the party. I wore a green cotton skirt and a white shirt – very simple, as Mom said, but she gave me an old necklace she had, which was a silver heart and a silver violet hanging on a chain. I had some new pumps for school, black patent leather. They had one-and-a-half-inch heels. When I came downstairs to be driven to the party, Dad wondered where my Mary Janes were, and before I could even answer, Mom said, ‘She outgrew those.’ Dad looked surprised. Since I am now at least an inch taller than Mom, I think the reason for his surprise must be that he is so tall he can’t tell the difference between us from way up there.
The Goldman twins had invited the whole eighth-grade class. We were about to be freshmen at the high school, so this was our last party with just us. I got there the same time as Larry Schnuck, who was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and boots. The other boys had on regular button-downs, except for Billy Russell and Sergio Garcia, who were wearing cowboy shirts that my dad would have liked. The girls all looked less ‘simple’ than I did – Linda A. had a tight skirt, black, which made me realise that green is a really boring colour for a party. Alexis and Barbie had gone into their mother’s and aunt’s closets and come up with dresses from the 1940s. Alexis’s was dark blue, with buttons down the front and short sleeves. The sleeves, the collar, and the pockets were trimmed with white, and she had found a pair of short white gloves. Barbie was wearing a shiny grey dress with a wide belt and a huge skirt, and under that was about ten acres of petticoat. She had on a small white hat pinned over her bun. They looked both fun and beautiful, and I missed them already. Barbie kissed me on the cheek and said she loved my necklace.
Stella and Gloria were very up to date. Gloria was wearing a nice sleeveless dress in beige and grey. The beige top came straight across and then angled down towards the waist, and then the grey skirt flared out. She looked right out of Seventeen . Stella had on checked tights, white culottes, and a short square jacket. She looked really good, and I saw the others watching her.
The first thing I did, though, was go into the kitchen and find the cat, Staccato. He had been our kitten, and we had given him to Barbie and Alexis. He was half grown now, tall and thin. When he saw me, he came over and rubbed against my legs, then he squatted down with his front and back paws neatly together and his tail wrapped around them. He closed his eyes and started purring, waiting for me to pet him, which I did. I said, ‘To think you could have ended up a mangy barn cat, running away from every human instead of being spoiled rotten.’ After a moment, he slumped to the side and stretched out, half opening his eyes, as if to say, ‘Mmmm. Spoiled rotten is good.’
In the family room, Barbie and Alexis were dividing us into teams, one to be led by Barbie, of course, and one to be led by Alexis. We were going on a scavenger hunt. They had typed out a list for each team of the things we were supposed to find. We had an hour and a half – sunset was around eight. We could go anywhere in the neighbourhood, including knocking on doors and asking for things, but the whole team had to be back by eight, or we would forfeit the game.
Kyle Gonzalez said, ‘What’s the prize?’
Barbie said, ‘Status.’
Kyle looked disappointed.
I was on Barbie’s team. There were twenty-five items on the list. One was a single Cheerio. Another was a baby’s nappy. The weirdest one, I thought, was a recording by Frank Sinatra. The list read as follows:
A postcard from somewhere east of California
Last week’s edition of Time magazine
A roll of LifeSavers
A sprig of wild rosemary
A single Cheerio
A red rose
A left-hand glove
A baby’s nappy
A book from Reader’s Digest Condensed Books
A can of tuna
An acorn
A partly filled-in crossword puzzle
A hair slide
A safety pin
A green crayon
A toy
The Goldman twins had invited the whole eighth-grade class. We were about to be freshmen at the high school, so this was our last party with just us. I got there the same time as Larry Schnuck, who was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and boots. The other boys had on regular button-downs, except for Billy Russell and Sergio Garcia, who were wearing cowboy shirts that my dad would have liked. The girls all looked less ‘simple’ than I did – Linda A. had a tight skirt, black, which made me realise that green is a really boring colour for a party. Alexis and Barbie had gone into their mother’s and aunt’s closets and come up with dresses from the 1940s. Alexis’s was dark blue, with buttons down the front and short sleeves. The sleeves, the collar, and the pockets were trimmed with white, and she had found a pair of short white gloves. Barbie was wearing a shiny grey dress with a wide belt and a huge skirt, and under that was about ten acres of petticoat. She had on a small white hat pinned over her bun. They looked both fun and beautiful, and I missed them already. Barbie kissed me on the cheek and said she loved my necklace.
Stella and Gloria were very up to date. Gloria was wearing a nice sleeveless dress in beige and grey. The beige top came straight across and then angled down towards the waist, and then the grey skirt flared out. She looked right out of Seventeen . Stella had on checked tights, white culottes, and a short square jacket. She looked really good, and I saw the others watching her.
The first thing I did, though, was go into the kitchen and find the cat, Staccato. He had been our kitten, and we had given him to Barbie and Alexis. He was half grown now, tall and thin. When he saw me, he came over and rubbed against my legs, then he squatted down with his front and back paws neatly together and his tail wrapped around them. He closed his eyes and started purring, waiting for me to pet him, which I did. I said, ‘To think you could have ended up a mangy barn cat, running away from every human instead of being spoiled rotten.’ After a moment, he slumped to the side and stretched out, half opening his eyes, as if to say, ‘Mmmm. Spoiled rotten is good.’
In the family room, Barbie and Alexis were dividing us into teams, one to be led by Barbie, of course, and one to be led by Alexis. We were going on a scavenger hunt. They had typed out a list for each team of the things we were supposed to find. We had an hour and a half – sunset was around eight. We could go anywhere in the neighbourhood, including knocking on doors and asking for things, but the whole team had to be back by eight, or we would forfeit the game.
Kyle Gonzalez said, ‘What’s the prize?’
Barbie said, ‘Status.’
Kyle looked disappointed.
I was on Barbie’s team. There were twenty-five items on the list. One was a single Cheerio. Another was a baby’s nappy. The weirdest one, I thought, was a recording by Frank Sinatra. The list read as follows:
A postcard from somewhere east of California
Last week’s edition of Time magazine
A roll of LifeSavers
A sprig of wild rosemary
A single Cheerio
A red rose
A left-hand glove
A baby’s nappy
A book from Reader’s Digest Condensed Books
A can of tuna
An acorn
A partly filled-in crossword puzzle
A hair slide
A safety pin
A green crayon
A toy
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