TTYL (20 page)

mad maddie:

i am on a hot streak, ladies. a hot streak, i'm telling u!

SnowAngel:

you are?

zoegirl:

tell us what's going on!

mad maddie:

yay! ur both here. good girls for being textable *pats friends on heads*

mad maddie:

SO. i talked to the moms again about our cumberland island trip, and guess what she said?!!!

SnowAngel:

what?

mad maddie:

well… she and the pops agree with zoe's mom that it's not a good idea for us to go by ourselves, cuz she's worried we'd get a flat or pick up a hitchhiker or something. whatevs.

mad maddie:

so i said “what if mark and erin came 2?” and she talked it over with pops, and they said YES!

zoegirl:

erin? who's erin?

mad maddie:

mark's girlfriend. pelt-woman. i made mark call her right then, and she's all for it. wild horses, camping, remote little island—it's totally up her alley.

SnowAngel:

maddie, that's AWESOME!

zoegirl:

it is. it totally is. but wouldn't it be weird, the three of us plus mark and erin?

mad maddie:

no, and here's why. we'll tail each other down there, but mark and erin'll have their own car and we'll have ours.

mad maddie:

once we get to the island, we won't even have to see them. we can camp wherever we want, and so can they.

SnowAngel:

maddie, ur brilliant. now we just have to convince my parents and zoe's parents.

zoegirl:

oh no. i'm going to be the one person who doesn't get to go. i just know it.

mad maddie:

remind them that mark and erin r both 21, and we'll be with them the whole time. (we really won't, but they don't have to know that. shhhh…)

mad maddie:

also tell them they can call u whenever they want.

mad maddie:

we HAVE to make it happen, you guys. it's important. cuz sometimes i feel like we're drifting away from each other, and we can't let that happen.

SnowAngel:

we r not drifting away from each other. what r u talking about?

SnowAngel:

if anyone's drifting away, it's U

mad maddie:

wtf?

zoegirl:

you're not drifting away, don't worry. NO ONE is drifting away.

mad maddie:

cuz for the record, i am the one person who has stayed exactly the same. u two r the ones changing, not me.

SnowAngel:

change of subject: who wants to go bowling with me on friday?

SnowAngel:

doug schmidt asked me to go, and i couldn't bear to turn him down. but i don't want it to be a date-type thing, so i told him i'd see if anyone else wanted to come along.

zoegirl:

he wants to go BOWLING? that's so cute!

mad maddie:

hold on. doug schmidt asked u out—for the forty millionth time—and u said, “sure, and hey, here's a thought: why don't i bring my friends along?”

SnowAngel:

it's better than saying no, isn't it?

mad maddie:

not much.

SnowAngel:

so will you come? please, please, please?

mad maddie:

can't, sorry

SnowAngel:

why not?

mad maddie:

i've got plans

SnowAngel:

with ian?

mad maddie:

with some ppl from school

zoegirl:

some people from school? could you be more vague?

SnowAngel:

omg. do u have plans with JANA?

zoegirl:

she does. dangerous stupid plans that could get her killed or arrested or flattened on the highway.

mad maddie:

thanks, zo

zoegirl:

it's true!

SnowAngel:

*stomps foot* somebody better tell me RIGHT NOW what ur doing with jana!

mad maddie:

we're doing a social psychology experiment. it's no big deal.

SnowAngel:

what kind of “social psychology experiment”? what IS a social psychology experiment?

zoegirl:

yes, maddie. please educate us.

mad maddie:

screw you both. i say that in the nicest possible way, but really.

mad maddie:

screw you.

SnowAngel:

maddie, why r u so mad?

SnowAngel:

maddie!

SnowAngel:

where'd she go? I AM SO CONFUSED.

SnowAngel:

zoe, wld u plz tell me what just happened?

zoegirl:

i'm going to let her tell you. I don't mean to add to the drama. it's just, i want HER to see YOUR reaction when you first hear, not after you've already had it explained to you.

SnowAngel:

zoe?

zoegirl:

yes?

SnowAngel:

um, that totally adds to the drama.

zoegirl:

tell you what. if i go bowling with you and doug, will that make it up to u?

SnowAngel:

no. yes. i don't know.

SnowAngel:

but thx at least for that.

SnowAngel:

zo! i told doug ur coming with us on friday and he's psyched.

zoegirl:

er… actually…

SnowAngel:

doug's gonna ask steve brinks to come too. it can be like a double date!

zoegirl:

aaiee. i can't go after all, angela. don't hate me! *cringes in corner*

SnowAngel:

WHAT?

SnowAngel:

is it cuz of the double-date thing? doug really is gonna invite steve, but it doesn't have to be a double date. it can just be a group of friends.

zoegirl:

it's not that. it's just that i stayed for mr. h's backwork today, and he kind of asked if i wanted to play bingo with him on friday night.

SnowAngel:

WHAT?!!!

zoegirl:

not just the two of us—his mother'll be there too. she lives in a nursing home, and once a month they have bingo night.

zoegirl:

he asked if i wanted to go.

SnowAngel:

let me get this straight: ur ditching me to play bingo with mr. h and his mother?

zoegirl:

please don't hate me. it's just that i kind of forgot about our bowling plans till it was too late. and… i don't want to tell mr. h no.

SnowAngel:

i don't get it. how can mr. h ask u to go play bingo with him as if it's a totally normal thing? doesn't he know ur his student?

zoegirl:

we'll be with a bunch of old people, angela. i think it's really sweet.

SnowAngel:

*shakes head* unbelievable

zoegirl:

but, on the other hand, he wants me to meet his mother. that's kind of a big deal… isn't it?

SnowAngel:

it's kind of INSANE

SnowAngel:

have u told maddie?

zoegirl:

just you

SnowAngel:

good, cuz maddie would have a heyday.

zoegirl:

r u mad?

SnowAngel:

yes *sticks out tongue*

SnowAngel:

but i suppose i'll forgive u eventually.

zoegirl:

thank you, thank you, thank you

SnowAngel:

EVENTUALLY, i said. right now i'm gonna call megan and kristin and c if either of them can go. or i'll tell maddie that she has to forget that idiotic driving thing and be my escort since u turned traitor.

zoegirl:

so she told you?

zoegirl:

i thought it was weird how at first she didn't want you to know.

SnowAngel:

did she actually say “please don't tell angela”?

zoegirl:

pretty much

SnowAngel:

how annoying

zoegirl:

she gets hurt if i tell u something and not her—like about that wellspring party—but she thinks it's fine to tell me stuff and not u.

SnowAngel:

so what was the deal, did she think i'd disapprove cuz it involved jana?

zoegirl:

something like that

SnowAngel:

well, i *do* disapprove, and that's even more reason she should ditch jana and come with me. anyway, i need her more than jana does.

SnowAngel:

i'm gonna text her and tell her that now. i hope she listens.