Only the Lonely (12 page)

Madison wasn’t sure she knew where her bearings were right about now. She didn’t see Aimee anywhere. And Egg wasn’t here, either. Madison was alone in this English class with none other than Poison Ivy and a bunch of her followers.

Mr. Gibbons handed out the “syllabus.” Madison glanced at it, expecting to find the usual grammar page assignments, vocabulary lists, and all that razzamatazz. But what she saw was something very different. At the top of the page was “Mr. Gibbons,” and the class unit number, and then in the very center of page three:

Expect the unexpected.

“Okay, class, who can tell me what we’ll be studying this year,” Mr. Gibbons asked. He was parading around the room looking for guinea pigs disguised as seventh graders.

Madison blinked at the page and … of course … started to over-think.

Seventh grade had already thrown her about four curve balls and it was only nine in the morning.

And that’s when Fiona walked into the room.

Madison almost blurted her name out, “Fi—” but she stopped.

As Fiona took a seat in the next row, Madison leaned over to hand her a copy of the page Mr. Gibbons had passed out.

Expect the unexpected.

“He seems cool,” Madison whispered.

“Seeing you in my English class is unexpected,” Fiona said, pointing down at her page as if she was answering a question. “I guess I already expected the unexpected here.”

Brrrrrrrrrrrring!

“Huh?” Madison smiled. As far as she could hear, the only thing that could be expected at Far Hills were the bells. Every time Madison got comfortable in a seat.

Brrrrrrrrrrrring!

These twenty-minute first-day classes were giving her a headache.

A
FTER ENGLISH, FIONA AND
Madison blabbed between bells and agreed to meet later in the lunchroom. They’d be serving some kind of snack to keep the kids’ motors running.

“This new school is so weird! California was way more mellow.” Fiona tossed her head back and the beads on her braids clinked. “So I’ll see you later, then? Meet me at one of the tables.”

Fiona was one of the few people Madison was seeing in classes. It seemed like Aimee and Madison had been officially “separated.” Her BFF was nowhere to be seen.

Madison went to the computer tech labs next, where she saw Egg and Drew again. Of course, they were goofing around at their adjacent terminals and paying absolutely no attention to her. Madison doodled on her tech schedule, drawing little stick people with giant heads.

“Hey, Maddie,” Egg elbowed her from the side, “Can you believe we’re really in junior high? Just look at these computers!”

Their new technology teacher Mrs. Wing was telling the class “to be super-careful with the ‘mice’ and the keyboards.”

Mice?

“Isn’t she cool?” Egg said as they walked out of the tech lab. Egg always fell for every new female teacher he ever had. He had been doing that since Miss Jeremiah’s kindergarten class.

Madison was grateful that at least someone was having a good day, even if it was Egg. Today was not turning out the way she’d planned it inside her head.

Madison sighed and looked at her map again. Lucky for her, technology and her next class, science, were near each other, so she probably wouldn’t get lost again. But first, she had to eat.

The bell rang.

Madison walked into the cafeteria. It was as busy as the mall on Saturday. Kids were everywhere, talking, screaming, hugging, and eating little containers of yogurt, bagels, and fruit cups. Madison searched the sea of faces. Where was Aimee? Where was Fiona?

From across the room, she saw Fiona sitting at a table with some other people who Madison couldn’t see—
at first.
As soon as Madison started walking closer to the table, her stomach flip-flopped.

Fiona was gesturing for Madison to sit in a seat next to—
Poison Ivy?

“Hey, Madison! How was your day so far!” Fiona blurted. “Sit here!”

“Yeah, Madison sit here,” Poison Ivy groaned, not moving over. Rose Thorn and Phony Joanie laughed but Fiona didn’t catch what was going on. She kept right on talking, unaware of what was happening. She was being a little spacey again.

“Madison, do you know Ivy and Roseanne and Joan?”

Madison stared and nodded. “Yes, yes, and yes.”

By now, Ivy was grinning. “Fiona, we’ve known each other since third grade, actually. Right, Madison?”

Madison’s head screamed, “
RUN AWAY
!” Fortunately, it was at that exact moment that Aimee bumped her from behind.

“We saved you a seat over here, Maddie.”

Madison looked at Fiona and then at Aimee. Poison Ivy was ruining everything about lunch.

“Look Fiona, thanks for the invite, but I have friends waiting for me over there. I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Madison?” Fiona’s jaw dropped. “Madison? Where are you going? I thought you said …”

She stood up to stop her, but Madison had already hustled away.

“Check you out! Talking with the enemy!” Egg teased as Madison passed by his table.

“Hey, Madison,” Drew called out sheepishly, “What’s up?”

Madison didn’t even hear Drew. She made a beeline for the long orange table at the back of the room.

“Was
that
the Fiona girl who called you the other night?” Aimee asked, sliding in beside her.

Madison nodded. “How can she be sitting with Ivy, Rose, and Joan?”

“You won’t believe this but that girl Fiona’s in my science block. Maddie, she is a major poser. I wouldn’t be so worried if I were—”

“Excuse me?” Madison couldn’t believe Aimee would say something like that, especially when she knew how Madison felt about her newest friend. “What do you mean by ‘poser’? She is not a poser. She’s nice. She’s my new friend, Aimee.”

Aimee rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t know. She just is. Look at her. Why do you think she’s sitting with
them
!”

Madison sneaked a look back at Poison and the gang. Fiona was drinking a juice.

“What about the way she looks?” Aimee said.

“Since when did you judge people like that? What are you talking about, Aimee? She’s new. She doesn’t know Ivy is poisonous.”

“Hey, I’m not judging her! Come on, Maddie!”

Just then, Egg walked up to the orange table. “Hey, Maddie, can you set me up with that one with the braids? If you ask me, she’s pretty cute.”

“No one asked you anything, Egghead.” Aimee threw a grape at his head.

Drew didn’t say much. He just laughed whenever Egg laughed.

Madison turned her body a little so she could spy on Fiona’s table some more. What was going on?

It was like this whole other Fiona was sitting there with ivy.

It was like this whole other Aimee was sitting here with Madison.

Aimee, as usual, kept right on talking, changing the subject, too. She was good at that. “Okay Maddie, you have to tell me about your classes. I am so bummed that we don’t have English or science together. How did that happen? Who did the stupid schedules and let’s go complain!”

“I don’t know,” Madison mumbled.

Aimee told Madison about her science teacher who she claimed was close to a hundred. “I swear! She can barely stand at the front of the classroom to write on the marker boards. And her element chart looks like it was made in 1950 or something, it’s falling off the wall. And she wears those orthopedic shoes you know the ones I mean…”

“She’s really old,” Drew added, simply.

This time, Madison was the one who rolled her eyes. “Well, old doesn’t mean anything except that she knows a lot more. So that’s good, right? You guys are so obnoxious.”

Aimee ignored that comment and kept right on talking. “Hey, Egg, who do you have for science?”

“I haven’t had science yet,” he grunted, devouring a sesame bagel.

“Hey, Maddie, you won’t believe who I saw in the hallway by the way!” Aimee said.

“Hart?” Madison couldn’t keep herself from grinning even though Aimee had her a little annoyed.

“Did you see him too?” Aimee shrieked.

“Hart
Jones
?” Egg asked.

“Hart Jones?” Drew repeated.

“Yes, are you deaf? Hart Jones.” Madison said, not revealing any more information than that. She lowered her voice. “He looks
really
different though.”

“Different?” Aimee shrieked again. “He’s a babe!”

“Shhhhhh!” Madison shushed her. “What if he’s around here?”

“If you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Aimee joked. “Drew, don’t you remember that drip who used to always follow Madison around and stuff? He was even nerdier than Egg!” She threw another grape at Egg’s head.

“Of course I know Hart Jones, Aimee,” Drew piped up. “He’s my cousin.”

Egg laughed, hard. “Ha! Nice one, Aimee!”

“Oopsie!” Aimee gasped and covered her mouth.

She and Madison burst into peals of laughter. “
NO WAY
!”

Egg picked up his snack tray and pulled on Drew’s shirt. “Let’s go. They’ve crossed over into the girl zone. I can’t handle this.”

Aimee smiled again. “Mad and Hart, sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-l-N-G
.”

Now Drew was the one who looked a little confused.

Madison grabbed a grape and threw it at Aimee. Of course, Madison’s typical luck caused the grape to ricochet off Aimee’s shoulder and into the assistant principal, Mrs. Bonnie Goode, who happened to be walking by at that exact moment. She shot a look in the direction of the orange table and Egg almost laughed milk out of his nose, it was so funny.

“Nice way to start the school year, right?” he cracked after the A.P. had walked away. Drew chuckled too.

Aimee finished up her yogurt and the four of them went off to the Assembly Hall. One more double period and the Far Hills seventh graders were free. Seventh grade had started with a whoosh and a bang.

Of course, Fiona had eaten lunch with
THE ENEMY
, but the more she thought about it, the more Madison realized that Fiona had no idea
who
was enemy and who was friendly in this war zone. All’s fair in lunch and war, so if Fiona had no facts, she had no way to know that girl was evil.

It was up to Madison to help Fiona see the poison in Poison Ivy.

She’d send Fiona an e-mail later on about it.

M
ADISON, AIMEE, AND EGG
walked home together after school let out. Drew lived on the other side of town.

It was one of those hot and humid days that makes you sweat behind your knees. Egg complained, “Why did I wear long pants?”

“So no one would have to look at your ugly legs, obviously,” Aimee laughed. They chased each other up the street.

Madison had searched for Fiona before leaving school, thinking maybe they’d walk home together too, but she was nowhere to be found. Madison hadn’t seen Chet anywhere in school today, either. Far Hills was a big place. Of course, lucky Madison had seen Ivy in every single hallway, classroom and girls’ bathroom. Poison Ivy was really contagious.

Aimee dropped Madison off on her porch and continued up the street, skipping.

Phin was at the front door the moment Madison entered the house.

“Wanna go
O-U-T
?”

They were just going to cruise around the lawn for a quickie, but Madison walked a little farther up the street. Soon she found herself at the corner of Ridge Road, right by Fiona’s.

“Hey, look where we ended up, Phin,” Madison said with mock surprise. “Should we go see Fiona?”

“Rowrrroooo!” he howled. Madison took that as a “yes.” She needed to see her new friend. She wanted a chance to apologize for her behavior in the cafeteria. She hadn’t meant to run away that time—but she
had.

As Madison approached number five Ridge Road, she saw Fiona sitting on her front porch. She was alone, which was good. Madison didn’t feel like dealing with her twin brother in the middle of this mess.

How would Madison apologize? She figured that Fiona might be extra-understanding, because Fiona knew Madison was in the habit of fleeing when things got weird and that had definitely been one of those weird moments.

“Fiona,” Madison practiced what she would say. “Fiona, I am very sorry for leaving you there today with the enemy. You see, Ivy Daly is not exactly a friend of mine. She—”

Madison froze.

Ivy Daly was standing there on Fiona’s porch.

Poison Ivy must have been inside or out of sight when Madison had first glanced that way.

She turned around and ran home as fast as she could. No one saw her great escape.

“Hey! My junior high schooler!” Mom cheered as Madison rushed inside. “Well, how was it?”

Madison was flushed. She dropped into a chair.

“What is it honey? Are you okay? What happened?”

Madison’s dramatic entrance had Mom worried she was sick or something.

“Mom, do I have a sign on my head that says ‘Keep Back 100 Feet’?”

Mom leaned in closer and gently grabbed Madison’s arms. “What happened, sweetie? What happened at school?”

Madison looked up at her mother. She didn’t want to cry. She told herself not to cry. She didn’t want to yell, either, not now. Her feelings were jumbled and the words wouldn’t come out like she wanted them to come out.

Madison had never, ever lied to Mom before now. In fact, she always shared
everything
with Mom. But right now, she couldn’t tell her the truth. Madison was too embarrassed by today’s events. So she lied.

“Nothing’s wrong. Mom, not really. School was okay. I like it. I like my classes. My teachers are okay. I saw everyone. I’m gonna go now.”

“Madison?”

She just didn’t feel like getting into it, not one little bit. She was too ashamed, too devastated, too woozy. She went up to her room and curled up in a ball with Phin.

An hour or so later, the phone rang.

“Mad-i-son!” Mom bellowed from downstairs. From the pinched sound of her voice, Madison knew who was on the line. Dad.

“Hey,” she cooed as she took the receiver. Madison needed Dad badly.