Only the Lonely Read Online Free PDF Page A

again.
    Madison scanned the list of names currently logged onto the chat pages. A moderator (also known as a Shark) led off the list. (The sites were required to have some Web police person who tried to keep people from cursing or saying nasty things to the other members.)
Shark
    TimTrav
    Cuteguy87
    Mystake
    Wuzupgrl
    PC_cake
    Bethiscool
    AuroraLiv
    Peacefish
    HelPer
    Bigwheels
    Bigwheels?
    Madison couldn’t believe it. Her “only the lonely” chat buddy was somewhere on the site—right now. That meant Madison could IM her. IM stood for Insta-message. It was like having a live conversation on the computer.
    : hey bigwheels remember me only the
    : lonely?
    In less than ten seconds, a message back popped up.
    : Hello!!! Oh WOW its u! 2K4W!! HIG?
    : 2K4W? HIG?
    : 2 kool 4 words! Howz It Going? LOL
    : ya LOL
    : I thought about what u said B4 about being alone I am alone a lot too
    : when does your school start????
    : next week and my friend is comin home
    : I cantbelieve u looked me up sooo KOOL
    : ;>) I WANNA BE KEYPALS OR WHATEVER oops sorry I hit capslock
    : ok em me it’s just bigwheels@email
    : madfinn@email too
    : hey BRB
    : Hello??
    : Are you AFK?
    BRB meant “be right back.”
    AFK meant “away from keyboard.”
    Madison had learned how to text from Egg and she loved online lingo.
    But Bigwheels stayed away for longer than BRB. She was AFK for at least five minutes!
    Madison was forced to log off again.
    That night, after Mom’s takeout sushi supper, Madison returned to her file.
Only the Lonely
    Alone once again. Big surprise. This will be the file that gets filled the fastest, no doubt.
    Dad called again. He thinks he might be coming home a lot later than he said in his e-mail and he was checking to make sure we were on for dinner as soon as he got back. He doesn’t want me to feel left out but he sure sounded so far away. Then again, everyone feels far away to me these days. I guess Dad’s new Internet start-up is going well, though. He has his fingers in a lot of different pies; that’s what Mom always says. He calls himself an entrepreneur (that is a huge word, I had to look it up to spell it!).
    Maybe Dad can help me find Bigwheels online?
    I couldn’t believe that Mom and I had sushi tonight. It’s a little more interesting than pizza even though I think raw fish is maybe the grossest thing on the entire planet except headcheese and pig’s feet, which I saw at the butcher’s once. I must admit that I did like the California roll sushi a teeny bit. It was just vegetables and rice and a little bit of seaweed, which wasn’t so bad. But forget the tuna roll!!! That wasn’t anything like tuna from the cans (Mom lied) so I spit it right out right away. Not even Phin the animal garbage disposal would eat that!
    If I don’t like tuna rolls, does that mean I am not an adventurous person? If I’m not an adventurous person, does that mean that I am going to be snubbed in junior high as some kind of loser? If I am branded as a loser, does that mean I’ll be alone forever?
    For Madison, all over-thoughts led back to one place: the lonely, looming doom of seventh grade. It was less than two weeks away.
    Madison wished she could see Fiona again.
    She needed a real friend real fast.
    They had swapped phone numbers, but who would be the first to call?

Chapter 4
    T HE NEXT DAY, WHILE Madison was taking a predictable walk around the block, something quite unpredictable happened.
    Phin took a sharp corner, got loose, and ran full speed ahead, tongue wagging along with his curlicue tail.
    Naturally, he was chasing a C-A-T.
    “Stop! Phin!” Madison shouted, almost catching up with him. That’s when she saw the car. Phin was on a one-way collision course with—
    “STOOOOP! Phiiiiiiiiiin!”
    Someone in the car must have seen Madison darting down the street