“There is that,” Selena burst out. “My mother’s so worried about her precious furniture! She says she doesn’t want a bunch of kids running around breaking things.”
“As if we were still two years old.” Astrid sighed.
“Why doesn’t she get House-in-a-Can?” Rose suggested. “The inflatable furniture would be great for a party.”
“My cousin bought it after seeing a video,” Selena said. “The couch exploded. They were cleaning up pieces weeks after.”
“You don’t have to tell her your whole life story,” Astrid said.
“And your mom’s too cheap to throw a party,” Selena said, “even with all that alimony. I don’t know how she gets to collect from more than one ex-husband! She must have some insane lawyer!”
“You don’t know when to shut up, do you?” Astrid said.
“So,” Rose said cheerfully, making light of the moment, “what about Saturday night at my place?”
Astrid and Selena exchanged a look.
“Where do you live?” Astrid said.
“How big is it?” Selena said.
Rose described her living room and how she lived across from Belle Heights Tower.
“Hey,” Selena said, taking a step closer to Rose and touching her hair, “I like those boots—they look ancient. And your hair’s really cute.”
“Thanks! I just had it done.” Rose also explained about the clothes.
“My mother’s stuff is hideous,” Selena said. “It would be like wearing a granny nightgown in public.”
Rose didn’t mention that just a few nights ago she’d slept in a granny nightgown. Since then she’d switched to a big T-shirt.
“This party could actually be fun!” Selena said.
Nick Winter came by to talk to Selena. “Did you give Dylan that picture of me with bedhead?”
Selena smiled shyly. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”
“That idiot posted it.” Nick looked over at Rose curiously, as if he knew something was different but couldn’t place it. “You’re that girl, right?”
“Which girl is that?” Rose replied, trying not to get distracted by the diamond in his tooth and everything else about Nick Winter that was so gorgeous.
“You always looked like a farmer girl.”
Amazing, all these years in the same schools and he didn’t even know her name. Well, he could start with her new one. “Rose Hartel,” she told him.
As he turned to leave, he said, “You don’t look like a farmer girl anymore, Rose Hartel.”
Promising.
“Why don’t you sign out and have lunch with us?” Selena said to Rose. “We can plan this party.”
Rose tried to get Kim to come out, too.
“With Selena and Astrid? Are you kidding?” Kim said. Today she had on a tie-dyed parachute dress. It looked homemade.
“Why, what’s wrong with them?”
“Um, let’s see, how about everything?”
“Astrid and Selena are the most popular girls in tenth grade, and everybody wants to hang out with them. Does that mean there’s something wrong with everybody?”
“Yeah, there is.”
“Well, then I’m happy to have something wrong with me, too!” Actually she felt honored. Lots of kids hung around Selena and Astrid, but today Rose had actually been asked to lunch. “I’ll let you know where we are. You can meet us if you change your mind.”
Kim looked hard at Rose. “I’ll be here—maybe checking out today’s crossword puzzle. I’m a natural, remember?”
“Of course. I remember everything. Why wouldn’t I?” The week before, she and Kim had done a puzzle together. Although before that, she’d always done them by herself, off at a corner table that faced a brick wall.
They ate in a Thai restaurant. It was dimly lit with gleaming cherrywood tables and a heavenly smell of coconut and ginger; Rose basked in the scent. She didn’t recognize anything on the menu. “What should I get?”
“You want us to order for you?” Selena asked.
“Maybe she hasn’t had this kind of food before.” Astrid cast a glance at Selena. “She’s being adventurous.”
Rose liked the sound of that. Adventurous.
“Speaking of ordering stuff,” Selena said, “for the party, you’ve gotta get cupcakes from Fully Baked.” It was the best bakery in Belle Heights, according to Selena.
“Says the girl who shouldn’t eat cupcakes,” Astrid said.
“You always make me feel like such a blimp!” Selena said.
“But you’re not fat,” Rose said.
“Next to her I am.”
“No need to compare yourself like that,” Rose said. “What you see in the looking glass isn’t important—it’s who you are that matters.”
“Looking glass?” Astrid said, stifling a laugh.
“I mean mirror.” Where had that come from? Rose could almost hear someone else saying it. But who would use such an old-fashioned word?
“Getting back to the party,” Astrid said, “you have to get some entertainment.”
Selena wanted a DJ; when Rose said that might cost too much, Selena said, “I know! You can have a psychic! My cousin went to a party and said the psychic was incredible. One look and she could recite your whole past.”