go,” said Otto.
Red gave him a funny look. “We already are going, doofus, remember? We got tickets last week.”
“Oh yeah.” Otto frowned down at his stained shirt again.
“Maybe we should go, too,” Eve said sweetly. Her attempt to make Otto feel better almost made me like her.
Music filled the room in a way that none of the guests ever could, and we all started to relax. At least I did.
Then my dad came back from Two Boots—our favorite pizza place—with four pies: two with pepperoni, one all vegetable, and one with extra tomatoes and cheese. He dropped them on the table and left the room.
We attacked the food like we were starving, but probably we were all just happy to have something to do. After we got pizza I drifted over to the couch and sat down. My friends followed. The boys stayed by the food and Ivy and her friends stayed by the boys, but kind of off to the side, so it was like we were at three different parties, which I wasn’t going to complain about.
“So what’s the deal with those two?” asked Beatrix.
“Who?” I glanced across the room.
Eve and Otto stood next to each other, not talking. But not talking in a way that meant they liked each other. “Eve and Otto?”
“Yup.” She nodded and took a large bite of pepperoni pizza. “Are they going out?”
“Not that I know of,” said Lucy.
“I’ll bet they will be soon,” Beatrix said.
We nodded, taking Beatrix’s word for it because she was the expert on this sort of thing—more so than any of us, anyway. She had two ex-boyfriends who lived on the Upper West Side.
“So, who do you like, Maggie?” asked Beatrix.
Uh-oh. Out of all my friends—and everyone else in the universe, actually—only Lucy knew about Milo. Beatrix was cool and all, but I’d only known her for a few weeks. I wasn’t ready to confide in her yet, especially regarding something as monumental as my hopeless crush.
I hadn’t told Sonya yet, either, even though we’ve been good friends since the third grade and great friends since the beginning of sixth. I can’t because of the unicorns. She’s really into them and I have this theory: you can love unicorns or you can love boys, but you cannot love unicorns and boys. It’s a universal rule, like how two positive integers can never add up to a negative integer. Any alternative is mathematically impossible.
“I don’t know. What about you?” I asked Beatrix.
Beatrix twirled one of her short curls around her finger as she surveyed the room. “I haven’t decided yet. But no one here, I don’t think.”
“Me neither,” Lucy said quickly, which was kind of redundant because she didn’t like any boy anywhere, as she’d pointed out to me on numerous occasions.
I’ll bet if Beatrix did like someone at the party, she’d have no problem making a move. She’s bold like that. Meanwhile, I couldn’t talk about anything real because I was scared Ivy would overhear and think I sounded dumb.
I glanced across the room, wishing she’d just disappear. And that’s when I realized she had.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“Who?” asked Sonya, chewing on the end of her braid.
“Ivy,” Lucy replied. “Whenever Maggie says ‘she’ like it’s a dirty word, she’s talking about Ivy.”
“That’s not true,” I said. Then I thought about it for a second. “Is it?”
Lucy nodded.
“Maybe she’s in the bathroom?” Sonya guessed.
Beatrix shrugged. “Or maybe she got bored and left early.”
“I wish,” I said, and then had this cold flash of panic. Was Beatrix implying that my party was boring?
Just then Finn came over and said, “Time for the poker tournament.”
“Cool!” said Beatrix.
“Can I be on your team?” asked Lucy.
“I don’t know how to play,” said Sonya.
“I’ll teach you. It’s easy,” Finn said, then smiled at Lucy. “You, too. There are no teams.”
“Oh, I know,” said Lucy, tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling down at her lap. “I was
Red gave him a funny look. “We already are going, doofus, remember? We got tickets last week.”
“Oh yeah.” Otto frowned down at his stained shirt again.
“Maybe we should go, too,” Eve said sweetly. Her attempt to make Otto feel better almost made me like her.
Music filled the room in a way that none of the guests ever could, and we all started to relax. At least I did.
Then my dad came back from Two Boots—our favorite pizza place—with four pies: two with pepperoni, one all vegetable, and one with extra tomatoes and cheese. He dropped them on the table and left the room.
We attacked the food like we were starving, but probably we were all just happy to have something to do. After we got pizza I drifted over to the couch and sat down. My friends followed. The boys stayed by the food and Ivy and her friends stayed by the boys, but kind of off to the side, so it was like we were at three different parties, which I wasn’t going to complain about.
“So what’s the deal with those two?” asked Beatrix.
“Who?” I glanced across the room.
Eve and Otto stood next to each other, not talking. But not talking in a way that meant they liked each other. “Eve and Otto?”
“Yup.” She nodded and took a large bite of pepperoni pizza. “Are they going out?”
“Not that I know of,” said Lucy.
“I’ll bet they will be soon,” Beatrix said.
We nodded, taking Beatrix’s word for it because she was the expert on this sort of thing—more so than any of us, anyway. She had two ex-boyfriends who lived on the Upper West Side.
“So, who do you like, Maggie?” asked Beatrix.
Uh-oh. Out of all my friends—and everyone else in the universe, actually—only Lucy knew about Milo. Beatrix was cool and all, but I’d only known her for a few weeks. I wasn’t ready to confide in her yet, especially regarding something as monumental as my hopeless crush.
I hadn’t told Sonya yet, either, even though we’ve been good friends since the third grade and great friends since the beginning of sixth. I can’t because of the unicorns. She’s really into them and I have this theory: you can love unicorns or you can love boys, but you cannot love unicorns and boys. It’s a universal rule, like how two positive integers can never add up to a negative integer. Any alternative is mathematically impossible.
“I don’t know. What about you?” I asked Beatrix.
Beatrix twirled one of her short curls around her finger as she surveyed the room. “I haven’t decided yet. But no one here, I don’t think.”
“Me neither,” Lucy said quickly, which was kind of redundant because she didn’t like any boy anywhere, as she’d pointed out to me on numerous occasions.
I’ll bet if Beatrix did like someone at the party, she’d have no problem making a move. She’s bold like that. Meanwhile, I couldn’t talk about anything real because I was scared Ivy would overhear and think I sounded dumb.
I glanced across the room, wishing she’d just disappear. And that’s when I realized she had.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“Who?” asked Sonya, chewing on the end of her braid.
“Ivy,” Lucy replied. “Whenever Maggie says ‘she’ like it’s a dirty word, she’s talking about Ivy.”
“That’s not true,” I said. Then I thought about it for a second. “Is it?”
Lucy nodded.
“Maybe she’s in the bathroom?” Sonya guessed.
Beatrix shrugged. “Or maybe she got bored and left early.”
“I wish,” I said, and then had this cold flash of panic. Was Beatrix implying that my party was boring?
Just then Finn came over and said, “Time for the poker tournament.”
“Cool!” said Beatrix.
“Can I be on your team?” asked Lucy.
“I don’t know how to play,” said Sonya.
“I’ll teach you. It’s easy,” Finn said, then smiled at Lucy. “You, too. There are no teams.”
“Oh, I know,” said Lucy, tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling down at her lap. “I was
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