Save the Date by Laura Dower Read Free Book Online Page A

everyone in seventh grade a happy field trip.
    “Don’t they make a good couple,” Aimee teased, looking over at Mr. Danehy and Ms. Ripple.
    Madison almost laughed, but then she swallowed her laughter. She had a terrible thought about Mom going on a date with someone like Mr. Danehy. What if her mom dated a science teacher from Date-O-Magic? Madison couldn’t deal with that, especially not a date with her teacher.
    “Well, hello, there!” Fiona said, dashing across the school yard. She had her hair pulled up with barrettes and her new glasses.
    “You look so good!” Aimee said.
    “I think the frames are cool,” Fiona said. “The guy at the store said they made me look intelligent.”
    “He said that? ” Aimee teased.
    Fiona put her hands on her hips. “Yes, he did!”
    “They are cool,” Madison said. With or without glasses, Fiona always looked like a model to her.
    “So do you think I look any smarter, Maddie?” Fiona giggled.
    Madison giggled right back. “Total genius.”
    “Whassup?” Egg said. He came over as soon as he saw Fiona standing there. “Nice glasses, Fiona.”
    Fiona grinned. “Yeah. Do you really like them?”
    “Sure,” Egg said, acting doofier than doofy.
    After he walked away, Madison turned to Aimee and Aimee turned to Madison. They were thinking the same thing.
    “What happened to Egg?” Aimee asked.
    “Yeah,” Madison said. “Normally if he saw one of us wearing glasses, he’d call us four eyes or something. But not you, Fiona….”
    Fiona blushed, and Aimee gave her a squeeze.
    One of the teachers blew a whistle and asked the kids to line up in three lines for the three buses to the nature center. Fiona and Lindsay paired up behind Madison and Aimee. Just behind them, all the boys in their group lined up. Hart was three feet from Madison, but she barely looked his way.
    From nowhere Poison Ivy Daly appeared with her drones following right behind. They cut to the front of the line. Madison noticed what Ivy was wearing. She couldn’t believe her enemy had on the same angel T-shirt that Madison had almost worn this morning. That was a closer-than-close call.
    Kids piled into the trio of buses with their groups of friends. Everyone squished in two to a seat. Egg thought he was being funny when he sat on top of Hart and Chet in their row. They just kicked him off.
    “What’s going on back there?” Mr. Danehy’s voice boomed.
    Egg scrambled to sit in his real seat near Drew. Aimee could barely contain her laughter. Bus chaos had started, and they’d only just boarded. Madison turned around to see that Ivy had an entire seat all to herself in the back of the bus.
    Of course, Ivy never played by the rules.
    The bus driver was a round, short man with red hair and a mustache. He growled at the kids, “Keep it down!” and everyone hushed up.
    It didn’t last long, though. The moment the bus gassed up and got going, everyone began murmuring. The noise rose slowly as the buses pulled out of the Far Hills Junior High parking lot and onto the main road.
    And they’re off!
    Since Mr. Danehy had taken his seat way up at the front of the bus, Chet took the opportunity to do one of his Danehy imitations. Everyone was laughing, even Ivy. Egg stood up again and wobbled as if he’d fall over into Hart again, too. It seemed fine until the bus jerked onto an on-ramp on its way to the highway.
    Egg went flying and landed on someone else’s lap for real.
    Madison.
    “Get off me!” Madison yelled.
    Fiona was laughing so hard, her glasses almost fell off her face. Aimee had her hands covering her mouth. Even Lindsay laughed.
    Egg was stuck.
    “I SAID, GET OFF ME!” Madison screamed.
    Mr. Danehy turned around right away when he heard that. He stood up and marched to the back, yanking Egg from Madison’s lap and placing him back in his own seat.
    “Young man,” Mr. Danehy grumbled. He didn’t know Egg’s full name. “Keep it calm back here or you’ll be sitting next to