All Shook Up (From the Files of Madison Finn, 22) (15 page)

Madison felt a surge of emotion from her toes all the way up to the top of her head. She was proud of herself, too.

The girls sat back down and listened to the other five speeches. One pair discussed climate change, while another talked about AIDS. Another team talked about human rights, although their speech rambled. Each student brought a personal perspective to her speech. Madison was gladder than glad that she and Madhur had decided on such a personal topic. She knew it meant a lot in the context of the conference. She had a feeling that maybe—just maybe—their presentation had a chance to win some kind of conference recognition. She hoped so.

Throughout the next couple of hours, Madison, Madhur, and all the others bounced from classroom to classroom to observe the eighth and then ninth graders. Somewhere around three o’clock, a loud voice came over the loudspeaker.

“Your attention, students,”
Principal Bernard’s voice boomed.
“Unfortunately we have some bad news. Our special guest speaker from the United Nations will not be able to join us today. Instead, we have moved up the closing remarks portion of the day to four o’clock. Please report to the main auditorium at that time. Thank you.”

Madison checked her watch. Four o’clock instead of five? That meant that they’d be out of the building before four thirty.

It also meant something else—something incredibly important—something Madison had secretly hoped for …

There would still be time to catch Aimee’s dance performance! It started at six.

Madison turned to Madhur, Hart, and the others. “You guys, I have a big idea,” Madison said. She laid out a plan to get out of the FHJH building, onto a bus, and over to Aimee’s dance studio. If they hustled, they could even catch Aimee’s solo.

Fiona thought it was an excellent idea. But then Chet raised the issue of transportation.

“The school will never let us take the bus. They probably need our parents to pick us up before we can be dismissed. Isn’t that how it works?” he asked.

“That is how it works,” Lindsay said. “Bummer.”

Madison hung her head. Chet was right.

“Wait!” Drew cried. “I have an idea. He pulled out his cell phone. Although cell phones weren’t allowed in school, Saturday conferences seemed to be an occasion for bending some rules. Drew mumbled something into his phone and then clicked it off. “We are too cool,” he declared.

“What?” Madison asked.

“I just called my mother. I asked her if we could get a ride to the dance studio. She’ll talk to Mrs. Goode and get permission to have us all leave at the same time.”

“That’s fantastic!” said Madhur.

Drew nodded. “I know.”

“But your car can’t hold us all,” Madison said.

“We could sit on laps,” Hart teased, nudging Madison.

Madison blushed again.

“Here’s the good part,” Drew went on. “Mom isn’t bringing the SUV. She’s sending the limousine.”

“The limo?” Chet asked. “Man, are you for real?”

“Your parents have a limo?” Madhur said.

Madhur looked at Chet in disbelief, and the two of them started to laugh.

“There’s only one teeny problem,” Dan pointed out. “What if one of us wins an award? We’ll miss the ceremony.”

“Do the awards really matter?” Madison said. “Aimee is more important right now, right?”

“You’re such a good friend,” Madhur said with a grin. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Madison smiled.

About fifteen minutes later, a long stretch limo pulled up in front of the school. The driver popped out and directed Drew and all of his buddies into the back.

There seemed to be enough room for an entire hockey team back there; a panel on one side featured a television set, a mini fridge stocked with diet soda and juice, and even a stereo.

They all arrived at the dance studio in twenty minutes flat. Luckily, they were all dressed up for the conference, so they were well decked out for a special performance. Madison pulled a twenty-dollar bill from her pocket and bought everyone a ticket. It was her emergency money, given to her by Mom, which she kept stashed in a pocket in her orange bag.

If this wasn’t the best kind of emergency, what was?

On the printed ballet program, Aimee Gillespie’s name was featured prominently near a photo of her in a tutu, arms raised high in the air.

“Wow, Aimee looks good here,” Egg said.

“Aimee always looks good,” Madison said. She couldn’t wait to see her friend perform. More than that, she couldn’t wait to give Aimee an enormous hug and thank Aimee for the e-mail and then the card. Of course, Madison also needed to tell Aimee all about what had happened in the hallway with Hart—but that could wait until they were curled up on her sofa later, not in front of half the school.

The FHJH crew took up half a row of seats.

Madison and Hart were elbow to elbow on the left aisle. Madhur and Chet were paired off, too, Madison noticed. That was a good sign.

The friends waited patiently through four dancers’ solos before Aimee appeared onstage in a gypsy costume, wrapped in gold and red scarves, hands poised and toes pointed. Aimee moved with precision and beauty. Madison was so happy to be there. She sat back, enjoying the show.

There would be plenty of time to revel in the success of their two presentations that day. There would be time to gossip, time to laugh, and time to plan something for the friends (old
and
new) to do together. For once, maybe time was on Madison’s side.

Of course, there would be plenty of time for something else, too: time to kiss Hart Jones again. And again.

Things were still all shook up.

But for once, Madison liked it that way.

There are s-o-o-o many facts out there on the Internet. Madhur downloaded every last morsel of information she could find on our presentation topic. I thought that was smart. But it turns out that sometimes less is more.
Be picky about facts and figures that you pull off the Internet. Make sure to double-check and recheck all of your information against real sources.
Whenever I write a paper or do a research presentation, of course I go online to get help doing it. But I’ll make sure I back up my facts and figures from at least three different, secure websites. Better than that, I think I’ll run everything by Mr. Books, our librarian, next time.

Visit Madison at the author’s page:
www.lauradower.com

Author Laura Dower has a lot in common with Madison Finn: They’re both only children and they both love dogs, the color orange, and books! Laura has written more than ninety kids’ books to date, including twenty-five in the series From the Files of Madison Finn. Her other books include the new Palace Puppies series and
For Girls Only
, a guide to girl stuff. When she’s not writing, Laura loves to garden, sing (loudly), and volunteer as a scout leader for her daughter and two sons. She and her family live in New York. Want to be keypals? Drop her a note at
www.lauradower.com.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2006 by Laura Dower

Cover design by Connie Gabbert

978-1-4804-2323-7

This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com