SnowAngel:
ohhhh! like last year when i decided i’d had enuff of california, so i just took off. it was so liberating to realize that i could make such a bold move and not be struck down by lightning.
mad maddie:
it sounds dumb when i write it down in words, cuz of course we’re the ones who get to decide how to live our lives.
mad maddie:
but still. it seems important.
SnowAngel:
it IS important. it’s not dumb at all.
SnowAngel:
so should we call zo and tell her how great she is? i tried her once, but she wasn’t awake.
mad maddie:
ah, let her rest. she deserves it. but tonite let’s take her to din-din.
SnowAngel:
thumbs up, big buddy!
Mon, Apr 24, 8:45 AM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
OMG, it’s officially our last wk of skool! 4evah!!!!
zoegirl:
and mad’s sleeping in. go figure.
SnowAngel:
lame x 100. cya at grad rehearsal!
Mon, Apr 24, 9:01 AM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
wake up, you lazy bum!!! i’m calling you over & over till you do!!!
Mon, Apr 24, 3:55 PM E.D.T.
zoegirl:
did you see jana at graduation practice?
mad maddie:
yeah. so?
zoegirl:
she was smirking at me. snidely. she was snidely smirking at me.
mad maddie:
and again i say … so?
mad maddie:
you didn’t expect things to change b/w you, did you?
zoegirl:
well …
mad maddie:
she snidely smirked at me and angela 2. AND she whispered something to terri about my tevas, which i ignored.
zoegirl:
i think it was something about how you weren’t as dressed up as everyone else. i couldn’t quite hear, but i *think* that’s what it was.
mad maddie:
whatevs, i’m just glad my fashion statement could bring jana and terri back together again. nothing like a catty remark to mend a friendship, that’s what i say.
zoegirl:
i told jana it wasn’t really terri who called, by the way. that night in the parking lot.
mad maddie:
well aren’t you sweet
zoegirl:
i didn’t want her thinking terri had stood her up, that’s all.
mad maddie:
listen, jana and terri will do their dysfunctional dance till the end of time. and if one day they realize they’ve wasted their lives being nasty? tuff tootle birds for them.
zoegirl:
“tuff tootle birds”?
zoegirl:
maddie, i’m going to miss you soooo much.
mad maddie:
oh god, here we go. 1st angela with her waterworks … now UR getting mushy?
zoegirl:
it was the graduation music that got me. otherwise i would have been fine!
mad maddie:
curse marching in 2 by 2! curse “pomp and circumstance”!
zoegirl:
you got teary too, don’t try to deny it. and i *am* going to miss you. and angela, of course. and mary kate and kristin and DOUG … i’m going to miss everybody so much!
mad maddie:
ian and i had another talk about next fall
zoegirl:
and?
mad maddie:
he said we’ll make it work no matter what. that we just have to be honest with each other and tell each other what we’re feeling.
zoegirl:
awww
zoegirl:
i hope you guys *do* make it. and doug and me, too. do you think we will?
mad maddie:
i don’t know. but at the same time, i don’t see why not.
zoegirl:
yeah. i like that way of thinking about it.
mad maddie:
what did doug say about your jana adventure?
zoegirl:
he was shocked. and he told me how stupid it was, which was oddly gratifying. he was being mr. protective.
mad maddie:
a little too late for that, bucko
zoegirl:
it changed the way he looked at me, i think. in a good way.
mad maddie:
that’s awesome
Tues, Apr 25, 5:45 PM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
heya, zo. i’m txting on this beautiful day to tell you that even if you super-duper want to, you can’t ask me out for dinner tonight.
zoegirl:
uh … okay. only i never was planning on asking you to dinner. was i?
SnowAngel:
i’m just saying that if you got a wild urge for burritos, you’d have to call mads. not me. k?
zoegirl:
right. well. that was out of nowhere, but sure.
zoegirl:
anything else going on? did mrs. evangelista decide whether your exam’s gonna be take-home?
SnowAngel:
*huffs in indignation* i can’t believe yr talking about exams instead of asking me to dinner. do you not WANT to ask me to dinner?
zoegirl:
you just told me NOT to!
SnowAngel:
so?
SnowAngel:
i make this big deal out of telling you and maddie that i’m not available for dinner, and do either of you even fight it? nooooooo, yr both just like, “sure, whatevs, is your exam gonna be a take-home?”
zoegirl:
sweetie. r we having an angela moment?
SnowAngel:
it’s like yr not even aware that we only have 3 more days of school. THREE MORE DAYS to enjoy just being us, and then come exams, followed by graduation, followed by 5 billion zillion graduation parties. and the parties will be fun, but they won’t exactly be winsome-threesome intimate. i’m just SAYING.
zoegirl:
oh good heavens
zoegirl:
angela … would you like to go to dinner tonight?
SnowAngel:
oh, thank you so much for asking! that is so thoughtful! *hugs zoe and smothers her with smooches*
SnowAngel:
but no, i can’t. sorry.
zoegirl:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SnowAngel:
i’m taking *myself* out, that’s why. this is STAND TALL FOR ANGELA DAY, and in my brain i will be saying “hahahaha” to logan and every other boy on the planet, cuz i do not need a boy to be complete.
SnowAngel:
i’m going to have a lovely time if it kills me, and that’s why i can’t drag you or maddie along. make sense?
zoegirl:
yes, altho you could have just said that.
SnowAngel:
g2g. gotta go primp for my hot date—with myself!!!
Wed, Apr 26, 4:45 PM E.D.T.
zoegirl:
hola, madikins. big bunny is gone 4ever, squeezed out by the Crusty Pines Executive Housing Complex, Phase III.
mad maddie:
ah, the end of an era. and with big bunny gone, susie, lulu, and round-headed boy r safe and sound.
zoegirl:
they wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for susie
mad maddie:
so true. we can learn a lot from susie, can’t we?
zoegirl:
like what?
mad maddie:
like …
mad maddie:
like that the forest is out there whether we like it or not, and we can’t just stay in our pretty houses and lock the doors. we have to make the bold move. but what we CAN do, when we venture bravely forth, is be aware of giant pink bunnies. that’s the lesson we all should heed!
zoegirl:
ohhhhh. i thought it was that only a few people like bunnies and trees, but everybody likes executive housing complexes.
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mad maddie:
look at you, quoting the bunny! nice!
zoegirl:
tina and arlene came by today. the jehovah’s witnesses. i think we’ve reached the end of an ear there, 2.
zoegirl:
oops—end of an ERA.
mad maddie:
if it was the end of an ear, they’d be like vincent van gogh, who cut off his own ear. did you know that?
zoegirl:
as a matter of fact i did
mad maddie:
can you imagine cutting off your own ear? and then afterward holding it in your hand and being like, “huh. not so sure why i did that …”
zoegirl:
not something i see myself doing
mad maddie:
no, i suppose not
mad maddie:
so why was it the end of an era with tina and arlene?
zoegirl:
i think they’ve had enough of me and my heathen ways, that’s all. even though in reality i’m so *not* a heathen.
mad maddie:
let’s consider. you lied to your parents about your princeton application. you had (and are continuing to have) pre-marital sex—and in a CHURCH, no less! you hitched an illegal ride in the back of jana’s car …
mad maddie:
yr sure yr not a heathen?
zoegirl:
God is bigger than all that—what’s important is that we try to be good people. that’s what i told tina and arlene.
mad maddie:
did you tell them about the pre-marital sex part?
zoegirl:
yes. bet you thought i didn’t, huh? but i’m not ashamed of it.
mad maddie:
what did they say?
zoegirl:
arlene looked extremely disapproving, and tina—she’s the young one—looked shocked. arlene said something like, “well, everything happens for a reason,” implying that i could learn from my mistakes. but i was like, “i don’t believe that.”
mad maddie:
you don’t believe we can learn from our mistakes?
zoegirl:
no, i don’t believe everything happens for a reason. people who say that are imagining God up in the sky, making things happen. but in reality, WE’RE the ones who make things happen. and when crappy things happen anyway, WE choose how to respond. that’s what i meant.
mad maddie:
tell that to glendy, will ya? she’s definitely a “hand in the sky” kind of gal, altho for her it’s more superstition than God.
zoegirl:
she sent you another chain letter?
mad maddie:
yeah, but this one’s FOR REAL!!! (note ironic use of all caps)
mad maddie:
i’m supposed to tell everyone i love how much they mean to me, and if i don’t, i’ll have bad luck for the rest of my lifelong days. oh, and i was supposed to do it within the hour. whoops.
zoegirl:
i can’t believe you didn’t. don’t you love me???
mad maddie:
of course i do, i just don’t need any stupid email telling me to proclaim it.
zoegirl:
awwww
zoegirl:
you honestly can block her name from your account, you know.
mad maddie:
she’d just hack her way back in.
mad maddie:
anywayz, it’d be a shame to let such drivel go to waste. one of these days i’m gonna come up with a genius use for glendy’s crapmails, just wait and see! 1 of these days i’m gonna
zoegirl:
yr gonna what?
mad maddie:
ooo, baby, i gots to go—i’s been inspired!
Thu, Apr 27, 6:08 PM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
tomorrow’s senior mudslide! yeahhhhhhh! *takes flying jump onto oozing hill of mud*
mad maddie:
what a great way to go—last day of classes and an oozing hill of mud.
mad maddie:
you gonna try to pull anybody in?
SnowAngel:
heck yeah! mrs. evangelista, if she’s foolish enuff to come near me. that’ll be her payment for sticking us with our sucky take-home exam!
mad maddie:
i’m so jealous of zo. after tomorrow, she’s DONE. as in, kaput, finito, no more classes and not a single exam. so unfair!
SnowAngel:
quit complaining. at this point, final exams r just a formality. it’s all about closure, baby.
mad maddie:
so. dude. you said something in the parking lot about an idea you had—then zoe came up and the convo somehow veered off. what’s the scoop?
SnowAngel:
right, i’m so glad you remembered!
SnowAngel:
friggers, i just spilled my coffee all over my frickin shirt. one sec.
SnowAngel:
k sorry, i’m back
mad maddie:
i once spilled an entire dr pepper on the keyboard of my laptop. totally ruined it.
SnowAngel:
ooo, sux for you
mad maddie:
so, yer idea?
SnowAngel:
well … i think we should all wear our hair in pigtails tomorrow! for National Pigtails Day!
mad maddie:
i’m drawing a blank. nat’l pigtails day?
SnowAngel:
from zoe’s princeton essay! when we say “screw it” to being a grown-up and wear our hair in pigtails and slide down the mud hill and just have fun!!!
mad maddie:
ohhh
SnowAngel:
plus we would look so cute. plus it would be a way of saying “yay for us,” cuz sure, we’re graduating from high school, but that doesn’t mean we’re letting go of our carefree youth.
SnowAngel:
you in?
mad maddie:
YEAH!
mad maddie:
should i be pumping my hand wildly in the air? somehow that seems appropriate.
SnowAngel:
pump away, babycakes. and then call zo and tell her our plan, now that we’ve both agreed. i can’t, cuz i’ve gotta help aunt sadie get ready for her SEX TOY PARTY which is tonite. ahhhhhh!
mad maddie:
buy me some fudge-flavored body icing? plz plz plz?
SnowAngel:
to use with ian? ooh-la-la!
SnowAngel:
OH, and don’t forget to turn in your senior quote! tomorrow’s the last day to get it in if you want it included in the graduation program!!!
Fri, Apr 28, 4:55 PM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
you outta the shower?
mad maddie:
yeb’m, altho that mud took some serious scrubbing.
mad maddie:
shall i come get you for our supa-dupa celebration?
SnowAngel:
first let’s enjoy the moment … altho we can’t w/o zoe, now can we?
mad maddie:
do-over, and include zoe too
Fri, Apr 28, 4:59 PM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
friends! ’ello!
zoegirl:
hi!!! i was hoping y’all wld text!
mad maddie:
heya, zo. were you able to salvage your sneaks?
zoegirl:
no, they’re goners. oh well.
SnowAngel:
you should have gone barefoot *wags finger in zoe’s face*
SnowAngel:
you looked adorable in your pigtails, tho
mad maddie:
ahem. and me?
SnowAngel:
yes, maddie, you looked adorable 2. we ALL did. *preens happily*
zoegirl:
you guys, i can’t tell you how much i loved it that we did that. i’ll print up my phone pics tomorrow and make copies.
mad maddie:
i got a good shot of when doug pulled you in from the side, heh heh heh
SnowAnge
l:
omg, that was so funny!
zoegirl:
to you, maybe! you weren’t the one tumbling headfirst into the slime!
SnowAngel:
you know you loved it
SnowAngel:
seems like things r better than ever with you guys, yeah?
zoegirl:
i guess so. i hope so!
zoegirl:
i still get worried about next year—sometimes to the point of hyperventilating—but then i just slow down and *breathe*. it is what it is, you know?