Sink or Swim
Authors: Laura Dower
From the Files of Madison Finn, Book 13
Laura Dower
For Myles, of course
Chapter 1
“I
JUST LOVE THAT
tank top,” Madison told her friend Fiona Waters as she passed Fiona the tube of sunblock. “Where did you get it? You look so good in purple.”
“Fiona looks good in
everything
!” Aimee Gillespie said.
Fiona giggled. “Well, I feel like a fried egg,” she said, rubbing on some lotion. “My mom got the top for me at a bargain sale. Can you believe it? Usually I hate everything she picks out for me.”
The three friends stretched out on a trio of beat-up green chaise lounges in Aimee’s backyard. Madison and her friends had spent the last few mornings doing year-end testing at the school and had spent those same afternoons sunbathing at Aimee’s. Today was the last day of tests, however, so summer vacation was
really
beginning.
“Pahhhh, pahhhh, pahhhh, ROOOOOOOWF!”
On the grass at their feet, Madison’s pug, Phin, and Aimee’s basset hound, Blossom, panted in an effort to keep cool in the hot sun. It was only June, and already the thermostat was hovering in the high eighties.
“Global warming freaks me out,” Aimee commented, squeezing some lemon juice onto the top of her hair. “It’s not supposed to be this warm, is it?”
Madison tugged on her T-shirt and pulled up the straps on her bathing suit top. “My mom is doing a documentary on the melting South Pole ice cap,” she said, squinting. “She has all these books about it in the house. It’s depressing to think that part of our planet is melting.”
“What happens to all the penguins if the glaciers melt?” Fiona asked.
“The glaciers can’t all melt,” Aimee said abruptly. “Can they?”
The three girls sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. Then Fiona leaped up from her chaise lounge and clapped.
“Okay! We can’t talk about this anymore. It’s too depressing. It’s summer!” Fiona squealed. “We’re supposed to be talking about other stuff and goofing off and getting tans and…”
The two dogs jumped up with her and howled, chasing their tails around and around in circles.
“Swimming!” Fiona said, grinning. “Let’s go swimming.”
“It’s after three,” Aimee said with a groan. “My mom wants me to help her with something at four.”
“Yeah,” Madison said. “My dad is coming to pick me up soon.”
Fiona looked disappointed.
“We can turn on the sprinklers,” Aimee suggested. “Blossom loves running through the spray. And we’re half wearing bathing suits.”
Madison smiled. Phin liked sprinklers, too. He liked to roll around on the wet grass to cool off his belly and back.
Aimee yelled for her brother Dean to help turn on the backyard sprinklers. They grabbed a stack of towels from the Gillespies’ basement laundry room and prepared to cool off.
At first the spray felt like hard little pellets, but gradually the three friends got used to the water and pranced across the lawn, cooling off happily with the two dogs.
“This is just like how we did it when we were little,” Madison cried, dashing through the sprinkler and sliding on the grass. She landed with a thump and burst into laughter. Her faded jean shorts were completely drenched.
“I can’t wait until soccer camp starts,” Fiona said, sliding across the lawn in the opposite direction. She wrung the wet out of the bottom of her purple tank top before running through the spray again.
“I can’t wait for ballet camp, either,” Aimee said, diving into the spray with a carefully choreographed leap. She let the water soak her from head to toe for a moment. Then Madison leaned over and held her hand over the sprinkler, redirecting the water spray straight at Fiona.
“Quit that! HEY!” Fiona yelled. She stepped onto the grass hard and splashed mud and water back at Madison.
“Hey, yourself,” Madison said, laughing. By now the three friends were soaked.
Aimee twirled around and screamed to Dean, “Turn off the water!”
The trio ran back over to the chaise lounges and stretched out in the sun to dry.
“Have you decided yet what you’re doing for the rest of the summer, Maddie?” Fiona asked. “Last Friday you said you might go to computer camp, but then yesterday you said you were just hanging out.”
Madison shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Huh? Guess what?” Aimee asked. “Which is it?”
“I don’t know,” Madison said.
“Why don’t you come to dance camp with me?” Aimee asked. “Or work in my dad’s store with me?” Before heading to camp, Aimee was working part-time in her dad’s cyber café, part bookshop and part Internet café, in downtown Far Hills.
“Get real,” Madison said. “I can’t dance to save my life. And your dad doesn’t need any more help. You have four brothers.”
“You’d better decide on something to do before the summer’s over,” Fiona said. “You’ll die of boredom doing nothing.”
“Mom’s away on a business trip for a week and a half. I’ll figure it out before she gets back,” Madison said. “I won’t die of boredom in nine days, will I?”
While Madison’s mom traveled to Australia to meet with some hotshots at Budge Films, Madison was spending the early part of the summer at her dad’s downtown apartment. It was fun to stay there. She missed a lot of things about her room in the Blueberry Street house, but Dad’s house was special, too. He’d made sure of that. That week Dad even let Madison redecorate her small room with cool patterned sheets and curtains ordered from the latest Boop-Dee-Doop online catalog.
“Maddie, I have an idea. Why don’t you enter the library’s book-a-thon with me?” Fiona suggested. She was determined to read more books than any other junior high school student—or anyone—in Far Hills that summer. Already Fiona was halfway through reading the fourth Harry Potter book for the fourth time.
Madison shrugged, uninterested. “I’m a slow reader,” she said.
Fiona rolled her eyes. “Well,” she said, reapplying some sunblock. “It was just an idea.”
“Egg, Drew, and Hart all got picked to be junior lifeguards at the pool. They posted the list yesterday,” Aimee said. “Now,
that’s
a cool way to spend the summer. Hanging out at the pool center, sunbathing by Lake Dora.
“I know,” Fiona said, blushing proudly. “Egg e-mailed me as soon as he found out.”
“Of course he did!” Aimee said, teasing her friend. She poked Fiona until they were up and running around the puddles by the sprinkler again, careful not to slide on the slippery grass.
Madison felt like rolling
her
eyes. Aimee was so lucky. She always had a million things to do in summer, winter, and all the days in between. Fiona was even luckier. Not only did she have the book-a-thon and then soccer camp to keep her busy this summer, she had a guy, too—even if it was only their friend Walter “Egg” Diaz.
“Want a drink?” Aimee asked. She hurried inside to grab a few cans of soda. Madison and Fiona played catch with the two dogs.
“You’ll think of something to do,” Fiona said reassuringly.
“Thanks, Fiona,” Madison muttered, tossing a stick at Phin.
“Well, you always have us,” Fiona said, smiling. “There’s always a silver lining—best friends are forever.”
“You sound like my gramma Helen,” Madison said, smiling back at Fiona.
“Hey, Maddie!” Aimee yelled from the door of the Gillespie house. “Your dad just pulled up outside!”
Fiona threw her arms into the air. “What? You have to go
now
? So soon?” She leaned over and gave Madison a damp squeeze.
“E me later, okay?” Aimee said, rushing over to give Madison a good-bye hug, too.
“Are you guys definitely going to Lake Dora tomorrow?” Madison asked.
“Definitely!” Aimee said.
“Egg said he’ll be at the pool center all afternoon,” Fiona said. “They have classes there in the morning.”
Madison and Aimee shot Fiona a look. They both burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Fiona said, spacing out a little bit. “I just said—”
“You know Egg’s entire schedule?” Aimee said.
Madison started to hum the wedding march. “Dum-dum-dee-dum…”
Fiona blushed a deep pink. “Is that bad?” she said, acting self-conscious. “I mean, I like him…. You guys already know that….”
Madison threw her arm around Fiona. “Oh, Fiona,” she said. “We’re just kidding. Right, Aim?”
“Right.” Aimee nodded. “Gee, I wonder if Ben Buckley will be at the pool, too.”
“Ben Buckley?” Madison raised her eyebrows. “What made you think of him?”
“I don’t know—um—um…” Aimee stammered. Now it was her turn to blush. “What was I talking about?”
“Are you in like with Ben or what?” Madison said. “I can’t believe it.”
“I am NOT in like with Ben,” Aimee said. “I was just…”
“Ha-ha-HA!” Fiona gave Madison a high five. “So I’m not the only one with a terminal crush?”
“Okay, I admit it. I like him a teeny bit,” Aimee said. “But neither of you can tell a soul. I would be so embarrassed if anyone knew….”
“Who are we going to tell?” Fiona said. “Ivy?”
“Ooooh! Don’t even say her name!” Aimee wailed.
Madison chuckled. Ivy Daly, also known as Poison Ivy, was their main enemy in school—and out.
“Yo, Maddie!” Dean yelled out from the house. “Your dad is still waiting outside. Hustle it up!”
Madison gasped. “I’ve got to go!”
Fiona and Aimee helped Madison pick up her stuff off the lawn chairs and shove it into her orange bag. And although she didn’t want to leave, the departure was perfect timing. This way Madison could cut out before either friend had a chance to tease Madison about boys
she
liked. Madison currently had a secret crush on another classmate, Hart Jones, but neither BFF knew about it. Only two people knew. One was Madison’s online keypal Bigwheels, who lived thousands of miles away. The other was her pug, Phinnie. And dogs don’t blab secrets.
Madison snatched her bag and flip-flops and dashed over to the side gate of Aimee’s house. It led directly to the driveway where Dad’s car was parked. Phin scampered along behind her.
“Later!” Madison called to her friends, waving. They waved back. Blossom let out a little howl.
Dad sat inside the air-conditioned car, listening to classical music. Madison felt like she’d entered a concert hall as soon as she piled into the front seat. The AC gave her chills up and down her spine.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Madison said, breathless. She pushed the front seat forward so Phin could hop into the back.
“Aw, are you still wet?” Dad groaned, grabbing a blanket from the backseat. “Here, sit on this.” He kissed Madison on her forehead and put the car into gear. Phin settled down behind her. He loved the cool air.
