“Are you crying, Alice?!” Kenny turns around fully to see her face.
“Be serious, the AC is blasting in here. It’s my allergies,” she responds quickly.
“Yeah right,” Kenny says, twirling a strand of her thick blond hair around her finger. “That movie got you right in the feels.”
“You know she hates having a heart,” Deanna chimes in, looking back at me and then at Alice, who sticks her tongue out.
Ms. Mary delivers three boxes of pizza and we all sit in a circle in front of the screen to eat.
“Oh my god, I’m stuffed,” Kenny says after her fourth slice.
I’m eyeing the last piece—I only had one and I’m still hungry. I feel weird taking the last slice though.
Deanna sees me looking and taps my knee. “Go for it,” she says.
I smile and grab the piece, downing it in a few bites.
“I think I’m gonna opt out of the last movie, guys, I can barely keep my eyes open,” Mel says, yawning and making her way to the sleeping bags. They’re lined up against the wall, spaced neatly with a pillow and name card on each one. Kayla checked that there was one for me as soon as we walked in and beamed with pride to let me know there was. It seems like everyone is going out of their way to make me feel included, and I couldn’t be happier.
“Oh, thank god you said it, me too,” Kenny chimes in.
Alice walks back in with a bowl filled to the brim with popcorn just as the girls are grabbing their sleeping bags. “No way, guys. We’re going to a party!” she shrieks and throws popcorn at us.
Mel and Kenny drop their sleeping bags and perk up immediately.
“Okay, say more, Alice,” Mel says, grabbing the bowl and throwing popcorn back at her.
The more Alice drags it out, the more nervous I get. I can’t go with them, and I’m already embarrassed to have to say that. I look at Kayla and Deanna, who are just as intrigued as the other girls.
“That senior kid, Myles, from science… with the mole,” she says.
“The one you told you would rather die than go to homecoming with?” Kenny asks.
“Yes, but this isn’t a homecoming date. It’s just a house party,” Alice says. She holds up her phone to show the message.
“Wow, okay. Let’s party!!” Deanna says, joining the girls now in a circle reading Alice’s screen.
I’m sitting with my knees pulled to my chest, running through reasons why I have to get home that won’t make things weird. They’re definitely going to want to know why my mom is so strict with me, so I can’t tell them that. Maybe Kayla won’t mind just dropping me off on the way and telling them I’m feeling sick. That way, neither of us has to be embarrassed by my mom’s rules.
“Let’s go change. We’ll head out in like twenty minutes,” Alice says.
They all start to leave the theater, but I don’t move.
Kayla looks at me. “You don’t have to put on makeup or get super dressed up, they’re just extra like that,” she says.
I wait until it’s just us left in the theater but still whisper incase. “I can’t go with you guys. My mom will have my head,” I say.
Kayla sighs and takes a moment. “Okay, so technically you’re my responsibility for the night and I will make sure no one takes pictures or anything. There’s no way she will ever know. I promise!” Kayla holds her pinky out.
I freeze for a second. Pinky promises were a thing with me and Amari. I catch myself and shake my head, clearing my mind of the memory. “I can’t, Kayla. Can you just drop me home on our way?”
“You can, and you’re going to.” She grabs my hands and shakes them. “We’re going to have a great time and you’re going to forget Ma’s strict-ass rules for tonight. You’re with friends!”
“Thanks, Kayla, but I still think it’s too risky.”
“You’re with me, your sister. I know the risks, I got you. Okay?”
Well, now I really want to go. It’s so nice to hear Kayla talk to me like one of her girls and to call me her sister, like she really wants me to be there. I quiet the voice in my head that says Kayla doesn’t fully understand things are different for me. I just want to have fun and benormal.
