figure things out. Okay?”
“I … uh … I don’t know …”
“Come on,” says Meredith. “You’ll be fine. I saw your house and it’s brand-new and way nicer than mine.” She jabs Sally with her elbow. “And yours too, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“But, I — “
“We’ll go shopping together,” promises Kendra. “I know this totally great party store where we can get some really cool plates and napkins and things. If you want I’ll even call my caterer and you can — ”
“Okay!” I say suddenly, surprising even myself. “I’ll do it.”
Sally looks shocked, like she was really hoping that I’d refuse and make everyone mad, putting me, like Jocelyn, on the outside again. But I won’t give her the pleasure.
“Good girl,” says Kendra. “And you’ll see, entertaining can be fun. You just need to learn the tricks.”
I nod. “Yeah, you’re probably right, Kendra.”
“By the way, Reagan, I totally adore your bag. Marc Jacobs?”
As I confirm this and we all gush about how much we love Marc Jacobs shoes as well as bags, I can’t help but notice the grim expression on Sally’s face. And somehow that makes everything worthwhile. I can tell she’s furious about (1) the fact that I stood up to the barbecue challenge and (2) Kendra’s offer to help me make it a success. She is totally jealous that Kendra is giving me all this attention. Well, tough.
Once again, when I get home from school, things are nice and neat. I ask Nana if her friend visited again today and she smiles and says yes. And, while I don’t want to think too hard about why Andrea is doing this, I do feel grateful for the poor girl. Still, I don’t think I actually owe her anything since I never asked for her to do any of this. And she doesn’t have to unless she wants to.
Besides, I don’t have time to think about those things now since I’m obsessing over how I will possibly pull off this barbecue in just eight days. The biggest part of the challenge is what to do about Nana. Then it occurs to me that I might be able to hire Andrea to Nana-sit at her house. Maybe I could take Nana over that morning to give me enough time to get things in order. And I could move the horrible recliner into Nana’s bedroom and lock the door to make sure no one goes in. Okay, it seems like a lot of work, but it’s necessary. And I think it’s doable.
Hopefully Andrea will be up for this. I mean, it’s not like she has a life or anything. And, as I recall, it seems like her parents aren’t too well off, so she’d probably be glad to make some extra money. Even so, I decide to wait for just the right moment to ask her. I’ll probably need to be a little bit nicer to her first. But I need to be careful how I do this, because I really don’t want her to get the idea that someone like me needs someone like her. Because I don’t.
Our new uniforms arrive in time for the game. Everyone is so excited to try them on that we decide to use the first part of class to make sure the right items came and that they all fit.
“Here’s yours, Reagan,” says Sally, thrusting a plastic-wrapped package at me. Kendra is standing next to her, almost as if she’s supervising. But when I look down I notice a white computer label with the name Jocelyn Matthews printed on it. I’m about to mention this when Kendra reaches down and rips off the sticker. “Just a mistake,” she says, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. Jocelyn’s already got her uniform.”
Even so, I double-check the size of the top, and it’s what I ordered. When I slip it on, it’s perfect. Soon I’ve got the whole outfit on. And when my turn comes to look in the mirror, since the bathroom’s crowded with cheerleaders now, I can see that I actually look pretty good in it. Really, I think royal blue and white look much better on me than my old cheerleading outfit of brown and gold. I wonder if I should put my hair in a pony or just let it hang loose
“I … uh … I don’t know …”
“Come on,” says Meredith. “You’ll be fine. I saw your house and it’s brand-new and way nicer than mine.” She jabs Sally with her elbow. “And yours too, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“But, I — “
“We’ll go shopping together,” promises Kendra. “I know this totally great party store where we can get some really cool plates and napkins and things. If you want I’ll even call my caterer and you can — ”
“Okay!” I say suddenly, surprising even myself. “I’ll do it.”
Sally looks shocked, like she was really hoping that I’d refuse and make everyone mad, putting me, like Jocelyn, on the outside again. But I won’t give her the pleasure.
“Good girl,” says Kendra. “And you’ll see, entertaining can be fun. You just need to learn the tricks.”
I nod. “Yeah, you’re probably right, Kendra.”
“By the way, Reagan, I totally adore your bag. Marc Jacobs?”
As I confirm this and we all gush about how much we love Marc Jacobs shoes as well as bags, I can’t help but notice the grim expression on Sally’s face. And somehow that makes everything worthwhile. I can tell she’s furious about (1) the fact that I stood up to the barbecue challenge and (2) Kendra’s offer to help me make it a success. She is totally jealous that Kendra is giving me all this attention. Well, tough.
Once again, when I get home from school, things are nice and neat. I ask Nana if her friend visited again today and she smiles and says yes. And, while I don’t want to think too hard about why Andrea is doing this, I do feel grateful for the poor girl. Still, I don’t think I actually owe her anything since I never asked for her to do any of this. And she doesn’t have to unless she wants to.
Besides, I don’t have time to think about those things now since I’m obsessing over how I will possibly pull off this barbecue in just eight days. The biggest part of the challenge is what to do about Nana. Then it occurs to me that I might be able to hire Andrea to Nana-sit at her house. Maybe I could take Nana over that morning to give me enough time to get things in order. And I could move the horrible recliner into Nana’s bedroom and lock the door to make sure no one goes in. Okay, it seems like a lot of work, but it’s necessary. And I think it’s doable.
Hopefully Andrea will be up for this. I mean, it’s not like she has a life or anything. And, as I recall, it seems like her parents aren’t too well off, so she’d probably be glad to make some extra money. Even so, I decide to wait for just the right moment to ask her. I’ll probably need to be a little bit nicer to her first. But I need to be careful how I do this, because I really don’t want her to get the idea that someone like me needs someone like her. Because I don’t.
Our new uniforms arrive in time for the game. Everyone is so excited to try them on that we decide to use the first part of class to make sure the right items came and that they all fit.
“Here’s yours, Reagan,” says Sally, thrusting a plastic-wrapped package at me. Kendra is standing next to her, almost as if she’s supervising. But when I look down I notice a white computer label with the name Jocelyn Matthews printed on it. I’m about to mention this when Kendra reaches down and rips off the sticker. “Just a mistake,” she says, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. Jocelyn’s already got her uniform.”
Even so, I double-check the size of the top, and it’s what I ordered. When I slip it on, it’s perfect. Soon I’ve got the whole outfit on. And when my turn comes to look in the mirror, since the bathroom’s crowded with cheerleaders now, I can see that I actually look pretty good in it. Really, I think royal blue and white look much better on me than my old cheerleading outfit of brown and gold. I wonder if I should put my hair in a pony or just let it hang loose
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