Judging Joey by Elizabeth John Page B

if you didn’t show soon.”
    Madeline raised her brows in disbelief searching for this mystery man. “Where’d he go? I want to meet the best-looking man in this restaurant. Tell me all about him.”
    “Well, he came over to say hello to everyone at the table. He has the lightest blue eyes, blond hair, nice teeth. Good tan. His name’s George.” Sabrina sparkled with enthusiasm as she quietly described him, taking great pains that no one else at the table would hear. “We exchanged numbers.”
    Madeline understood her friend’s need to keep her enchantment from George’s friends. No woman wanted a man to see too much eagerness. Men found it a real turn off.
    Picking up her bag from the floor, Madeline unzipped it saying, “Mind if we get going soon? I’m wiped.” She bit into a fry.
    “Sure, no problem. Eat something before it gets ice cold, then we’ll go. Hope you don’t mind, but I said we’d try to make it again next time. I had a lot of fun.” Sabrina said that loud enough for TJ and Lynn to hear. They smiled at her and nodded.
    Madeline rummaged through her bag for her wallet. “Um, I don’t know, maybe.”
    Everyone at the table began to protest, insisting she come back the next time. She spotted her wallet, but nearly drowned them out as she noticed something else was missing. “That’s weird. I can’t find my red datebook. It’s not here.”
    “What’s wrong?” Joey slid back into his seat and must have noted her panic because his smile turned quickly into a worried frown. He searched her face for answers.
    “I always carry my datebook with me and it’s not in my bag.” Madeline bent down and scanned the wood floor. She bit down on her lip in frustration. In attempt to conquer some semblance of order, she tried to recall when she had actually last seen it.
    Sabrina held up her hands in a wide stretch. “Okay, let’s think. You went to the dentist this morning. You must have had it out to write in your next appointment.”
    Madeline shook her head. “No, their computer was down. The receptionist said she’d call me to schedule. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen it since yesterday at school.” Holding a finger to her chin, she remembered checking her email and reading a post that the next staff meeting was changed. She’d made a note of it in her date book at her desk. She glanced at Sabrina.
    Joey ripped out a slim black state-of-the-art smartphone. “Teachers. Still using notebooks and pencils. Don’t worry, it’ll turn up.”
    “My paycheck was in there. I was going to go to the bank this morning, but my appointment ran late.”
    “Don’t you have direct deposit?” Joey asked.
    “No, I never signed up for it at work. I kind of like getting a real check and going to cash it in person.”
    Sabrina rolled her eyes. “You need to get in this century.” She grabbed Madeline’s forearm. “Maybe it was stolen. First your picture frame. Now this.”
    “Stolen?” Joey said. “You were robbed? Where? When? Did you report it?”
    “No need to report anything. Just some kids fooling around.” Madeline drained her drink and took another bite of her meal, refusing to believe it could be anything else but pranksters. “I’m going to have to call Payroll on Monday and tell them what happened.”
    Sabrina cut in. “You’re going to talk to the students at the Halloween Safety Assembly, right?”
    When Joey nodded, she continued, “Make sure you tell them to respect other people’s property.”
    Joey leaned back and crossed his very muscular arms. “No worries. Roger already asked me to do that and I said I’d take care it. Prank or not, it’s stealing. The students have to learn there are consequences.”
    Madeline agreed with Joey. Even if the students didn’t realize her check was folded into her book, they were messing with her finances. She signaled to the waitress and had the rest of her cold food wrapped to go. Too drained to eat any more anyway, she’d