Page 33 of Between Love and War
Richard storms into Lily’s while yawning. “It’s too late for this,” he exclaims as he sits beside me in the lounge.
“Cookie?” I extend a basket to Richard. My midnight snack for today is three servings (maybe four) of Kate’s chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know what sort of sorcery she puts in them but they’re highly addictive. I balance it out with some non-fat milk to make me feel good about myself.
“I’m sorry, but we’re running out of time,” Kate says as she emerges from the shelves, holding a bottle of instant coffee.
“Kate, it’s a year-end party, not doomsday.” Richard takes a bite of the cookie in his hand.
“Ooh, doomsday,” Haley says, grabbing the cookie from Richard’s hand. “That’s a nice theme, don’t you think?” We all stare at her in disbelief. “What? Everyone dressed in black? Skull shaped confetti? No?”
Kate shakes her head as she takes the seat across from me. Since our weirdly honest talks in my backyard and during the popsicle puppets session, she’s been… kinder to me. It’s been aweek, but we haven’t had any major disagreements. Sure, she’s still sarcastic and snappy at times, but definitely nicer. I don’t know if it’s because she’s starting to feel bad about maintaining her reputation, if she’s scared I might rat her out to her friends, or that she finally decided I don’t deserve her true self. I hope it’s not the last one.
“I think something nostalgic would be nice. Last year, we didn’t have much of a party because of Bon and Ryan’s wedding. And we really enjoyed dancing along to old music.”
“Yeah, but it should be nostalgic forus,not for the old people.” Haley kicks off her shoes and puts her leg up on the ottoman. “I mean,” she continues, “No offense to our titas who peaked in the 80s, but I want something we can relate to this time. They always get their disco music.” She frowns.
“Okay,” Kate says, scribbling on her notepad. “That’s a good idea, since this is the first time in a while that all four of us are here for the year-end. Even Em and Josh are coming home.”
“Of course, they wanna parade how perfect they are.” Haley rolls her eyes but laughs.
It’s nice to be part of this group. Besides my teammates, I’ve never been part of a friend group before. But these people are fun to be around. They don’t make me feel like an outsider.
“So, we’re thinking an early 2000s party?” I ask.
“Yeah, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys…” Kate trails off.
“Or, maybe, we can move a bit later to when we were actual teenagers,” Richard interjects. “So I’m thinking 2008.”
“Thatisearly 2000s, dumbass,” Haley says.
“I think that’s mid.”
“The only thing mid about 2008 was your fashion sense.”
Kate laughs and Richard groans. “For the record, you were also wearing neon wristbands and shutter shades.”
Haley just smacks him in the head playfully and they laugh.
I laugh too, though I’m still not entirely sure where their bickering ends and something else begins. There’s definitely a weird kind of energy between them—like they’re always one step away from either fighting or kissing. Not that it’s any of my business. But still. No one’s that close as just friends.
“What if,” Kate says, lifting her head from her notes, “we do, like… a prom theme?”
The room falls quiet. We all consider it for a moment.
“Well, I’ve never been,” I admit, a little sheepishly.
Haley turns to me, genuinely surprised. “Wait, what? Why?”
I shrug. “I was in Indonesia for a basketball thing that week. I didn’t even think about prom. I didn’t have a girlfriend. I was obsessed with training.”
“Damn, in high school? You really are a prodigy.” Richard nods at me, half impressed, half teasing.
“Well, our proms sucked anyway,” Kate says with a wave of her hand. “I’d love a do-over.”
“You’re all welcome, by the way,” Richard adds, leaning back like he’s done us all a favor. He looks at me. “I took all four of them to prom. Haley, Kate, Bon, and Em.”
“Please,” Haley says, rolling her eyes. “I went with you because I lost a bet. Kate and Bon only went with you because their actual dates sucked, and Emily spent most of the night studying anyway.”
“Still counts,” Richard replies with a smug grin.
