The food took Madison’s mind off Ivy, The Wall, and her troubles with Fiona, Aimee, and Lindsay. After a dessert of pound cake and fudge, Dad even helped Madison with her math homework. She’d been trying a little harder. Dad noticed the effort.

  Before bedtime, Madison was tempted to check her e-mailbox one last time to see if the Webmaster had decided to respond in less than twenty-four hours’ time. But she stopped herself. Dad was right. She needed to be patient. Instead of logging on again, Madison curled up in the living room chair and watched the movie with Dad.

  The next morning, after a night of good rest, Madison felt more optimistic about the mistakes she’d made on The Wall. She had confidence that the Webmaster would respond and that she would get the negative posting removed, just as Dad had said. Plus, Dad surprised her and took her out for breakfast. Phin stayed behind while Dad took Madison to a diner called Cuppa Joe, up the street from his apartment. They didn’t even talk about what had happened.

  After breakfast, Madison gathered her stuff together. Dad drove her and Phin back home to Blueberry Street around noon. All Madison could think about was what the Webmaster would say when he or she finally responded to Dad’s request. She’d forgotten about one other thing.

  But Dad reminded her.

  “So how will we tell your mother?” he said, out of the blue, his hands tapping on the car steering wheel.

  “Tell Mom?” Madison said. She didn’t turn to look at Dad. “Um … I was kind of hoping that we wouldn’t have to tell her anything. Since we fixed the problem … ”

  Dad laughed out loud. “You’re kidding!” he said. “Oh, Maddie, you are most definitely going to tell your mother everything, from the beginning. We had a deal.”

  Madison sank down into the car seat. The streets dashed by. Why would she tell Mom when she knew Mom would freak? The online nightmare was getting worse by the moment.

  “Dad, I think maybe you should tell her,” Madison said.

  “Hmmm,” Dad said. “Okay. I’ll tell her, but you’re going to be standing right there with me.”

  Madison forced a fake grin. “Whatever you say, Dad,” she said.

  Phin trotted up the porch steps and entered the foyer with Madison. Dad followed. Mom was surprised to see him there. Usually, when Dad came into the house with Madison, it meant something was wrong, so she suspected the worst.

  “Jeff?” she said. “Is everything all right?”

  Madison bent down to hug Phin as if he were her security blanket. She wanted this moment to be gone.

  “Madison and I spent last night working out some problems she had with the Internet,” Dad said.

  “Problems?” Mom looked confused. “What problems? Maddie, you didn’t tell me you were having problems.”

  “Mom, it’s really not a big deal. I just—”

  “Francine,” Dad said to Mom. “It seems that Maddie posted a message on one of those popular bulletin boards by accident. The message was not very nice.”

  Madison cringed.

  Here comes the freak-out.

  Sure enough, Mom’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?” she asked. “Maddie, would you mind explaining this to me, please?”

  Dad interrupted. He was trying to keep Mom from getting all worked up. “Francine, I think that I’ve already covered this with her,” Dad said protectively. “The point is that I’ve contacted the Webmaster to remove the posting. Now I think we have to decide how Madison should be reprimanded for what she did.”

  Madison’s jaw dropped open. “Reprimanded? What are you talking about, Dad?” she said. “You’re going to PUNISH me?”

  Dad turned to Madison and calmly said, “You didn’t think you could do something like this and not suffer the consequences, did you?”

  Madison bit her lip.

  “Your father is absolutely right,” Mom said. “We agreed that the web was fine to use as long as you didn’t abuse your privileges.”

  Phin scuttled away into the kitchen. He ran away sometimes when people argued or when Madison had heart-to-heart talks with Mom or Dad.

  “Shouldn’t we wait and see what the Webmaster has to say first, before you decide on some punishment?” Madison asked, feeling very alone.

  “Fine,” Dad said. “Let’s pull out your laptop now and check for a message from the Webmaster.”

  Madison slowly removed the orange laptop from her bag. The battery was low from all the activity the night before so she plugged it in.

  She opened her e-mailbox. Sure enough, the Webwall message she had been waiting to read was there.

  From: WEBWALL

  To: MadFinn, JeffFinn


  Subject: Request #17823

  Date: Sat 11 Nov 11:54 PM

  Our team of 24-hour customer service reps has received your e-mail request #17823. Having reviewed the contents of your complaint, we have decided that the improper posting to The Wall by screen name MF13 will be removed immediately.

  However, as noted in the rules, the posting violates the honor code of the website. Although we do not like to terminate the membership and e-mail address of the user, this member will no longer have access to The Wall. As a result, the member will no longer be allowed to post or read postings on this website.

  Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you have further questions or concerns, please e-mail us at this address and you will receive further communication within 24 hours.

  Thank you,

  Webmaster @ The Wall

  “Well, I guess that solves that problem,” Mom said.

  Madison’s insides ached. She was embarrassed, angry, sad, and sick, all at the same time.

  “I can’t go on again? Not ever?” Madison asked aloud. “I’m really off The Wall?”

  Dad shook his head. “Guess so. The rules of the site.”

  “But it’s so unfair!” Madison cried. “It was an accident! I didn’t even mean to post those things! I was only writing them because of all the mean stuff that Ivy wrote. It’s not fair. … ”

  “Maddie,” Mom said calmly. “Why don’t you turn off the computer and say good-bye to your father?”

  Dad nodded at Mom as though they were speaking in some kind of secret parent code. Even long after the big D, they still shared some moments and secrets that drove Madison crazy. They walked off to the corner of the foyer and exchanged a few private whispers.

  Phin trotted back out to give Dad a wag and a lick.

  Madison said her good-bye, too.

  “I’m sorry I bothered you,” Madison said. “I know you had that presentation and all. … ”

  “Try not to worry about that right now. I’ll call you later,” Dad said, waving to Madison as he went out onto the porch.

  Madison waved and stared. She was shell-shocked. After shutting the front door, she and Mom walked into the kitchen together in silence. Mom got Phin a bowl of kibble while Madison poured herself some chocolate milk.

  “Rowwwrorororoooo!” Phin pranced around the kitchen, waiting for his food. Madison flipped through a magazine absentmindedly. The kitchen was cold—and not just because of a draft coming from the backdoor.

  Dingdong.

  Madison looked up, half expecting that Dad was back again. Had he changed his mind about punishment?

  Mom went to answer the door.

  “Maddie!” Mom called out a moment later. “It’s for you.”

  Madison got up from the kitchen table slowly, sidestepping Phin and his dog dish. She dragged herself back into the foyer. There, in the front doorway, stood Aimee, Fiona, and Lindsay.

  “Maddie!” Aimee cried as soon as she saw Madison.

  “We need to talk to you, now,” Fiona added.

  Madison gulped. After all that had happened already this morning, she wasn’t sure she could handle more bad news. Had another terrible posting gone up on The Wall under MF13—and were her friends here to blame Madison again? Slowly, Madison walked to the door and prepared herself for the worst.

  “Maddie!” Aimee wailed. “We’re sooooo sorry!”

  She threw her arms around Madison and squeezed.

  “Huh?” Madison’s eyes glazed over. “You’re sorry? For what?”

  “For everything we said,” Lindsay chimed in. “For not believing you.”

  “You’re our BFF,” Fiona said. “We feel so bad. Oh, Maddie, please don’t be mad. We were just upset about all the postings and—”

  “Wait a minute!” Madison stepped back a little. “What are you guys talking about?”

  Aimee, Fiona, and Lindsay didn’t let Madison get away. They moved in for another group hug.

  “Wait, you guys …” Madison pushed away from them, because they were squeezing so hard she couldn’t breathe. “Please explain what you’re talking about.”

  Aimee started. “We know the truth. We know you didn’t put those postings on The Wall. The ones about Fiona and Egg and Lindsay and camp and me and dance class—we know!”

  “How do you know?” Madison asked.

  “My brother told me,” Fiona said. “Well, Chet found out from Hart that Ivy was the one who put all that stuff up there. She claims that she was just kidding around.”

  “Yeah, right,” Madison said.

  “We should have known it was her and not you,” Lindsay said.

  “I told you guys I would never have posted mean things. You’re my best friends in the whole world,” Madison said. She was getting a little choked up. It had been an emotional morning.

  “Ivy is such a creep!” Aimee yelled.

  Madison nodded. “And she ruined everything.”

  “No, she didn’t!” Lindsay said. “We’re back!”

  “Yeah, Maddie. We’re all still the bestest friends. Don’t worry,” Fiona said.

  “She didn’t ruin you guys,” Madison explained. “I know you’re back. But because of everything that happened … well … I got into trouble with my parents … and I got mad and … ”

  Madison told her friends what she had written on The Wall and how the posting had somehow—mysteriously and accidentally—gone up on the “Friends-n-enemies” bulletin board.

  “That stinks! So now your parents and the Webmaster say you can’t go online anymore?” Aimee cried.

  Madison shook her head. “Not online totally—I just can’t go on The Wall.”

  “Well, I don’t like that Wall anyhow,” Fiona said. “It’s mostly mean gossip, as far as I can tell. You know, there are some cool things, like polls, and some of the bulletin boards are okay, but mostly it’s people like Ivy, saying mean stuff.”

  “Yeah,” Madison nodded. “I found that out.”

  “Wow, Maddie, you never get into trouble,” Lindsay said.

  Madison sighed. “I know,” she said.

  “I just hope that Ivy saw your nasty posting!” Aimee said.

  “Aimee!” Fiona said. “That isn’t nice.”

  “Well, Ivy isn’t nice,” Aimee cracked. “And it’s about time she dealt with the fact that no one likes her. I don’t know why the guys even give her the time of day. Fiona, you have to tell Egg to stop talking to her. And why does Hart like her? Does anyone know?”

  Madison rolled her eyes. “Because she’s pretty,” she said.

  “That’s dumb,” Lindsay said. “Boys are dumb.”

  The four friends laughed.

  “So now what?” Aimee asked. “You’re not grounded or anything, are you?”

  Madison shrugged. “I don’t think so,” she said. “But I can’t exactly hang out right now, either. … ”

  Aimee, Fiona, and Lindsay looked at one another.

  “Should we go?” Aimee asked.

  Madison nodded. “Maybe. But thanks for coming over. I feel so much better now. … ”

  “You have to e- us later!” Fiona said.

  “If I’m allowed online,” Madison grumbled. She wondered if her computer privileges would be revoked forever after the Wall incident.

  But all of her sad feelings were lightened by a final group hug before her BFFs departed.

  And this time, Madison was the one squeezing the hardest.

  Chapter 14

  My Life

  I NEVER thought that I would be the girl who gets into trouble. That was for someone else. And I hate the way it feels. Hate it!

  Rude Awakening: Do things get worse before they get better?

  Things were bad enough when I got pushed off The Wall. But even though I thought things were looking up when Aimee and Fiona and Lindsay came over to apologize, I was soooo WRONG. Monday, Mom decides that being kicked off The Wall was NOT enough punishment for me. So she decides to also suspe
nd my laptop privileges for a month. A month! She says I can check e-mail once a day for an hour, max. And I have to do it in the kitchen, when she’s there. She’s keeping my laptop—MY laptop—under lock and key in her desk drawer. It’s like being in prison. Well, at least she didn’t take the laptop away forever.

  Anyway, I’m finding time to write in my computer files at school after classes end and between periods. Like right now I’m sitting at a desk in Mrs. Wing’s classroom. It’s after 3 o’clock and I’m supposed to be fixing up the school website. (That was the other condition of my “punishment”: Mom wanted me to volunteer more time to help on the web doing GOOD things instead of just playing games and gossiping.) I’m trying to add some stuff to the homepage so it looks flashier. Unfortunately I keep making the wrong words flash and it looks like

  “Maddie?” a voice whispered behind Madison’s terminal. “I didn’t expect to find you here today!”

  Madison turned around, startled, to see Mrs. Wing standing in the classroom again! She was pushing little Phoebe in her stroller. The baby slept quietly in a tangle of blue and yellow blankets.

  “I thought Website updates usually happened at the end of the weew,” Mrs. Wing said. “I’m surprised to find anyone in the lab.”

  “Yeah, w-well …”Madison stammered. “I’ve been coming in more often. Mr. Franks asked for extra help and … I’m here every afternoon if I can get here. … ”

  Madison wanted to tell Mrs. Wing the truth about how coming to update the site had been her mother’s idea more than her own. But she didn’t say anything.

  “That’s nice of you to work so hard,” Mrs. Wing said, with a big smile. She looked over Madison’s shoulder. “And what are you working on today?”

  Madison quickly hit a key on the keyboard and the website (but not her file) came into full view.

  “I’m working on some special effects,” she told Mrs. Wing. “For the home page. The only trouble is that it looks a little flashy.”

  “I like flashy,” Mrs. Wing said when she saw the name Far Hills Junior High blinking in blue and red. “It’s different.”

  “You do?” Madison asked. It had been almost a week since anyone had liked anything she did.