Hit the Beach (19 page)

It really seemed, as they walked along, that anything—and everything—was possible in the outlandish world of Riverside Mini-Golf.

Madison only hoped that her adventure would continue
off
the mini-golf course, too—for a long, long time.

M
ADISON SAT AND COUNTED
shadows on the ceiling, but her eyelids would not close. She had many different things bouncing around inside her brain at the same time.

First there were Dad and Stephanie’s arguments.

Then there was the upcoming hatchling night.

And of course there was the flip-flop-flipping crush on Will.

Madison pulled out her best companion: her laptop. Thanks to Dad’s help, the laptop was working again.

She clicked open her e-mailbox. Aimee had sent her an e-mail with an attachment. It was a copy of some article that had just appeared in the Far Hills newspaper. Madison opened that file and read it first, with great interest.

Madison turned back to Aimee’s latest blog entry. It had been posted the night before, along with the short newspaper article.

08-17


So u probably read the article about my dance teacher’s studio since I e-mailed it to all of u. I cried ALL last nite. “>( Whatamigonnado?


Some of the other students think someone might take over the studio—they should!—but I don’t believe it. NO one can take over for Madame Elaine. It’s so weird b/c she was hard on me this yr. She was real picky about my dancing and my legwork but now—no one will be as good a teacher as her. Mom thinks they’re changing the space into a beauty salon or something! She heard that from Olga, that real estate broker who lives down the st. from us. That can’t be true, can it?


What if i have to go to Westlake or some other town to dance? I wish I knew what was REALLY happening. Madame Elaine is having this HUGE party for us all next wk. after the performances. She says we’ll all be pleasantly surprised by the plan for the studio. Whatever that means. I’m not pleasantly anything right now. You know it’s a bad scene when my brothers are being all nice to me about it. Last nite Roger was here for dinner & he brought me daisies!!! OMG!!! Billy, Dean, and Doug were all letting me watch whatever I wanted on TV. They NEVER do that. Mom and Dad must have told them to be nice to me. I know u guys would be sooooo supportive.


What will i do if I don’t have my dance classes???


I hope things are better in the other parts of the universe like CA, FL, and England. Nobody posted in the blog yesterday so everyone better post right now. I could use sum cheering up pleez.


CUL8R … xox


p.s.: don’t forget that when u all get back u have 2 come over & watch the video of me performing, ok?


Madison didn’t hesitate after reading Aimee’s e-mail. She got up off her bed, turned on the light, and slipped down the hallway.

Stephanie was sitting in the living room with a book. Dad was near her with his BlackBerry, poking at the buttons. Some kind of classical music was on the stereo—maybe Mozart. Or was it Beethoven? Madison always heard classical tunes playing at Dad’s apartment, and she was beginning to be able to tell one composer from another.

“Hey,” Madison said softly as she padded over to the sofa.

Stephanie was surprised to see Madison. “I didn’t even hear you walk in,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

Madison frowned. “Not really. I just checked my e-mail, and I got this note from Aimee, and she is so bummed out, and I just feel so bad …”

“What’s the matter with Aimee?” Stephanie asked.

Dad poked his head up. “Is there a problem?” he asked.

“It’s the most awful thing, but they’re closing Aim’s dance studio,” Madison said. “Can you believe it? Anyway, I wanted to ask if—I know it’s late—but I wanted to maybe call her up on the phone, to check in.”

Dad shrugged from across the room. “There’s the phone,” he said simply, pointing to it. “It’s still just before ten o’clock. Stephanie, do you have a problem with that?”

“Well, Aimee is probably asleep,” she said. “Won’t her parents mind?”

“A call from Maddie?” Dad laughed. “Trust me. Aimee’s mom and dad invented the words ‘laid back’—
way
back. They won’t care if it’s a call from Maddie. She’s practically part of their family, too.”

Madison knew that Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie probably wouldn’t even know she was calling, since they hardly ever picked up their phone. They always left the answering of the phone to their kids.

So, with Dad and Stephanie’s permission, Madison grabbed the portable and dialed Far Hills. It rang four times before someone picked up.

“Hello,” a voice grumbled. It was deep, and Madison could tell whose it was. “Is this Dean?” Madison asked.

“Who is this?” Dean replied.

Madison explained and then asked to speak with Aimee, who was not yet asleep, as Stephanie and Dad had suspected.

Aimee came to the phone right away.

“Hello?” Aimee asked politely. “Who is this?”

“Aim?” Madison said.

“
Maddie
!” Aimee squealed. “Oh, my God, did you get the telepathic signals I was sending you right now? I can’t believe this is really you on the telephone. I swear on a stack of Bibles I was just sitting here thinking about you this very minute, right now!”

Madison giggled. Aimee always branded herself a nonbeliever in things like fortune-telling and fate. Madison knew she was just being sarcastic, but she played along with Aimee’s rush of enthusiasm.

“I didn’t get any psycho—er, psychic—signals,” Madison joked. “But I had to call anyway.”

“You read my blog,” Aimee said matter-of-factly. “Didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Aim,” Madison said sympathetically.

“Isn’t it awful?” Aimee said.

“Well, you told me you didn’t really like Madame Elaine,” Madison said, trying to sound supportive without sounding dismissive.

“I didn’t—I don’t—” Aimee started to say. Her voice trembled a little bit as she spoke. She sounded as if she were still crying.

“Aim?” Madison asked slowly. “I’m giving you a very big hug right now, so you have to stop crying. Okay?”

There was heavy silence over the phone line.

“I can’t stop,” Aimee admitted, sobbing more softly now.

Madison hadn’t heard Aimee cry like that before, and she felt helpless being so far away.

“Vacation is almost over,” Madison said, trying to sound cheery. “Soon we’ll all be back at Far Hills in the classroom, and everything will go back to the way it was.”

“Except Madame Elaine’s,” Aimee said.

“I wish I were there,” Madison said. “So I could help you feel better.”

The silence over the phone line returned. Madison heard music playing softly in the background.

“I’m tired,” Aimee admitted. “I should go.”

“Okay,” Madison said.

“By the way, how’s camp?” Aimee asked before hanging up. “I’m sorry I didn’t even ask. And you haven’t posted a blog in a day or more.”

“Camp’s cool,” Madison said. “I know I need to write in the blog. I will. Promise. When we hang up.”

“Go write something now. I’ll check in the morning,” Aimee said. Madison thought it sounded as though Aimee were smiling.

“Good night, Aim,” Madison said.

As they hung up the phones, a dozen questions zipped into Madison’s head. How was Blossom (Aimee’s dog)? How was her dad’s bookstore, where Aimee sometimes worked part-time? And most important: how was Hart Jones? With all the other things on her mind, Madison had almost forgotten about Hart.

Almost.

The truth was that Hart was never very far from her thoughts.

Madison placed the portable phone back in its charger and headed back to her laptop. After all of the night’s blog entries, she needed to dash off a quick entry of her own.

When she returned to TweenBlurt.com, however, she found the unread entries from her other two BFFs. First there was a long, funny one from Lindsay.

08-17


This has been the most GROOViESt week of my life EVER. First I get to fly overseas with Dad—and from the things he’s saying, there’s still a good chance that he and my mom will get back together. I know it’s like a tennis match the way they stay and go from each other, but I still want them to work it out. WDIK!?


SO. That’s all irrelevant because of the amazing thing that happened yesterday. I am still shaking so let me start at the beginning—and NO laughing even though Maddie totally predicted this one. You guys are always saying that someday my prince would come. So here’s the update on all that. Instead of my prince coming to me—I came to my prince.


I MET PRINCE HARRY.


Seriously. Are you sitting down? I met him. In person. He actually SHOOK MY HAND!!!! Or, as the locals would say, “He shook my bloody hand!” LOL. (OF course my hand isn’t really bloody with blood but u know that, right? DUH.) So I met Prince Harry and what did I do? Almost fainted. Okay, that’s not exactly true but I did feel a little heady and dizzy for a split second. It all started when I went with Dad to see this free music concert in early evening near Hyde Park. I guess there was some charity event or something and we saw the motorcade so we were waiting with the other people. As it turns out we were standing at the EXACT spot where they got out of their limos. So there I was dressed in my fat pants (because I have been eating sooo much I don’t fit in my other clothes anymore LOL) and I basically came face to face with PRINCE HARRY. Ok, so there were like ten zillion police there too, so my view of the Prince was partially obscured. But then, as if that wasn’t good enough—he came over to greet us. He is very handsome in person. I wish it had been his brother and Kate, of course, b/c who doesn’t want to see Prince William and even little George! But Harry will do. LOL. I threw my arm out and up and then wiggled to the front of this barricade that had been set up on the spot. And there I was in the front, hand out—and his fingers touched my fingers for just a split second but our hands touched—OMG. I wanted to say hello or something—anything. I didn’t. I almost shut my eyes, actually. This has to be one of the top five days of my life. EVER.


P.S.: I know u won’t believe this but the best day in the galaxy got EVEN BETTER when I came back fm our day. There was an e-mail in my mailbox fm DAN. Can u believe it? I’m afraid 2 read it. It’s probably nothing but … :>)


P.P.S.: I come home tomorrow (Friday) psyched! We all get 2 c each other hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Madison laughed out loud.

The blogs didn’t end there. The cursor flashed on Fiona’s blog. She’d finally written a new entry, too. And much to Madison’s surprise, Fiona had a very different story to tell about Julio—and other topics—that day.

08-17


Only one thing on my mind this morning: I’m ready 2 come home. I love being back here in Los Gatos but I miss my life in Far Hills SOOOO MUCH. Isn’t that weird? I always was SUCH a California girl and now—I’m just NOT. You’ll be happy 2 know that Dad and Mom told me that they won’t be moving back to CA anytime soon, despite previous reports to the contrary. Dad was just feeling nostalgic (he says). I guess they talked about it pretty seriously but decided our new house (in FH) is great and our new schools (in FH) are great and our new life (w/all of U!) is great. We talked at dinner last nite. Even Chet said he didn’t want to come back—and he misses his CA skater friends way more than I miss my old friends.


P.S.: I told Maddie a little bit about seeing this old guy friend Julio when I was here. Well, it was just weird and nothing happened. NOTHING. I’ll tell u Aim & Lindsay more when I C U. I’ll be back home really late on Fri.


Madison sighed. After nearly two weeks apart, the four BFFs had been worried about how they’d survive. But they had survived intact. They’d uncovered new summer stories and revisited old summer stories. They’d met up with old friends and shared things with new friends. They’d found a dozen ways to hit the beach and make things really happen.