Caught in the Web by Laura Dower Read Free Book Online Page B

lasted through February,” Hart said. “February! It’s my own personal record.”
    “Man, I ate all my candy in only two days,” Egg said. “And then I was dog sick for like a week.”
    Madison nodded. “I remember.”
    “I hate it when candy gets stale,” Aimee complained. “I had to throw most of my candy out.”
    “What are you talking about, Aimee? You don’t even eat candy,” Drew said.
    Aimee shrugged and took a bite of carrot.
    “Don’t you guys think we’re a little old to go trick-or-treating?” Madison said. “I mean, I don’t wanna sound like I’m a—”
    “PARTY POOPER!” Egg yelled.
    Aimee slapped Egg’s shoulder. “I’m with you, Maddie,” she said.
    “Hey! I like trick-or-treating,” Fiona said. “We’re not too old!”
    “Are you saying we have to stop trick-or-treating just because we’re in junior high?” Egg said. “I intend to do it for as long as I possibly can. And after that, even.”
    “We have to wear costumes for the Halloween dance. Why not use ’em again to get good candy?” Drew said.
    “Hey, know what? If I can’t be a rapper, I wanna dress up like a mummy,” Egg said. “For my costume, I mean. For the dance.”
    “A mummy is in a wrapper. That’s practically the same thing, right?” Drew laughed at his own lame joke.
    “What if we all went trick-or-treating together?” Chet said. “Maybe we could go as a TV family or something. Like the Simpsons.”
    “I love them!” Madison said enthusiastically.
    “What did you dress up as last year, Maddie?” Drew asked.
    Madison thought for a moment. “I dunno,” she mumbled.
    Dressing up for Halloween always stressed out Madison.
    “I think I’m going to dress up as a boxer this year,” Chet said. “Or a martian. Yeah. Something freaky.”
    Fiona groaned. “You would.”
    “I’m going to go to the dance as a ballerina,” Aimee said. She picked at a lettuce leaf on her plate. Aimee was becoming the kind of person who counted peas before she ate them.
    “Ballerina? Like that’s a big surprise.” Egg made a face.
    “You should go as a wizard,” Drew said to Hart. “You have the cape and hat from The Wiz, right?”
    “Yeah, I do,” Hart said. “Maybe I should go as a wizard.”
    “You were great as the wizard,” Fiona said. “And you could do tricks at the dance. You’re really good at tricks, Hart.”
    Egg sneered. “Magic, shmagic. I’m gonna be a ninja. What about you, Fiona?”
    “I wanna be a hula dancer.”
    “Hula girl, whoa!” Egg teased. “You got a grass skirt?”
    Fiona smiled at him and tilted her head slightly to the side. She’d been crushing on him for weeks, so she didn’t mind his teasing one bit.
    “Why don’t you lend her your grass skirt, Egg!” Chet said, laughing.
    Egg made a face.
    “Remember when Egg dressed up like a doctor for Halloween?” Aimee asked the table.
    Madison rolled her eyes. “That was like a million Halloweens ago—”
    “When we were six —” Aimee said.
    “And Egg got into a yelling match with these nasty kids walking down the street and—”
    “Yeah, yeah, and I got picked off by an egg on the Fourth Street overpass.” Egg shook his head. “Get to the point, Maddie. I got hit with an egg, so that’s when you started calling me Egg. Thanks a lot.”
    “At least it wasn’t toilet paper.” Hart laughed. “T.P. would be a worse nickname.”
    The table snickered.
    Madison looked up at the lunchroom clock. The bell was about to sound. She saw Ivy getting up a few tables away, probably heading for the girls’ bathroom. Ivy looked right over at Madison and the rest of the orange table with a mean, hard stare. Madison was glad that Hart wasn’t watching.
    What tricks did Poison Ivy have up her Boop-Dee-Doop sleeves now?
    Fiona, Aimee, and Madison got up to return their trays.
    “Hey, Maddie, have you entered that writing contest on TweenBlurt yet?” Fiona asked.
    “Huh? Not yet.” Madison shook her head.
    “I’ve been