L8r, G8r (14 page)

zoegirl:

how's mads?

SnowAngel:

by the time i got over there, there were 33 voicemails for maddie. by the time i left, it'd gone up to 68, and the only reason there weren't more was cuz the voicemail thingie *finally* got to the “this mailbox is full” level!

zoegirl:

were they all the same sort of thing?

SnowAngel:

uh huh. i plugged the phone back in so i cld listen to them—altho i NEVER answered the phone when it rang—and they said things like, “hey, baby, i'll satisfy your every fantasy,” and “if u want someone
well-equipped, then i'm your man. gimme a ring and let's get dirty.”

zoegirl:

ewww!

SnowAngel:

some were even worse. some i couldn't even listen to—i just hit “delete” and then wanted to go take a boiling hot shower.

zoegirl:

did anyone say where they got her number?

SnowAngel:

no—they just said, “i heard u were looking for some action” or “slut for grabs? hell yeah. call me.”

zoegirl:

poor maddie!

zoegirl:

how could there be so *many*?

SnowAngel:

i dunno. whatever jana did, she did it in a big way—more than just scribbling something on some wall.

zoegirl:

so we're sure it's jana?

SnowAngel:

i am. aren't u?

zoegirl:

i just have a hard time believing that even she would do something so … VICIOUS. and dangerous! hasn't she heard about all the girls who've been molested by chatroom lurkers and stuff like that?

SnowAngel:

i can't believe i was almost feeling sorry for her, cuz of her personal problems or whatever.

SnowAngel:

this goes so much further than what maddie did. this is just WRONG.

zoegirl:

did mr. and mrs. kinnick show up?

SnowAngel:

they got in around 9:00. maddie didn't tell them about the messages cuz she doesn't want her dad thinking about her like that … even tho none of it's true.

SnowAngel:

she's really shaken up, zo. and she NEVER gets shaken up!

zoegirl:

i'm gonna do some hunting around on the internet. maybe i can figure this out.

SnowAngel:

good idea. and tomorrow let's stick close to maddie so she feels safe!

mad maddie:

so much for keeping the parents in the dark. guess how many calls the moms got while i was at school?

zoegirl:

oh no. i thought you unplugged the phone again!

mad maddie:

yes, but apparently she plugged it back in when she needed to use it. anyway, twenty-frickin-six voicemails! i guess ppl aren't quite as busy being pervy in the daylight hours as during the night, but still.

zoegirl:

holy crap

mad maddie:

the 1st guy asked her to pass on a message about his big cock. isn't that charming? and then she answered the 2nd call, assuming the 1st was a wrong number, and that guy said, “is this maddie? you don't sound 18.” the moms goes, “this is maddie's mother. who IS this?” and the guy laughed and asked if she was the one who taught me to be so nasty.

zoegirl:

oh. my. god. she must have had a heart attack.

mad maddie:

pretty much. she called my cell, and i had no choice but to tell her about last night. then she called the police, and they said to get a phone log so we can find out where the calls came from.

zoegirl:

good idea

mad maddie:

yeah, only lots of the numbers were blocked.

zoegirl:

agh

mad maddie:

so mom started asking the callers for their names. can u imagine? most ppl just hung up at that point, but eventually this one guy said he'd gotten our number from craigslist.

zoegirl:

from CRAIGSLIST??? maddie. omg.

mad maddie:

tell me about it. i knew ppl used it to find roommates, apartments, cars … stuff like that … but i didn't know till now that there's also a “casual encounters” section, and that's where you can find ME, apparently.

zoegirl:

oh. my. god. maddie, i am sooooo sorry.

mad maddie:

i want u to go find it, ok?

zoegirl:

the ad?

mad maddie:

the moms tracked it down, but she won't tell me what it said, which makes me think it must be REALLY bad.

zoegirl:

you don't want to c for yourself?

mad maddie:

no

zoegirl:

oh. ok.

mad maddie:

so go look and then report back.

mad maddie:

craigslist. atlanta. casual encounters.

zoegirl:

got it. be back soon!

zoegirl:

hey angela. i'm supposed to talk to maddie, but i wanted to talk to you first.

SnowAngel:

about the want-ad thingie? i've seen it. it's sick.

zoegirl:

it literally made me *feel* sick.

zoegirl:

i feel terrible, like it's all my fault!

SnowAngel:

how is it YOUR fault?

SnowAngel:

oh, cuz of Boo Boo Bear. right.

SnowAngel:

zo, this is sooooo much worse than Boo Boo Bear OR the lying liars club. it's in a whole different league.

zoegirl:

i'm gonna tell my mom and see if jana can be prosecuted for sexual harassment and identity theft. what she did is SO wrong. and dangerous! what if someone did a reverse phone number search and found out where maddie lives?

SnowAngel:

that is a GREAT idea, zo. but the listing is down now, right? gone from craiglist forever?

zoegirl:

doubt it's down yet, but i reported it as inappropriate. hopefully it'll be gone soon.

zoegirl:

but about maddie—do i tell her the truth about the post? *all* of it?

SnowAngel:

well, i don't know how you can't. she deserves to know.

zoegirl:

let's tell her together. okay?

SnowAngel:

oh. um.

zoegirl:

she needs us both for moral support.

zoegirl:

i'm going to do a group text. you better reply!

zoegirl:

hi, maddie. we have some answers for you.

mad maddie:

“we”?

SnowAngel:

*waves dispiritedly* hey, mads.

mad maddie:

uh oh, i'm not liking the whole tag-team thing going on here. is it that bad?

zoegirl:

yesssssss … kind of?

SnowAngel:

yes, definitely. don't sugar-coat it! AND it's totally illegal, so zoe's gonna get her mom to step in. jana's gonna be so incredibly busted!

mad maddie:

will u tell me already???

zoegirl:

aaargh

zoegirl:

the ad says you're looking for guys to fool around with, and that you like to … do it in front of others.

zoegirl:

and i wish i didn't have to tell you this, but jana included a picture.

SnowAngel:

that one from sophomore year, of you with no shirt on.

zoegirl:

angela!

SnowAngel:

what? i wanted to make sure she knew which one!

zoegirl:

which other one would i mean, her class photo?

SnowAngel:

well we said we were gonna tell her the truth, but yr downplaying it cuz you feel responsible. yr making it sound like some harmless innocent thing!

zoegirl:

saying she likes to do it in front of others is some harmless innocent thing???

mad maddie:

STOP!

mad maddie:

just paste the damn thing in!

zoegirl:

it's been taken down. i checked, and it's gone now.

mad maddie:

can't you hit your back button? find the page when you first opened it?

zoegirl:

i thought you didn't wanna see it.

mad maddie:

i don't, but you guys r making it sound 10,000 times worse than it is, i'm sure.

mad maddie:

zoe?

mad maddie:

angela?

mad maddie:

what, r you both cowering in the corner?

SnowAngel:

*glowers at zoe for being such a wimp* you heard her, zo. just show her and be done with it!

zoegirl:

oh GOD. but i'm not including the picture!

zoegirl:

here's the stupid ad, word for word:

 

I like to put on a show, so not only do you have to be very hung, talented (long lasting, multiple cummer), but you have to be ok fucking a sexy 18 yr old in front of other guys. There would never be too many—three, four, or even five, I'm on the chubby side as you can see, but that just means more of me to go around. If you meet the critiria and you're interested, call me, guys! (404) 555-0176

SnowAngel:

maddie? u there?

mad maddie:

she spelled “criteria” wrong

SnowAngel:

cuz she's a dumbass, that's why!

mad maddie:

the ad doesn't mention my name. how did they know my name?

zoegirl:

from the caption on the photo

mad maddie:

which says …?

SnowAngel:

um … “misbehaving maddie”

SnowAngel:

but remember: jana's gonna be in serious trouble for this. she is NOT gonna get away with it!

mad maddie:

well, yeah, fantastic—except she is

mad maddie:

the moms wants to press charges, too, so she emailed the craigslist ppl. there's no way to prove who wrote the ad. nobody's name is attached to it but mine.

zoegirl:

but you can just tell them who it was!

mad maddie:

and they'd believe me because …?

zoegirl:

what about an IP address? can't they find the IP address the ad was sent in from?

mad maddie:

anonymous. apparently there are ways to route your IP addy through zillions of other addies so that there's no way to know where the root source was.

zoegirl:

well, i'm sure my mom'll have some ideas. jana *stole* your identity, that's a criminal offense.

mad maddie:

i'm gonna tattle on her like a kindergartener? no way.

zoegirl:

but your mom does know, right? that it was jana?

mad maddie:

no

SnowAngel:

WHY???

mad maddie:

i told her it wasn't me (duh), but that i didn't know who it was.

mad maddie:

i'm not giving jana the satisfaction of seeing me all teary-eyed and hiding behind my mommy's skirt. and don't either of YOU tell, either. don't tell anyone!

zoegirl:

maddie … don't be like this. you've gotta let us help.

mad maddie:

you? or your mother?

zoegirl:

both!

mad maddie:

forget it

mad maddie:

we're gonna have to change our phone number, that's what the police said. it makes me so frickin mad.

SnowAngel:

want me to come get you, sweetie?

SnowAngel:

i'm gonna come get you and we'll all 3 go out for ice cream.

mad maddie:

no, don't. in fact i'm turning off phone. i don't feel like talking. bye.

SnowAngel:

maddie?

SnowAngel:

did u really leave?

zoegirl:

i think she really left.

zoegirl:

crap crap crap. i hate jana so much!!!

SnowAngel:

especially cuz you know she's laughing her butt off.

zoegirl:

you realize why maddie doesn't wanna go to the principal, right? and why she doesn't want me going over her head to my mom?

SnowAngel:

cuz she doesn't want them getting involved?

zoegirl:

no, cuz she doesn't want anyone else to see the ad. anyone who already hasn't, that is.

SnowAngel:

ack—i didn't think of that.

zoegirl:

did maddie seem … i dunno. mad at me? cuz i know this all started with the Boo Boo Bear thing, but she kept it going with the liars club prank. i mean, she's part of this too.

SnowAngel:

she's mad at the world. wouldn't you be?

SnowAngel:

oh, i want to KILL jana!!!!

zoegirl:

only the sucky thing is, you can't. i don't want you getting on jana's bad side too.

SnowAngel:

there's gotta be SOMETHING we can do.

zoegirl:

“we” as in you and me? that'll just escalate things.

SnowAngel:

so?

zoegirl:

so jana's a nutcase. if we could bring the police in, or the school administrators, then sure. but if it's just you who does something? who knows what she'll do to get you back?

SnowAngel:

i'm not just gonna let it go. i refuse.

SnowAngel:

i'll figure something out—just wait and see!