Picture-Perfect (From the Files of Madison Finn, 8) (2 page)

“So, you’re there with friends?” the announcer asked, chuckling to himself. “Either that or we’ve got some very large mice in the background there.”

“We’re all the hugest fans of Nikki in the whole world,” Fiona gushed. “The
hugest.
Absolutely.”

“Well, you and your friends have won tickets to Nikki’s exclusive Far Hills concert in two weeks. Stay on the line and our operator will get all your information,” he explained. “And listeners, you should stay tuned to WKBM for more great music in the coming hour.”

Fiona gave the switchboard at the station her information and hung up the phone. They would have to call back and confirm the win with a parent, since Fiona was under sixteen.

“This is so awesome,” Aimee said. “I’m shaking.”

“Nobody ever wins tickets,” Madison said, hugging Fiona tightly around the waist. “I can’t believe you won!”

“We all won,” Fiona said, grinning from ear to ear. “And now we’re going to our very first concert together.”

Nikki


Life is so unfair.


No, Fiona’s mother is the one who is sooo unfair.


Today after school, the radio station called Fiona’s house to say that YES we’d won the tickets to the. Nikki concert and could we get parental approval? It’s some legal thing since we’re not sixteen. N e way, Mrs. Waters almost
hung up on them
! She asked them a zillion dumb questions and Fiona was so embarrassed. We all were. Then Mrs. Waters got madder than mad at Fiona for calling WKBM on the phone so much, especially on a school night. She thought we’d been hanging in Fiona’s room doing homework or something.


I think Chet ratted. Geek.


Mrs. Waters thinks we’re all too young to go to a concert. THAT IS SO UNFAIR! I really, really hope my mom turns out to be cool about this. WE HAVE TO GO! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.


I hope Aimee has already asked her mom and she is okay w/the idea. If Mrs. Gillespie doesn’t think we should go then we’re TOTALLY doomed. Mom will probably cave in and do whatever Mrs. Gillespie and the other mothers want to do. Help! I wish there were a way we could convince our parents to let us go.


Rude awakening:
Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Unfortunately, it’s the life that MOMS make up all the rules for.


Ugh.


“Madison! Are you up there?” Mom yelled.

Madison got up from her desk and went to the doorway. “What?” she hollered back.

“I just wanted to tell you that your dad called,” Mom said.

“When?” Madison asked.

“About an hour ago. He’s still away on business.”

Madison let out an enormous sigh. “I was here, Mom. I didn’t hear the phone ring. Why didn’t you get me?”

“I was on the line with Paul when it beeped,” Mom explained, a wide smile growing across her face.

“Oh,” Madison said. The lovey-dovey look on Mom’s face made Madison squirm.

Mom had just started dating Paul, a coworker from Budge Films. Madison didn’t want to hear any of the gory “date” details. It was hard enough getting used to divorced parents on their own, let alone dealing with their brand-new significant others. Dad had been dating Stephanie for a while, and Madison still struggled with the idea of his having a girlfriend. Facing Mom’s love life was even worse.

“So how’s Paul?” Madison said, trying to be nice.

“He’s fine,” Mom said. “And he says hello, by the way. Contrary to popular opinion, Paul thinks that you’re a good kid. Imagine that?”

“Ha-ha. Very funny. Mom,” Madison said, grinning. “Well, say hello back, I guess.”

“I will,” Mom said, winking. “Now go send your dad an e-mail or something. He said he’d try calling back again later, too.”

Madison turned on her heel and headed back to her laptop.

Paul shmall.

What was the big deal about this film-editor guy anyway? Madison didn’t really like the way Paul’s name sounded. She also didn’t like the fact that Mom kept talking to him when Dad was on the phone.

Everything was SO unfair.

Once upstairs, Madison sat down to send Dad the quick e-mail. Online was the way they communicated best. Dad was the first person who had shown Madison how to use a computer, and he was always finding new Internet tricks and shortcuts to share. He sent her e-mails every other day, too.

Madison logged onto Tweenblurt.com and punched in her password. Then she headed into her e-mailbox, and clicked on NEW.

From: MadFinn


To: JeffFinn


Subject: Hellooooo


Date: Thurs 16 May 6:04 PM


Mom said you called but she was on the phone with you-know-who. How are things? I’m sad we couldn’t have dinner tonight like we planned, but I understand things come up. You said the meeting might go a day or two longer than you expected so that’s cool.


I have a question 4 u: what’s your opinion of kids going to concerts? I mean, if I wanted to go to a concert, for example, would you let me go? What if it were a really mellow concert with other kids? I mean, other GOOD kids.


I think you’ll say it sounds great, but I wanted to double-check just to be sure.


You would say yes, right?


By the way, I miss you bunches.


Madison punched
SEND.
After the Dad mail was sent, Madison saw that she had new e-mails.

FROM                         SUBJECT


BeAllYouCanBe99     Never Feel Fat Again!


FHASC                       Clinic Update: Super-Collies


Wetwinz                      Concert


BalletGrl                     Fw: Re: Concert


Madison scanned the list. There was only one name she didn’t recognize: BeAllYouCanBe99. It turned out to be an ad for special weight-loss powder. Madison wondered why
she
was getting something like that.

DELETE.

She also picked up e-mail from the Far Hills Animal Shelter and Clinic (FHASC). The clinic had begun to send weekly updates on activities and pets. Madison had been volunteering there on and off in seventh grade. The newsletters told “success stories” of sad animals that had been happily adopted. Today, Madison read about the miraculous animal rescue of two collies that had been trapped in a fire. Madison knew those collies: Mutt and Jeff. She had pulled their photos from the newsletter and saved them as screen savers.

“Yikes!” Madison said as her eyes caught the digital clock in the corner of her laptop screen. It was after six o’clock, and she still had two e-mails from her BFFs left to read. Each was marked with a giant exclamation point for “high priority.”

From: Wetwinz


To: MadFinn; BalletGrl


Subject: Concert


Date: Thurs 16 May 6:04 PM


Hello? I tried calling your house, Maddie, but it just rang and rang. Is ur call-waiting working? Aimee, ur brother Dean told me he’d give u the message but u haven’t called yet. WHERE R U GUYS????


My dad isn’t home yet from this big mtg 2day so I still dunno if we can go 2 the concert or not. My mother sez she wants to talk 2 Daddy first & then she wants to call ur moms. What did they say when U asked about the concert? I am so afraid this won’t happen now. WBS!!!


Aimee had sent an e-mail reply back to both friends.

From: BalletGrl


To: Wetwinz; MadFinn


Subject: Fw: Re: Concert


Date: Thurs 16 May 6:21 PM


Dean never said n e thing about you calling?! I NEVER got a message, Fiona. NEVER.


No, I haven’t talked to Mom either. She’s in a really crabby mood tonight so I’m sorta avoiding her. Today Blossom my dog got into some white paint and made a huge mess on the floor and on her fur. Mom is soooo mad. I know if I asked her tonight about the concert she’d say NO way. She gets like that sometimes—super strict. p.s. I just got an e-mail from my dance teacher and I was chosen to do a small solo piece in the spring revue. Isn’t that amazing? p.p.s. Maddie, what did ur mom say about the concert?


Madison sighed.

Aimee hadn’t spoken to
her
mom. Madison hadn’t spoken to
her
mom. And Fiona’s mom was being weird about the whole thing.

The trio was inches away from losing their four free tickets. What could Madison do to help their situation?

What would Bigwheels do?

Bigwheels was Madison’s keypal, good at dishing out online advice in difficult situations just like this one. Madison moved into the chat rooms on TweenBlurt.com to see if maybe Bigwheels was online. She could help right now if she were there.

Luckily, Madison found Bigwheels right away. She was hiding out inside a Math Homework chat room called “GEOMETRY.”

: Bigwheels? Can u talk?


: RN!


: r u @ school?


: Did I tell u I was in math club?


The most interesting part about having a keypal who lived all the way across the country was the surprises. Madison was learning new things about her online friend every time they spoke.

: if ur busy I don’t wanna bug u


: im in the lab after school but I can talk


: do u like Nikki


: #1 fan


: well we won tix to her concert


: get out!


: imserious


: YTTT?


: there’s a catch—our moms wont let us go


: NO WAY bummer, my mom would


: really?


: yours will too just get a good chaperone


Madison almost fell off her desk chair.

A chaperone?

Of course!

: that’s a great idea


: u can’t go otherwise LOL


: I know that ’-)


: have u ever checked out the Nikki pages on the Web? They have a bulletin board on BFB, to look for the links there or do a search


: <:>))


: GTG talk later bye


: *poof*


Madison swam around TweenBlurt.com for a few minutes looking for other Nikki fans like the ones Bigwheels had mentioned. She didn’t have to look for long before she found a fish tank (chat room) appropriately called NIKKI with 2,965 members. And more than 600 of them were online right now.

Most of the fans had written into the bulletin board pages with information about Nikki concert tour dates and locations, new Nikki photos posted on the Web, Nikki lyric sites, and other Nikki gossip. Many of the screen names revealed who were the bigger fans.

NIKKl4evah


Iluvniki


sofineNikki


NikkiFan211


One of the postings was from someone near Far Hills who was desperate to get tickets to the upcoming local concert. Madison felt special knowing that they had tickets of their own.

And now, with the perfect chaperone, they’d be able to go—no problems from parents at all. But who would take them?

“Maddie?” Mom’s voice jolted Madison out of her reverie so suddenly that she nearly knocked her mouse off the desk.

“Mom?” Madison said, logging off the Web and turning around at the same time. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I don’t feel much like cooking tonight,” Mom said nonchalantly. “Do you mind if I order a pizza?”

When she was busy or distracted, Mom ordered out. Madison told her it was fine, as long as there were no weird vegetables on her slices. Mom had a tendency lately to order pizza with broccoli and spinach and other green stuff. She was a vegetarian, after all.

“You want root beer with that, right?” Mom asked, walking away.

Madison nodded absolutely. Root beer was her favorite drink. As it just so happened, it was Nikki’s favorite drink, too.

She followed Mom downstairs to help clear off and set the table.

Brrrrring.

Madison reached for the phone, half expecting it to be Aimee or Fiona and half expecting it to be Dad.

But it wasn’t.

Mrs. Waters was on the line. And she wanted to speak to Mom.

“Who is it?” Mom asked as Madison reluctantly handed her the telephone.

Madison shrugged. “Fiona’s mom,” she said softly.

Mom grabbed the receiver and gave Mrs. Waters a giant “Hello.” Madison sat down on a chair nearby and watched every facial expression on Mom’s face. She was sure that her concert hopes could be dashed to pieces in the next few minutes.