Give and Take by Laura Dower Page B

rolling her eyes.
    “Well she’s not talking to you, I guess,” Joanie said, laughing to herself.
    “No, I haven’t written mine yet,” Ivy said at last, giving Rose and Joan a hard look. “But I don’t really think we should work on ours together.”
    “Of course you shouldn’t,” Joanie blurted.
    “Fine,” Madison said, feeling like she’d been chopped off at the knees.
    “Um … is there something else we can help you with?” Rose asked.
    “I guess not,” Madison said, staring at Ivy.
    “Why did you volunteer for The Estates anyhow?” Joanie asked. “A bunch of old people? What a party!”
    Rose chuckled. “The real reason you’re doing it, Ivy, is because Hart’s doing it, too. Right?”
    Ivy kicked Rose under the table. “Why don’t you just zip it?” she said in a commanding tone.
    “He’s such a hottie, though,” Joanie said. “I don’t blame you.”
    Madison wanted to hit Joan the drone on the side of the head with the lunch tray and run far, far away. Not only because Joan was being obnoxious, but also because she’d called attention to the truth about Hart—a truth Madison hated to acknowledge.
    Ivy was after Hart, too. No matter how nice Ivy could be in the outside world, in the lunchroom she was still enemy number one—even when it came to boys. Madison had to keep reminding herself of that fact.
    So instead of pulling a hit-and-run, Madison stood her ground. “Well, thanks anyway,” she said. “See you later, Ivy?”
    “See you later, Ivy?” Rose teased, mocking Madison’s tone.
    Madison shrugged. “Whatever.” She turned to walk away, but nearly tripped over her own shoelaces.
    “Whoops. Don’t fall now,” Joanie said, cracking up.
    Luckily, Madison kept her balance. She bent down to retie her shoe, placing her tray on the floor.
    “How embarrassing,” Joanie whispered loudly.
    Madison could hear every word. She stood up. “Embarrassing?” she said with a snarl.
    “I know Ivy volunteers,” Joanie said, ignoring Madison. “But you’re the class president. You have to do those things. What’s Madison’s excuse?”
    “Yeah, and you’d rather hang out with us after school anyway, right, Ivy?” Rose said.
    “Who really wants to visit a bunch of old people?” Joanie quipped.
    Madison raised her tray up, ready to hurl macaroni and cheese into their faces. But she didn’t. She walked away at last—anger swelling inside her chest like a balloon that wanted to POP.
    How could Ivy just sit there and let them say those things? Madison fumed. What happened to Mrs. Holly Wood and the fun times Ivy had during their visits? Now Ivy was letting the drones make jokes about the nursing home? Ivy was the queen of their little clique. Why didn’t she butt in and tell Rose and Joanie to just SHUT UP?
    By the time Madison reached the orange table at the back of the room, she was all worked up. Egg was holding court telling some pathetic joke about a dead skunk.
    “Eeeeuw! That really smells!” Drew joked back after Egg revealed the not-so-funny punch line.
    Fiona, who had finally arrived, was seated near the boys, just across the lunch table from Aimee. As soon as Madison approached, she saw Fiona whisper to Aimee and slip a notebook into her book bag.
    More secrets?
    Madison was too angry about Ivy to care. She walked up to the table and gasped. “I can’t believe what just happened,” Madison said.
    “Did you tell off the drones?” Aimee asked, grinning. “That Rose is such a cow. I know you let her have it. Dish!”
    “I didn’t really let anyone have it,” Madison said with a sigh. “Not exactly.”
    “Wait! Tell us what happened,” Fiona said.
    Madison slid between Aimee and Drew. Hart was all the way down the other end of the table.
    “They were making fun of volunteering,” Madison said.
    “Gosh,” Aimee said sarcastically. “Making fun? Now, that’s a big surprise.”
    “It was mostly the drones. Ivy didn’t say much,” Madison admitted,