L8r, G8r (30 page)

mad maddie:

hey, zo. what r we gonna do about angela???

zoegirl:

and prom, you mean?

mad maddie:

prom, sure, and EVERYTHING. watching her mope around is making ME depressed!

zoegirl:

i felt so bad for her at lunch. she was sitting with me and mary kate and kristin, and we were all talking about our prom dresses.

zoegirl:

mine came back from the alterations lady, by the way. i love it so much. now the hem hits about four inches above my knees, and i am tres sexy. well, for me.

mad maddie:

ooo la la

zoegirl:

when am i gonna get to see yours?!! you're not going to make me wait until saturday night, are you?

mad maddie:

yep, sorry. it's cool, tho. it's black and long and the entire back is cut away in a diamond shape. i'm gonna have to go bra-less.

zoegirl:

ian's going to love that

zoegirl:

have y'all decided which pre-party you're going to?

mad maddie:

macee mcgovern's—she's having it catered by piebar.

mad maddie:

you?

zoegirl:

if you're going to macee's, we probably will too. unless doug has other plans. i don't really care, just as long as we don't end up at some hotel afterward to have sex. i am *not* gonna be that girl!

mad maddie:

er … aren't you already that girl?

zoegirl:

that was different. our first real time isn't going to be in a post-prom hotel room with three other couples and everyone (except me) drunk on cheap champagne.

zoegirl:

and to make sure, i have a plan.

mad maddie:

which is?

zoegirl:

i told doug that i want to spend the night *before* prom with just him. he's got the key to his church's basement, so i'm going to suggest we go there. it's not perfect, but it's better than prom night insanity!

mad maddie:

very nice. and i think it IS perfect that yr gonna lose your maidenhood in the house of the lord. you'll be like a nun!

zoegirl:

uh, no, i'll be the opposite of a nun

mad maddie:

an anti-nun! yeah!

mad maddie:

but back to angela: WHAT R WE GONNA DO???

zoegirl:

well … i do have 1 idea

zoegirl:

i think she should go to the prom with andre.

mad maddie:

omg, that's brilliant! i'm gonna call her right now and suggest it. unless you want to?

zoegirl:

that's ok, i've got to finish my homework.

mad maddie:

but … why?

zoegirl:

silly maddie. some of us still care about our final grades!

SnowAngel:

well … guess i've got a date. *smiles bravely in face of adversity*

mad maddie:

way to go, you!

SnowAngel:

andre said there's no one he'd rather go with except a lusty sea captain, but since atlanta has a shortage of sea captains, he's my man.

SnowAngel:

he also said—and i thought this was interesting—that when it comes to affairs of the heart, it's even harder being gay than it is being, well, me. which kinda put me in my place, you know?

mad maddie:

i think that's terrific. (not that it's hard being gay, but that you'll be joining us at prom.)

mad maddie:

whatcha gonna wear?

SnowAngel:

WELL. aunt sadie has a silver sequined cocktail dress that i've been salivating over, and i'm gonna ask very nicely if i can borrow it, along with her kate spade slingbacks. and her diamond studs.

mad maddie:

that's the way to get back on that horse.

mad maddie:

ya glad you asked him?

SnowAngel:

yeah

mad maddie:

and do you attribute it all to ME, your angela-lovin' friend?

SnowAngel:

yeah *huggy hug hug*

mad maddie:

then my job here is done. cheers!

zoegirl:

i got accepted to kenyon!!!

mad maddie:

wh-hoo! yr such a stud muffin!

zoegirl:

i can't believe it. i mean, i *can* believe it, but it's just so HUGE. i got accepted to my first choice college!

zoegirl:

i have to tell you how i found out, okay? cuz it's, like, full of cosmic unconsciousness.

mad maddie:

cosmic unconsciousness, nice. tell away.

zoegirl:

well, i'd just finished watching big bunny #4, which was as disturbing as all the others.

mad maddie:

disturbing? i dare say you mean DELIGHTFUL.

mad maddie:

didn't you love the story about the bluebird that rose from the dead and preyed on the flesh of the living?

zoegirl:

no. that bluebird ate a girl's eyeball!

mad maddie:

a girl who looked an awful lot like susie, did you notice? cuz big bunny knows that susie's onto him. lulu and the round-headed boy, they're all, “la la la, we'll do whatever you tell us to do.” but susie thinks for herself.

zoegirl:

good ol' susie

mad maddie:

but, ok. you'd just finished big bunny, when all of a sudden …

zoegirl:

the doorbell rang, and it was the jehovah's witnesses. tina and arlene.

mad maddie:

oh joy. did you invite THEM in to watch big bunny?

zoegirl:

uh … no

mad maddie:

pity

zoegirl:

we were at the door talking about how god has a plan for all of us—that's the cosmic unconsciousness part, that we would be talking about that very thing in terms of the future and what we're supposed to do with our lives and all that—when the postman pulled up. i was like, “tina, arlene, i've got to go. i'm expecting something really important.”

zoegirl:

and there it was in the mailbox! my kenyon acceptance!!!

mad maddie:

that rocks!!! have you told the rents?

zoegirl:

not home yet. ack.

mad maddie:

they can't MAKE you go to princeton. just remember that. when it comes down to it, they'll want you to go where YOU wanna go, right?

zoegirl:

you don't know my parents.

zoegirl:

well, actually you do … so you know what i'm up against.

mad maddie:

i can see the headlines: GIRL FORCED AT GUNPOINT TO ATTEND ELITE IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITY. PARENTS CHARGED WITH GROSS ABUSE.

zoegirl:

no, not at gunpoint. they'd have a psychiatrist prescribe zoloft and analyze me into submission.

mad maddie:

now see, that's good humor

zoegirl:

but i'm not going to give in, so there.

zoegirl:

what about you—have you figured your own stuff out in terms of georgia versus santa cruz?

mad maddie:

i think about it all the time

zoegirl:

and?

mad maddie:

and as much as i might want to, i can't pick georgia over santa cruz. i just can't.

zoegirl:

yeah. i kind of figured that's what it would come down to.

mad maddie:

i can't NOT do something cuz i'm afraid of change, you know?

zoegirl:

i think that's good, maddie. i think you're making the right decision.

zoegirl:

have you told ian?

mad maddie:

not yet

zoegirl:

have you told angela?

mad maddie:

are u kidding?

mad maddie:

1st i'm gonna give myself time to get my own head around it and really make sure this is what i want. then, once i've officially mailed my acceptance in, i'll deal with telling ian and angela.

zoegirl:

well, i'm proud of you. and i'm proud of me, too, for my good news. and now i wanna call and tell doug, k?

mad maddie:

whoa. you told me before you told him?!

zoegirl:

erm … he had track practice, so i couldn't reach him. but that doesn't change the fact that yr the 1st to know!!!

SnowAngel:

maddie told me about your acceptance—that's awesome! what did your parents say?

zoegirl:

oh, they were sooo supportive. my mom said, “if kenyon's your top choice, we won't stop you from going. but you'll have to pay for it yourself.”

SnowAngel:

*winces*

SnowAngel:

well … can u? like with financial aid?

zoegirl:

the deadline for financial aid has already passed, which i'm sure my mom knew.

zoegirl:

i feel like such a dumb little rich girl! i didn't even *think* to apply for financial aid!

SnowAngel:

your parents never gave you any reason to think you shld, that's why.

zoegirl:

i'm tempted to not go to college at all. i'm tempted to get a job and live on my own and save up the tuition money myself, even though it would take a zillion years. people our age DO do that, you know!

SnowAngel:

your parents will freak if u don't go to college.

zoegirl:

so?

SnowAngel:

YOU will freak if you don't go to college. you were born for college, zo.

zoegirl:

it just sucks, that's all

SnowAngel:

you got that right. the world sucks in general, that's what i'm sadly coming to realize.

SnowAngel:

life sucks and then you die. THAT'S gonna be my senior quote!