seemed to be going out of their way to make it easy. Dina, Chloe, Angelaâ¦I could recall faces and voices, but I couldnât remember all of their names. The onlyperson who stood out as a clear, fully formed person was Brooke, mostly because Iâd already noticed her in choirâit was impossible not to, with her deep voice and her easy confidence. Even when we were freshmen and technically supposed to be keeping our heads down and paying our dues, she talked and joked around with the upperclassmen like sheâd known them forever.
I soon found out that she probably had.
âDo you know who her brothers are?â Matt asked me when I showed him the pink slumber party invitation. âBill and Brice Dempsey.â
âReally?â I hadnât been completely under a rock for the past two years; I knew about the golden twins whoâd practically ruled the school before graduating the previous spring.
âPeople are still talking about them,â Matt told me. âAnd it looks like Brooke is going to inherit all of it.â
I reread the invitation as if the words were a new language to learn. âSo why does she want me, I wonder?â
âBecause youâre amazing.â He pulled a face of mock terror. âOh noes! What if you become insanely popular? Iâll be so lonely!â
âDonât worry,â I said, folding the pink paper and tucking it inside my aria book. âI somehow doubt Iâll be deemed worthy.â
But the amazing thing about that night was the feeling that I was worthy. Riding home from Brookeâs party in my fatherâs car, I switched the radio from the morning news to a pop station, and as we rounded the corner onto our street a song came on that I had danced to just hours earlier. Dad let me listen in the driveway until it was over, even though he needed to leave for a job fair.
âWish me luck, Sweetpea?â heâd said as I gathered up my things. He wore his business suit, which made me sad every time I saw it. At his last job he only ever wore short sleeves and khakis; nerdy, but I preferred nerdy to formal. Formal meant résumés and waiting for interview callbacks and Mom working longer hours, clipping coupons, and staying up all night worrying.
âGood luck,â I said, and kissed him on the cheek.
Inside the house, Mom sat on the living room couch with her coffee and her morning crossword puzzle spread out across her lap.
âThere you are!â she said. âI didnât know when to expect you.â
âItâs not that late.â I ran my tongue over my teeth, hoping my breath didnât smell like peach schnapps.
âNot late at all. Itâs just you have your first English paper due this week. I thought youâd want to get started on it.â
âIâm going to work on it now,â I told her. My eyes were sandy and my brain felt sluggish from lack of sleep.
âGreat!â she said. âDo you want some coffee to help you stay awake?â
She loaded me down with an old French press, a mug, and a plate of buttered toast, then she sent me upstairs, but instead of going to the guest room where we keep the computer, I went to my own room across the hall and lay down on the bed. I closed my eyes and let my mind fill with imagesâBrookeâs elegant house, her brothers coming home at three a.m. and entertaining us with stories about the party theyâd just attended, the other girls in their pajamas, dancing around Brookeâs room like actors in a TV commercial. Weâd polished one anotherâs nails. Weâd chatted online with some sophomore guys, giggling when they mooned the webcam. Weâd seen one another in our underwear, retainers, and zit cream; I fell asleep with these things in my mind.
Three hours later, I woke up to the phone ringing.
âKathryn!â my mom shouted from downstairs. âItâs for you!â
I stumbled into the
George Simpson, Neal Burger