poke in the arm, courtesy of Vanessa.
âDid you hear that?â she whispered.
âHear what?â I glared at her, rubbing the sore spot on my arm.
She tilted her head toward the speaker. The secretary was still droning on. But I blinked as I heard her say the word dance.
âWas that about the dance marathon?â I asked.
âNo. Thereâs going to be a school dance,â Vanessa whispered, shooting a glance toward Mr. Ortiz to make sure he didnât notice us talking. âIn two weeks!â
âReally?â That was huge news. Our school isnât big on dances. Normally we have the prom for juniors and seniors, homecoming for everybody, and maybe one more dance around Valentineâs Day. So this was new.
âA dance, huh?â Kaz whispered. âGreat, Iâll be able to get myself all warmed up for it at the dance marathon!â He shimmied in his seat, his long arms and legs all going in different directions.
Finally the announcements ended, which meant we were allowed to talk out loud again. Vanessa immediately spun to face me. âThis is huge,â she said, her blue eyes glowing. âA dance! Fun, right?â
I grinned. Sheâs such a romantic! Sheâs the one who always drags us to all the new chick flicks, even though Kaz and I prefer a good comedy or action movie. Or pretty much anything but a chick flick, for that matter.
âTotally fun,â I agreed. âNot to mention potentially romantic.â I waggled my eyebrows at her. âWeâll have to get right to work landing you a hot date, hmm?â
She looked alarmed. âOh, I donât know. I was thinking the three of us could all go together like we usually do.â
âNot if we can hook you up with Mr. Right by then.â My smile faded as I realized something. âToo bad we wonât be able to double-date. Not with my own Mr. Right a zillion miles away.â
Kaz rolled his eyes. âYeah, bummer.â
âIt is a bummer,â I said. âBut Iâll just have to throw all my energy into living vicariously through Vanessaâs big romantic evening.â
She giggled, her cheeks going pink. âStop,â she said. âStill, itâs going to be fun, right? Too bad Trevor canât come here for the big night, though.â
âI know, right?â For half a second I allowed myself to daydream. But then I shook my head. âMaybe next year when he has his license . . .â My smile crept back, and as the bell rang I allowed myself to sink into another daydream. Okay, this one was set far in the futureâa whole year away. But true romance was worth waiting for, right? That was what the song said, anyway.
â¢Â  â¢Â  â¢
That afternoon Vanessaâs mom picked us up from school and dropped all three of us at Kazâs house. It was quiet and deserted when we walked inâhis dad was at the office, as usual.
âOkay.â Vanessa rubbed her hands together, surveying the spotless living room. âWhat should we do first?â
I looked around too. The entire first floor of Kazâs house has looked pretty much exactly the same for as long as I can remember. He told me once his mom had decorated it, and his dad didnât want to change anything. At least thatâs what his other relatives think. It should have been cozy, with lots of overstuffed furniture and a stack of magazines on the coffee table, but it always felt a little sterile to me. Maybe because that was all there wasâfurniture and magazines. No dog lying around on the rug. No family pictures on the walls or the big stone mantel. Not even a houseplant. The piano in the corner looked as if nobody ever touched it, even though I knew Kaz played it sometimes.
âFirst of all, letâs liven up the place a little,â I suggested. âOtherwise, nobodyâs going to know this is a party. Whereâs the decoration