Ttfn Read online

  Tues, Dec 7, 1:48 PM E.S.T.

  mad maddie:

  hi, zo. me again. do u feel like ur being spied on?

  zoegirl:

  maddie, what are you doing here? this isn’t your free.

  mad maddie:

  peaches doesn’t care. she loves me. anywayz, the media center isn’t your own private idaho.

  mad maddie:

  have u told angela?

  zoegirl:

  no, because i’m being stalked by a deranged lunatic who thinks it’s more fun to text and make waggly eyebrows than to JUST COME OVER AND TALK TO ME.

  mad maddie:

  okey-doke, i’ll come over and talk to you. in a nice loud voice that everyone can hear.

  zoegirl:

  on second thought, don’t. i’ll tell angela as soon as i get home from school. are you satisfied? now go away. i have to finish this paper!

  Tues, Dec 7, 3:45 PM E.S.T.

  mad maddie:

  *singsong voice* yr home from school! HAVE U TOLD HER?

  zoegirl:

  you’re a freak. i’m calling her right now. bye!

  Tues, Dec 7, 4:12 PM E.S.T.

  zoegirl:

  hi, maddie. it’s me.

  mad maddie:

  oh really? u mean someone didn’t steal yr phone? awesome!

  zoegirl:

  shut up, smarty-pants.

  zoegirl:

  i just wanted to tell you that i called angela, just like i said i would, but i didn’t tell her about doug.

  mad maddie:

  omg. what’s your excuse this time?

  zoegirl:

  they sold the house, mads. her mom sold the house.

  mad maddie:

  WHAT?!!!

  zoegirl:

  they’re moving as soon as finals are over!!!

  mad maddie:

  as soon as

  mad maddie:

  zoe, that’s less than 2 weeks!

  zoegirl:

  i know

  mad maddie:

  i just

  mad maddie:

  i don’t even

  mad maddie:

  they’re seriously moving? this is real?

  zoegirl:

  angela could barely get the words out, she was crying so hard.

  mad maddie:

  holy fucking shit

  mad maddie:

  where r they gonna LIVE?

  zoegirl:

  the apartment mr. silver rented has three bedrooms, so they’ll join him there. i guess that was the plan all along.

  zoegirl:

  what are we gonna do, maddie?

  mad maddie:

  i have no flipping idea

  mad maddie:

  but for now, we better get going.

  zoegirl:

  where, to angela’s?

  mad maddie:

  where else?!

  Thu, Dec 9, 9:14 PM E.S.T.

  zoegirl:

  hey, mads. did you read angela’s FB status? it’s so sad.

  mad maddie:

  i know. i was gonna txt her, but all those scowly faces made me think, “ooo, better back off.”

  zoegirl:

  i had the same thought, but then i realized that right now is when she needs us the most. so i called her—and she sounded *very* depressed.

  mad maddie:

  well, duh. she’s moving 3,000 miles away.

  zoegirl:

  it was like she wasn’t even angela anymore. her voice was all pale and listless, and she kept saying, “this sucks. this just totally sucks.”

  mad maddie:

  that’s how she was at lunch too

  zoegirl:

  i tried in my nicest way to suggest that being depressed isn’t gonna help anything, and she goes, “i think it’s an appropriate response, zoe.” like i was being stupid for trying to cheer her up.

  mad maddie:

  we shld do something fun tomorrow night. maybe that would help.

  zoegirl:

  yeah, sounds good. i feel bad that i can’t do something with her tomorrow night *and* saturday night, but i’ve got to work.

  mad maddie:

  where u’ll c doug, nudge-nudge, wink-wink

  mad maddie:

  u still haven’t told angela, have u?

  zoegirl:

  it’s so not the point right now. it would just make her feel worse.

  mad maddie:

  ur playing with fire, zoe. mark my words, this is gonna come back and bite u on the ass!

  Fri, Dec 10, 4:44 PM E.S.T.

  mad maddie:

  hey, gal. since u never decided what u wanna do tonight, zoe and i decided for u. put your party hat on … cuz we’re going BOWLING!!!

  SnowAngel:

  *lifts head from the depths of hell* bowling?

  mad maddie:

  chop-chop! if we get there early, we can beat the rush.

  SnowAngel:

  there’s a rush to go bowling?

  mad maddie:

  on a friday night? we’re talking high drama, baby. ker-ash! she scores another strike!

  SnowAngel:

  i haven’t gone bowling since last year when i went with doug and steve and chrissy. doug and steve slipped notes into the holes in chrissy’s ball and pretended they were from a mystery admirer, remember?

  SnowAngel:

  that was so fun. but nothing will ever be fun again.

  mad maddie:

  YES IT WILL. oh, and be sure to wear crappy shoes. don’t ask—just do it.

  SnowAngel:

  pardon me, but i don’t own any crappy shoes

  SnowAngel:

  hey, do u think doug would come with us if we called him? maybe that’s what i need to perk me up, a dose of doug-love.

  mad maddie:

  er … no doug. this is a girls’ night, full of bonding and wacky hijinks.

  SnowAngel:

  right, right

  SnowAngel:

  but i have been thinking … maybe, before i leave, i’ll give doug something to remember me by. *wink, wink* he’s certainly waited for it long enough.

  mad maddie:

  angela, no

  SnowAngel:

  why? it would be the thrill of his life.

  mad maddie:

  bad idea. trust me.

  SnowAngel:

  yeah, i guess it wouldn’t be fair. *sigh*

  mad maddie:

  that’s right. leave the poor guy alone.

  SnowAngel:

  altho who said love was fair? and long-distance relationships CAN work, u know …

  mad maddie:

  FORGET ABOUT DOUG

  mad maddie:

  now go dig thru your closet and find your rattiest sneaks. i’m coming to pick u up!

  Sat, Dec 11, 10:00 AM E.S.T.

  SnowAngel:

  morning, zo

  zoegirl:

  morning, angela. are you wearing your super-duper very own pair of official bowling shoes?

  SnowAngel:

  at ten in the morning? i’m in my bunny slippers, sweetheart.

  SnowAngel:

  but yeah, i’ve got them right here beside me. *pats hideous bowling shoes lovingly* i didn’t think we were gonna have fun … but we did, didn’t we?

  zoegirl:

  especially when you threw your ball into that truck driver’s lane. (snicker, snicker)

  SnowAngel:

  he could have been MUCH more understanding. it’s not like i meant to.

  zoegirl:

  and then you knocked over his beer when you went to reclaim it, ya big klutz.

  zoegirl:

  poor guy!

  SnowAngel:

  poor me! i’m under a lot of stress, zoe. i’m leaving in 6 days!!!

  zoegirl:

  what i don’t get is why you just didn’t tell the truck driver guy that you spilled his beer, instead of leaving it glopped on the floor in a puddle. if you’d cleaned it up right then, nothing else would h
ave happened.

  SnowAngel:

  i didn’t tell him cuz i didn’t want him yelling at me again. duh!

  zoegirl:

  and that strategy sure worked

  SnowAngel:

  it’s not MY fault. who knew beer was so sticky?

  zoegirl:

  and who knew our truck driver friend would attempt his patented foot-slide approach right after stepping smack into it?

  SnowAngel:

  i think he needs to alter his diet. a slimmer man wouldn’t have fallen so hard.

  zoegirl:

  too many cheese fries

  SnowAngel:

  at least it caused a distraction as we stole our shoes. frankly, zo, i’m still surprised you went along with it.

  zoegirl:

  the operative word is “trade,” angela. we gave them a more than fair trade.

  SnowAngel:

  in your case, maybe. i gave them a pair of chrissy’s old tap shoes from when she used to take lessons.

  zoegirl:

  um, angela? why did u just insert a pirate smiley?

  SnowAngel:

  i dunno. cuz it’s cute?

  zoegirl:

  you’re such a goof

  zoegirl:

  so what are you doing for the rest of the day?

  SnowAngel:

  i’m PACKING. how’s that for a mood kill?

  zoegirl:

  oh, angela

  SnowAngel:

  come keep me company, please-please-pleasy-please?

  zoegirl:

  sure, only i have to go to work at 5:00. and at some point, i should probably study for finals.

  SnowAngel:

  finals. *vomit*

  SnowAngel:

  there is no way i can be expected to study when my whole life is being ripped apart.

  zoegirl:

  maybe we can study together after i help u pack.

  SnowAngel:

  just come over. i don’t care what we do, as long as i’m not alone!

  Sun, Dec 12, 3:30 PM E.S.T.

  mad maddie:

  hey, a-boogie

  SnowAngel:

  hey, m-boogie

  SnowAngel:

  how long r u gonna stay on this “boogie” kick?

  mad maddie:

  for-boogie-ever. got a problem wid dat?

  SnowAngel:

  ur a freak

  SnowAngel:

  so wazzup?

  mad maddie:

  nothing, just procrastinating. i SHLD be studying, but let’s just say i’m not.

  mad maddie:

  wanna go get krispy kremes?

  SnowAngel:

  heck yeah!

  mad maddie:

  boogie-licious!

  Mon, Dec 13, 5:23 PM E.S.T.

  zoegirl:

  hey, angela. guess what happened in biology today?

  SnowAngel:

  what?

  zoegirl:

  mr. mack tripped on the smart-board cable, and he went down hard. he hit his head on his desk and ended up with a gash from his eyebrow to his hairline. blood. everywhere. it was crazy.

  SnowAngel:

  poor mr. mack!

  zoegirl:

  he’s okay. head wounds bleed a lot even when they’re pretty minor, he said. but for the rest of the period (after taping a paper towel bandage to his head with masking tape), he pretended to have amnesia. every time someone asked a question about our exam, he’d be like, “what’s your name again?”

  SnowAngel:

  that’s gonna be me at my stupid new school. i won’t know a single person’s name except stupid glendy.

  SnowAngel:

  i wish I’D get clonked on my head—at least then i’d be put out of my misery.

  zoegirl:

  angela!

  zoegirl:

  i told you about mr. mack to cheer you up, not make you more depressed!

  SnowAngel:

  oh

  SnowAngel:

  well … ha

  zoegirl:

  that wasn’t very convincing

  SnowAngel:

  HAHAHAHAHA

  SnowAngel:

  was that better?

  zoegirl:

  er, thanks for trying

  SnowAngel:

  yeah, u too

  Tues, Dec 14, 4:09 PM E.S.T.

  zoegirl:

  i can’t believe finals start tomorrow—help!

  SnowAngel:

  which means only 3 more days until … never mind.

  zoegirl:

  i know

  zoegirl:

  that’s all i can think about, even though i’ve *got* to focus on studying.

  SnowAngel:

  there’s no way i’m getting any studying done. i’ve just accepted it.

  SnowAngel:

  sorry i’m typing so slow, btw. i cut my thumb on the packing tape dispenser, and the band-aid’s making things tricky.

  zoegirl:

  that’s okay

  SnowAngel:

  ms. higgins gave us the question for our take-home essay. wanna hear it?

  zoegirl:

  sure

  SnowAngel:

  it’s awful. it’s like she WANTS to torture me, as if that was her evil plan. “using any three works of literature from this semester, discuss the following quote: ‘home is where the heart is.’ support your position with examples.”

  zoegirl:

  oh man

  SnowAngel:

  i know

  SnowAngel:

  hey zo … do u ever just feel sad for no reason?

  zoegirl:

  i do, yeah.

  SnowAngel:

  me too

  SnowAngel:

  *sigh*

  SnowAngel:

  guess my bracelet didn’t work, huh?

  zoegirl:

  what bracelet?

  zoegirl:

  oh, your “believe” bracelet

  SnowAngel:

  i kept thinking that maybe this was all a joke, that maybe it would all go away. i’ve been closing my eyes and rubbing the “believe” part, as if my wish might actually come true. isn’t that stupid?

  zoegirl:

  not stupid at all. i wish it *would* come true.

  SnowAngel:

  oh well

  zoegirl:

  i don’t want u to move, angela.

  SnowAngel:

  me neither

  Wed, Dec 15, 6:59 PM E.S.T.

  zoegirl:

  three finals down, two to go!

  SnowAngel:

  zoegirl:

  i hear you. it’s like, yay that we’re over half done, but the pressure’s still on.

  zoegirl:

  i’ve been mowing my way through my mongo bag of snack-size snickers, which i convinced my mom i have to have in order to study. i don’t know how it started, but now every year at exam time she stocks up on snickers and coke.

  SnowAngel:

  while my mom, on the other hand, asks questions like, “have u cleaned out your closet yet? the moving truck will be here tomorrow afternoon, u know.”

  zoegirl:

  do you have to be there for that? because maddie and i want to take you out, since it’s your … you know.

  SnowAngel:

  since it’s my last night in atlanta?

  zoegirl:

  yeah. we want to spend every minute we can with you.

  SnowAngel:

  at least someone does.

  SnowAngel:

  other than you two, do you know that hardly ANYONE has acted the slightest bit devastated that i’m moving? they act sad for like a second, and then they’re all, “omg, have u finished your take-home yet? have u memorized the formulas for chemistry?”

  zoegirl:

  people just don’t know how to handle it, angela. everyone hates it that you’re leaving.

  SnowAngel:

  it’s like when u get a haircut and u go to school all self-conscious
and waiting for ppl to comment on it, and then no one notices at all. that’s what it’s gonna be like when i’m gone.

  zoegirl:

  not for us, angela

  zoegirl:

  you will leave a hole the size of france.

  Wed, Dec 15, 7:12 PM E.S.T.

  SnowAngel:

  me again. my mom says it’s fine if i go out with u guys tomorrow night. she said she already assumed that’s what i’d be doing.