zoegirl:
absolutely
mad maddie:
she needs to lighten up about this whole rob and tonnie deal. if there IS something going on b/w rob and tonnie, then angela should drop rob on his ass and be done with it. and if there ISN’T, then rob should drop angela on hers, cuz i’m sure she’s driving him just as nuts as she’s driving us.
zoegirl:
you don’t think tonnie’s t-r-o-u-b-l-e?
mad maddie:
HA! she bitched about that to u too! when u KNOW she would totally wear that shirt herself if she’d found it first.
zoegirl:
that thought did cross my mind…
mad maddie:
ah, well. so we’ll go to this party at carl’s and it’ll be dorky, but that’s ok cuz we’ll be together.
zoegirl:
yeah, but don’t say anything to my mom about it. (not that u would.) hey, i’ve got to finish this essay, k?
mad maddie:
sure, sure. such a good girl you are.
mad maddie:
i’m a good girl too, tho. wanna know why?
zoegirl:
why?
mad maddie:
cuz i changed my very own sheets this afternoon. aren’t i so virtuous?
zoegirl:
you are the queen of virtue, yes.
mad maddie:
it’d been over two months. they were starting to reek!
Fri, Sept 24, 7:29 PM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
maddie, i sure hope yr getting dolled up for the party. r u getting dolled up for the party?
mad maddie:
angela, u promised u weren’t gonna get all freaky about this. i don’t do “dolled up,” remember?
SnowAngel:
yeah, but zoe’s already here and rob’s gonna be here any minute, and then we’re coming to pick up u and stupid tonnie. i just want everything to go well.
mad maddie:
lighten up—it’s just a party.
mad maddie:
what r u wearing? i know how u love to discuss these things, and i’m pretty sure that’s the real reason u txted. so go on. lay it on me.
SnowAngel:
well… *since* you asked. attire: swirly dragon t-shirt, white jeans (i read recently that guys LOVE girls in white jeans), sapphire ring, my red heels from zappos. scent: vanilla musk.
mad maddie:
fab
SnowAngel:
and u?
mad maddie:
gray sweats and the pops’ wifebeater shirt
SnowAngel:
maddie!
mad maddie:
jk
SnowAngel:
eeek—rob’s here! he just pulled in the drive. SEE U SOON!!!
Sat, Sept 25, 10:43 AM E.D.T.
mad maddie:
some party last night, hmm?
zoegirl:
ack. and that’s i why i HATE parties. why does angela never believe me when i tell her i hate parties?!!!
mad maddie:
i know what u mean. i always feel awkward, like i don’t belong.
zoegirl:
yeah, right, miss thang. i saw you shaking your booty to all the dance songs.
mad maddie:
for your information, i was dancing ironically.
zoegirl:
you were a dancing fool
mad maddie:
whatevs. it’s cuz i had a couple of beers.
zoegirl:
uh… yeah. everybody had a couple of beers except for me, even kristin and megan who last year didn’t drink at all.
zoegirl:
and then everyone looked at me like “ooo, geek girl,” like i was going to report them to the honor council.
mad maddie:
so just have a beer, for crying out loud!
zoegirl:
no thanks
mad maddie:
is it cuz of christ our lord? cuz he drank the wine, zo.
zoegirl:
i’m not going to drink just because other people do, thank you very much. it’s stupid.
zoegirl:
mr. h told me that he used to be a total hellion, that he’d drive around with his buddies and bash in trash cans and stuff. but then he realized he was just doing it to be cool, so he stopped.
zoegirl:
he says it takes strength to be true to yourself.
mad maddie:
mr. h claimed to be a *hellion*?
zoegirl:
well, yeah. so?
mad maddie:
and he used that very word? “hellion”?? it’s like he’s trying to be all badass to impress u.
zoegirl:
he also told me how he used to only listen to metal bands, but he doesn’t anymore, now that he’s a christian.
mad maddie:
this just gets better and better. does he tell everyone this stuff, or just u?
zoegirl:
he’s NICE, maddie. he listens to me. he cares what i have to say.
zoegirl:
and i might as well tell you, i think i’m going to go to church with him tomorrow.
mad maddie:
wtf?!!
zoegirl:
well, ok, i AM going to church with him tomorrow.
mad maddie:
WTF?!!!!!
zoegirl:
he invited me on the way to fellowship on friday. it sounds cool.
zoegirl:
there’s nothing wrong with trying it out.
mad maddie:
zoe, are angela and i gonna have to hire a deprogrammer to come rescue u from some cabin? r u gonna become mr. h’s love slave?
zoegirl:
you’re so overreacting. it’s a CHURCH, maddie.
mad maddie:
how r u gonna get there? oh god, is he picking u up? is this a DATE?
zoegirl:
maddie…
mad maddie:
what does your mom say about all this?
zoegirl:
she thinks it’s fine. she thinks it’s good that i’m broadening my horizons.
mad maddie:
one way to put it…
mad maddie:
so IS he picking u up? u avoided the question.
zoegirl:
yes, maddie, he’s picking me up. but it’s NO. BIG. DEAL.
mad maddie:
uh huh. *extremely* fishy.
zoegirl:
i knew you were going to act like this. i totally knew it. i thought, because you are my FRIEND, that i should include you in my life, but your attitude is really bugging me.
mad maddie:
well, sorreee
zoegirl:
i’ve got to go. i’ve got a ton of homework.
mad maddie:
but… but… we didn’t get to gossip about rob and angela!
zoegirl:
drat. oh well.
mad maddie:
did i tell u i saw rob grab tonnie’s ass on the way to the keg?
zoegirl:
u DID?
mad maddie:
well, not exactly, but he laughed at her stupid jokes all night. i hate “dumb blond” jokes, and i’m not even blond.
zoegirl:
yes u are
mad maddie:
i’m dirty blond. doesn’t count!
Sun, Sept 26, 11:32 AM E.D.T.
mad maddie:
lovely morning, isn’t it? the birds r singing, the sun is shining, the bald man from across the street has shut off his cursed lawn mower…
SnowAngel:
what makes u so chipper today?
mad maddie:
moi? nothing, other than the fact that i had a great time at work last night. speaking of, what happened to u and rob? i thought u two were gonna come by and have an order of huey’s delicious beignets.
SnowAngel:
i thought so too, but all rob wanted to do was hang out in his basement and play pool. said he was stil
l hungover from carl’s party.
mad maddie:
oh. that sounds fun. i guess.
SnowAngel:
it was boring.
SnowAngel:
what happened at huey’s?
mad maddie:
the kitchen guy, sam, found a roach under one of the counters, a really, really big one with long, waving antennas.
SnowAngel:
ewwwwww!
mad maddie:
it gets better. r u ready?
SnowAngel:
no
mad maddie:
he microwaved it.
SnowAngel:
maddie!!! EWWWWW!!!!
mad maddie:
and then phil, the manager, came back and saw what was going on, cuz all the kitchen guys were cheering and making a lot of noise. he fired sam on the spot.
SnowAngel:
and this is why u had such a great time at work? a roach got murdered and the kitchen guy was fired?
mad maddie:
nooooooo, just be patient. remember that cute waiter ur always going on about?
SnowAngel:
*perks up* the shy one with the adorable dimples?
mad maddie:
well, his name’s ian. he and i were standing over to the side while all this was going on, and we kept giving each other looks, like, “do u believe this?” and once he leaned close to say something, and his arm brushed mine.
SnowAngel:
ah-HA!
mad maddie:
and after work we sat outside and listened to an awesome playlist he’d made of old-time blues masters, like sonny boy williamson.
SnowAngel:
omg!!! *dance, dance*
mad maddie:
calm down. he knows i like music, that’s all.
SnowAngel:
yeah right, that’s all. go, mads!!!
Mon, Sept 27, 7:19 PM E.D.T.
SnowAngel:
so i didn’t see u after 6th period and i have to know: was it weird seeing mr. h in class, after going to church with him and everything?
zoegirl:
it kind of was, actually. not bad-weird, just… weird, because i feel like i know him as so much more than a teacher, u know?
SnowAngel:
like how?
zoegirl:
going to church with him AT ALL, first of all. you don’t usually go to church with one of your teachers, right?
zoegirl:
and then we just had such good conversations on the way to and from alpharetta, where his church is. it was a long drive, so we got to talk A LOT. he’s so interesting, angela, and he knows so much about spirituality. i know maddie makes fun of him, but i really admire him.
SnowAngel:
do u think HE thought it was weird today?
zoegirl:
i don’t know. i may have been making it up. in fact, i probably was. but sometimes it seemed like he was giving me these looks, like he and i shared a secret.
zoegirl:
or not a *secret*, more like just the knowledge of the special time we had together.
zoegirl:
agh, that sounds corny.
SnowAngel:
huh
SnowAngel:
zo, don’t get offended… but do u think he’s hitting on u? just a little?
zoegirl:
PLEASE
zoegirl:
anyway, he told me that he doesn’t believe in dating just for the sake of dating. he only wants to date someone if he thinks she might be a person he’d like to marry.
SnowAngel:
what if yr that person?
zoegirl:
i’m 15, angela.
SnowAngel:
so?
zoegirl:
although something happened that was sort of funny. when he dropped me off after church, he reached over to open my door for me, and it was a little awkward because his body was, like, right there. soooo close. and then he half-laughed and started to say something, but he stopped himself.
zoegirl:
i said, “what?” and he said, “i’ll, ah, tell you when you’re older.”
SnowAngel:
zoe!!!!!
zoegirl:
DON’T tell maddie.
SnowAngel:
i won’t
SnowAngel:
but do u like him? as in, like him like him?
zoegirl:
he’s my teacher, angela.
SnowAngel:
how old do u think he is, anyway?
zoegirl:
he’s 24. he told me.
SnowAngel:
that’s not that much older than u. that’s only 9 years. my dad is 11 years older than my mom. *waggles eyebrows*
zoegirl:
well, it doesn’t matter because he’s my teacher. time to change the subject.
SnowAngel:
wow. u and mr. h.
zoegirl:
angela!
SnowAngel:
ok, ok. so u wanna hear something sad? chrissy got home from school today and said—to me—“my friend lena thinks ur cute, but not pretty.”
SnowAngel:
nice, huh? oh, and that chrissy, on the other hand, was pretty as well as cute. as in, prettier than me. BLAH!
zoegirl:
oh, angela. what does lena know, whoever she is?
SnowAngel:
i know, but still. “cute but not pretty”?
SnowAngel:
and then chrissy saw that she’d hurt my feelings, and she tried to apologize by telling me she loved me. the whole thing was pathetic.
zoegirl:
angela? this lena chick is in 7th grade. she knows NOTHING.
SnowAngel:
u know what the worst part was? how ashamed i felt, in this embarrassed, low-down way.
zoegirl:
no! stop! you have *nothing* to feel ashamed of! first of all, you’re gorgeous—you know you’re the prettiest of you, me, and maddie—and second of all, it doesn’t matter what anybody says.
SnowAngel:
do you think chrissy’s prettier than i am?
SnowAngel:
ugh, i can’t believe i’m even asking this. *sticks head in toilet bowl out of pathetic-ness*
zoegirl:
chrissy’s a kid, angela. she’s got purple braces.
SnowAngel:
my mom thinks chrissy’s prettier. i know cuz one time i said it out loud, like, “i know chrissy’s prettier than me, but that’s ok,” and mom didn’t contradict me. she said we all have our special qualities.
zoegirl:
angela…
SnowAngel:
and to top everything off, rob is being a total penis-head. the only time i got to see him was before french, and he talked to matthew curtis the whole time, which pissed me off.
SnowAngel:
but then i started thinking that it was just as much my fault that we didn’t talk, so i called after school to see if i cld go to his house and hang out, thinking maybe that would make everything fun again.
zoegirl:
and?
SnowAngel:
he had some friends over, so he said he’d call me back.
zoegirl:
and??
SnowAngel:
eventually he did. and we talked for a while, and i thought it was going well. *i* thought i was being interesting, even tho he wasn’t really responding.
SnowAngel:
then i finished telling him about a dream i’d had and there was absolute silence.
zoegirl:
oh no
SnowAngel:
then, really abruptly, he goes, “well, i’ll see u tomorrow, ok?” just out of the blue. it was seriously pretty rude.
zoegirl:
i agree—and strange too.
SnowAngel:
i know! he didn’t say, “listen, angela, i’ve gotta go,” or anything like that. he just went, “i’ll c u tomorrow,” smack in the m
iddle of the conversation.
zoegirl:
he’s a jerk
SnowAngel:
except he’s NOT, zoe!
SnowAngel:
maybe it’s not healthy to like someone as much as i like him, but i can’t help it. when things are good b/w us, they’re so so good. he’s, like, my soul mate, i swear to god.
zoegirl:
i hate to point this out, but you’ve only been going out with him for a week and a half.
SnowAngel:
two weeks exactly. today is our anniversary.
zoegirl:
angela…