Forget Me Not (From the Files of Madison Finn, 21) (3 page)

Hart sat down in his usual chair at the back of the room. The bell rang, and Madison slid into her seat next to Ivy. The drones retreated.

“Last time I checked it was science class,” Madison said under her breath. “Not beauty shop.”

“Wow, you’re so funny,” Ivy said, putting away her makeup kit and phone. “Can I look on at your notes today?”

Madison chuckled to herself.
So predictable.

“Why? Didn’t you finish your part of the lab questions?” Madison asked, knowing what the answer would be.

“Actually, no,” Ivy said, producing a blank homework sheet. “I just didn’t have time. Anyway, who cares about homework when we’re all going to be in a documentary? I figured that you’d let me share your answers. You know I’d do the same for you.”

Madison sighed. She took out her own filled-in sheet of questions from the homework and passed it to Ivy.

“You can copy mine today,” Madison said, reluctantly. “But next time, Ivy, I swear, you have to face Mr. Danehy on your own. I won’t help you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ivy said, quickly writing down Madison’s answers on her own work sheet as if they were her own.

Madison was relieved that class went by quicker than quick. She couldn’t stand sitting near Ivy Daly, or putting up with her attitude, for much longer. As soon as the bell rang, Madison leaped from her seat and made a beeline for the door.

Hart raced to the door, too. They walked out at the same time.

“I can’t stop thinking about this film thing. What are you going to wear?” Hart asked.

Madison laughed.

“What?”

“
You’re
worried about how you’ll look at the video shoot?” Madison asked. “You sound like Ivy.”

“Hey,” Hart said, as he struck a pose and did a classic Ivy imitation.

Madison stopped short. “You know what, Hart? I think the entire school has lost its mind.”

Hart had been joking, but he seemed a little offended by Madison’s quips. Even so, she didn’t feel like taking anything back. Didn’t Hart and everyone else know that the docudrama being made was based on a bunch of boring, ordinary questions about boring, ordinary things?

“There she is! Maddie!”

Madison turned quickly. She nearly knocked Hart’s book bag right off his shoulder. Then she nearly fainted.

“M—M—Mom?”

Madison gulped. What was Mom doing here?

“Hello, Hart,” Mom said with a wink.

Madison wanted to die. A wink?

“Hello, Mrs. Finn,” Hart replied politely.

Had he seen the wink? Mom was about to ask them a question or say something, but just at that moment a crowd of kids pushed into the hall from one of the other classrooms. It was a case of perfect timing (or at least perfect timing for Madison). Fiona and Aimee led the pack.

“Mrs. Finn!” Aimee cried. She ran over and gave Madison’s mom a hug.

“Aimee! Fiona! How are you both?” Mom asked.

“We’re great, Mrs. Finn….” Fiona started to say. But Madison interrupted.

“Mom, what are you doing here?” Madison asked.

Mom reached out and squeezed Madison’s shoulder. “Well, there’s been a change of plan, honey bear,” she said with a nonchalant shrug. “It couldn’t be helped.”

Honey bear?
Madison cringed when Mom called her that in front of her friends. She felt four years old.

“It turns out that the director wants the producer on site for the shoot, so I guess that means I’ll be around after all….” Mom said.

“That is so cool, Mrs. Finn. You’ll be in school with us?” Fiona cried.

“Wow, Maddie!” Aimee said.

“Wow? Yeah. Wow,” Madison said in a low voice. “But wait a sec, Mom, you won’t be here for the whole shoot, right?”

“Yes, actually, I will,” Mom replied quickly.

“Mom, you’re kidding.”

“No, honey bear, I’m not kidding,” Mom said, shaking her head. “That’s the way the ball bounces, I guess. But it will be fun, fun, fun!”

The way the ball bounces? Fun, fun, fun?

Gack.

Sometimes Mom said things that sounded so outer-limits embarrassing. It was bad enough that she said those things, but why did she always have to say them in front of Madison’s friends? Why did she have to be there, at school, right now? Why? Why? WHY?

It took every ounce of Madison’s energy to keep from screaming.

W
HENEVER IT CAME TO
work projects, Madison always tried to be Mom’s biggest fan and biggest supporter. But this week, Madison wasn’t ready to be a cheerleader for Mom’s work. Not at FHJH. Not in front of her friends or her crush, and especially not in front of the enemy.

After school on Tuesday, as Madison turned the corner on to Blueberry Street, she came to an important realization.

It was time for a Mom boycott.

Madison knew that Mom couldn’t help her hectic work and filming schedule, or the decisions made by Julian Lodge. But why hadn’t Mom warned Madison about the fact that this documentary might be filmed at Madison’s school? She
had
to have known.

Phin jumped up to say hello as Madison walked through the front door. She scooped him up and whispered to him about the boycott, as if he might even understand. Sometimes it was true that Phinnie could read Madison’s mind. Could he read it right now?

Naturally, Mom wasn’t home. Madison had left her at the school, setting up with Julian Lodge for the next day. On the counter in the kitchen Madison spotted a note written on the back of a scrap of paper.

M,

Call Daddy. He wants to see you Thurs. for dinner.

Love,

Mom

xoxo

Madison crumpled up the paper and tossed it across the room, missing the wastebasket. She grabbed the kitchen phone and speed-dialed Dad.

“Hello, there!”

It was Dad’s way-too-perky answering machine that picked up.

“Hey, Dad,” Madison mumbled after the beep. “Mom said you called … about dinner … Um … Thursday night is okay, I guess. Can we try that new Mexican place near you? … Um … Call me back. Bye.”

She hung up the phone and poked her head into the fridge for a snack before calling Phinnie to take him for a quick walk.

When she got back from walking Phinnie, Madison went right upstairs to her room. It took only a few moments to boot up her orange laptop and get on to the TweenBlurt.com website. Madison had a few e-mails waiting for her.

The first was from Dad, about the Thursday dinner. Madison hit
REPLY
and told him the same things she’d said on the phone message. She couldn’t wait to talk to and see him in person. Sometimes Dad was good at helping Madison understand her bad feelings about Mom.

The message after Dad’s was a coupon from Madison’s favorite online store, Boop-Dee-Doop. It was their annual winter sale, but Madison knew she didn’t need any more mittens or scarves. At least she didn’t
think
she needed any more woolly stuff. Her feelings about that changed significantly when she read the next e-mail from Gramma Helen.

From: GoGramma


To: MadFinn


Subject: Knitting


Date: Tues 25 Jan 2:42 PM


Maddie,


How are my favorite granddaughter and my favorite pug? I got your nice thank-you note for the sugar cookies. That’s my favorite recipe, too. I love hearing from you on e-mail, but my goodness I love it even more when you send me an actual paper letter. I especially liked the little cat stickers and the drawing in the corner of your envelope. You are so good at making pictures and collages—even on letters.


This week I am finishing up a little something else for you that I’ve been knitting for a month. It’s an afghan for your bedroom and I hope I got the colors right. You haven’t changed the wallpaper, have you?


Chicago is so cold. It takes at least three pairs of socks to keep my toes warm these days. We’ve been getting loads of snow, but I guess that’s just how the ball bounces. It’s always like that in the winters here.


I will call over the weekend. I love you all.


Gramma Helen


Madison reread the part where Gramma Helen said, “the ball bounces,” just like Mom would have said. They could be so different, Mom and Gramma, and yet they were also so much alike.

There was one final e-mail in Madison’s e-mailbox. Of course she recognized the screen name and clicked on it to open it.

From: Sk8ingboy


To: MadFinn


Subject: Shoot


Date: Tues 25 Jan 4:01 PM


Egg told me that yr mom is gonna be in school ALL WEEK? Hey I know ur being nice 2 yr Mom and all that but I would DIE if my parents were in my school so long no matter how nice they r. Whoa. I looked @ the sked and saw that we DEF don’t have n e filming @ the same time. I was sorta bummed out. Maybe u should get yr mom 2 change that LOL. Did u still wanna go 2 the movies w/me and Drew and Elaine and maybe Egg and Fiona 2? Lemme know. This wkend hockey might go late, but we could still do it.


C ya


Hart


p.s.: I HATE Mr. Danehy. The sci homewk this week STINKS. I can’t get lower than a B or Dad will ground me.


Madison smiled when she’d finished Hart’s e-mail. Lately, they’d been exchanging notes online and had even passed a few in their lockers at school. These were all signs that their “connection” was realer than real. If only Madison hadn’t had to deal with Mom’s movie, everything in life would have been that much closer to perfect.

She hit
SAVE
.

Madison decided that any communication from Hart deserved its own special folder, to be filed away in for all eternity.

No sooner had she hit the
SAVE
key than a message popped up on her computer with a loud ding.

: Well HELLOOOOOOOO U :>)


Her keypal! Madison headed in to one of the regular TweenBlurt chat rooms where she and Bigwheels liked to talk. Sending e-mail back and forth was one thing, but getting to chat back and forth at the same time was completely different—and way better—especially after the crummy day Madison had had.

: Ur online so late


: NR im just reading email


: how did yr math test go???


: B+ I think How was yr history paper


: I got a B+ 2!! Things R SO AWESOME


: Y what else is up


: got a part in the student chorus


: wowee congrats


: CSS>)


: im so happy 4 u


: But that isn’t even the best of the best news b/c 2day we did the COOLEST thing ever EVER in school


: what?


: We got online class pals


: what IS that


: my teacher signed up w/a class in another country and we all got class pals sorta like keypals


: really?


: yeah my class pal is from Australia


: that’s so far away


: IK isn’t that COOL?


: what is her name?


: her screen name is Pinky (ha ha)


: LOL


: I know it is funny but her real name is Amanda and she lives in Brisbane and she has three brothers and works on her family’s sheep farm


: I met someone from Australia once he worked w/my mom he was a cameraman


: N e way Pinky writes the best e-mails u would love her we already wrote to each other twice today in fact I was just online w/her b4 I knew u were online 2


: that’s cool


: WAM OMG I actually think she’s IMing me again right now how funny is THAT? It has to be really late where she is right now


: sounds like u guys r a perfect match


: I know we have sooooo much in common which seems so weird since she lives halfway across the planet, u know?


“Madison! Are you here?” Mom called.

Downstairs, Madison heard the door keys jangle. Phin ran into the hall.

“Maddie? I got some chow mein and steamed vegetables. Come on down here and let’s eat.”

Madison groaned. She didn’t respond, because of course talking was definitely not allowed in the proposed Mom boycott.

Instead, Madison turned back to the computer. Bigwheels was still there.

: Maddie? Hello???? What happened?


: I gotta go


: go! No! SO&T!


: cant, Mom is calling me


: E me l8r then?


: ok I will


: LYLAS


: me 2


: *poof*


Madison clicked off her computer. The excitement about Hart’s e-mail seemed insignificant compared to Bigwheels’s news.

She had
another
keypal?

Phin zoomed into Madison’s room. He scurried under her desk and grabbed a chew toy that he’d hidden there. Then he trotted out again, playfully shaking the toy in his mouth.