“Whatever. That’s a stupid reason not to like Elsie,” Justine said. “Lots of people are into anime.”

I gave her a small smile, glad to see she was at least reasonable. And once she said it, everyone started to agree. Nodding and mumbling things like, “Well, sure,” and “You’re right.” It seemed like she was the ringleader here.

“No, that’s not my problem with Elsie.” She sighed. “She’s just so… annoying? And overconfident. She’s always flirting with guys who are way out of her league. And trying to hang out with people who are just cooler than she is. I almost died when she asked us to sit with her. Did she really think she had a chance?”

“I-I don’t know,” I mumbled.

“It’s just sad, you know? She’s delusional. And so, so shallow. She’s such a social climber.”

“She is pretty full of herself,” the other cheerleader, Wendy, said. “She’s constantly telling us how to do our flips at practice. Just because she’s been doing gymnastics since she was five or something. She’s always bragging about it. Like, get over yourself.”

“She does do that a lot,” I admitted. “But she helped me fix my backflip.”

“Bailey, your backflip was always awesome,” Melanie said. “You’re the best underclassman on the squad.”

I blushed. “Oh, thanks. I try really hard.”

“And you do a great job,” Wendy said. “Elsie James shouldn’t be showing you anything. Like I said, she’s just full of herself.”

“Overconfident,” Justine repeated.

“I guess she kind of is,” I said. “I never really thought about it. She always seemed pretty nice, so…”

“You are the nice one, Bailey,” Justine said, smiling at me. She had the same smile as her brother—big with straight white teeth. Either their parents had spent a ton on orthodontics or perfect smiles ran in the family. “Obviously you only see the good in people. I wish I could be more like that.”

“Oh, um, thank you,” I said. “But you’re kind of right about Elsie. Now that I’m thinking about it, she is a little… Well, I mean, I just remember one time I came into the locker room because I forgot something, and I walked in on her in her underwear posing in front of the mirror. Like in sexy poses—”

“Oh my God!” Wendy snorted. “She was checking herself out? No wonder she’s always the last one out of the locker room after practice. Talk about narcissistic.”

Everyone started laughing. Then Ryan started doing overexaggerated model poses at the table and it sent everyone into hysterics. Well, everyone but me. I tried to smile, but I felt kind of sick. Maybe I shouldn’t have told them that story. I hadn’t meant to make fun of Elsie; I’d just wanted something to add to the conversation. To fit in.

“Okay, okay,” Justine said, shaking off her laughter. “Enough about Elsie. We shouldn’t waste any more time talking about her. She’d like it too much.” Justine turned to me. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Me? Oh, nothing in particular.”

“Excellent. Then you can come to my party Friday night.”

“Uh… yeah. Yes. I can. What time? Where do you live? I’ll have my mom drive me.”

“No need,” she said. “My dad can pick us up here after the student council meeting. You have cheerleading practice anyway, right? We’ll be done at the same time. We can hang out while we wait for people to show up.”

“Oh, okay.”

“And bring a sleeping bag. I’m having a few friends stay over for a slumber party after.”

She spent the rest of the lunch period briefing me on the party plans. When the bell rang, I realized I hadn’t touched my food at all. I’d been too nervous and distracted to eat. Justine and I scooped up our trays and walked to the trash cans together, chatting and giggling.

“Oh, by the way,” she said just before we separated in the hallway. “It’s a small party—invite only—so don’t tell anyone, okay? I wouldn’t want them to feel left out.”

“Of course. I won’t say a word.”

“Great,” she said. “It’ll be a blast.”

Chapter Two

I barely slept in the days leading up to the party. I was so nervous. I planned out my clothes, my shoes, my pajamas—I even had Mom drive me to the mall so I could buy a new sleeping bag. I’d had the same one for seven years, and it had Dora the Explorer on it, so that was out of the question. Luckily, I found a nice pink-and-yellow-striped one that I could afford with the allowance I’d saved up.

I was a mess on Friday. I couldn’t focus on anything. My biology teacher, Mrs. Robb, called on me to answer a question, and I hadn’t even heard a word she’d said all period.

“Uh, chromosomes?” I guessed.

She stared down her long nose at me. “Chromosomes. That’s your answer?”

“Um… yes.”

“Chromosomes discovered DNA, Miss Caulfield?”

Everyone laughed. I sank down in my seat, wishing I could disappear. “Sorry, Mrs. Robb.”

“Please pay attention.” She sighed before moving on. “Does anyone know the correct answer?”

Cheerleading practice was even more embarrassing. I was shaking so much that I kept screwing up my cartwheel. Elsie stepped in eventually to correct me.

“Keep your arms straight, Bailey,” she said. “Here, watch me. This is, like, second nature to me.”

Melanie and Wendy looked at each other and rolled their eyes. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “Thanks, Elsie. I think I got it.”

After practice, I showered and changed in the locker room, then waited outside the gym for Justine. She said she’d meet me there at four thirty, after her meeting. I was sitting with my back to the wall, playing a game on my cell phone, when the gym door opened and Elsie walked out. As usual, she was the last to come out of the locker room.

“Hi, Bailey,” she said. “What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, I’m just meeting someone in a little bit.” I closed out my game and tucked my phone into my purse.

“Justine Frasier?” Elsie asked.

“Um, yeah. Actually.”

“You guys have been glued together this week.”

“I guess. She’s been really nice to me.”

“Yeah,” Elsie said. “She’s really cool. You’re so lucky.”

There was an awkward pause. I remembered what Justine had said about the party being small and not wanting anyone to feel left out. I hadn’t said a word, but it seemed like Elsie felt left out already. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned I was waiting for Justine at all.

“Well, anyway,” Elsie said, reaching into her backpack. “Here are your bio notes. Thanks for lending them to me. They really saved me on that test.”

“You’re welcome.” I took my notebook from her. “It was a tough test.”

“Kind of,” she said. “Anyway. My dad’s out front, so I should get going. See you Monday, Bailey.”

“’Bye.”

A few minutes later, Justine showed up. She was wearing a purple cotton dress with a white cardigan. On me it would have looked like something an old lady wore to church, but Justine made it look chic and smart.

“How was your meeting?” I asked, getting to my feet.

“Good. We’re petitioning to have gluten-free options added to the lunch menu,” she said. “I think we have a real shot.”

“That’s awesome.”

“I know.” She glanced at the gym door. “Is anyone still in the locker room?”

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“Oh, I just need to run in there for a second and didn’t want to walk in on anyone. I left my phone there after PE this afternoon. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

She disappeared into the gym and I waited in the hall. She was only gone a few minutes before reemerging, looking at her iPhone. She giggled, then tucked the phone into her bag. “Ready to go?”

“Yep.” I grabbed my backpack and followed her out to the parking lot, where her dad picked us up in a shiny black SUV.

Once we were at her house, Justine led me to her room and showed me where to put my things. Then we went back downstairs and started setting out snacks for the guests. I couldn’t help glancing around the house, looking up every time a door opened or closed.