Sleepover
“Mom I don’t want to go to a sleep over.”
“No protesting, Diane. You’re going to have fun.”
“But I don’t want to babysit Jason.”
“Don’t worry I’m packing his Game Boy and charger. He’ll
entertain himself. Now zip up so we can
go.”
-
Outside was even colder than it looked. The three feet of snow
had hardened into frozen crust covering the cul-de-sac and all routes to the
school. What had started as a snow day four
days ago had become another reinter break with the promise of adding days back
at the end of the school year. Diana should have been Forrest High decorating
for the Winter Formal. Trying on her dress. Practicing looking up into Grant
Banion’s eyes as they slow danced.
Now she was trudging through the snow to Rory Hive’s house
for some cockamamie sleepover her mother had negotiated with Rory’s mom. She’d
been friends with Rory in Elementary school, but they just grew apart. Diana
got into cheerleading. Rory kind of became a dork. Mom still thought they were
best friends, but then again, she also still talked to her daughter like she
was a still a 5th grader.
Jason lagged behind crunching the ice building around the
sewer grates. Diana would have yelled for him to catch up if the wind wasn’t
promising to suck her breath out.
-
Rory’s mom answered the door offering two large red
unwrapped lollipops. One was instantly in Jason’s mouth.
“Oh you’ve thought of everything!” Mom praised.
“It’s not my first rodeo. Now why don’t you two go up to
Rory’s room. All of the kids are up there already.” The house still smelled
like Diana had remembered it when she was a kid, menthol and electrical fire. Rory’s
mom knelt and whispered in Diane’s ear, “Grant Banion is already up there.”
Her heart dropped into her stomach and instantly started
dissolving. Why was Grant here? Under
her winter outwear she had on her dumpiest outfit.
“It’s just like the Winter Formal,” Mom said, planting her
hand in the small of her daughter’s back and pushing her away.
Diane’s head was swimming with embarrassment and she lost
control of her body. Her hand grabbed the lollipop and feet carried her up the
stairs to Rory’s room.
Jason violated the first rule of entering a teenage girl’s
room when he swung the door open without knocking. Thankfully there was nothing
to see. “Is there a wall charger in her?” he yelled.
Rory was sitting at the same desk they used to play MASH on.
Six other kids from the neighborhood all stared back at her in silence. Diane
scanned the room for Grant and found him in sitting on the beanbag chair in the
far corner. Somehow he was dressed even more haphazard than she was. He had his
sweater sleeves rolled up to his elbows and was scratching his forearms. The
same arms that should have been holding her at the formal that evening.
“Welcome to my party
Diane.” Rory leap from her desk and showed her once-friend the small banner
she’d been coloring in. POX PARTY 1988!
Confused, Diane looked up at Rory and for the first time saw
all of the red dots on her skin. They were all under a film of dried lotion.
Diana swung in place to see her mom closing the door behind
her. “It’s for the best honey.”
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