L8r, G8r (40 page)

mad maddie:

what's yours, zo?

zoegirl:

originally i was gonna use that quote from shakespeare. “this above all, to thine own self be true.”

SnowAngel:

aw, that's nice

mad maddie:

gross, barf, vomit. and the character who said it, that polonius dude? total windbag! you can't use something from him!

zoegirl:

well, i didn't. i ended up going with something from dr. seuss: “don't cry because it's over. smile because it happened.”

SnowAngel:

oh, zoe!!! *blinks back tears unsuccessfully*

mad maddie:

it's absolutely perfect … even tho thanks a lot, now you've got ME all weepy!

zoegirl:

me 3. i can't help it!

mad maddie:

NO! STOP! the point is to REJOICE, not fall to pieces.

SnowAngel:

omg, yr so right *lifts chin and sniffs in snot bubble*

zoegirl:

i'll try if y'all will

mad maddie:

damn straight we will

mad maddie:

so what r we waiting for? it's time to party!!!!!

SnowAngel:

*flings mortar board jubilantly into sky*

SnowAngel:

come pick me up, ya big softie!

zoegirl:

and then me! i'll be waiting at the door!

mad maddie:

u sure as heck better be

mad maddie:

l8r, g8rs!!!

mad maddie:

omg, i'm finally here! I'VE FINALLY JOINED THE COLLEGE GIRL RANKS!

mad maddie:

do i get my special beret now?

SnowAngel:

maddie! wh-hoo!
and wh-hoo, UC santa cruz! sooo smexy, babe!

mad maddie:

not smexy, and wld u plz delete that word from yr vocab?

mad maddie:

but it *is* SO FRICKIN GORGEOUS HERE, i can't even tell u.

mad maddie:

i'm outside the dorm we're staying in for orientation, and the sky is so blue and the forest is everywhere and there are no cars and tons of sunshine and I LOVE IT.

SnowAngel:

we have the sky and the sun in athens, too, dumb-dumb. and! omg! we also have

mad maddie:

is different. is stunning. and so are the students, as apparently it is the law that all california kids must have good genes. i might have to dye my hair blond.

SnowAngel:

yr hair is already blond

mad maddie:

eh, fair enough

SnowAngel:

it's still weird to me that yr just now starting the semester. u *do* realize that i've been at UGA for over a month, and that zoe's been at kenyon for almost as long?

mad maddie:

yes, angela. yes, i do. do *u* think i've lived in a time bubble for the last four weeks? do u think i wanted to stay in atlanta—IN MY PARENTS' HOUSE, WITH MY PARENTS WHO STILL USE TV TRAYS SO THEY CAN EAT TOTINO'S FROZEN PIZZA WHILE WATCHING “THE FAMILY GUY”—after everyone else in our class sailed away into their new lives?

SnowAngel:

first of all, i'm sure yr parents heat up the pizza before eating it, silly.

mad maddie:

u'd be surprised

SnowAngel:

and second of all, it's just that …

SnowAngel:

it's like zoe and i have graduated, practically, while you're still a wee freshman. *pats wee maddie on her blondie head* *uses teensy voice* look at you, all grown up wearing yr big girl college beret!

mad maddie:

yeah, that's lovely, angela. thx, babe.

mad maddie:

but i did a lot of thinking on the five-hour flight from atlanta to san jose.

SnowAngel:

but UCSC is in santa cruz. uh-oh, i think u went to the wrong college, mads.

mad maddie:

haha. and btw, can we rewind to make sure u heard what i just said? my FIVE-HOUR flight??

mad maddie:

FIVE HOURS, girlie! and for the whole five hours, i was in airplane bondage next to a man who watched episode after episode of “House Hunters” on his iPad WITHOUT WEARING HEADPHONES. what was wrong with that dude?

SnowAngel:

“House Hunters” normal or “House Hunters International”?

mad maddie:

he was on a plane full of other ppl. how cld he not know to wear headphones? i kept wanting to say something to him, but i didn't. and then i kept hoping that one of the flight attendants wld say something to him, but none of them did! ever!!!

SnowAngel:

i like “House Hunters,” even tho it's fake. the couple already knows which house they're going to buy before the show is filmed—did u know that?

SnowAngel:

at first i felt a little disillusioned. *single tear*

SnowAngel:

then i said, “ah, wtf.”

mad maddie:

ok, great, thx for sharing.

mad maddie:

now back to what i was saying, which is that i did some thinking on my long-ass flight, as i believe i mentioned.

SnowAngel:

*nods* you did

mad maddie:

then i did even MORE thinking on the shuttle from san jose to santa cruz.

SnowAngel:

ah, a shuttle! clever girl, u!

mad maddie:

and all that thinking led to a brilliant idea.

SnowAngel:

awesome. let's hear it.

mad maddie:

you know the expression “you only live once,” right?

SnowAngel:

as in yolo? *lifts eyebrows*

SnowAngel:

um, yes, maddie, i know the term yolo. the ten-year-old my sister babysits knows the term yolo. my *grandmother* knows the term yolo. a bit overused, but still fun to say.

SnowAngel:

*pretends to be girl from ricola commercial* *throws back head atop a snow-capped mountain*

SnowAngel:

RI-CO-LA!

SnowAngel:

oops. i mean … YO-OH-LO!

mad maddie:

uh huh. well, “yolo” has to do with you and me and zoe and how we've all—corniness alert—gone our own ways. we're growing up and shit.

SnowAngel:

mmm. corn. num num num.

mad maddie:

but … (more corn is about to come, deal with it) … just cuz we're growing up doesn't mean we have to grow apart.

SnowAngel:

aw, little sweetie. that IS corny.

SnowAngel:

i'm all about making the best of life since we only get one chance at it, absolutely. but before we go any further, can we agree that if we keep using “yolo,” we'll have an implied understanding that we know it's on the
-y side?

mad maddie:

omg. being in a sorority has made u way too concerned about what other ppl think, hasn't it?

SnowAngel:

no! *huffs indignantly*

mad maddie:

yr right. my bad. you've always cared too much about what other ppl think.

SnowAngel:

maddie!

mad maddie:

kidding!