Sunday, November 2nd, 2:00 p.m.

Everybody had a very good time at the party. Later in the

evening, Hank arrived. Mamaw and Papaw were pleased to see him, and so were all the girls. He looked gorgeous! He even asked Grandmere to dance.

At ten o'clock, Lars's cellphone rang. It was my mom calling from Mexico. She and Mr Gianini were drinking champagne on a beach. She was really happy. I talked to her quietly because I didn't want Grandmere to hear.

A few minutes later, my dad came up to me. "Mia, don't you want to meet your friends tonight?" he asked.

I hadn't forgotten about the Rocky Horror movie. But I remembered Grandmere's words to me in princess classes. "Your family is more important than your friends," she had said.

But now Grandmere was happy. She had forgotten about me. She was dancing with a famous film actor.

"Yes," I said to my dad. "I do want to meet my friends."

"Well, you can go," he said.

Lars drove me to the Rocky Horror movie theater. When we got there, we drove up and down the street, looking for my friends.

Suddenly I saw Lilly. Boris and Michael were with her. Kenny Showalter and Michael's other friends from the Computer Club were there too. They were all dressed in weird costumes. They looked like characters from horror films and ghost stories. I got out of the car and ran toward them. Michael stared at me.

"I don't have a horror costume," I said, looking down at my dress. "I'm sorry."

"You look really.. .You look really..." he said.

Then he stopped. What was he going to say? Didn't I look OK? Did my dress look stupid?

We sat and watched the movie. I was sitting in a seat between Michael and Kenny. Lars sat behind me. Michael

didn't say much. Kenny tried to talk to me, but I was only thinking about Michael. I sat beside him in the dark, and it was wonderful.

The movie lasted for two hours and it was really good. Afterwards, we went to a cafe called, Round the Clock. 1 sat between Michael and Kenny. Everyone talked very loudly.

Suddenly, Kenny whispered something in my ear.

"Have you had any interesting mail lately?" he asked.

Then I realized the truth. Michael wasn't Jo-C-rox. Kenny was my secret admirer! Kenny is a really nice boy and I like him. But he isn't as sexy and attractive as Michael Moscovitz.

I looked at Kenny and 1 tried to smile. "Oh, Kenny," I said. "Are you Jo-C-rox ?"

"Yes," said Kenny. "Will you come on a date with me, Mia?"

I was very disappointed. Kenny is a good friend. But do I want him to be my boyfriend? No. I'm in love with Michael. But I didn't want to hurt Kenny's feelings. I spoke kindly and quietly to him.

"OK, Kenny," I said. "I'll go out with you."

Kenny smiled and put his arm around my shoulders. Michael saw Kenny putting his arm around me and smiling.

Suddenly Michael stood up. There was a weird expression on his face. "I'm tired," he said. "Let's go home."

"What's wrong, Michael?" said Lilly in a surprised voice.

"I'm tired, too," I said. "Lars, please can we go to the car?"

"Mia, can I call you later?" asked Kenny.

Lilly looked at me. Then she looked at Kenny. Then she looked at Michael. Suddenly she stood up too.

"Come on," she said to Boris. "It's time to go."

Lilly, Boris, Michael and I went in the limousine with Lars. Michael sat beside me in the car. He was silent and I felt terrible. Everything had gone wrong.

At last, we arrived at the Moscovitzes' apartment.

Suddenly, Michael turned toward me. "You look really nice in that dress," he said.

I smiled at him. Suddenly I felt happy again.

Now I'm sitting in Grandmere's suite at the Plaza Hotel. Maybe things aren't so bad. Soon, I'm going to have a new baby brother or sister. And I've got a really nice new stepfather—Mr Gianini.

Kenny called at midday. I'm going to see a Japanese movie with him at four o'clock. After that, I'm going to Lilly's place. I'm going to spend the night there. We're going to watch a video of my favorite movie—Dirty Dancing.

Yesterday was a special experience. Maybe I'll see Michael at breakfast tomorrow morning. That will be better than anything.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1559