by Emily Lowry
On the first weekend of October, my mom was leaving town for a work conference. It was perfect timing, and once Mason learned of this opportunity, party planning began. We collected decorations, planned snacks and drinks, and put together a guest list. Then, sooner than I expected, the night of the party arrived.
I was a bundle of nerves. I’d never thrown a party before — at least not one where the guest list was bigger than Nina, Callie, Kenzie and myself. It turned out that party planning was a lot like dating. There were a lot of invisible rules that you were expected to know. For example, even though you told people the party started at seven, you shouldn’t expect to see anyone until nine. You also needed to section off the parts of your house that you didn’t want people to use. You couldn’t just tell them not to go upstairs, you had to block the stairs with a chair. Or a couch.
I was glad Mason and Tyler knew what they were doing, because I was way out of my depths.
Nina stood in my bedroom, adjusting her outfit in front of the full-length mirror. For once, she wasn’t wearing one of her signature band t-shirts. I’d talked her into a black miniskirt and a silky bronze camisole, which looked amazing against her smooth brown skin. She scanned her outfit. “What did your mom say when you told her about the party?”
Guilt gnawed at me. When mom left on her overnight trip, she left explicit directions that we were not to have people over. Those instructions were more aimed at Tyler than me, but that made me even more guilty. Mom trusted me. And she didn’t want to come back to see that the house had been destroyed.
I stood beside Nina and touched up my lip gloss. “Didn’t tell her.”
Nina blinked. “You didn’t tell her?”
“Is that so weird?” I hated how defensive I sounded. “Lots of people don’t tell their parents things.”
“Yeah, but… It’s you.”
I sighed. “I tried to talk to her. But she didn’t want to hear anything I had to say. It’s like she thinks I’m still a little girl. Precious little Zoe. She stuck me in that box, and she’s not going to let me out. And she’s definitely not going to let me have parties. So, I figured, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
“What did Tyler say?”
“You know Ty,” I said. My brother was too relaxed to care much. His philosophy was to deal with things as they happened. No sweat. “This party will be fine, right?”
“Absolutely,” Nina said, dragging an eyeliner pencil along her lash line. “Everything’s going to be fine. Is Kevin coming?”
He was, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. A month ago, if someone had told me Kevin was coming to my house, I would’ve been thrilled. Or throwing up. One or the other. But now I wasn’t so sure. “He’ll be here,” I said. I pointed to the board game I’d strategically set out on my desk. “That’s why I have that set up.”
Nina grinned. “You set up a board game so you can invite him to your bedroom?”
Gross. The thought of being alone with Kevin in my bedroom made me feel off, sort of like I just sipped milk that was past its best by date. I tried to calm my stomach. It was probably just nerves.
Downstairs, the front door opened.
I checked the clock. It was only 6:30. “I’m not ready.”
Nina examined my outfit. “What could you possibly have left to do?”
I glanced in the mirror. Nina had tamed my crazy hair with a curling wand. My face was fully made up. And I was wearing a cute emerald green romper.
I knew I cleaned up well. But it didn’t feel like enough, somehow.
“Make myself look pretty,” I said.
“You’re always pretty.”
I smiled. “Takes one to know one.”
Voices rose from the first floor. It wasn’t our guests, it was just Tyler and Mason.
Nina mimed wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Don’t worry, it’s just Mason. We’re safe.”
But now that Mason was here, I felt more nervous than ever.
32
Mason
“So, dude, you invite Meredith to Homecoming yet?” Tyler asked as he grabbed us each a bottle of soda from the fridge. He handed me a root beer.
I took the root beer, twisted off the cap, and took a drink. The question Tyler asked had been at the top of everyone’s minds lately. It seemed like no matter who I talked to — guys on the team, friends in class, even teachers — the subject turned to Homecoming. And when the subject turned to Homecoming, the conversation turned to Meredith. “There’s no ink on that contract yet,” I said, being purposefully vague.
“Better hurry up, before that ship sails.” Ty raised his eyebrows. Parker had accepted his invitation to Homecoming last week, and he hadn’t stopped preening like a peacock since.
Zoe and Nina entered the kitchen. Nina looked cute, sure, but my attention was immediately drawn to Zoe. She wore more makeup than usual, and her hair was curled, falling over her shoulders, but none of that mattered — she was beautiful with or without makeup. What really struck me was her eyes.
She’d always had pretty eyes, but tonight? They were beautiful.
She was wearing green, which made her eyes look a brighter, more vibrant emerald than ever. The startling color popped against her pale skin, and when our eyes met, something fluttered in my chest.
I glanced away and nervously ran my hand through my hair. She didn’t catch me checking her out, did she? “Zoo,” I said, while scrutinizing the label on my root beer. “We need to go over a game plan for you.”
“Sounds good, Space Face,” Zoe said. She tore open a party-size bag of salt and vinegar chips and poured them into a bowl.
She hadn’t called me Space Face in a while.
While Nina and Tyler disappeared to put up the rest of the decorations, I helped Zoe stagger the snacks throughout the house.
“When the party starts, you need to position yourself near Kevin,” I said. “So you two are alone, if you can.”
“How am I supposed to do that without looking super awkward?”
“Magic,” I said. I set a bowl of BBQ chips on the table in the basement. “Wait until he needs to get up to go do something. Like get food, or—”
“Go to the bathroom?” Zoe looked at me seriously. “I could corner him in there. Maybe knock on the door and tell him I’m waiting for him? Hey, Kev, after you’re done peeing, would you mind asking me on a date?”
I laughed. “Maybe not the bathroom.”
Zoe laid out a stack of napkins. “Okay. So after I get him alone, I…?”
“You know that restaurant you mentioned in Life Skills? The one where they let you break the plates after you’re finished eating?”
“Snack N’ Smash,” Zoe said. She raised an eyebrow. “Good memory.”
“It’s a quarterback thing,” I replied. “When you’re alone with Kevin, bring up Snack N’ Smash. Talk about how cool it is and how much you want to go. As long as he’s not a complete idiot, he’ll pick up on it.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“He will,” I said.
“Okay.” Zoe scanned the room. “It looks good. Thank you.”
The doorbell rang.
She looked mildly alarmed. “I thought people weren’t supposed to get here until two hours after the party’s meant to start?”
“They’re not,” I said. Then I shrugged. “Sometimes people don’t follow the rules.”
Zoe bit her lower lip. “Well. I guess I’m doing it. I’m off to play hostess. I can’t believe you talked me into throwing a party. So unlike me. So unlike…”
She continued to ramble as she walked to the door, her voice fading.
One part of me was excited for her. This was it, her big party, her chance to get Kevin alone. Her chance to get a date with the smart guy she had a crush on. I was happy I could help.
But the other, bigger, part of me?
Indescribably jealous.
33
Zoe
Music blasted through the living r
oom stereo system and people milled around the ground floor of our house, laughing, dancing, playing games and digging into the snacks.
It was a success! About twenty-five people were here in total. Some I knew, some I didn’t. Most people were clustered in the same cliques that they hung out with at school. I spotted Kenzie and Nina in the hallway, talking alone. Callie was with her friend Jace and his surfer buddies, who were all spread eagled outside on the patio furniture, playing a fast-paced card game that involved a lot of yelling. Tyler was sitting on the living room couch, surrounded by his football buddies. Parker was on his lap. Mason, sitting next to them, seemed to be constantly fighting off female attention himself. Too bad for him that Meredith wasn’t here.
As for me, I spent the party split between two tasks: trying to find time alone with Kevin, and trying to make sure no one destroyed my house. Surprisingly, the first task was more difficult than the second. While at least one pop was spilled and a bowl of chips was overturned, there were no broken windows, stolen electronics, or couches set on fire. However, I didn’t spot my first opportunity to be alone with Kevin until the party was nearing midnight.
There were about ten of us in the living room when Kevin excused himself to grab a drink from the kitchen.
My time had finally come. I exchanged a quick glance with Mason, and he gave me the smallest of nods. I then downed my entire bottle of soda so I’d have a convenient excuse. I set the empty bottle on a side table and followed Kevin into the kitchen.
He crouched by the fridge and examined his choices.
Now that I was alone with him, all the nervousness I’d successfully subdued came roaring back. My stomach gurgled, whether from nervousness or the soda I’d just finished, I didn’t know. I shuffled across the floor. “Would you mind grabbing me one?”
“Sure.” Kevin grabbed a soda, seemingly at random, and handed it to me.
Guzzling Grape. My least favorite flavor. But that was my fault — I didn’t tell Kevin what kind I wanted, and obviously I couldn’t expect him to read my mind. I twisted the cap off, took a drink, and tried to avoid grimacing. “Thanks for coming.”
Kevin opened a Guzzling Grape soda for himself. “Yeah. I was supposed to be at a chess tournament tonight. It’s kind of a league thing. But I thought that maybe this would be more fun. Plus, I wasn’t lined up to play anyone that good this week.”
“A party? More fun than chess? Impossible,” I said, hoping that my sarcasm would be obvious.
It wasn’t.
Kevin frowned.
Ugh. Stupid, stupid Zoe. When you made fun of the things someone liked, you were basically making fun of them, too. He probably felt like I’d come to the kitchen just to insult him. I needed to save face. Fast. “Thanks for picking out The Quest for El Dorado. I’ve been playing it a bit. It’s a lot of fun.”
Kevin’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. The edges of his teeth were slightly purple from the grape soda. “You’re enjoying it, then? That’s excellent. I’ve read a lot about it on the forums, but I haven’t tried it out myself. The components seem like they’re really high quality. Did they provide you with card sleeves?”
“Uh, maybe?” I said. “I set it up in my room if you want to come look.”
34
Mason
What were they doing in the kitchen, and why was it taking so long? I subtly — at least I thought it was subtle — positioned myself at the edge of the crowd, close to the kitchen. I was trying to eavesdrop so I could give Zoe tips for later. At least, that was the excuse I gave myself so I didn’t feel like a spy.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear anything they were saying over the laughter in the living room. We were a few hours into the party, and the groups of partygoers were well and truly mingling. Parker had disappeared, and now Tyler mimed playing a trombone while Nina laughed.. Zoe’s friend Callie was chatting with Jace Griffin about the best places to surf in Beachbreak, and some other stuff. Honestly, their conversation was the hardest to pay attention to. They’d known each other forever, so the entire conversation felt like one big inside joke.
Kind of like the way it felt when I talked to Zoe.
I took a half-step towards the kitchen, hoping I’d be able to catch a snippet of their conversation.
Zoe exited the kitchen. She was drinking a grape soda — her least favorite flavor — and smiling. Kevin followed close behind, and together, the two of them went upstairs.
I frowned. Why would they be going upstairs? The only thing upstairs was —
My stomach sank.
The only thing upstairs was Zoe’s bedroom.
I squeezed the neck of my soda bottle so hard I thought it would shatter. My chest hurt and something curdled in my throat. I needed to relax. Relax. Don’t worry about what’s going on upstairs in Zoe’s bedroom. It’s probably nothing. I was probably reading too much into it. There were plenty of reasons you could invite a guy up to your bedroom at a party.
I took another sip of soda without tasting anything.
It was okay.
Everything was okay.
35
Zoe
Kevin perched near the board game. He had a collection of pieces in his hand, and one by one, he was turning them over and examining them against the light. “These have a good weight to them,” Kevin said. “A really nice feel. You should get the cards sleeved, though. When you play, what strategy are you using? I’ve read quite a bit of game theory. Do you go for the caves early and hope for a late push? Or try to get the early lead and block out the paths?”
Strategy? I hadn’t given any thought to strategy. Then again, I’d only played against myself, and Tyler once. How much strategy could there be? Wasn’t it just about moving pieces around the board and trying to get your adventurers to El Dorado? I didn’t say my thoughts out loud because I didn’t want to look stupid in front of Kevin. “I like to try new things,” I said.
New things — like bluffing my way through a board game I had hardly played.
Kevin looked puzzled as he put the pieces back in the box. “I don’t know why you would try something new,” he said. “Especially when there are people a lot smarter online coming up with strategies. Why not stick to what works?”
I didn’t have an answer for that, so I changed the subject. “I’ve been too busy to read much lately. Lots of dance,” I said.
He raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t know you danced.”
“Yep, on the team and everything,” I said. How did he not know I danced? “Hey — have you heard about Snack N’ Smash?”
Kevin slid the lid back on the board game box. “No, what is it?”
“It’s this really cool restaurant where you get to eat, then break your plate after. I think it’s Greek.”
Kevin stared at me blankly.
Heat rose to my cheeks and a nervous energy entangled me. Mason said that Kevin would understand, that he’d pick up on my hint. That proved to be optimistic. Or worse — Kevin had picked up on my hint, but he wasn’t interested. Was I an idiot for thinking this could work?
“You want to go?” I asked.
Ugh. I was doing it all wrong. He was supposed to ask me on the date, not the other way around.
“Like together?” Kevin asked.
“Yeah, sure, if you want. Like we totally could, but we definitely don’t have to,” I said. Nice save, Zoe. I clamped my lips together. At least if I stopped talking, I wouldn’t make any more mistakes.
“We could go together,” Kevin said. “It’s a date.”
The three words I’ve been waiting to hear my entire life: it’s a date. With a boy. That I probably still had a crush on. I’d done it. I’d followed Mason’s advice, and I had just planned my first date.
So why didn’t I feel more excited about it?
If this was the moment I had spent the last year waiting for, why didn’t I —
There was a loud bang as the front door slammed shut. The party went suspiciously quiet. Then, there was a lo
ud shout. More of a roar, really.
I recognized the voice immediately.
Oh no.
Oh no no no.
I rushed out of my room and down the stairs and found —
My mom. Her face was red, her fists clenched. She slowly lifted her finger and pointed towards the door. “Get out. Everybody.”
Slimy fingers of dread clasped my shoulders. My body went stiff and goosebumps pebbled my skin. I had broken the rules in my life only a handful of times, and this was by far the worst.
Mom’s head turned towards me like a horror movie villain. “I explicitly said no parties.”
“It wasn’t a party,” I said, coming down the stairs. “It was just a gathering.” I knew exactly how pathetic I sounded.
Mom glanced at something behind me, and her eyes went wide.
What now? Was something broken? Was there a hole in the wall? I looked over my shoulder to see —
Kevin coming down the stairs.
It wasn’t hard to guess what my mom was thinking. My face went white. “It’s not what it looks like.”
Mom pointed at Kevin. “Would you please leave? I need to speak with my daughter.”
Kevin swallowed, nodded, and hurried out the door, leaving his jacket behind. Everyone else had already left. Except Tyler, who was pretending to be asleep on the couch.
“What were you thinking?” Mom asked.
“It’s not like anything happened,” I said.
“You’re grounded.”
I kept my mouth shut and nodded grimly. There was no arguing with mom. And in this case, what would my argument even be? That it was unfair that I wasn’t allowed to have a party? Yeah, good luck with that one.
I trudged up the stairs and returned to my room. I finally got a date — a real date.
I just wasn’t allowed to go on it.
36
