The Dating Game by Natalie Standiford

Author:Natalie Standiford [STANDIFORD, NATALIE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV014000
ISBN: 9780316050036
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2008-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

12

The Male Mind Is Impervious to Logic

To: hollygolitely, linaonme, mad4u

From: Your daily horoscope

HERE IS TODAY’s HOROSCOPE: LUNAR ECLIPSE! This is such a huge astrological event that it will affect all the signs in the zodiac. Alliances will shift, secrets will be revealed, identities will change. Go out tonight—if you stay home you’ll miss the fun!

I like your new punk look, Mads, “Holly said in the car on the way to Mariska’s.” “It’s so not you.”

Mads had put lots of goop in her hair to make it messy, smudged her makeup, and tore holes in her t-shirt and tights.

“Tonight’s the night,” Mads said. “I’m roughing up my image. After tonight, there’ll be a new Madison Markowitz in town. When you think of me, you’ll think bad girl.”

“We could call you ‘Bad Mads,’” Holly said. “Or ‘Maddie the Baddie.’ Would that help?”

“No,” Mads said.

Mads, Lina, and Holly walked into Mariska’s party at 10:30, when it was already going strong. Claire and Ingrid lounged by the living room door, smoking. “Ooh, can I bum one?” Mads asked. Bad girls smoked, so she should, too.

Claire dug one out of her pack, complaining, “Do you know how expensive these are?”

“I’ll send you a check,” Mads said. “Thanks, Claire.”

Ingrid lit it for her. Mads took a puff. Ugh. The nicotine hit her blood stream and landed with a sickening thud in her stomach.

“You’re turning green,” Ingrid said.

“Give me that.” Claire snatched the cigarette away from Mads. “You don’t smoke. You’re just wasting it!”

Mads gladly relinquished the butt. So she wasn’t a smoker. Fine. Smoking wasn’t the only thing a bad girl could do.

“Have you seen Jake yet?” Lina asked Holly.

“No,” Holly said. “But I see Karl Levine brought a date.”

Karl Levine sat on the living room couch with the Friendly Fanny blow-up sex doll he’d talked about in IHD class. “I guess she’s about the best Karl can do, date-wise,” Lina said. “They should be here,” she added, meaning Jake and Walker. “Walker told me he was coming.”

Holly was nervous about seeing Jake. It had been two weeks since their double date with Lina and Walker. Jake never called. When she saw him at school, he said hi but not much else. She had a bad feeling. But maybe she was misreading him. Who could tell what a guy was thinking? Their minds seemed completely impervious to logic.

Walker, on the other hand, made it clear that he liked Lina, even though he didn’t push her. He’d already called her twice. And Lina didn’t care! It bugged Holly a little. She tried to play it cool like Lina. Why wasn’t it working for her?

“What’s with your friend Madison?” Sebastiano, wearing tight striped jeans and a leather jacket, materialized in front of them. He nodded at Mads, who was dancing wildly in front of three boys who gaped at her as if she were on crazy pills. “Is she channeling Courtney Love?”

“She’s trying to change her image,” Holly explained.

“Hmm. I think I can help her,” Sebastiano said. “I know the perfect guy—he’s an instant reputation-wrecker, and he’s conveniently here tonight.

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