Free Heart to Heart (From the Files of Madison Finn, 11) by Laura Dower

English notebook so she could show it to Fiona and Aimee later. Unfortunately, this piece of evidence didn’t really help. For one thing, it was a poem and none of the boys they knew wrote poems. But on the other hand, all of the boys they knew were pretty funny. Maybe one of them did write this.
    Madison’s heart was betting on Hart.
    Sometimes I carry my social studies book with me to science class, Madison thought. So Hart could have snuck the note inside it then. And who knows how long that note has even been there?
    Madison smiled to herself, picturing how Hart thought up the little rhyme and put the poem into her book.
    “Hey, Finnster!” Hart’s voice seemed loud and clear.
    He was standing right there beside Madison, as if she’d willed him there.
    Is he going to say something about the note? Is he going to admit that he’s my secret admirer? Before she could realize what she was doing, Madison turned on her heel and ran in the opposite direction.
    “Finnster, wait up!” Hart called, but Madison wouldn’t wait. Her feet wouldn’t let her.
    And as if things weren’t already bad enough, Madison turned a corner and smacked straight into Ivy. Madison’s books and pink flyers flew everywhere.
    “Ow,” Ivy said, rubbing her shoulder. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”
    “Sorry,” Madison said quickly as she bent toward her books.
    Ivy got up and walked away without saying anything.
    Madison shrugged, and reached for her English book, but she saw that a hand was already holding it out to her. She caught her breath as she looked up and saw—
    “Drew!” Madison said, head spinning with relief. “Oh, it’s just you.”
    “Just me?” Drew joked.
    Madison laughed as she took the book from him and stood up. “No—sorry. I meant—it’s you! Great!”
    Drew smiled. “That’s more like it,” he said. Then cleared his throat and asked, “You’re headed to English, right? Mind if I walk with you?”
    “Okay,” Madison said.
    Drew smiled and his whole face lit up. “Cool,” he said.
    They fell into step toward Mr. Gibbons’s class, but Drew didn’t say anything for a little while, which made Madison a little uncomfortable. Usually, Drew was a talkative guy. In no time, they were standing in front of Mr. Gibbons’s classroom.
    “Well, here’s where I get off,” Madison said.
    “Wait a sec—” Drew said, his voice getting quiet. “Maddie, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
    “Ask me?” Madison said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Is everything all right?”
    “Oh—yeah,” Drew said. He took Madison’s elbow and gently pulled her to the side, so that other kids could get into the room. He looked at her a moment, and for the first time, Madison noticed that there were flecks of gold in his brown hair. Even though Drew wore it in a spiky hairdo, which made it look different, Madison realized that Drew’s hair was actually just like Hart’s.
    Drew looked at the floor, and traced a crack in the stone with the toe of his shoe. “You know, Fiona and Egg are going to the dance together.”
    “I know. Isn’t it weird?” Madison said.
    “Yeah, well,” Drew went on, looking back at his shoes, “I was thinking that it could be fun if we went together, too. Like, as a double date.”
    He paused, then looked up at her expectantly.
    Madison felt so dumb. She remembered what Aimee had said the day before about him liking her.
    How could she not have seen this coming?
    “Gee,” Madison said, taking a long time to respond. She was confused. Drew wanted her to be his date? Drew was asking her to the dance? Did this mean Drew was Orange Crush?
    “I don’t think I can go,” Madison said. “No, I definitely can’t.”
    “No?” Drew said.
    Madison stood there a moment, unable to believe that she had just turned him down—just like that.
    Drew blinked a few times, like someone had just punched him in the stomach. He jammed his fists into his