All That Glitters (From the Files of Madison Finn, 20) (15 page)

“So … you think they’re doing auditions for a movie or something?” Chet asked aloud.

Fiona laughed. “You wish. Not like they’d ever choose you for a part.”

Everyone laughed as Chet gave Fiona a hard nudge that nearly knocked her over.

But Madison didn’t feel like laughing. Her brain was racing. These buses and this film crew had to have something to do with Mom. It was all way too much to be just a coincidence.

“Maddie, your face is all red. Are you okay?” Aimee asked, grabbing her friend by the shoulders.

Madison just mumbled. “Um … I don’t know … I can’t believe …”

“She’s lost it,” Egg said as he and the other guys walked away toward the buses. Hart approached one and slapped the side of the door, but no one opened up. Chet jumped up to get a view inside one of the tinted windows.

“I don’t see any cameras,” Chet cried.

“What a moron,” Fiona grumbled.

Aimee chuckled. “Maybe it’s a reality TV film crew….”

“Don’t say that!” Fiona said, looking over her shoulder. “Can you imagine? They’d come into the school and make us walk on tightropes and eat worm eggs or something.”

“Worms don’t lay eggs,” Chet snapped.

Fiona smacked him on the back. “Oh, I forgot. You’re the expert, aren’t you, worm?”

Madison glanced around. From out of the corner of her eye, she saw a cluster of people coming around the opposite side of the school. Her sinking feeling grew stronger and stronger … like heartburn and a stomachache and butterflies all rolled into one.

It was the film crew; they lugged video cameras, light stands, and sound equipment. One man carried a large clipboard. He wore dark, square sunglasses (even though it wasn’t particularly sunny outside), a polka-dot tie, a navy jacket, and blue jeans that looked as if they’d been ironed.

“Look! There are the cameras!” Fiona said.

“Maddie … does this have anything to do with your mom?” Aimee said with a grin.

“Why did you say that?” Madison asked. She rolled her eyes. “Please don’t go there.”

“Maddie,” Aimee said. “Come on. Spill it. You know something.”

“Well, I think maybe they have something to do with this documentary my mom is making….” Madison said.

“Cool!” Aimee blurted.

“A documentary? About
us
?” Fiona squealed.

Having spied the film crew heading in to the school, Egg, Chet, and the others rushed back over toward Madison and her friends.

“Let me at ’em! I’m ready for my close-up!” Chet cried.

“You wish!” Egg said.

Hart and Dan laughed.

Fiona went over and smacked Chet on the back again. “Watch out. You get too close up and you’ll break the cameras.”

Although everyone desperately wanted to follow (and spy on) the film crew, it was getting late and after-school activities had already gotten under way. The match at Da Vinci had been canceled, but the team was due for a meeting with the coach in the locker room. Fiona had soccer practice. Aimee had dance class. Madison was the only one without any major after-school commitment. That left her heading home alone. Her friends agreed to e-mail one another later that night.

The walk back home to Blueberry Street took less time than usual. It was as if Madison had little motors on her sneakers. As she walked up on to the porch, Madison heard her pug, Phin, inside, barking. She opened the door, and Phin practically leaped into her arms, scratchy little nails and all. Madison kissed him on the head and then put him down on the hall floor.

“Mom? Mom! Are you home?” Madison called out. “Mom, I need to talk to you … right
now
.”

“Hey, honey bear. What’s all the fuss?” Mom asked, appearing in the doorway to her office, a room located just off the entry hall and living room.

“Mom, you said you’d be filming at Rigby tomorrow,” Madison said.

“Oh, yes,” Mom said. “The plan changed.”

“What?” Madison threw up her hands.

“We’ll be shooting the interviews at Far Hills now.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Madison cried.

“No,” Mom said. “Look, Maddie, you rushed right out of here this morning to meet up with Aimee and …”

“Mo-o-o-o-o-om!” Madison groaned.

“The other middle school’s shooting schedule fell through, and we were in a pinch, so I phoned Far Hills. Right away they said we could use the school. Principal Bernard was very gracious. He said that we could stay for a week or more, as long as we didn’t disrupt classes too much. He gave us permission to interview willing members of the student body—”

“
My
student body?” Madison asked. She paused dramatically. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“But it’s so perfect!” Mom said. “For one thing, your school is an ideal location for the filming. You have bright classrooms and a terrific library for a backdrop. And the outside yard is just right….”

“Just right for what?” Madison asked. She collapsed onto the couch, her head in her hands. “Just right for embarrassing me more than anything else in my life?”

“Embarrassing you? I don’t understand,” Mom said.

“Of course you don’t,” Madison said sharply.

“Maddie, don’t take that tone with me.”

Madison bit her lip. “How could you have chosen my school as a backup site for your project?” she asked, trying to sound more disappointed than annoyed. “Why didn’t you ask me first?”

“I have to ask your permission?” Mom asked.

“Well …” Madison stammered. “Yes. It
is
my school.”

“Maddie,” Mom explained. “This really doesn’t have to be a big deal. The crew will only be there for a week or so.”

“Will you be there?”

“Not much. I’ve got paperwork and other tasks to occupy my time. I’ll only be there to check in, once in a blue moon—”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Madison wailed. “You’re not leveling with me, are you, Mom? You
always
show up at your shoots. I know you’ll be there all the time, and so will I, and it will just be …”

“No, really, this one is different, Maddie,” Mom said. “As far as I know, I won’t be as involved. It’s the director’s show, not mine.”

“I guarantee that with you in school every day, this movie will become the most mortifying experience of my life,” Madison insisted.

Mom got very, very quiet.

“I didn’t know you would feel this way, Maddie,” Mom said, sounding contrite. “But I promise I won’t get in your way.”

Phin jumped on to the sofa, tongue wagging. He licked Madison as if he were playing some kind of game. But Madison was not playing any game.

“It’s all over,” Madison said.

“Really, Maddie. You don’t have to be so dramatic about all this,” Mom said, reaching out to touch Madison’s shoulder.

“Oh, Mom,” Madison cried. She pulled away in a huff. Madison’s breath came in fits and starts, and she closed her eyes tightly to force herself to slow down. She couldn’t let herself hyperventilate.

In her mind, Madison had whirling visions of being chased by—and running away from—a camera crew. Mom was out in front with the huge, Day-Glo spotlights. And when she wasn’t being hounded by the lights and the soundmen, she was dodging the lenses of miniature cameras that appeared inside her locker, inside the bathroom stalls, and everywhere else she went.

How could Madison possibly endure the presence of a film crew at her school, filming her and her friends and her longtime crush? And worst of all, how could she endure a film crew led by her own
mother
?

She looked at her mother and then exploded with a rush of emotion. “Mom, this is like my worst nightmare come to life! You know I have stage fright! You know I can’t do this!”

Mom stood there, flabbergasted. She tried to apologize, but Madison wasn’t listening. When it came to Budge Films and Mom’s job, Madison didn’t want to listen to anything Mom had to say.

For the past few years, Mom’s film job had caused conflict between the two of them. Of course, Madison had been proud of Mom’s awards and other successes. But deep down, Madison also believed that Mom’s constant work and travel had brought on the Big D. The way Madison saw it, talk of divorce had only started when Mom had started to become more successful as a film producer. Madison loved knowing that her mom was a mover and shaker at Budge Films, but she hated the times when there wasn’t enough of Mom to go around.

“Are you even listening to me?” Mom asked. Madison had turned on the mute button, and Mom knew it.

“I’m out of here,” Madison blurted out. She nearly knocked Phin off the sofa as she grabbed her bag and headed upstairs to her room.

Mom quickly tried to make peace by hugging her, but Madison slipped by, refusing. Phin followed close behind.

Once inside her bedroom, Madison settled back on to the assortment of colored cotton pillows and took Phin into her arms for a little doggy comfort. But after a few seconds, he got squirmy and wriggled loose from her grip. That was when Madison flipped over, pulled out her laptop, and booted up.

Brrrrrrrring brrrrong!

“Maddie! Someone’s at the door for you!” Mom called out.

Madison crept out to the top of the stairs. Aimee stood there, looking up with a smirk on her face and a large bag slung over her shoulder.

“Up here, Aim,” Madison called out.

“Thanks, Mrs. Finn,” Aimee said. She turned away from Mom and rushed up the stairs.

“What are you doing here?” Madison asked.

“Well, I should totally be home doing my math homework right now, Maddie,” Aimee said. “But when I was on my way back from dance class, I got the funniest idea, and I knew I just
had
to come over to your place.”

“Funny?” Madison grinned with relief. “What?” she asked. “Please tell me. I need a good laugh.”

Aimee reached inside the tote bag she had on her shoulder and produced a shiny new tablet.

“Is that what I think it is? Aim, are you kidding?” Madison asked.

“Nope,” Aimee said, grinning. She held it up in front of Madison’s face. “Dad said I could borrow it and he downloaded this Film Star app for us, too! We better rehearse our poses before the
real
film crew gets involved. Practice makes perfect, right?”

“Perfect is overrated,” Madison said, holding her hands up in front of the tablet camera so Aimee couldn’t film her.

“Come on, Maddie,” Aimee gushed. “Don’t be such a spoilsport. Smile for the camera. Pucker up and pretend I’m Hart Jones.”

“Hey!” Madison squealed. She looked away. “You’re so mean!”

Aimee gazed at the screen. “But you are soooo beautiful. Be a movie star, Maddie! Come on. At least pretend.”

“Ugh,” Madison groaned. “I don’t feel like it.”

Madison knew Aimee meant well, and she wanted to have a good laugh, but at the same time, she was still dealing with her anger at Mom. Smiling for the camera felt wrong right now.

Aimee tapped the video button
anyway, undeterred by Madison’s grumpy demeanor. She turned the camera toward Phinnie instead of Madison. The pug pranced around—a real ham—as if he knew he was being filmed. He planted his backside on the carpet, scratched at it with his nails, and let out a howl.

Aimee cracked up. She fiddled with the settings so Phin morphed into a super-sized pug and then so there were ten Phins instead of one. The Film Star app had all sorts of cool tricks. “Way to go, Phin! At least
you
know how to smile for the camera.”

“Aim …,” Madison whined. “Fine! I’ll do it. What do I do?”

“Pretend I’m Hart. Now, go!”

“
Mmmwah! Smooch!
Is that what you want?” Madison stuck out her tongue.

“Oh, Maddie,” Aimee clicked the camera off. “You will never win an Academy Award for that,” she joked.

Madison shook her head and sighed. She didn’t want to win any awards. The only thing Madison Francesca Finn wanted was to get as far away from cameras, Mom, and FHJH as possible.

If only she had somewhere to run.

T
HE WELL-COIFED DIRECTOR OF THE
junior-high-school documentary, Julian Lodge, had all the girls in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades staring when he stood up to present the film team during Tuesday morning’s assembly.

Fiona said it best. “Now
he
looks like a genuine movie star,” she sighed.

Madison, Fiona, Aimee, and their friend Lindsay Frost sat together in the middle of the room. A row away, Egg, Chet, Drew, Hart, and Dan Ginsburg sat together.

“That guy is so …” Aimee stammered.

“Lame,” Egg said. The other boys grumbled.

Madison had to agree, at least a little bit, with Fiona. Julian Lodge was kind of cute. He looked as if
he
were the one who should be in front of the camera. Actually, he also looked like what Madison imagined Hart Jones might look like as a grown-up. Both had the same buzz-cut hair and dark-framed eyeglasses.

After his introduction, Julian perched on a tall stool in front of the microphone, holding a thick notebook wrapped in rubber bands.

“He looks like he’s a nice person, too,” Lindsay said.

“Are we crazy?” Aimee said. “I mean, that dude is at least thirty. He’s positively ancient.”

“Old enough to be my dad,” Lindsay chuckled.

Fiona and Madison laughed along with her.

FHJH teachers paraded up and down the aisles, passing out flyers in different colors. As they moved from row to row, the volume in the auditorium grew louder. Madison overheard snippets of other conversations; everyone seemed to be talking about the video. Julian Lodge had put the room under some kind of magic spell.

Madison wasn’t sure what to think about the whole scene. After the conversation with Mom the night before, she had everything invested in
not
liking anything about the film project, including the director—even if he was cute.

At some point, Principal Bernard and Assistant Principal Goode went onto the stage to quiet everyone back down. But no sooner had they taken over the microphone than a ninth grader with long, shaggy brown hair stood up, waving his arms, holding one of the flyers. Madison recognized him immediately as Larry Dooray, legendary at FHJH for causing trouble during sporting events and school plays. One time he’d stripped off his shirt during a junior varsity basketball game to reveal the school colors and the school crest painted on his stomach. Dooray didn’t seem to mind being a school punch line.