TTYL (29 page)

SnowAngel:

hey, madikins. it's time to just suck it up and reply, don't you think?

SnowAngel:

u know you want to…

SnowAngel:

fine, i'll talk AT u, then. zoe and i wanna know about our trip to cumberland island. r we still on or not?

SnowAngel:

i GUESS we could go even if ur stonewalling us, but what a dreadful car ride. i can see it now: u alone in the front, scowling and clutching the steering wheel, while zoe and i cower in the back, begging u to give us a potty break.

SnowAngel:

SnowAngel:

and our potty needs are even cute, see?

SnowAngel:

goddammit, maddie. i hope u don't wait TOO long before talking to us, cuz who knows? we might make other plans!!!!

zoegirl:

crap, angela, guess who just called me?

SnowAngel:

maddie?!!

zoegirl:

i wish!

zoegirl:

no, nealie anderson.

SnowAngel:

nealie anderson? she says her “s”s weird. why'd she call?

zoegirl:

for bad reasons.

zoegirl:

nealie's kind of friends with terri springer, and apparently terri just got an awful email from jana. well, nealie thought it was awful. terri thought it was hysterical.

SnowAngel:

oh, no

SnowAngel:

did it have to do with maddie?

zoegirl:

jana sent pictures, angela.

zoegirl:

she sent a group email with pics from that frat party, and they were of maddie dancing on the
table, and angela—she was naked from the waist up!

SnowAngel:

SHIT. someone took pictures?

zoegirl:

apparently, and you know who it was, right? it HAD to be jana!

SnowAngel:

I HATE HER!!!

SnowAngel:

and omg, poor maddie. omg!!!!

zoegirl:

the subject line was “lesbo slut.” jana sent it to practically the entire school.

SnowAngel:

shit, shit, SHIT.

SnowAngel:

did U see it? did u ask nealie to forward it to u?

zoegirl:

NO! i don't WANT to see it, angela.

zoegirl:

if it were me? and i knew people were seeing me like that???

SnowAngel:

AAAARRRGH.

SnowAngel:

but why now? why did jana do this NOW, a fucking week later?

zoegirl:

why does jana do ANYTHING she does?

SnowAngel:

so does maddie know?

zoegirl:

i don't know. that's why nealie called me, because she knows maddie's my friend.

SnowAngel:

used to be, at any rate

zoegirl:

you know what i mean. anyway, maddie is still my friend even if i'm no longer hers. maddie will always be my friend.

SnowAngel:

i know. i'm just in shock. i can't believe anyone would do something like that, even jana.

SnowAngel:

should we tell her? maddie, i mean?

zoegirl:

i don't know

SnowAngel:

maybe she won't find out. maybe no one'll mention it.

zoegirl:

yeah, that's likely

SnowAngel:

shld we tell principal russo?

SnowAngel:

or maybe a teacher?

zoegirl:

agh. yes! right?

zoegirl:

but think about how upset maddie got when *you* told *me*. can you imagine her reaction if we brought the grown-ups into it? which would of course involve her parents?

SnowAngel:

i wld NOT want mr. russo seeing pics like that of me. i wld DEFINITELY not want my parents seeing pics like that of me.

zoegirl:

me neither, not in a million years

SnowAngel:

what r we supposed to do, then?

zoegirl:

i have no clue

zoegirl:

maybe we should just stick close tomorrow, so we can be there if someone says something or something bad happens.

SnowAngel:

something *worse*, u mean?

zoegirl:

yeah

SnowAngel:

ok. i feel like that's not enough, but ok.

zoegirl:

we'll know more tomorrow.

zoegirl:

and maybe nealie was wrong and jana only sent it to a few people. not that that's still not awful…

SnowAngel:

i hope yr right. crossing my fingers!!!

zoegirl:

maddie?

zoegirl:

are you there?

zoegirl:

just wanted to let u know i'm here. that's all.

SnowAngel:

still no word from maddie, just so u know. not that i shld have expected it, i suppose, but after what happened in geometry, i thought she'd at least want a shoulder to cry on.

zoegirl:

she probably does, but for whatever reason, she doesn't think she can come to us.

SnowAngel:

BUT WE'VE BEEN BEST FRIENDS FOR 4 YEARS!!! who else is she supposed to go to?

zoegirl:

i know, i know

SnowAngel:

it broke my heart to see her striding down the halls with her lips clamped together. it's gotta be killing her. u'd think she'd WANT her friends around her at a time like this, or that she'd at least wanna TALK to us about it!

zoegirl:

maybe it's a pride thing. like, now that everyone knows what happened, she's determined to hold her head up and pretend she doesn't give a damn.

SnowAngel:

tough to do when ppl are interrupting geometry to ask how much she charges for a private party.

zoegirl:

i can't even imagine

SnowAngel:

and what does mr. miklos do? he just stands there blinking and rubbing his neck, saying, “class, class! could we bring it down to a dull roar?”

SnowAngel:

he had no clue, did he?

zoegirl:

do you think *any* of the teachers know?

SnowAngel:

if they did, there'd be a BIG deal being made out of it.

SnowAngel:

*shudders*

zoegirl:

what about maddie's parents. do u think they know?

SnowAngel:

i hope not. i'm sure SHE hasn't told them.

zoegirl:

if it were me, can u imagine what my mom would do?

SnowAngel:

it's lucky mark's out of high school, or he'd have heard about it, and he definitely wld have told them. so MAYBE she's safe.

SnowAngel:

did u see jana after school, sitting on the steps with terri and jane olsen?

zoegirl:

no. what did they do?

SnowAngel:

they were just hanging out, laughing and joking around like “la-di-da, isn't life great.”

SnowAngel:

in my head i was like, “u bitch! don't u know that u've ruined someone's life?! don't u even care?”

SnowAngel:

but of course she doesn't, or she wouldn't have sent that email.

zoegirl:

u were right from the beginning, angela. she's evil.

SnowAngel:

one good thing: i was talking to my mom about jana last night—not the specifics of the maddie thing, just in general—and my mom said that girls like jana peak in high school and then wonder why the rest of their lives seem so rotten.

SnowAngel:

so just wait. we'll see jana at our 10th reunion and she'll be fat and pathetic. she'll work at walmart and wear a horrid blue smock.

zoegirl:

maybe

zoegirl:

i almost wish someone would email pics of her doing something embarrassing, you know? maddie made a mistake. maddie did something dumb. yes.

zoegirl:

but jana is no saint. only because she's the kind of person she is, she somehow manages to make everyone else look bad.

SnowAngel:

i'm gonna try maddie again. i know she probably won't talk, but i have to do something!

SnowAngel:

hi, maddie. still not answering my calls, i see. don't u WANT to talk to me?

SnowAngel:

i want to talk to you…

SnowAngel:

i just wanted to let u know that i love u. zoe does too. we're still your friends, even if u don't think so. we've always been yr friends, and we always will be.

SnowAngel:

ALWAYS.