Book: Perfect Strangers
Quotes of Book: Perfect Strangers
Madison! This is too perfect. Join us."Reed stood coolly in the middle of the hall, oblivious to the swarm of kids around him."Reed, I'd love to join you," Madison shouted above the bustle. "But I told Piper I'd meet her in the parking lot.""This'll just take a minute," Reed insisted.Madison hesitated. Much as she wanted to avoid talking to Jeremy, she didn't want to look like a rude jerk. She maneuvered her way around Jeremy and stood next to Reed."Of course you know Jeremy," Reed said, not letting her off the hook.Jeremy answered for her. "We're like this," he said, holding up two fingers at arm's length."Funny," Madison replied without a smile.Reed seemed oblivious to their awkwardness. "Listen up. My mom's a marketing specialist and she might be able to get us some airtime on some of the local radio stations. What do you think?"Jeremy nodded. "That would be extremely cool.""Would the interviews be separate?" Madison asked, not wanting to spend any time in close proximity to Jeremy. "I'd prefer to do mine alone--or with you, Reed."Jeremy scowled. "What is it with you, Madison? Can't you at least be civil?""Not to you," Madison said with an angry toss of her head."Give me a break," Jeremy snapped."Whoa! Time out! Truce!" Reed quickly stepped between them and draped his arms around their shoulders. "Look, this is just an election. You don't need to get so malignant.""Save the lecture for someone who needs it," Jeremy grumbled. "Like Miss Stuck-up."Madison clutched her chest as if she'd been shot in the heart. "Oh, you got me," she said melodramatically. "I'm mortally wounded."Jeremy's cheeks flared a deep red. Clenching his fists at his sides, he took several deep breaths. Clearly he was trying not to say anything back to Madison. At last he turned to Reed and said evenly, "The radio station idea is a good one. I'll catch you later to discuss it." He turned on his heel and strode away.Madison felt the heat creep into her own face. Most of the students nearby had witnessed the entire exchange. Madison felt pretty certain that, at this moment, she looked like a complete, raving idiot.Reed shook his head in amazement. "Wow. I don't need to do a thing to win this election," he said with a chuckle. "I'll just stand back and let you two destroy each other. book-quoteWould you care to share with the rest of the class what is so funny?"Madison gulped. Ms. Healy was staring hard at Madison's PalmPilot, which was absolutely forbidden in class, along with cell phones, CD players, and any other distracting electrical equipment.Madison instantly started vamping. "Well, Ms. Healy, I was just musing on how ridiculous a scarlet would be today, and who would have to wear one--senators, actors, teachers, even a few of our presidents. In fact, there would probably be more people wearing the scarlet letter than not wearing it."Ms. Healy's cold blue eyes looked huge through her extra-magnified glasses. "This is funny?"Madison swallowed hard. "I guess it's really more ironic, wouldn't you say?"Ms. Healy, who knew Madison as a straight-A, straight-shooter kind of student, softened a little. "'Ironic' is indeed the perfect word for it," she said with a brisk nod. "Now put the personal digital assistance away and pay attention, Ms. McKay."As Ms. Healy walked back to the front of the room, Henry Cooney, Madison's partner in chem lab, mouthed the words, "Nice save."Madison wiped some imaginary sweat off her forehead with her hand and tried to focus once again on the lecture. She forced herself to keep her eyes glued to Ms. Healy and soon found herself wondering what had turned the teacher into such an old grump. She was clearly smart and sometimes very funny, in a droll sort of way. Take away those awful glasses, let her hair out of that tight metal barrette at her neck, and Ms. Healy could almost be considered attractive. Maybe she'd had some brush with failed love that had made her go sour. Or worse yet--what if she had had any brush with love at all, and this dried-up old prune was what Ms. Healy had become? book-quoteSo what are doing lurking out here?" Madison asked, cradling the sticker with Blue's number in her hand, so Jeremy wouldn't see it.Jeremy leaned in until his face was only inches from hers, and whispered, "That's for me to know and you to find out.""Ahem!" a deep voice sounded behind them. "I hate to interrupt this little tete-a-tete, but don't you have someplace else you ought to be right now?"Madison and Jeremy sprang away from each other like startled pigeons. They turned and guiltily faced the principal. Madison spoke first. "Hello, Mr. Kaufman. I left some, um, material for my report for Mr. Dalberg's class in my locker and I was just about to get it.""Is that your locker?" Mr. Kaufman asked.Jeremy cut in. "Actually, it's my locker. Madison forgot to mention that she had asked me to keep it for her." Jeremy spun the combination on the lock to show Mr. Kaufman that he was actually getting the report. He swung open the locker and grabbed the first thing he could put his hands on--a MAD magazine.Without skipping a beat, Madison took it and started talking. "You see, Mr. Kaufman, we're studying the role that periodicals and newspapers have played in American historical events. For instance, um, Tom Paine's pamphlet helped start the American Revolution, and, well, Horace Greeley's editorials in the sparked the great Westward migration and the idea of Manifest Destiny, and now MAD magazine has, um, er--""Redefined the concept of social satire in the twentieth century," Jeremy jumped in. "Without MAD, there'd have been no Without the no Without , there'd be no Bill Murray. Eddie Murphy. Adam Sandler. The list goes on and on.""Really?" Mr. Kaufman raised one eyebrow. "Very interesting."Madison plastered a grateful smile on her face and extended her hand to Jeremy. "Thanks for keeping this, um, research material for me."Jeremy shook her hand politely. "Anytime, Madison. I have room in here for lots more of your, uh, reports."Before Mr. Kaufman could say anything, Jeremy shut his locker, and the two of them marched off in opposite directions away from the principal.As she walked away, Madison held her breath waiting for Mr. Kaufman to call them back. But he didn't. Madison couldn't believe her luck. What a bizarre encounter! And yes, she had to admit it: Jeremy had really bailed her out when she'd run out of gas with her excuse. book-quoteHi, Mad," Piper's voice sang out in her ear. "Oh, it's you," Madison said, falling back on the pink brocade duvet covering her double bed."Of course it's me. I always call you at this time," Piper said. "Who'd you think it was?""I thought you were Blue," she said with a giggle. "But that's, of course, impossible, since Blue doesn't even know my name.""Just what are you talking about?" Piper demanded. "And who is Blue?""Blue"--Madison grabbed one of her pink furry pillows that lined her headboard and hugged it to her chest--"is my Heart-2-Heart partner. And I think I'm in love.""What?" Piper screeched into the phone. "We were just assigned our partners yesterday. I have spent almost every spare minute with you, except for a few hours last night and the two hours since we left Giorgio's. When could you possibly have found the time to fall in love?""Okay," Madison said, rolling over onto her stomach. "Maybe not love with a capital L. But a very strong like. Blue is funny and smart--he knows how flies land on the ceiling upside down. And talented--he can do a backflip. Or at least he could when he was nine at his cousin's house in Issaquah.""He put all that in one letter?" Piper asked.Madison giggled. "Of course not. We've e-mailed several letters. In fact, I'm expecting one now.""Geez," Piper said a little wistfully. "I haven't even checked to see if my Heart-2-Heart pal wrote back."Madison plucked at the fuzzy strands of yarn on her pillow. "You should. I love this program! We can tell each other . It's so great!""And this guy's name is Blue?" Piper's voice sounded doubtful. "I don't remember any kid at school named Blue. There was that one guy we called Green in our chem lab, remember? But I think we called him that because his last name Green and we could never remember his first name." book-quoteWith one minute to spare, Madison arrived at the Space Needle. Her rose was hastily clipped into her short dark hair. Her cheeks were red from all of the mad rushing around. But she had made it on time.So had Jeremy. Once again he was waiting by the elevator that rode up to the top of the Space Needle. A somewhat faded blue carnation was pinned to the lapel of his jacket.Madison, who usually overplanned everything, hadn't taken one second to plan what she would say when she finally met "Blue" face-to-face. A man with a bouquet of balloons passed by, and she ducked out of sight behind them. As she ran alongside the vendor, she hastily tried to collect her thoughts. So much was riding on this meeting, and she didn't want to blow it.When the balloon man got close to the elevator tower, Madison jumped out from behind the balloons and hid by a corner of the tower. Her mind was still a complete blank. But she couldn't leave Jeremy standing there for another minute. So she inched her way along the wall until she was safely hidden behind the post he was leaning against.Madison checked the TechnoMarine watch she'd borrowed from Piper. It was nearly five minutes after four. Time was running out! She had to say . But what?Barely a foot away, she heard Jeremy exhale in frustration, and her heart sank. When he made a move to leave, her hand shot out from behind the pillar and caught hold of his."Blue?" she whispered. "Please don't turn around."Jeremy didn't move. "Okay," he said warily."I'm trying to find the words to tell you what our letters have meant to me," she whispered. "And how much your friendship means to me."Jeremy nodded. "It's been important to me, too." He started to turn around, but Madison tugged his arm, hard."Don't look, yet. Please!"Jeremy quickly turned his head away. "All right, but--"Madison didn't let him finish. She squeezed her eyes shut and started babbling. "I didn't know who you were until last Friday--which, incidentally, turned out to be about the most important day of my life. And when I knew it was you, I just didn't know how to tell you that I was me. You once told me I was cold and heartless, and I just couldn't bear it if you said it again. Everything has been so perfect, I just don't want to blow it, and now that we're standing here holding hands, I don't want to let go--""So don't," a voice whispered, very close to her cheek. book-quoteIt's funny how things work out," she said, wrapping her arms around the dog and squeezing her tight. "All this time we spent hating each other when we could have spent it--""Together." Jeremy kneeled beside the dog and looked directly at Madison. "I guess that's irony to the tenth power."His mention of irony and math reminded her that he not only was Jeremy, but he was also her Heart-2-Heart pal, Blue. And only two hours before, she had stood him up. Madison didn't know how to bring it up. If she confessed to being Pinky, would it look like another conspiracy to make a fool out of him? She couldn't decide.Jeremy's face was inches from hers. She could see little gold flecks in his eyes. Yes, he definitely was weak-in-the-knees handsome. She managed to murmur, "I guess we're older now and, well, you have that girlfriend."Jeremy's face reddened, and he looked down at his dog. "Um, I'm not so sure about that," he admitted, embarrassed. "I was supposed to meet her at the Space Needle today, but she never showed."Madison's heart ached seeing him look so defeated. She wanted to blurt everything out right then, but something made her keep her secret. Instead, she said, "Well, it may have been a big misunderstanding. I mean, there I was, following you around and screaming like a lunatic. She may have thought we meant something to each other."Jeremy laughed. "That would be pretty ridiculous, wouldn't it?""Maybe you should call her," Madison said, knowing he didn't know "Pinky's" phone number. "Or write her and explain."Jeremy nodded briskly. "I'll do that."They sat for a few moments in awkward silence. Finally, Madison clapped her hands together. "In the meantime, we have another big problem on our hands.""You're right," Jeremy agreed. "I'm thirsty. What do you say we go for a Coke at Ruby's favorite watering hole? My treat."At the mention of her name, Ruby leaped to her feet, wagging her tail. Madison chuckled. "I'm up for that. And while we're at it, we can figure out what to do about Reed Rawlings. book-quoteThat also may have had something to do with it," Jeremy said, scratching his head. "He liked you, too.""Too?" Madison repeated, cocking her head.Jeremy flashed an embarrassed smile. "Well, at the time, I had a major crush on you. I thought it was pretty obvious."Madison's heart skipped a tiny beat. Maybe all wasn't lost after all. "You did?"He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "That's why I didn't apologize right away. I just couldn't face you. And later, when people like the Stafford twins and Piper Chang turned on me and started calling me names, I figured there was no way I could get anyone to believe my side of the story. You and everyone else seemed to have made up your minds."Madison winced. "We convicted you without a trial," she said, repeating the words Kirk Boyd had said before.Ruby chose that moment to lick Madison in the face, which made Madison burst into giggles instead of tears. "It's funny how things work out," she said, wrapping her arms around the dog and squeezing her tight. "All this time we spent hating each other when we could have spent it--""Together." Jeremy kneeled beside the dog and looked directly at Madison. book-quoteI guess I'll begin by accepting your apology," Jeremy said slowly. "And offer my own apology in return."Madison laughed. "You apologize to me? Whatever for?""Excuse me," a man interrupted from behind them. He and a woman were walking with their tenspeeds. "This is a crosswalk. If you want to talk, there are plenty of places to do it over there." He pointed back to the park, by the lake.They shared an embarrassed laugh. Then Jeremy led Ruby to a park bench and motioned for Madison to sit down. She perched on the edge of the bench, scratching Ruby behind the years. Jeremy pushed the hair out of his eyes and said, "I've relived that moment at Homecoming a zillion times. I felt so awful about pushing you onto the field, I didn't know what to do."Madison asked the question she'd wanted to ask for two and a half long years. "Did you really think I'd won? Did you confuse McKenzie Madsen's name with mine?"Jeremy shook his head. "I didn't even hear the announcement. I was holding Reed's place in the drinks line because he'd left to hear the announcement. When he came back, Reed told me you'd won. He ordered me to go tell you."Madison slapped her hands on her legs. "I it! When Reed called it a harmless joke, I it had to be him. But why would he do that to me?"Jeremy shrugged helplessly. "It turned out it really was just a joke. He had me tell you that so he could get your hot chocolates."Madison's jaw dropped. " why he did it?""He was tired of standing in that long line." Jeremy kicked at the ground with the toe of his sneaker. "But I didn't know that at the time. When I pushed you onto the football field, Reed nearly fell over laughing. He thought he was so clever. I wanted to kill him! book-quoteJeremy, wait!" she called, bending over to catch her breath.When Jeremy saw her, he picked up his pace and hurried toward the crosswalk.Madison threw her head back and moaned, "I can't keep up! Please stop."At the intersection, he had to stop to wait for the traffic light, and she stumbled off the curb and stood in front of him, clutching her side."Please listen for one minute," she gasped. "I know that the Homecoming disaster wasn't your fault. I know you didn't put up those awful photos. And I am so ashamed for jumping to conclusions about you, and not ever giving you a chance to explain."Jeremy opened his mouth to speak, and she help up her palm. "Just a minute. I'm not finished." She bent over once more and took a couple of deep breaths. "I know you'll never accept my apology because you think I'm heartless and self-centered. But just to prove to you that I'm sincere, I'm withdrawing from the race and throwing all my support behind you."Madison waited for Jeremy to respond. As she looked into his eyes, he continued to say nothing.She felt her throat tighten painfully. Tears pooled in her eyes. Madison turned to leave before she embarrassed herself any further. But as she stepped into the crosswalk, Jeremy caught her by the arm. "Now hold it a minute, will you?" he said, gently pulling her back onto the curb. "You just dropped an awful lot of information in my lap. The least you can do is give me a moment to process it."Madison put a hand over her mouth, trying to hold herself together. Then she looked up into his pale blue eyes. They were no longer ice cold but filled with compassion."I guess I'll begin by accepting your apology," Jeremy said slowly. "And offer my own apology in return."Madison laughed. "You apologize to me? Whatever for?""Excuse me," a man interrupted from behind them. He and a woman were walking with their tenspeeds. "This is a crosswalk. If you want to talk, there are plenty of places to do it over there." He pointed back to the park, by the lake.They shared an embarrassed laugh. book-quote
