Double Dare Page 5
“Mrs. Wing?” someone yelled from across the room.
Madison looked up and saw the back of Egg’s head. He was in a terminal on the other side of class, waving his hand eagerly in the air.
“I’ll be there in just a minute, Walter,” Mrs. Wing said. She turned back to Lance, the student she was helping first, and pointed to the screen.
“That link isn’t working properly,” Mrs. Wing told Lance. “Are you sure the HTML coding is right?”
“I’ve checked it a hundred times,” he insisted.
“Let’s take a look together,” Mrs. Wing said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She was wearing a red wrap dress and a necklace of large amber beads. Her hair was done up in a loose French twist. Madison knew that if she tried that hairdo, it would look like a mess. But on Mrs. Wing, it looked prettier than pretty.
“Mrs. Wing!” Ben Buckley also called out her name. “Can you help me please? It’s an emergency!”
“Lance first, then Walter, then you,” Mrs. Wing said as she leaned over and typed on Lance’s keyboard. “And there’s no need to shout, Ben. That goes for everyone in this room. I’ll get around to all of you.”
Madison smiled. She loved the way Mrs. Wing never hurried, and always gave whoever she was helping her undivided attention.
After turning back to her computer screen, Madison scrolled down the page layout she and Fiona had put together so far. A headline moved across the top like a theater marquee: WELCOME TO MADISON AND FIONA’S HOMEWORK CENTER. Below that were icons for each of the subjects they wanted to cover: English, social studies, science, and others. Madison plugged in the new shark image as the icon for science. Even though it looked exciting, she needed to jazz up the page in a different way.
More pictures? More special effects? What was the name of the sound-bite site Bigwheels had recommended?
Animalbytes! Madison remembered and typed in the address. As she browsed and clicked, Madison discovered every animal and nature sound imaginable—and they were all free. Downloading the sound files was way easier than she had thought. Madison could even use the sounds for other purposes, too.
Like the PARTY!
The day before, when Madison and Aimee had brainstormed the content and design for Mrs. Waters’s surprise party e-vite, they were only thinking about the images and the words. What if Madison could figure out how to add sound to the invitation? She quickly surfed around in search of another sound site that would have the noise of a bowling ball knocking down pins in a bowling alley. With that noise and a little formatting, Madison would be ready to send the best multimedia e-vite ever.
“Mrs. Wing?” Egg yelled. His voice startled Madison.
“Please be patient, Walter, I’m coming,” Mrs. Wing said.
But an impatient Egg kept clicking his mouse as if he wanted to squash a bug onscreen. What was his problem? Madison wondered. Egg seemed grouchier than grouchy. Maybe he’s having trouble without Chet there to help?
WAIT! Madison thought. Why am I wracking my brain to figure this out? Egg will know how to add a sound to an e-vite! I should ask him!
The only trouble was that they weren’t really talking.
There were only a few minutes left before the bell and the end of class. Deciding that now was her chance to break their silence and get Egg’s undivided attention, Madison logged off and slipped out from behind her desk.
Egg saw her coming and scowled. “What are you looking at, Maddie?” he asked. “Trying to figure out what I’m doing for the computer contest?”
Madison rolled her eyes, but decided not to take the bait. “Actually, I came over here to talk to you about something totally different,” she said. “I have a secret and I could use your—”
“WHAT?” Egg snarled. He was still scowling, but he looked a little interested. “What?” he said again, nicer this time.
“You have to promise not to tell,” Madison said.
“Fine, I promise,” Egg said. “What?”
Madison leaned over and kept her voice low. “Mrs. Waters asked me and Aimee to help her plan a surprise party this Saturday for Fiona and Chet,” she said. “And so we’re making the electronic invitation.”
Egg’s eyebrows flew up. “Really?” he asked.
Madison nodded. “Yeah. Aimee and I came up with a list of people to invite for Fiona, but we don’t really know who to invite for Chet. I thought maybe you could help. And I’d like to add sound to the e-vite, but I’m not really sure….”
“Sure,” Egg said, smiling. “This is so cool, Maddie. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I have a million ideas.”
“I know,” Madison agreed. “Okay, so for the list of guys, I’ve got you and Drew, of course—”
“Did someone say my name?” Drew asked from his seat to the left of Egg. He leaned over and smiled at Madison.
“Can we tell him?” Egg asked.
Drew stared at Egg. “Tell me what?”
“Shh!” Madison said. “Okay, we can tell him. But you guys really can’t tell anyone else about this. If word gets around, the surprise will be totally ruined!”
“I won’t tell anyone anything,” Drew said. “Especially since I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Egg?” Madison asked.
“We promise, we promise,” Egg said. Then he turned to Drew. “Big surprise party for Chet this weekend,” he explained.
“No way,” Drew said. “Awesome!”
“It’s for Fiona, too,” Madison added.
“Duh, they’re twins,” Egg said. “So who’s invited?”
“That’s the question,” Madison said. “Any ideas?”
“Dan,” Drew said. “We’ve gotta have Dan there.”
“He’s on the list,” Madison said. “So is Hart. And Suresh.” Madison felt her cheeks start to burn at the mention of Hart’s name, and she hoped Egg and Drew wouldn’t notice.
“That’s cool,” Egg said. “What about Ben? He and Chet are pretty friendly.”
Madison bit her lip, thinking about how Aimee had vetoed Ben on Saturday. “Don’t you guys think he’s a little … obnoxious?” she asked.
Egg shrugged. “Yeah,” he said. “So? I’m obnoxious, too.”
Drew snorted the way he always did when he laughed at Egg’s wisecracks.
“Hey, Chet thinks Ben’s hilarious,” Drew added.
Madison sighed. “Okay,” she said. “He’s on the list.”
Just then, Mrs. Wing walked over. “I’m sorry, Walter. Samantha’s program was a little more complicated than I thought. But I can help you now.”
“Oh, it’s no problem, Mrs. Wing,” Egg said. “Madison and Drew are helping me.” Madison had to fight down a giggle. Egg was always extra-polite when he spoke to Mrs. Wing, because he had a little crush on her. It was sort of funny to watch him in action.
Mrs. Wing smiled at them. “Okay, great. Let me go help Ben before the bell rings.”
“Don’t you need to talk to her?” Madison asked Egg as Mrs. Wing walked away.
“I’ll catch her later, during free period,” Egg said. “This is more important.”
Madison smiled. That was just like the Egg she’d always known—friends always came first with him.
“Add Lance,” Drew blurted. “He sits with Chet at lunch sometimes.”
“Oh, yeah—he’s funny, too,” Egg added. “We can get you his e-mail address.”
“Great,” Madison said just as the bell rang. “Thanks, you guys.”
“No problem.” Egg stood up to leave.
“Now swear to me one more time that you won’t tell anyone about this,” Madison said. “No one.”
Egg snorted. “I already did,” he said, walking toward the door. Madison followed him, Drew right behind her.
“I mean it, Egg—you can’t tell anyone else,” Madison insisted as she stepped into the crowded hall.
“Yeah, yeah,” Egg said.
“We won’t, Maddie,” Drew promised. “It’s o
kay, don’t worry.”
“Hey, Chet!” Egg called. “Over here!”
Madison froze. Chet was walking right toward her. And Hart was with him! “Oh my gosh!” Madison whispered. “Egg—what are you doing?”
“Would you relax, Maddie?” Egg whispered. “It would look bizarre for me to suddenly stop talking to Chet, right?”
Madison nodded as Chet and Hart walked up to them.
“Hey, guys,” Chet said. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, Finnster,” Hart said, giving Madison a smile. “How are you?”
“Oh, not much,” Madison said, and immediately wanted to kick herself. She’d expected Hart to ask her what she was up to, not how she was. “I mean, I’m not feeling like much,” she tried to cover, “you know, kind of like a four on a scale from one to ten.”
Egg stared at her. “How does your mind work?” he teased.
“A four?” Hart said. “That doesn’t sound so good. Are you feeling sick or something?” Madison loved the way Hart’s voice went up when he asked a question and he got a cute little crease between his eyebrows when he looked concerned. Especially when the person he was concerned about was her.
“Maybe I just ate bad chicken tenders in the cafeteria or something,” Madison fibbed.
“You’d better get well by Saturday,” Egg said.
“Saturday?” Madison repeated. “What about Saturday?”
If Hart hadn’t been standing right there, Madison would have socked Egg in the arm. Had she not just made him swear, like, five times that he wouldn’t say anything about the party? She shot him the Look of Death.
“Yeah, what’s happening Saturday?” Chet asked.
“Oh—nothing,” Madison said quickly. “Nothing at all.”
Chet looked at her expectantly.
“Well, it’s the weekend,” Hart started to say.
“And Egg and I are going in-line skating,” Madison improvised. “In the park. Wanna come?”
“We are?” Egg asked. Madison elbowed him in the rib. “Oh, right!” he said.
“I love in-line skating,” Hart said. “Do you guys mind if I come, too?”
Madison’s heart nearly exploded out of her chest. She’d been waiting for a moment like this. So what if the plans were fake?
“Sure!” she cried. “I’ll e-mail you where and when.” He’d find out about the real Saturday plan later on.
“Wait,” Hart said. “Let me give you my e-mail address.”
Madison reached into her bag for her notebook—but it wasn’t there. She, of course, already knew Hart’s e-mail address because he had once sent her an e-mail. But she couldn’t let him know that she had saved it. And memorized it! “Drag,” Madison said with a groan. “I left my notebook back in class.”
“Well, don’t just stand there,” Egg said. “Go get it. I have Hart’s e-mail address—I’ll let him know what time we’re getting together to go in-line skating.” He gave Madison a smile, showing her that he was playing along.
“Okay,” Madison said, half-trusting Egg to keep his mouth shut about the party. “See you guys later.”
She turned and trotted back down the hall, disappointed that she couldn’t stay and talk to Hart. But then again, she really would see him on Saturday if he came to the party.
“Hello, Madison,” Mrs. Wing said as Madison dashed back into the computer lab. She was perched behind her desk, working on her own computer.
“Hi, Mrs. Wing,” Madison said, scanning the room. Her orange notebook sat on the desk as if it were patiently awaiting her return.
Mrs. Wing stopped typing. “I’m glad you’re here, Madison. I have something for you, but I didn’t want to give it to you in front of the other kids.”
Madison walked over to Mrs. Wing’s large wooden desk at the front of the room. Its surface was covered with funny little things—a wand full of sparkles, a purple plastic Slinky, and a bendable orange giraffe. Madison’s eye fell on a framed picture. A tall man with dark hair and a bright smile was kneeling, his arms wrapped around a wire-haired terrier. Madison knew the man in the photo—Mrs. Wing’s husband, Dr. Wing. He was a veterinarian who worked at the Far Hills Animal Clinic, where Madison volunteered.
Mrs. Wing noticed Madison looking at the photo. “Have you been down to the clinic lately?” she asked. “Fleet, one of the collies, just had puppies.”
“You’re kidding!” Madison said.
“No—you have to see them,” Mrs. Wing gushed. “They are so cute!”
“I will,” Madison promised. She loved Phin, but couldn’t resist other dogs, too.
“Here’s what I wanted to give to you,” Mrs. Wing said, pulling open a desk drawer. Carefully, she picked out a flat plastic box and handed it to Madison. “This is just a little thank-you for all of your hard work on the school website. I know how much you like animals—”
“It’s a panda bear flash drive!” Madison squealed. “Oh, thank you, Mrs. Wing! I don’t know what to say!” Without even thinking, she leaned over and gave Mrs. Wing a hug. “What’s on it?”
“All sorts of photographs from the animal kingdom,” Mrs. Wing beamed. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”
“I love it!” Madison said. She was luckier than lucky to have Mrs. Wing as her teacher. What teachers gave students gifts? Madison wasn’t sure what she wanted to be when she grew up. But she knew she wanted to be like Mrs. Wing.
“You’d better get to class,” Mrs. Wing said. “I think the second bell is about to ring.”
“I’ll hurry,” Madison said as she trotted to the door. She paused with her hand on the knob. “And thanks a zillion.”
Mrs. Wing waved her hand with a “Shucks, it’s nothing” gesture.
“Any time,” she said.
And Madison knew she meant it.
“Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes,” Mom called upstairs.
Madison was sprawled across her bed, working on her laptop. “Okay!” she said absently as she pulled up her latest file. Outside, rain pattered against her bedroom window. Thundershowers always put Madison in the writing mood.
Double Dare
Rude Awakening: To boot or not to boot, that is the question. So far in seventh grade, I’ve downloaded way more than I can handle.
Did I say download? More like overload. Fiona’s party is only days away, and Aimee and I haven’t even sent out the invitations yet. And now (stupidly?) I asked for Egg’s help with the guest list. I’m afraid that he’s going to go blabbing about the party all over town! Why did I ever think that he could keep his big mouth shut?
At least the webpage Fiona and I are working on is finally starting to come together. That is, I think it is. There is still a lot of work to do—and I need to add those sound bytes. But when will we finish it? This weekend is completely shot because of the party.
We have to pull this off. I don’t care if I have to surf every homework page on the Internet 24/7. Egg made a big mistake when he dared me to enter the contest.
BIGGER than big.
Madison closed the file and logged on to TweenBlurt.com. When she checked her buddy list, she saw Balletgrl was online.
d. And I am, too. We have to finish the invite tho. When can I C U?
Madison logged off. “Let’s go, Phinnie, time for dinner,” she told her dog, who was busy sniffing the backs of her legs. Pugs could be so weird sometimes.
But not as weird as some people she knew.
What on earth was Egg thinking when he talked to Aimee about the party? Madison wanted to call up Egg that very moment and remind him that he was sworn to secrecy—but decided against it. She’d reminded him so many times already. At this rate, Egg just might start blabbing to get on Madison’s nerves.
Even though there was work to be done, Madison was glad Fiona’s party was only a few days away. The faster the party date arrived, the less chance Egg would have to blow the surprise!
Chapter 7
“HI, MR. BOOKS,” MADISON said as she pulled a pen out of her backpack. School had just let out, and she had come to the library to finish up some work.
Top-secret work.
“Hello, Madison,” Mr. Books replied. He looked at her with mild blue eyes. Madison thought that Mr. Books should have been a secret agent instead of a librarian. It was always so difficult to tell what he was thinking. He passed her the computer log-in notebook like a spy.
“Name and time,” he instructed in a low voice. “It’s three-thirty on the dot.”
Madison scribbled her name on a blank space and started to push the log notebook toward Mr. Books. Her eye spotted another name in the log—Chet Waters? Madison grabbed the notebook back toward her to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks.
“Is everything all right, Ms. Finn?” Mr. Books asked. He slammed his hand on the log protectively, as though it were something precious that Madison might try to steal.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Madison said, sliding the book back toward him. She glanced around the room. Chet was somewhere in the library. She’d have to be very, very careful about everything she worked on up here.