She pursed her lips. "Quite frankly, Lucy, I was shocked. No one has ever spoken to me like that
before." I didn't know if she expected another apology, but if so, she wasn't getting it. I may not
have wanted to be grounded for life, but even freedom is worth just so much ass-kissing.
I continued with the speech I'd planned out while brushing my teeth. "And your friend staying in
my room-- I mean, that's fine. I'll--it's fine for me to sleep in the den while she's here. I'm going
to clean out my stuff--I mean, clean out--up--I'm going to clean up my room for her." My
delivery had been much more polished when I was talking to my reflection in the mirror than it
was now.
"Well," she said, "I'm certainly glad to see this change in your attitude." She nodded at me.
"Your apology is accepted."
Was I supposed to thank her? I didn't say anything.
"Now," she continued, "since you're not going out with your friends tonight"--I loved how she phrased it as if the choice had been mine--"your father would like you to join us for dinner."
It didn't sound like the "invitation" was exactly optional, but I pretended to consider her offer for a second before saying, "Yeah, sure."
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"Fine. Then we'll see you later," she said. I turned to go. "No jeans, tonight, please," she called after me.
Five minutes later I was back in bed, where I instantly fell asleep. The next thing I knew, there
was a pounding on my door.
"What?" I yelled. I had that fuzzy, brainless feeling you get from sleeping way too long.
Somehow the Princesses heard my "What?" as "Come on in!" and they bounded down the stairs.
"You were sleeping?" said Princess One.
"No," I said. "Sometimes I just like to lie in the dark for hours with my eyes closed."
They both stared at me for a minute. "Are you joking?" Princess Two asked finally.
"Yes, I am joking," I said, yawning. "Now, what do you want?"
"Connor called," said Princess Two. "It's on the answering machine." She put her hands on her hips. "Is he, like, your boyfriend?"
"Yes," I said. I felt a little scared after I'd said it, as if I was jinxing myself.
"Julie Wexler told us that her sister told her that Connor's the most popular boy in school," said Princess One. Even in the pale light that filtered down from the kitchen, I could see the awe in
her eyes. Julie Wexler had recently replaced Jennifer Johnson in the Princesses' best friend
rotation; her pronouncements were repeated as if she, like an Old Testament
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prophet, spent most of her time communicating directly with God.
"I guess he's popular," I said, arching my back and yawning.
Princess Two eyed me briefly before turning toward the stairs. "Come on!" she called to her
sister, "We have to get dressed."
Princess One walked along the bed, trailing her fingers across the comforter. She kept giving me
sidelong glances, as if she wasn't comfortable staring directly at me.
"Come on!" her sister repeated impatiently, and she bolted for the stairs.
I rolled over, picked up the phone, and dialed Connor's number. "Hey," he said when he heard
my voice. "I guess I got a little drunk last night."
"Just a little," I said.
Music pulsed in the background, and Connor rapped along with it for a second before saying, "I
gotta make it up to you, Red. How can I make it up to you?"
Come over to my house and drive a stake through my stepmother's heart. "I don't know," I said.
"I bet it's gonna cost me." Somehow he managed to make the words sound a tiny bit like a threat, a tiny bit like a dare; either way, it was pretty sexy.
"I bet it is," I said. Did Connor like me enough to spend the rest of his life in jail for killing my stepmother? Maybe if I asked him while I was wearing that red dress....
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He lowered his voice. "Can I ask you something, or are you too mad?" I shivered. It felt like he was whispering in my ear.
"I don't know," I said, whispering, too. "That depends on what it is."
"Well, try this one on for size." He paused. "Think you might be willing to come to the prom with me?"
Aaaaahhhhh!
He'd asked me. He'd actually asked me. I shot up, miraculously managing to swallow a scream.
Then I made myself sit down on the edge of the bed, cross my legs at the ankles, and speak
calmly into the phone. "I think I might consider it," I said. But it was impossible to stay seated, and I jumped to my feet, hopping from one to the other.
"You kill me, Red," he said. "There's no one cooler than you are."
It was a good thing Connor couldn't see me, since I wasn't sure I looked all that cool leaping
around in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of thick orange socks with holes in the heels, my hand
pressed to my lips so no screams would escape.
I heard the click of someone picking up another extension. "Hello?" It was Mara.
Oh my god, now she was listening in on my calls to my father and my boyfriend.
"Yeah, hi, Mara. I'm on the phone."
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"Lucy, you're awake. Why don't you come upstairs and say hello?"
"Now," she said, and she hung up.
"I gotta go, Connor," I said.
"Call me later," he said. "Prom date."
I hung up the regular phone and grabbed my cell before Mara came down to confiscate it. Jessica
picked up on the first ring. She didn't even say hello.
"Did Connor ask you?"
"Just now."
"Oh my god!" she screamed. "Dave asked me, like, five minutes ago, and Madison's on the
phone with Matt right now."
"We're going to the prom!" I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but I kept my voice down. The last thing I needed was for my stepmother to know there was something in my life I was actually
looking forward to. It would just make her that much more eager to take it away from me.
There was a knock on my door. "Lucy, Mom says you have to come upstairs now."
I lowered my voice to a whisper. "I gotta go."
"We're going to the prom," Jessica whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" I asked, starting to giggle.
"Why are you whispering?" she asked, giggling, too. "I don't know," I said.
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"Me either," she said. Then she started laughing for real, and so did I. "I'll call you later," she said.
I was laughing too hard to say anything else, so I just hung up the phone.
The dining room table was elaborately set for twelve, and soft classical music played in the
living room, where Mara, my dad, and a woman I didn't recognize were sitting having drinks.
"Hey, honey," said my dad, spotting me. "Sure you got enough sleep?" I knew he was making a joke, and I forced myself to smile.
"I think so," I said. Then I walked over to the unknown woman and extended my hand. "I'm
Lucy," I said.
"I'm Gail," she said. Except for her dyed blond hair, she could have been Mara's clone. They
were both in dark silk skirts and pale fuzzy sweaters, and each held a glass of white wine in her
hand.
I wondered if Gail knew she was going to be sleeping in my room, but it seemed impolite to ask.
With Connor's invitation still ringing in my ear, I knew the last thing I could afford was for my
dad to think I was being rude to Mara's friend. Sorry, Connor, I know I said I could go to the