Meanicures by Catherine Clark

weird.
    It’s Halloween
, I told myself.
The night was created for weirdness
.
    “Oh. Well, when she gets back, could you tell her I’m sorry about the eggs?” I said to Cassidy’s mom. “And, um, I want to apologize to you, too. I’m sorry. I guess I just got carried away.”
    “It’s not a big deal, Madison. We probably won’t even have to clean it off before it rains again and the rain washes it off. I guess that’s one of the benefits of living here.” She laughed. “But, Madison? Why would you do that to our house? I mean, I get that maybe you and Cassidy aren’t close anymore, but are you that far apart?”
    “Kind of,” I said. “Anyway—I have to go, there’s someone at the door,” I lied. “Talk to you later!”
    After I hung up, I sat on the couch for a minute, not wanting to move because then I’d have to take my costume off. Though I was dying to do that, I also knew it was going to be a lot of work to get rid of all the makeup.
    “Hey.” Parker sat down beside me on the couch, his scary white
Scream
mask pushed up on his head.“Since when do you do Halloween pranks?”
    I shrugged. “It was just a few eggs.”
    “What were you trying to do, act like your costume?” he asked.
    Our gray tabby cat, Rudy, ran out from under the sofa, where he’d been hiding due to the constant ringing of the doorbell. Rudy doesn’t tolerate guests well. Or costumes. He took one look at me and Parker and raced away, his nails scrabbling on the wood floor, bolting for the stairs.
    “So why Cassidy’s house? I thought you wanted her out of your life.”
    “I did,” I said. “I mean, I do.”
    “So … why would you go to her house for a party and then egg it afterward? That doesn’t make sense,” said Parker, dumping a pillowcase full of candy onto the sofa.
    I took off my pointy hat and set it on his head. “When you’re older, you’ll understand. Life is complicated.”
    “Ooh, deep. Maybe I could take you seriously if you weren’t dressed like a character from
The Wizard of Oz.”
    “And maybe I could take you seriously if you weren’t
ten,”
I said.
    Before he could continue to torment me, I ran upstairs to the bathroom and locked the door. I thought it’d take a long time to get all the face makeup off, but I used face cream and it slid right off with a couple of tissues.
    Life was suddenly so much easier. So I was grounded for a few days. So what? I’d already done what I wanted to do. Ruined Cassidy’s Halloween party for her. Finally, my friends and I were coming out on the right side of things for a change.
    I pictured the look on Cassidy’s face and smiled. Now she knew how it felt, being all alone, wishing she could count on a former friend.

Chapter 12
    “This is Olivia Salinas, with this morning’s update. Partly sunny tomorrow, with a ninety percent chance of rain.” Olivia paused. “How is that
partly
sunny? And how is a ninety percent chance of rain even a
chance?
That seems more like a given. You know?
    “Okay, okay! Before I get started with today’s update, I need to apologize for my last update. I guess. Though I really don’t think I did anything wrong. Oh, right. Sorry, Mr. Brooks. Sorry I used the words
ignorant
and
stupid
. Those are horrible words. Never do it again. Does that count? Okay, great.”
    I had to smile as I watched Olivia breeze through her on-air apology, otherwise known as her retraction, or, as she put it, her “re-whation.”
    “Now, moving on … well, we’ve got the usual assortment of exciting news,” Olivia continued. “Today’s lunch, everyone? Tacos with refried beans. Because what we all need to get through the day is a good dose of heartburn.”
    Uh-oh
, I thought. I glanced around my homeroom to see how everyone else was reacting.
    They were actually watching. They were laughing. And not at her
—with
her.
    At least it will keep me awake in social studies, because lately it’s been soooo boring.” She smiled at the