Page 18 of Ttyl


  Thu, Nov 4, 8:01 PM E.D.T.

  SnowAngel:

  saw maddie’s pissy tweet. lemme guess: u txted her?

  zoegirl:

  i did, and i tried so hard to actually *talk* to her.

  zoegirl:

  it was a disaster. she wldn’t listen at all.

  SnowAngel:

  tell me about it. she’s been horrible all day.

  zoegirl:

  in homeroom, she stalked away right in the middle of my sentence. kristin was like, “what was that all about?” and i couldn’t even tell her.

  SnowAngel:

  i feel bad for her… but she’s being a baby.

  zoegirl:

  it’s like she’s not even the same maddie.

  SnowAngel:

  i know

  zoegirl:

  so what should we do?

  SnowAngel:

  give her time, i guess. what else can we do?

  zoegirl:

  i don’t know

  SnowAngel:

  she’ll come around. she has to.

  SnowAngel:

  so tomorrow’s friday. u going to friday morning fellowship?

  zoegirl:

  yeah. i’m, uh, actually leading the prayer. it’ll be my first time.

  SnowAngel:

  that’s great. good luck.

  zoegirl:

  thanks. and thanks for not making fun of me.

  SnowAngel:

  of course

  SnowAngel:

  u know what u shld do while yr there? say a prayer for maddie too!

  Fri, Nov 5, 6:45 PM E.D.T.

  SnowAngel:

  hey, mads. r u done being a drama queen yet?

  SnowAngel:

  maddie, come on. i know ur there.

  SnowAngel:

  fine. u know where i am.

  Fri, Nov 5, 7:12 PM E.D.T.

  zoegirl:

  maddie, it’s me

  zoegirl:

  well, der. you obviously know that. i’m at java joe’s, and i’m thinking of you, and MISSING you.

  zoegirl:

  maddie, plz. you’ve at least got to talk to us.

  zoegirl:

  maddie?

  zoegirl:

  please please please call me when ur ready to talk!

  Fri, Nov 5, 7:20 PM E.D.T.

  zoegirl:

  maddie’s still not talking to me.

  SnowAngel:

  i know. me neither.

  zoegirl:

  seriously, she didn’t say one word to me at school.

  SnowAngel:

  it’s ridiculous. mr. miklos had her pass out the quizzes in geometry, and she slapped one on my desk without even looking at me.

  zoegirl:

  i want to shake her and tell her how stupid she’s being. i want to shake her AND hug her.

  SnowAngel:

  me too. but now she’s got her jana friends, so maybe she doesn’t need us anymore.

  zoegirl:

  except jana’s cold-shouldering her just like she’s cold-shouldering us. haven’t you noticed?

  SnowAngel:

  really? ha. that’s kinda funny—only it’s not, is it?

  zoegirl:

  which is why it’s doubly stupid that she’s turning her back on us.

  zoegirl:

  we wouldn’t judge her like jana is.

  SnowAngel:

  she’s just being stubborn

  SnowAngel:

  r u still coming over tonight?

  zoegirl:

  yeah. my mom’s going to drop me off as soon as she’s done getting ready for her business dinner.

  SnowAngel:

  zoegirl:

  but… what should we do about maddie?

  SnowAngel:

  i’ll try txting one more time. if she doesn’t answer then it’s her own fault.

  Fri, Nov 5, 7:39 PM E.D.T.

  SnowAngel:

  hi, madigan. i know yr there, so u might as well answer.

  SnowAngel:

  *shakes maddie like a rag doll* ANSWER ME!!!

  SnowAngel:

  this is getting sooooooooo old. u realize that, right?

  SnowAngel:

  well, zoe’s coming over to spend the night, and we want u to come too, even if all u do is sit there like a bump on a log. so drive over if u want, ok?

  SnowAngel:

  *makes megaphone with hands* M-A-D-D-I-E!!!!!

  SnowAngel:

  all right

  SnowAngel:

  u know where to find us!

  Sun, Nov 7, 1:45 PM E.S.T.

  zoegirl:

  any word from maddie?

  SnowAngel:

  and… the answer is still no. no word from maddie. nada, zilch, zero words from maddie.

  zoegirl:

  i thought maybe she’d call, since she worked with ian last night. as far as i know that’s the first time she’s seen him since halloween.

  SnowAngel:

  yeah, i wonder how that went. i wonder if she was as weird with him as she is with us.

  zoegirl:

  who knows

  SnowAngel:

  how was it, going to church with mr. h this morning???

  zoegirl:

  it was good

  SnowAngel:

  good? that’s all ur gonna say?

  zoegirl:

  hmm. i guess i feel strange talking about other stuff with this whole maddie mess going on.

  SnowAngel:

  why? we DO have lives apart from her, u know.

  zoegirl:

  true

  SnowAngel:

  so tell me! did mr. h finally kiss u? *smooch, smooch*

  zoegirl:

  yeah, right there at the altar, in front of God and everybody.

  SnowAngel:

  REALLY?

  zoegirl:

  angela!

  SnowAngel:

  well, did u have any romantic moments? meaningful glances, knee-touches, that sort of thing?

  zoegirl:

  the car ride was nice, even though we just talked about school. it’s so bizarre. it’s like there we are, alone in his car with all of this… energy… bouncing around between us, and what do we do? we talk about english and the shakespeare festival and who our favorite authors are.

  SnowAngel:

  *winks lasciviously* verbal foreplay

  zoegirl:

  i don’t think so

  zoegirl:

  only…

  SnowAngel:

  what?

  zoegirl:

  he did mention that he’s house-sitting for greg kravitz’s parents beginning on the 17th. and he also mentioned that the house has an outdoor hot tub.

  SnowAngel:

  omg. AND?

  zoegirl:

  and he kind of hinted around that maybe i could come over one night. that we could, um, gaze at the stars.

  SnowAngel:

  IN the hot tub?! IN your bathing suits?! OR—*gasp!*—MAYBE IN YOUR NUDIE PANTS!!!!

  zoegirl:

  angela, stop!

  zoegirl:

  we will not be in our “nudie pants.” omigosh. he hasn’t even technically invited me!

  SnowAngel:

  when he does, will u say yes?

  zoegirl:

  i don’t know. it makes me nervous just thinking about it.

  SnowAngel:

  good nervous or bad nervous?

  zoegirl:

  i don’t know!

  zoegirl:

  ack. can we talk about something else, please?

  SnowAngel:

  sure. have u picked which swimsuit ur gonna wear?

  zoegirl:

  !!!!

  SnowAngel:

  not yr blue one-piece. it comes up to, like, your collarbone. and not that nasty red one with the worn spots in the butt… altho i suppose that *cld* work to your advantage.

  zoegirl:

  enough

  SnowAngel:

  you
’ll have to borrow my bikini with the orange flowery bits on it, that’s all there is to it. and u should probably go to a tanning salon. otherwise u’ll look like a dead codfish, no offense.

  zoegirl:

  if i wore your bikini, it would fall right off me. (and stop right there with what you’re thinking!) and i’m not going to a tanning salon. i am morally opposed to tanning salons.

  SnowAngel:

  hey, u asked for my advice

  zoegirl:

  no, i didn’t

  SnowAngel:

  well u shld have

  zoegirl:

  am i really too pale to wear a bathing suit?

  SnowAngel:

  it’s november—of course ur pale. i am too, altho it hardly matters since i’m not going hot-tubbing with my lusty young buck of an english teacher.

  zoegirl:

  zoegirl:

  i think i’m gonna faint.

  SnowAngel:

  u can always use tanning creme if u don’t wanna go to a tanning booth. or tanning foam. they even make tanning wipes now, like baby wipes, only not just for yr lady parts.

  SnowAngel:

  (in fact, not really for yr lady parts at all…)

  SnowAngel:

  (unless u want a tan va-jay-jay???)

  zoegirl:

  and now i’m going to go.

  SnowAngel:

  but we haven’t discussed yr thong possibilities! yikes, u better start doing your butt exercises. *and squeeze and lift and squeeze and lift and pump and pump and pump!*

  Mon, Nov 8, 9:21 PM E.S.T.

  SnowAngel:

  this is getting to be a very sad pattern, but: any luck with maddie today?

  zoegirl:

  no, you?

  SnowAngel:

  she shot me a death look when i tried to talk to her in geometry. does that count?

  zoegirl:

  maddie shoots a good death look, i’ll give her that.

  SnowAngel:

  so, not to be self-absorbed or anything, but does this mean our cumberland island trip is off? thanksgiving’s only 2 and a half weeks away.

  zoegirl:

  i’ve been wondering about that too. maddie was so psyched about it.

  SnowAngel:

  then she shld get off her high horse and stop being sullen!

  SnowAngel:

  u know what? i’m gonna text her and ask. even if she doesn’t reply, i can at least make her feel guilty about it. it’s not fair for her to back out now.

  Mon, Nov 8, 9:42 PM E.S.T.

  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!!!!

  Tues, Nov 9, 5:23 PM E.S.T.

  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!!!

  Tues, Nov 9, 10:09 PM E.S.T.

  zoegirl:

  maddie?

  zoegirl:

  are you there?

  zoegirl:

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

  Wed, Nov 10, 8:45 PM E.S.T.

  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: