Summer 2010: Madison Craig is 15, George Tang is 13, Suzie and Charlie Tang are 52 (Anna Sutton is 15, Julie Lloyd is 53)
The summer has been almost unbearably boring for Madison Craig. She actually wishes school would hurry up and start again so that she’ll have something to do all day. She’s already been skating at the park more times than she can count. And bowling is only fun when you haven’t done it twenty times in a row. Her best friend Anna Sutton is working at her mom’s toy store most days this summer, leaving Madison to find other people to hang out with. Madison and her one time crush Ervin have broken things off. She figured out that the idea of having a boyfriend is more fun than actually having one.
So lately Madison has resorted to inviting Connor Dawn over for a little bit of soccer practice. Anna and Connor are still dating, although Madison gets annoyed with them when Anna can’t hang out because she has a date with Connor. Madison sometimes wishes she’d never introduced Anna and Connor to each other. Then she’d have her best friend all to herself!
But when Anna is busy, Connor is an okay replacement. Besides, Anna hates sports and refuses to play soccer with Madison while Connor is always happy to play.
“Gooooooaaaaal!” Madison shouts when Connor misses her shot, raising her arms in the air in celebration.
“Lucky shot,” Connor grumbles.
“Natural skill,” Madison corrects him.
“Just because I wear makeup, you think I can’t play soccer?” Madison asks.
It’s become kind of an inside joke between the two of them. Connor pretends that Madison can’t possibly be as good at soccer as she is, and Madison taunts him with the fact that he gets beaten by a girl wearing makeup and earrings. Madison is a force to be reckoned with all on her own–she’s extremely intelligent (she’s already a sure bet for valedictorian of her class although she’ll only be starting the tenth grade this year), naturally good at sports, and yet she’s not afraid of being girly and loves makeup and jewelry. And not to mention, she’s turning into a beautiful young woman, a fact which all the boys at school haven’t failed to notice.
Is it any wonder Connor has been having other thoughts about Madison Craig lately with all that she has going for her?
“I just didn’t think you could see the goal very well through all that mascara,” Connor says, laughing.
Madison pokes him in the stomach. “You’d better watch it or next time I’ll aim for your head instead of the net.”
“Want to play again?” Madison asks.
Madison doesn’t realize what affect she has on Connor. When she looks in the mirror, she doesn’t think she’s ugly or anything, but she hasn’t yet figured out that she both intimidates and fascinates boys. She may not be the temptress that her mother once was, but Madison unknowingly radiates something that draws boys to her.
So on that late summer afternoon, Connor decides now is his chance.
“I have a better idea,” he says, taking a step closer.
Before Madison can react Connor’s arms are around her, pulling her body close to his, and his lips are on hers–his tongue is in her mouth, rubbing against her teeth and nearly gagging her.
When Madison finally breaks away from Connor’s assault on her mouth, she sends a glare that makes the bigger boy take an involuntary step backward.
“What the hell, Connor?” Madison shouts. “You just violated my mouth with your tongue. Are you psycho?”
Connor points an accusing finger at her. “Don’t pretend you didn’t want me to kiss you. You’ve been flirting with me all summer, inviting me over to your house for ‘soccer practice.'” He makes air quotes as he says “soccer practice,” as if Madison had an ulterior motive for kicking balls at his head.
“Soccer, not tonsil hockey! I only invited you over here because Anna is working. Remember Anna? Your girlfriend and my best friend?”
Connor reaches out to try to touch her arm. “Come on, Maddie,” he says. “Anna doesn’t have to know about us.”
Madison slaps his hand away. “First of all, it’s Madison, not Maddie. Second of all, I am not your skank on the side. Get off my front yard and go home. And if you think I’m not telling Anna about this, you really are psycho.”
“Oh, really?” Connor asks. “Before you tell Anna, ask yourself who she’ll believe–her friend who is just jealous that she doesn’t have a boyfriend or the guy who tells her he loves her?”
Madison stops, thinking over his words. Anna will believe her, right? She has to know Madison would never kiss Connor.
“I’m not jealous,” Madison says. “If I want a boyfriend, I could have one. One that isn’t already dating someone else!”
Connor shrugs. “What really matters is what Anna will think. And even if she does believe you, Anna loves me. Do you want to hurt her?” He smiles and gives a wave as he turns to go. “See you later, Maddie.”
###
Madison isn’t sure what to do about Connor. She doesn’t want him to think he can cheat on her best friend–especially with her!–and get away with it, but Madison also doesn’t want to hurt Anna. Connor is Anna’s first boyfriend and first kiss and she talks about him all the time.
Usually Madison loves talking on the phone, but these days, she can’t wait to hang up so she doesn’t have to listen to Anna talk about Connor. She makes up any excuse she can think of to get off the phone.
“I have to go weed the front lawn,” Madison tells Anna. “Talk to you later.”
“Oh, gross!” Madison exclaims when she sees her parents getting a little too close in the living room. “Can’t you two go to your own room and do that stuff? Geez, you’d think you two were the teenagers around here.”
The public display of affection opens a door that Charlie has been concerned about lately and he takes the opportunity to try to talk to Madison.
“Um, Madison,” he begins, clearing his throat. “I know you’re fifteen now and that means that you have all kinds of hormones, um, going crazy. And I notice you’ve been spending a lot of time hanging around that boy Connor–”
“Do not say that name in front of me,” Madison interrupts. “I want absolutely nothing to do with that vile reptile Connor Dawn. And if this is your idea of a sex talk, save it. I already told you Mom let me read her novels long ago and I’ve taken health class. I know what goes where and how things work and this discussion is so disgusting that you’ve probably scared me off from having sex for the next twenty years. Okay? I’m not a little kid anymore, Charlie.”
“Exactly,” Charlie says. “And that’s what worries me. You’re a beautiful girl, Madison, and I don’t want you to let boys take advantage of you.”
“Believe me, the boys are the ones who should be worried,” Madison tells him. “Is this conversation over? And can we promise never to talk about this again?”
“Why is talking to her so hard now?” Charlie asks his wife. “It’s like I always say the wrong things. I’m just trying to look out for her.”
“She’s a smart girl, Charlie,” Suzie says. “I trust Madison to keep herself out of trouble.”
“I trust her too,” Charlie says. “I just don’t trust them.”
“Them who?”
“Teenaged boys.”
“There will always be teenaged boys in the world,” Suzie says. “But we’ve raised Madison into a strong girl that can take care of herself. Now can you please give me an hour to finish these chapters? I promised my editor I’d have a draft to her by next week.”
###
George Tang has become very serious about his music since his thirteenth birthday. He dreams of being on stage, singing to millions of fans screaming his name.
It took every bit of begging and pleading he had in him to convince his parents to buy him the keyboard and synthesizer for his birthday and now he spends hours in his room writing his own songs.
But today even his music doesn’t drown out the sounds of Madison pounding on his door and saying, “Please, George? Just play with me for an hour!”
George isn’t a big sports fan, but he’ll play soccer with his sister every now and then. Of course, usually Madison doesn’t want him to play. Something must be wrong with her, George thinks.
“So what’s up?” George asks.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re playing soccer with me,” George points out. “Voluntarily. In fact, you asked me to play, something which I don’t recall ever happening before.”
Madison shrugs. “I’m bored. I need someone to play with.”
“Why not Anna? Or Connor?”
Madison shoots a dark glare toward her brother. “Are you going to run your mouth all day or are we going to play?”
After Madison has kicked a few well-aimed balls at her brother’s head, George tries again. “Come on, Mad. I can tell something is bothering you. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” Madison exclaims. “Why can’t everyone around here just leave me alone?”
“Fine,” George says. “I give up. Wallow in your own misery. But don’t ask me to play soccer with you again.”
George marches inside the house and goes to his room, changing out of the old soccer uniform he had left from the one year he attempted to play on the county’s recreational team. He only made it to one game before he was hit hard in the head because he was too busy composing lyrics in his mind instead of focusing on the game. That was the end of George’s sports career and the beginning of his music dreams.
George tries to focus on the song he’s working on, but he keeps thinking about Madison. Freaking Madison. Why does she always have a way of getting all the attention around the house? Even when George wants to be the mean younger brother who doesn’t care, he can’t stop thinking about his sister. He knows something is wrong and even if he’s the last person she’ll talk to, he knows he has to try again.
“Okay,” George says, marching into their parents’ bedroom, where Madison is using the computer. “What’s wrong with you? And I don’t want to hear ‘nothing.'”
Madison looks up at her brother, weighing the pros and cons of telling him what happened. She really does need someone to tell her what to do, because she can’t keep avoiding Anna forever. But is she desperate enough that she’ll talk to her little brother?
“Connor surprise attacked me and kissed me,” Madison says. “No, actually, he made out with my teeth. So now I don’t know what to do. Should I tell Anna? Will she get mad at me? Will she even believe me? I don’t want to hurt her, but I can’t let her keep dating this creep, can I? I mean, if he kissed me, how many other girls has he kissed behind Anna’s back?”
George is surprised that Madison actually told him the truth, but he tries not to let his surprise show. He keeps his expression serious as he considers his sister’s problem. “Hmm. Well, I think the only obvious choice is to tell Anna the truth.”
“What if she doesn’t believe me?”
“Do you want her to keep dating Connor when you know what he’s doing behind her back? She’ll be hurt a lot more if you keep this a secret.”
Madison lets out a long sigh. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
###
“I need to talk to you about Connor,” Madison says. The most private place Madison can think of to have this conversation, where no parents can listen in, is on the playground at the park.
“What about him?” Anna asks.
“Well, it’s just…Are you sure you really like him?” Madison asks. She’s too chicken to tell Anna what happened.
“I love him,” Anna says. “We’ve talked about getting married one day. I know you think that’s stupid and we’re too young to think about that, but I can imagine myself with him forever.”
“That’s because you’ve never dated anyone else,” Madison says. “Maybe you and Connor should take a break and date other people for awhile. You might meet someone else you like better.”
“I don’t want to date other people,” Anna says. “I love Connor and he loves me. Are you upset that I have a boyfriend and you don’t? Connor mentioned that you seemed a little jealous of our relationship, but I told him that was stupid. Of course you’re not jealous of us.” She pauses. “Are you?”
Connor. The thought of him filling Anna’s head with lies about Madison being jealous gives her the courage she needs to tell Anna the truth.
“Connor kissed me two weeks ago,” Madison says. “At my house, while you were working. I invited him over to play soccer. Apparently, he thought that was a pick up line.”
Anna’s face is devoid of emotion as she stares back at Madison. “What do you mean, Connor kissed you? Like on the cheek?”
“No,” Madison says softly. “On the lips. His tongue in my mouth. He kissed me and then he didn’t want me to tell you.”
Anna is silent and another girl climbs into the jungle gym with them. Madison scowls at her. “Hey you, this is a private conversation. Find your own jungle gym.”
Anna stands. “No, it’s okay,” she tells the girl. “I’m leaving. You can stay.”
Madison jumps up and slides down the pole, calling after Anna.
“Anna, wait! Please talk to me.”
“What is there to talk about?” Anna asks. “You kissed my boyfriend!”
“No way! He kissed me!”
“So what, now Connor is a cheater?” Anna asks.
“Apparently!” Madison exclaims. “You’re my best friend, Anna. I had to tell you.”
“Ex-best friend,” Anna says.
“You don’t mean that–”
“Yes, I do. Connor was right, you are jealous of our relationship. I never thought you’d do something like this to me, Madison. I love him and I can’t believe you would–” Anna’s voice breaks off into a choked sob.
“I didn’t!” Madison protests. “Connor is the one to blame, not me. Please, Anna.”
Anna turns and stomps away. “Don’t call me again. Ever.”
“You actually tried to arrange a date?” Suzie asks her sister. “That never works!”
“I had to do something,” Julie Lloyd says. “Seth and Emma are being unreasonable. They both miss each other, why can’t they just get back together?”
The front door opens and then slams shut. Madison stops, looks at her mom and aunt, and then says, “WHY DO BOYS HAVE TO BE SO STUPID?”
They watch as Madison stomps toward her room.
“What was that all about?” Julie asks.
“Perfect time for a lesson on parenting,” Suzie says. “See, you would go chase after her and question her until she either begrudgingly told you what was wrong or else screamed at you to stay out of her life. I take a different approach. I let my kids go to their rooms, stomp around and slam a few doors, and eventually they figure out how to fix their problems on their own.”
“That seems a little neglectful,” Julie says. “You don’t know if they’ve gotten into problems that need your help.”
Suzie shrugs. “I trust them. And that’s why I’m the cool mom and you’re the one getting yelled at by your twenty year old.”
—————————————-
This storyline came from Connor himself. He likes Madison just as much as he likes Anna and he kept trying to flirt with her and kiss her whenever Anna wasn’t around. But Anna has a secret of her own, which you’ll see coming up very soon.
Madison and Ervin broke things off because Madison doesn’t ever roll up any wants toward him now. So I figured she liked the idea of having a boyfriend, just not the reality of it. She’s still young and isn’t really ready to get serious about anyone.
Outtake:
Um, Madison, maybe this is why Connor thought you were interested in him? Connor doesn’t know that Madison has been talking about woohoo since she was a little kid!
Wow, Connor is such a jerk! Setting Anna up for when Madison finally told her the truth! Gah what a creep! I hope Madison and Anna get through this! I lol @ Suzie explaining how to be a “cool mom”!
I hope Madison and Anna become friends again! A boy shouldn’t come between best friends!
Ahh flashback moments to when Suzie was a not so single mom raising a daugther with the only way she knew… Romance novels and hugs.
Suzie you are one cool mom. Julie, keep dreaming.
I love George. I would marry him if I lived in Pine Hollow. He is so cute and he is musical. I love a music man.
Was the title taken from the song Bad Boyfriend by Garbage? A line from the song ‘Why Do You Love Me’ also by Garbage reminds me of the Anna/Connor/Mads one sided triangle. ‘I think you’re sleeping with a friend of mine’ is that lyric.
I love you George!
Yep, the title is from the Garbage song. 🙂
George is adorable. I’ve started calling him G-Tang in my head just because. 😉
OMG, what a sleaze-ball Connor is!!! I’m glad Madison told her about it – it’s the right thing to do. Anna will find out he’s a sleaze soon enough anyway. Wow, and I can’t wait to find out what Anna’s secret is!
Pine Hollow is just packed with drama lately, isn’t it? 🙂
LOL @ Suzie being “the cool mom!” I bet that’s something she never imagined herself being way back when 🙂
Well, Madison might have been giving Connor the wrong idea with all her sex talk but Connor is still a total sleaze! I really hope Anna reconsiders once she calms down.
And I’m all excited to hear what Anna’s secret is now!
Ok, Connor sucks monkey balls! I don’t like him at all, and now Anna doesn’t want to be frinds with Madison because of the lies he’s putting into her head.
I remember my friend’s boyfriend kissed me like that, and thank God, when I told her she believed me over him and dumped his butt!
I hope the girls are able to work things out and be friends again. And this secret Anna has? Can’t wait to find out!
Wow, Connor needs his butt kicked hard and I feel bad for Madison and possibly losing her best friend.
Suzie is and will remain a pretty interesting mom. I really wonder how that effects her kids.
Connor is so conniving, I love it. Evil Sims make the game so much more interesting.
I am mad that Anna took Connor’s side though. Such a gullible girl. Hopeful she will learn her lesson before she does something silly. Like marry him or have a baby by him or both.
Boo, Connor! And Anna, unfortunately, you’ll have to find out the hard way what a loser Connor is.
Aww, hopefully the girls will come back together soon-what’s the equivalent of the “bros before hos”? is it “chicks before #icks”?
what a creep! I don’t care for that poof head Connor. Such a shame that Anna is blinded and can’t see that her true friend wouldn’t do such a thing like that. I hope it works out before Anna is stuck with Connor in her life.