zoegirl:
hold on. *i* was sleeping under the stars, and i froze my booty off. *you* were hogging the tent.
mad maddie:
the stars were pretty, tho. admit it.
mad maddie:
uh oh, there’s a goatee boy hovering behind me. he’s saying, “um, excuse me, but the sign says tables are ‘for paying customers only’?”
zoegirl:
he can’t see what you’re texting, can he?
mad maddie:
hell if i care. r u, goatee boy? r u reading what i’m writing?
mad maddie:
HA. he’s pretending not to, but i can c from over my shoulder that he is. he looks all pinched and constipated.
mad maddie:
alas, i must away to the grocery store. the dish soap is calling my name.
zoegirl:
goatee boy will be so happy
mad maddie:
nah, i’m giving my table to a girl on my other side. she has been waiting very patiently. she gets five gold stars!
Fri, Nov 26, 11:00 AM P.S.T.
SnowAngel:
hiya, zo! hiya, mads!
SnowAngel:
i’m txting from our crudballs hotel. well, at least they let me borrow a phone charger from the front desk. but still. crudballs. you both there?
zoegirl:
angela!!!!! hellooooo!
mad maddie:
maddie kinnick, checking in for duty. angela: how goes it??? did u convince your dad that california sucks?
SnowAngel:
yeah, right. my dad doesn’t CARE what i think.
SnowAngel:
guys … he took the job! he’s starting in december!!!
mad maddie:
WHAT?
SnowAngel:
we’re moving to california. we’re frickin moving to california!
zoegirl:
omg, angela. in december???
SnowAngel:
dad’s leaving in december. the rest of us r staying in atlanta until our house gets sold.
SnowAngel:
after that, we’re gone!
mad maddie:
nooooo, u can’t move! u belong here with us!
SnowAngel:
u think i don’t know that?
SnowAngel:
and to add to the suckiness, my dad’s boss has an awful daughter WHOM I DETEST. her name’s glendy, if that doesn’t say enough!
mad maddie:
glendy? sounds like a brand of toilet paper.
SnowAngel:
she IS a brand of toilet paper. she’s horrible.
zoegirl:
when did you meet her?
SnowAngel:
last night, cuz we ended up having thanksgiving dinner at mr. boss’s house instead of the hotel restaurant. aren’t i lucky?
SnowAngel:
glendy was a freak, all big-eyed and blinky and burble-laffing every time i said anything, which was ridiculous cuz believe me i wasn’t being remotely funny. she acts as if she’s been homeschooled.
mad maddie:
how old is she?
SnowAngel:
she’s 16 like us—not that u’d guess it cuz she’s CLUELESS. she wanted to know where i got my glitter eyeshadow, and i was like, “at the store, u idiot.” i was like, “don’t u know your dad is an evil selfish pig? don’t u know he’s stealing my life away?”
zoegirl:
oh, poor angela!
SnowAngel:
and later she was all, “after u move here, we can have sleepovers! we can give each other beauty treatments!!!” *slits wrists*
mad maddie:
so when r u coming back?
SnowAngel:
sunday. i can’t wait. my mom thinks i’m being a brat cuz i’m not “appreciating this rare chance to c california,” but i could care less.
SnowAngel:
she’s all, “consider this an opportunity,” but i don’t want an opportunity! i just wanna be with u guys!!!
zoegirl:
okay, so you’re coming back on sunday … and then what?
SnowAngel:
the whole fam is flying back to atlanta together, and then dad’s gonna pack his stuff and fly out again in a week. mr. boss is gonna find him a place. after that, who knows?
SnowAngel:
oh great—chrissy’s poking my shoulder and she won’t stop. stupid mom told her to tell me to stop texting and get off my butt, cuz it’s time to go sightseeing today with mr. boss and glendy. *holds dagger over heart*
mad maddie:
shit, angela. i’m so sorry.
zoegirl:
me too
SnowAngel:
me three!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sat, Nov 27, 10:38 AM E.S.T.
zoegirl:
hey, mads. i can’t believe it—angela is actually moving! i hoped i’d wake up this morning and realize it was all a big mistake … but i didn’t.
mad maddie:
maybe her dad will change his mind. maybe he’ll come to his senses.
zoegirl:
i don’t think so, maddie.
zoegirl:
god, i miss her already, and she’s not even officially gone.
mad maddie:
zoe, don’t
mad maddie:
just … don’t.
zoegirl:
i thought maybe you’d wanna talk about it, that’s all.
zoegirl:
guess i was wrong.
Sun, Nov 28, 4:05 PM E.S.T.
mad maddie:
hi, zo. i’m bored.
zoegirl:
me too
mad maddie:
wanna go meet angela at the airport?
zoegirl:
omigosh, what a great idea. she’d be so surprised!
zoegirl:
only we can’t. you can’t go through security unless you’re a ticketed passenger.
mad maddie:
we could wait at the welcome area. wanna? we could bring flowers and candy and a balloon shaped like a unicorn.
zoegirl:
aw, mads, don’t *ever* tell me you’re not a big sap at heart.
zoegirl:
but yeah! let’s do it!!!
Mon, Nov 29, 5:15 PM E.S.T.
SnowAngel:
k, it’s official. my mother is driving me crazy. ever since we got back, she’s been in a cleaning frenzy. i caught her trying to throw out a whole bag of old toys, including my complete set of My Pretty Ponies (!!!!), and all she said was, “this house is a junk heap. if i could, i’d throw it ALL away!”
mad maddie:
even the beautiful Barbie balloon your two bestest buds gave you at the airport?
SnowAngel:
well, no, not that. she thought that was very sweet, as did i.
SnowAngel:
but maddie? why did u give me a Barbie balloon?
mad maddie:
cuz the gift store was out of unicorns. anywayz, zoe said u always wanted a Barbie named after u.
mad maddie:
is your mom making u get rid of your Barbies too?
SnowAngel:
yes. AND my pound puppies.
mad maddie:
i loved those pound puppies
SnowAngel:
me 2, except for the 1 with the crusty ear from when chrissy threw up on it.
mad maddie:
wait a sec, a.
SnowAngel:
yes?
mad maddie:
something has just occurred to me, and now i’m a little disturbed. u and zoe and i started hanging out in the 7th grade … why were u still playing with Barbies and pound puppies in the 7th grade?
SnowAngel:
why were U? ur the 1 who just admitted to missing them!
mad maddie:
hmm, ya got me there
mad maddie:
not the Barbies, tho. i could give a rat’s ass about Barbie—except when she’s
big and shiny and made of mylar.
SnowAngel:
aargh. i HATE cleaning. i would actually rather be back at school than at home right now. how sad is that?
mad maddie:
ugh, not me. every single teacher was like, “now that we’ve returned from thanksgiving vacation, it’s time to knuckle down. only two more weeks until final exams!”
SnowAngel:
noooo, i can’t handle it! too much pressure! *rips hair from head in clumps*
mad maddie:
u need a glass of nestle quik to calm u down. have u ever noticed with nestle quik how u can actually crunch the chocolatey part? u swish a sip around in your mouth, and the chocolatey crystals just beg to be crunched. it’s like at the dentist’s, when he says, “ok, now lightly tap your teeth together for me.” it’s the exact same motion.
SnowAngel:
oh great, my MOTHER is txting me from downstairs. hold on while i see what she wants.
mad maddie:
crunch, crunch, crunch. crunch, crunch, crunch. i’m singing a little song that goes crunch, crunch, crunch.
SnowAngel:
i’m back—sorry about that.
mad maddie:
what’d your mom say?
SnowAngel:
she’s such a dweeb. she’s like, “hey, sweetie. i know this is stressful, but u’ve got to remember that it’s stressful for all of us. i won’t throw away any more of your junk, i promise. love ya, precious!”
mad maddie:
that’s so funny that she txts u
SnowAngel:
i know
mad maddie:
it’s not a bad idea, tho. hey, maybe i should suggest it to my parents. if they texted me—or better, if they texted each other—maybe they wouldn’t yell so much.
SnowAngel:
i don’t wanna be here. come rescue me.
mad maddie:
where do u wanna go?
SnowAngel:
i don’t care. just come get me!
Mon, Nov 29, 9:33 PM E.S.T.
SnowAngel:
hey, zo-ster. i saw u talking to doug today. r u guys becoming better friends?
zoegirl:
i guess so, yeah
zoegirl:
at work on saturday, this one little girl kept hugging him and telling him she loved him. it was so cute.
SnowAngel:
doug IS pretty lovable, i must admit. sometimes i think, “why in the world don’t i just decide to like him?” in some ways it would be so easy—and i know he’d make the perfect boyfriend.
zoegirl:
except i don’t think a person just “decides” things like that.
zoegirl:
anyway, there’s the small and horrible fact that you’re moving to california …
SnowAngel:
but maybe if i had a boyfriend, that would make it better. like, he could pine for me and send me flowers.
zoegirl:
*i’ll* pine for u, angela. i’ll pine for u like crazy!
SnowAngel:
i know, i know. just …
zoegirl:
just what?
SnowAngel:
well, u pining for me is good. i thoroughly expect absurd amounts of pining. but do me a favor and don’t pine for anyone else, ok?
zoegirl:
huh?
SnowAngel:
doug, i mean. as in u and doug.
zoegirl:
you’re telling me not to pine for doug???
zoegirl:
where in the world did *this* come from?
SnowAngel:
omg, it’s insane, isn’t it? it’s just that i saw the way he was looking at u in the hall today, and i got this very weird feeling about it.
zoegirl:
what do u mean, the way he was looking at me? do u think maybe …?
zoegirl:
never mind
SnowAngel:
oh, zoe, forget i said anything. i’m just fragile cuz of everything that’s going on with me. it’s like, i can’t handle any more rejection!
zoegirl:
but angela, you’ve never been the slightest bit interested in doug. anyway, you had your chance with him last year.
SnowAngel:
but he wasn’t as cute back then
zoegirl:
anyway, even if i *did* like doug—not that i do, because like you said that’s insane—but in what way would that equal rejection?
SnowAngel:
like i said, forget it
SnowAngel:
i’m gonna go before i say anything else stupid. bye!
Tues, Nov 30, 10:18 PM E.S.T.
SnowAngel:
maddie, a realtor came to our house today.
mad maddie:
oh god. what’d she say?
SnowAngel:
that our house is lovely. i hate her.
SnowAngel:
she’s gonna send over a “stager” to put in fake plants and stuff, and we’re supposed to pop popcorn before any showings so that the house will smell buttery.
mad maddie:
man, that’s nuts
SnowAngel:
she also said that altho sales are usually slow in the winter, there’s a small peak in december. i wanted to stab her eyeballs.
mad maddie:
well … maybe there won’t be a peak in december. try not to think about it.
SnowAngel:
maddie, my dad flies out TOMORROW. how am i supposed to not think about it?
SnowAngel:
i’m so furious at him, but at the same time i don’t want him to leave.
mad maddie:
he is a very bad man. i’m furious at him too.
SnowAngel:
i’m exhausted. i wanna talk more, but first i wanna lie down. power nap. i’ll call you in a while!
Wed, Dec 1, 4:33 PM E.S.T.
SnowAngel:
my dad’s officially in california. tonight he’ll sleep in the new apartment, and tomorrow he’ll wake up and drive on new streets to get to his new job. how wrong is that?
zoegirl:
i’m so sorry, angela. i know how you must feel.
SnowAngel:
no u don’t. u would never be in this situation, cuz your dad’s, like, the CEO of his company. he’s the one who would be doing the firing, not the one who would ever get fired.
zoegirl:
well, he *could* get fired if the stockholders voted him out.
SnowAngel:
yeah, fat chance
zoegirl:
angela … what’s going on? do you *want* my dad to get fired?
SnowAngel:
aaargh *bonks head on desk*
SnowAngel:
no, i don’t want your dad to get fired. but i don’t wanna move, either. i told mom that i’d rather live in a box outside the mall. i told her i wanna stay here and live with my aunt sadie.
zoegirl:
that’s a brilliant idea! could you do that—you know, for real?
SnowAngel:
mom wouldn’t even consider it. she was just, “angela, don’t be silly.”
zoegirl:
that sucks
SnowAngel:
i know, especially since aunt sadie’s the only person in my family who’s been the least bit supportive thru all this. i talked to her tonight, and she was like, “don’t tell your mom, but i think it’s too bad jeff took that job without even considering the other options. a girl shouldn’t be uprooted from her friends during her junior year of high school.”
zoegirl:
so so so so true
SnowAngel:
yeah
SnowAngel:
that’s all i wanted to say, really.
Thu, Dec 2, 7:17 PM E.S.T.
SnowAngel:
maddie, i’ve got something terrible to confess. i went shopping today cuz i was super depressed, and—er—i seem to have bought a shirt-on-shirt. please don’t hate me!
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mad maddie:
huh?
SnowAngel:
it’s sooooo tacky, i know. *ducks for cover*
mad maddie:
what, pray tell, is a shirt-on-shirt?
SnowAngel:
it’s … u know, a long-sleeve shirt with a short-sleeve shirt on top of it, only the long-sleeve shirt is a fake-out, cuz except for the sleeves and collar it doesn’t really exist. it’s the layered look, so i can look slouchy-cool w/o half-trying.