“And you said no?”
“I said, if tutor means do your homework for you and let you cheat off of my tests, then no.”
“What did she say?” I asked.
“She just walked away. So obviously that’s exactly what she meant by tutor.”
Elise shook her head and said what I’d been thinking. “She probably just really wanted a tutor.”
Blaire rolled her eyes. “Just because you have popular envy, Elise, doesn’t mean Trina isn’t sinister.”
It was true. Elise did have popular envy. She was always interested in what that crowd was doing, saying, wearing. I thought being popular sounded like way too much work. But—
“Sinister? Really?” I asked.
Blaire smiled. “Trina uses people for her own gain. I think that word fits.”
“You can see this just by looking at her?” I asked.
“Whose side are you on here?” Blaire asked. “Mine or Elise’s?”
“I didn’t realize there were sides,” I said, smiling, although I did always seem to play Switzerland between the two of them—Blaire with her no-nonsense drive and Elise with her free spirit. “But no, Elise, I don’t think Trina planned her party the same night as mine on purpose. I doubt she even knows I’m having a party. I only invited a few people.”
Elise furrowed her brow. “You did? Then why the fancy invites?” She pulled out her phone and scrolled until she held up my Evite to show me. As if I hadn’t seen it. As if I hadn’t designed it. Digital fireworks burst on the screen over the black lettering that spelled out the details of the party.
Blaire let out a low laugh. “You know Maddie. She doesn’t do anything halfway.”
“Hey, just because I only invited a few people doesn’t mean you guys don’t deserve a nice invitation,” I said. “Besides, they’re cute.”
“They are,” Blaire said, softly kicking my foot under the table.
“You can invite Boyfriend, Elise,” I said. “Forward him one of my pretty invites.”
“He does have a name, you know. Why do you both insist on calling him Boyfriend?”
“If we name him, that means we have to keep him,” Blaire said with a wink. “And you know how we feel about permanent boyfriends.”
Freshman year, the three of us had made a pact to save serious relationships for college. A pact we’d managed to mostly keep. Elise slipped now and again, but because she claimed they weren’t serious relationships, she said she hadn’t broken the pact.
To me, having a boyfriend seemed like it would take up even more time than being popular. I’d never seen a case where a boy didn’t become a distraction from school. And right now, I was in a committed relationship with school. It was my boyfriend. One more semester of loyalty to my boyfriend would surely provide me with the college scholarship I desperately needed.
I smirked. “I didn’t realize Boyfriend had a name. What is it?”
Elise made a face. “Funny. You’re both so funny.”
“So will you? Invite him?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“We don’t have a test on Monday so it works out well,” I said.
“Your birth was perfectly scheduled around your future test schedule, Maddie. Awesome,” Elise said.
I nodded. “Fitting, right?”
Eighteen. This was a big birthday. My biggest one yet. I was excited. One more day and I’d be an official adult on my way to my meticulously planned future. I couldn’t wait.
I saw his gray T-shirt up ahead. It was the same shirt I had pulled on in the school bathroom after the final bell rang. It said Santa Ana Zoo on the back, above a picture of a monkey. Our small zoo was known for its abundance of monkeys (“Fifty monkeys at all times!”). That’s about all it was known for, and I wasn’t even sure how well known it was for that.
“Seth!” I called, running through the gate and tripping over a rise in the cement. I stumbled, but steadied myself.
Seth turned around. His black hair stood extra tall today, and I wondered how his hair had more volume than mine. I’d have to ask for tips.
“You’re late,” he said.
“I’m not late,” I said. Out of breath.
“Well, later than normal.”
“There was an accident on the 5.”
“Why would you ever go on the 5 on purpose?” He smiled at me, his nearly black eyes lighting up. Seth had the biggest smile and it brightened his entire face.
“Did I miss all the good assignments?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, I haven’t checked in yet.”
Seth Nguyen and I had been working at the zoo together for the last six months. Seth went to private school, so I pretty much only saw him here. We had fallen into a comfortable routine over time, which made work fun.
Seth and I reached the report station, where our supervisor, Carol, held a clipboard and looked overwhelmed, as usual. “I’m glad you made it. I thought we were going to be short today,” she greeted us.
“We’re here,” Seth said.
“I need you two at the amphitheater this afternoon to help set up for the animal show. You don’t have a lot of time, so please hurry.”
“Do you think she expects us to run?” Seth asked as we walked away. “I don’t get paid enough to run.”
I laughed. “Neither do I.”
We walked past the waterfall in the rain-forest exhibit. A harried-looking mom was trying to keep her three kids from taunting the howler monkeys.
“By the way, I’m mad at you,” I said.
Seth looked back at me, tilted his head, and studied my face. “This is what Maddie being mad looks like? Huh. What did I do to earn your normal expression?”
“This is not my normal expression. This is my mad one.”
“Noted. My crime?”
“I texted you, and apparently you’re too good to text me back.” I didn’t often text Seth, and when I did, it was normally a zoo question, but he usually texted back right away.
“Ah. Yes. I’m grounded, so I did not receive that text. My mom has my phone. Maybe I should tell my mom to start answering my texts for me to avoid friend-rage.”
“Yes. Will you?”
He smiled.
“What are you grounded for?” I asked as we rounded the corner, passing the exploration outpost.
“Let’s just say golfing at midnight is apparently frowned upon.”
My mouth dropped open.
“I know. Why would anyone disapprove of this activity, right? I wouldn’t have gotten caught if not for the sprinklers. Who knew I should’ve looked up the sprinkler schedule for the golf course?”
“You broke into the golf course in the middle of the night?”
“I needed a nighttime golf scene for a movie I’m making. The golf course closes at six! Before the sun is even down.”
I shook my head. “You’re crazy. Your mom should’ve taken away your video camera, not your phone.”
He laughed. “She took both. Oh, look, here’s our ride.” He pointed to the golf cart zipping past us, then called out to the groundskeeper. “Stan! Can we get a ride to the small amphitheater?”
The brake lights on the cart flashed and Seth’s smile widened.
“We are literally almost there,” I pointed out.
“And we will be almost there even faster in the back of Stan’s cart.” Seth hopped onto the bed of the cart and I climbed up next to him.
Stan wore a stained Santa Ana Zoo cap and was probably five years past retirement age. His skin was leathered from so much time in the sun and he always had the radio in his golf cart playing oldies.
“I can’t believe Stan gives you rides. The only thing he’s ever done for me was drive fast through a puddle of water as I was walking by,” I whispered. “I think he did it on purpose.”
Seth chuckled. “Stan would never do that. Would you, Stan?” he called out over the sounds of the Beach Boys.
Stan answered without knowing what we were talking about. “No.”
Seth nudged me with his elbow. “See.”