message.
: Hello r u really there?
Madison was so surprised to hear from her keypal in the middle of the school day. It was earlier in the day where Bigwheels lived, in Washington, all the way across the country.
: Bigwheels! Ur at school?
: Yes but I’m in the computer lab & TAW
: how r u?
: TERRIBLE! I had a fight w/my BFF Lainie
: oh no!!!!
: GGN—write to me l8r
: ok bye
Madison glanced over at the clock and panicked a little. Mom could walk in any moment! She needed to print out her research pages now so Mom could get on the computer when she came back home. Usually Mom worked in the evenings before and after dinner.
Madison signed off TweenBlurt.com, but she stayed online. Then she plugged in her flash drive from the school media center and reread what she’d typed up earlier. She was very glad that she’d ended up choosing Eleanor Roosevelt as her paper’s topic.
While the research pages were printing, Madison skipped around to some other search engines. The English paper wasn’t the only project weighing on her mind. She still needed to look for information for her science trip.
Up in the corner of the screen, Madison noticed the familiar Favorites icon. That gave her a great idea. Mom surfed the Web a lot—and she always saved all the important science and educational Web sites for easy access.
Madison clicked Mom’s Favorites icon, and a shorthand list of handy-dandy Web site names appeared.
Movies R Us
Science Playground
Teacher Plans/Lessons
PBS
Into the Wild
Date-O-Magic
Film Center USA
Madison stopped and scrolled backward.
Date-O-Magic?
She clicked the link for that site and watched slowly, surprised, as a home page she never expected to see came up on the screen. A banner scrolling across the top said, “Meet the Man of Your DREAMS….”
Date-O-Magic wasn’t about science or education.
This was an online dating service.
Madison’s stomach did a major flip-flop.
She hit the power key and watched the screen turn black with a sizzle.
Chapter 5
T UESDAY AFTERNOON FIONA HAD soccer practice and Aimee had a private dance lesson, so Madison came home alone after school. Mom wasn’t home again, but Billy was back working on the roof and chimney. Madison ignored him.
After a quick snack, Madison logged on to TweenBlurt.com. She was very surprised to find Bigwheels online again in the middle of the day.
: Hi. I’m at home today.
: U ok?
: I have the flu
: Yuck-o. Sorry
: No fun being sick
: So start at the beginning and tell me EXACTLY what happened w/ your BFF
: Lainie and I are not speaking we had a major fight
: but what happened? she’s ur BFF!!
Madison Finn blinked at the flashing computer screen. Bigwheels was slow in responding. Was her online keypal having a BFF mini-meltdown?
: yeah Lainie WAS my BFF but now she’s acting like a supersnob
: How?
: yesterday she said she was too busy to hang out after school & then I saw her talking to this OTHER girl after school and all I can say is that she is SUCH a major liar and TLGO and O and O
: bummer
: she’s acting all weird, and secretive
: you’ll prob make up sooner than soon
: thanks I hope so but I don’t know she is being so different than b4 we NEVER had n e secrets w/each other
: I think maybe my mom is keeping a big secret from me and she NEVER keeps secrets from me, either
: no way—what?
: well I think she’s dating again
: WOW
: what am I supposed 2 do?
Bigwheels was slow in responding again.
: BIGWHEELS r u there?
: AFK
: What’s wrong?
: My mom was yelling 4 me and I have to go to the doctor now—I’ll send u an e-mail later—write back
Madison logged off. She was
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