L8r, G8r (8 page)

SnowAngel:

ok, little miss nosy pants. i have a list for you of all the reasons logan is so wonderful.

mad maddie:

hey, i never said logan wasn't wonderful. i'm just not convinced he's wonderful for YOU.

SnowAngel:

*clears throat and shakes out piece of paper*

SnowAngel:

Number 1. he loves me and always wants to be with me, even more than with his friends.

mad maddie:

can u say “smother”?

SnowAngel:

Number 2. he downloads songs onto my iPod and makes romantic playlists.

mad maddie:

very sweet, i admit. have you ever made HIM romantic playlists?

SnowAngel:

Number 3. he's extremely cute. even you can't deny that!

mad maddie:

i never have! altho no more Hard Rock Cafe shirts. cld u tell him that, plz? no more Hard Rock?

SnowAngel:

and Number 4. he doesn't look at internet porn!

mad maddie:

hardy har har

mad maddie:

is that all you've got?

SnowAngel:

noooo, that's not all. that's just all i came up with this very second, off the top of my head.

mad maddie:

dude, i love logan—as a PAL. and i know you do too. i'm just not convinced he gets you hot and bothered.

SnowAngel:

we have fun together. he gives great foot rubs, and he loves “mad men.” he'll watch episodes back to back with me for as long as i want.

SnowAngel:

he's a catch—even aunt sadie says so. we have a *great* relationship!

mad maddie:

then why are you working so hard to defend it?

SnowAngel:

and i would like to point out that having a boyfriend who's also a “pal” is a good thing. in the long run that's much more important than getting hot and bothered.

mad maddie:

is it? i personally think you should go for both.

SnowAngel:

he's gonna inherit his dad's business one day, did you know that?

mad maddie:

u did NOT just say that

SnowAngel:

and tonite we're doubling with zoe and doug, so there. it's a pre-valentine's day thing.

mad maddie:

ooo-wee, that's sure to be fun.

SnowAngel:

well … to tell the truth, i'd back out if i could. i don't want to be around doug and have zoe accuse me of throwing myself at him again.

mad maddie:

angela, zoe DIDN'T accuse you of throwing yourself at him.

SnowAngel:

or of trying to lure him away or having pent-up feelings for him or whatever. but if she's gonna pretend there isn't all this tension floating around, then so am i.

SnowAngel:

HOWEVER, it's gonna be hard when it's just me and logan and zoe and doug. won't you come with us? please please pleasy please?

mad maddie:

can't. i'm going over to mark and pelt-woman's new pad for dinner. pelt-woman is making vegetarian lasagna in a desperate attempt to cover up the smell of kimchee.

SnowAngel:

huh?

mad maddie:

their new place smells like korean food from the ppl who lived there before them.

SnowAngel:

mad maddie:

you know what's weird? i can't get used to the fact that mark moved out. you'd think i'd be, “wh-hoo,
more doritos for me!” but the house feels wrong w/o him.

SnowAngel:

u miss him. that's normal.

mad maddie:

i didn't say i missed him. who said anything about missing him?

SnowAngel:

*deadpans* oh, right, cuz yr tough, strong maddie who takes it all in stride. you luuuuuuuuuuv change. you luuuuuuv change so much you can't wait to dump this town and move to california!

mad maddie:

have you been talking to zoe? r you making fun of me?

SnowAngel:

awww, mads, wld i do that?

mad maddie:

oh, nvm

mad maddie:

have fun on your date!

zoegirl:

morning, angela. that was so fun last night, wasn't it?

SnowAngel:

uh, sure, we should do it more often

zoegirl:

was it weird that during the movie we were all … you know? i felt kind of strange about it afterward.

SnowAngel:

don't worry, it was fine

zoegirl:

“fine”? just “fine”??? i doubt logan would like hearing you call it that!

zoegirl:

jk

zoegirl:

anyway, we're all consenting adults.

SnowAngel:

exactly. of course. no need to talk about it again.

zoegirl:

i'm just so glad the four of us were able to spend time together without there being any ridiculous undercurrents. if anybody ever *did* think you were secretly lusting after doug, they sure wouldn't after last night!

SnowAngel:

cuz i'm NOT lusting after doug. god!

zoegirl:

i know! i know, angela.

zoegirl:

but i am

zoegirl:

*swoons*

zoegirl:

although it's not lust; it's love. sometimes i think, what would i do without him? and then i feel so … i don't know, so un-me for feeling that way. although that's silly, because it *is* me feeling this way …

SnowAngel:

zoegirl:

didn't you think it was funny when doug did his walking-on-hot-coals impression? can you believe he actually DID walk on hot coals?

SnowAngel:

frankly, no

zoegirl:

but he did, in indonesia

zoegirl:

getting to see so many places *did* change him, but all in good ways.

SnowAngel:

he does seem more confident now. the way he holds himself, even.

zoegirl:

sometimes, even though i know i'm being silly, i get this tiny feeling of wondering whether i'm good enough for him. isn't that ridiculous? it's just that i know he's going to do important things in the world. i just *know* it.

SnowAngel:

so r U, zoe

zoegirl:

well, yeah. who said i wasn't?

zoegirl:

okay, i'm outta here. i'm meeting doug to study.

SnowAngel:

at 10 o'clock on sunday morning?!

zoegirl:

just because it's spring semester of our senior year doesn't mean we can slack off!