“We’ll be there,” Elise said, and I hoped she spoke for both of them.
In the parking lot after school that day, Trina appeared once again by my side. She had her hair up in a high ponytail and athletic shorts on. This time her friend Beth Lucas was with her.
“Hey, Maddie,” Trina said. “You know Beth?”
“No. Hi. Nice to meet you.”
“I was thinking about earlier,” Trina said. “And I hope I didn’t pressure you into having a party. If you don’t want to have one, you don’t have to.”
“No, it wasn’t you at all.” If anything had pressured me into it, it was Elise’s puppy dog eyes. “It will be fun.”
“It will be fun. You’ve never come to any of my parties but I think you would’ve liked them.”
“They’re awesome,” Beth said.
I almost said that I hadn’t been invited to any of their parties. I held my tongue. Because the truth was, even if I had been invited, I probably wouldn’t have gone. But one party wasn’t going to hurt anything. It would be like a rite of passage for me. Something I could say I did at least once in high school. It would help me live a little, like Seth had suggested I needed to.
We continued walking and soon we reached my car.
“Is this you?” Trina asked, patting the back of the Corolla.
“Yes.”
“You haven’t gotten a new car yet?”
“No. I’m going to, though.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “What are you going to get?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“My dad owns a car dealership.”
“A really nice one,” Beth added.
“Really?”
“He could give you a discount if I tell him you’re my friend.”
“Friend?”
“New friends, right?”
I smiled.
“Not that you need a discount but … ” She trailed off.
“No, yeah, that would be great. I still like discounts.”
“Text me and maybe I can meet you out at the dealership Saturday.”
“I work Saturday mornings but yes, after that would be great.”
“Okay. I have to go. Coach always gets mad when we’re late for some reason.” Trina smiled, and she and Beth jogged away.
I climbed into my old car and sat behind the steering wheel for a moment. It was weird going from invisible to suddenly not. Doors that had been closed before now seemed wide open. All kinds of doors I hadn’t expected.
Weird … and kind of nice.
My mom was standing in the kitchen when I got home. A plate of cut-up veggies sat on a plate on the counter and she pointed at it.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“An after-school snack.”
“Cucumbers and peppers?”
“You like cucumbers and peppers.”
“If you’re going to go all homemaker on me, can I request homemade chocolate chip cookies instead?”
She laughed and turned on the faucet to wash her hands.
I grabbed a slice of cucumber. “Does this mean you officially quit your job?”
“I did,” she said with a happy sigh. “And I got so much done around the house today. It was nice. I even had time to read.” She twisted off the faucet and grabbed a dish towel hanging on the oven handle.
“That’s great.” I took a bite of the cucumber and started to walk away. “Oh.” I stopped just before I exited the kitchen. “I’m going to have a party next Friday. Is that okay?”
“Here?”
“No … ” Everyone wouldn’t fit in our house. I hadn’t thought about that part. Where was this going to be? “I’m not sure where. But everyone at school is so happy for me and I want to celebrate with them.”
“A party, huh?” She smiled. “It’s about time you did some stuff normal teenagers do.”
“What is this ‘normal’ you speak of, Mom?”
“Apparently it took you winning the lottery to become normal.”
“Funny. Really funny.” I waved the cucumber at her and went to my room.
I sat down at my desk. I had never thrown a party consisting of more than a couple people in my life. And now, for my first time, I was expected to throw the most amazing party ever? I was so screwed.
I powered up my computer and typed: Awesome party ideas.
Lists and lists of kid party ideas came up—pin the tail on the donkey, magic shows, princess cakes, nothing that would work. Even if I were a kid, I didn’t think any of those ideas fit my search criteria.
This time I entered: Epic adult party ideas.
And immediately regretted it. I quickly exited out of the screen. I tapped the keyboard in thought, then typed: Amazing party locations in Orange County.
After scanning through the list for twenty minutes, I’d found my place. It was going to be more than epic. It was going to be unforgettable.
I took out my phone and called Blaire. She picked up after a few rings.
“Hey, what did you get for number ten on the Calculus assignment?” she asked. “I can’t figure it out.”
“Oh, I haven’t looked yet.” Where was my backpack, anyway? I stood and looked around my room. I must’ve left it in my car.
“Well, call me when you do because I need to talk through it.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Planning a party.”
“Ah. You’re planning Elise’s party?” she asked.
I laughed. “Was it that obvious?”
“Even I couldn’t have said no to her pleading eyes.”
“You’ll come though, right?”
“Yes. Only because I’m curious.”
“Funny. But you won’t be laughing when you hear my plans. It will be amazing. I found a yacht that rents by the night.”
“A yacht?” Blaire asked.
“Yes, a huge yacht.”
“As in a big fancy boat that goes on the ocean?”
“Oh, is that what a yacht is? Never mind, I’m not sure what I found then. Yes! A yacht. It will be like no other party anyone’s been to before. That’s why it will be awesome.”
“That is pretty cool. How much does renting a yacht for a night cost?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
I heard a gasp over the phone and immediately regretted telling her. “It’s just one night. One big purchase. I’ve done the math, Blaire. Believe me, I have. If I only had ten million when all was said and done, I could live off the interest of that forever.”
“You’re going to spend twenty million dollars?”
“No! Of course not. But come on, will you help me make this amazing and not worry about money right now? For once, we don’t have to worry about money.”
“It sounds like you already made it amazing, but yes, I’m here for you. Why did I doubt that my overachiever friend wouldn’t be able to overachieve at throwing a party?”
“Imagine what the two of us will accomplish together.”
“We’ll blow their minds.”
I was still thinking about yachts, even at the zoo, as I walked to my day’s assignment: the train ride station. It was one of my favorites. When I rounded the ticket booth, I saw Seth up ahead, clipping the metal chains for the line onto their respective poles. Seth and I got stationed together a lot. I knew Carol liked to partner up similar age groups and there were only a handful of high school students. But still, odds dictated I should only be with Seth around once a month. Probably even less.
Why was I questioning this? It was a good thing. I had fun with Seth. I hoped he was having fun with me, too, otherwise this really sucked for him.
He smiled my way.
I waved and, when I reached him, helped clip up the tail end of the chain.
“Maddie. How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m bored out of my mind.”
“Still no phone or television?” That would explain his continued lack of knowledge about my lottery win. He’d have to be completely cut off from the online world right now not to know. People were tweeting and Facebooking and Instagraming about it constantly. Even though Seth and I didn’t go to the same school, we were online friends and people were tagging me all over the place.