Madison’s New Buddy
Sleepover Singalong
The four girls are enjoying Madison’s first slumber party at Jasmine’s house. After dinner, they’d played card games, watched a movie, and now they’re squished together on the couch, passing a bowl of popcorn back and forth while playing with Jasmine’s wiggly dachshund, Cookie. Now that Keiko is no longer afraid of dogs, she and Cookie are slowly becoming good friends.
Suddenly, Jasmine jumps up. She’s been saving the best activity for last. She wheels in a thin metal stand with a wide screen on top. It’s a karaoke machine, and Jasmine’s clearly been dying to try it out. She flips a switch and taps eagerly on the screen until it lights up. Keiko picks up the microphone and demonstrates how you can sing into it, her voice suddenly booming through the room.
Sofia gets to her feet and takes the microphone from Keiko. She strikes a pose, puffing out her chest as if she’s about to belt out her favorite tune. Everyone seems excited to participate, except Madison. She knows that karaoke involves reading the lyrics off the screen. There’s no way she can read fast enough to keep up with the song. Her friends will surely notice, and the slumber party would become a nightmare. Her stomach twists just thinking about it.
As an attempted distraction, Madison suggests making hot fudge sundaes. She brought whipped cream and everything, hoping to distract everyone from the karaoke machine. Sofia protests that she’s stuffed—if she eats one more thing her stomach will explode. Keiko jokes that even Cookie wants to sing, holding the microphone in front of Cookie’s snout as he yips and wags his tail.
Madison says she doesn’t think she knows the words of any songs, but of course, Jasmine responds that the words pop up on the screen, so all she has to do is read along. Easy peasy!
But that’s the thing. For Madison, reading isn’t easy. Why couldn’t it be as simple for her as it seems like it is for everyone else? Thinking about it makes Madison feel like hiding in a corner, just like Buddy.
Jasmine waves Madison over to pick out a song. Since Madison can’t think of any more excuses, she gets to her feet and joins the others. They scroll through the list of song choices so fast that Madison can’t even read the names of the songs. Luckily, Jasmine begins to read them out loud. When Jasmine reads “Friends Forever,” Madison pauses her, saying that’s her favorite song. Madison doesn’t mention that she knows all the words by heart.
The girls put on the song, and the music blasts through the room. Madison joyfully sings along with her friends while Jasmine’s parents sit on the couch and applaud. Inside, Madison breathes a sigh of relief. Her secret is safe once again.