Give and Take by Laura Dower Page A

Madison did find Aimee and Fiona. They were in an online chat room together. Madison considered jumping into their chat, or even just observing them …
    “Maddie!” Mom screeched from behind the kitchen table.
    Madison turned to see Mom frantically wiping off the stove and floor. The pot had boiled over.
    “Didn’t I ask you to watch this for me?” Mom asked. “Thank goodness I was only boiling potatoes.”
    “Whoops,” Madison said. “Sorry, Mom.”
    Mom sighed and turned down the burner, bringing her pot to a slower simmer. “Next time, please pay better attention?” Mom pleaded. “That computer can be such a distraction sometimes.”
    Madison waited for Mom to exit the kitchen once more before pulling up the website again. She checked TweenBlurt.com for the chat room with Aimee and Fiona, but it was empty. Neither BFF was online anymore.
    Dejected, Madison logged off and shut down the laptop.
    Why hadn’t her friends messaged her? Didn’t they check to see if Madison was online at the same time? Why were they acting exclusive online with each other and without her?
    Maybe it was better NOT to know.

Chapter 7
    O N TUESDAY MORNING, MADISON started getting more worried about her BFFs again. In between classes, Madison saw Aimee and Fiona in the midst of a private conversation. But when she walked up to join them, the talking stopped.
    Stopped.
    It wasn’t the sort of holiday spirit Madison expected from her closest girlfriends—or anyone else.
    During lunch period, Madison spotted Aimee again down in the cafeteria, but without Fiona this time.
    “Aimee?” Madison asked as she got on line for macaroni and cheese.
    “Hi, Maddie! Hey, did you try their homemade granola? It’s actually good,” Aimee said, sliding a banana and yogurt onto her lunch tray.
    “Aimee, can I ask you something?” Madison said.
    Aimee turned around. “Is something wrong?”
    “You tell me,” Madison said.
    “Huh?” Aimee asked.
    “Is something wrong?” Madison asked.
    “Wrong?” Aimee repeated. She smiled knowingly. “Oh, I get it. You’re still freaked about the other day at the ice rink. You know that when Fiona and I got that ride home from the hockey game you totally could have come along. You know that, right?”
    “I know,” Madison said. “But there’s other stuff going on. I feel like I’m … well, in the way when I’m around you and Fiona.”
    “In the way?” Aimee tugged at her braid. “Maddie, what are you talking about?”
    From the way Aimee twisted and pulled at her hair, Madison knew she was making her BFF uncomfortable.
    “I can’t believe you would think that,” Aimee said.
    “So I’m not in the way?” Madison said, looking for further reassurance.
    “Of course not. Hey, I’m starved,” Aimee said. “Can we talk about this at the table?”
    Madison shrugged as Gilda Z the lunch lady scooped a ladle of macaroni and cheese onto her plate. Hopefully, it tastes better than it looks, Madison thought, because it looks like radioactive yellow glop.
    After Aimee and Madison got their drinks, they headed toward their usual orange table at the back of the room.
    “I’ll catch up with you, Aim,” Madison called out. “I just have to ask Ivy something.”
    Aimee made a face and kept walking. Madison approached the yellow lunch table at the center of the cafeteria. This was Ivy and the drones’ regular dining spot.
    “Hey, Ivy,” Madison said, shifting from foot to foot. “Did you write up that essay about The Estates?”
    Señora Diaz had asked all the volunteers to write up a profile of their recent visit, including details about the resident’s family, likes, and dislikes.
    Ivy looked up but didn’t say anything right away.
    “I was thinking maybe we could write ours together,” Madison suggested.
    Rose Thorn grunted. “I’m sorry, Madison. Did you say what I think you said?”
    “Yeah,” Joanie repeated. “Did you just ask—?”
    “I was talking to Ivy,” Madison snapped,