Promise Me Something by Sara Kocek Page A

began clapping her hands at the top of the bleachers and calling for order in the gymnasium.
    “Line up by homeroom!” she bellowed. “The parade is over! Line up by homeroom!”
    So Levi and I stood up, waved each other good-bye, and went our separate ways.

    I didn’t see Olive until the sleepover that night. Our plan to visit the Springdale haunted house fell through when Mr. Mancuzzi called Olive’s house and told her dad what had happened at the parade. Olive got grounded for about six hours before she was able to convince her parents that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Then she was allowed to go to the sleepover.
    When we rang Leah’s doorbell at ten minutes past ten, Olive was wearing her shy girl mask. She had put on blue jeans and a modest, gray blouse, and I watched her tuck her hands neatly into her jacket pockets as we waited on the porch. I wondered if she was nervous.
    “You don’t have anything to worry about,” I told her. “They’re really nice.”
    She let go of a deep breath I hadn’t realized she'd been holding. “I just want to make a decent impression for once in my life,” she said. “I hope you know it’s all for you.”
    I didn’t have time to answer. There was a commotion on the other side of the door, and the next thing I knew, Leah, Abby, and Madison were barging out and smothering me in hugs. They were even more hyper than usual, probably from all the candy they’d been eating. Olive stood uncomfortably in the doorway while Abby threw her arms around my neck and said, “Reyna! We’ve missed you so much! You should’ve come earlier!”
    “Guys, this is Olive,” I said, extricating myself from the hug.
    Olive opened her mouth to say something, but Abby didn’t give her a chance. She and Leah descended upon her, squeezing her around the middle and pulling her inside. “It’s so nice to meet you!” Abby squealed while Madison touched her on the arm and added, “Reyna’s told us so many wonderful things about you.”
    “Nice to meet you too.” Olive stood stiff as a board, waiting for them to let go of her. When they did, she looked disgruntled, like an animal at a petting zoo.
    “Here, let me take that,” said Leah, grabbing the sleeping bag from under her arm. “We’ll be sleeping in the play room. Come on, I’ll show you.” She opened the door leading to the basement and we followed her down the stairs.
    The basement was bright and colorful, just like I remembered it from past Halloweens. There were streamers hanging from the walls and special black and orange confetti pieces scattered on the windowsills. I could see the leftover snacks from the party growing stale on a foldout table by the wall. “Is that stuff still fresh?” I asked Leah.
    “I don’t know, maybe,” she said, walking over to the table and breaking one of the cookies in half. “I was going to put it upstairs in the fridge, but then I got a little distracted…” She looked over at Abby and Madison and burst out laughing.
    “What?” I glanced back and forth between them.“Distracted by what?”
    Madison rolled her eyes. “Before you guys got here, some people at the party decided to play Seven Minutes in Heaven. Leah went in with Drew Tubman…”
    “—And came out with this!” Leah pulled aside her wild, curly blond hair to show us the biggest hickey I’d seen in my entire life.
    “Wow,” I said. “That’s like the size of a chocolate chip cookie.”
    Abby laughed. “I know, right? Let’s set up our sleeping bags on the floor. Then we can talk about how hormonally crazed you are, Leah.”
    I glanced over and saw Olive staring at the hickey. She was still clutching her overnight bag to her hip like a security blanket.
    “Yeah, let’s get in our pajamas too,” I told Abby. “Olive and I had a long day.”
    At the sound of her name, Olive jerked her gaze away from Leah’s neck. “Is there a bathroom where I can change?” she asked.
    Leah laughed. “Why? We’re all