Twenty-Nine
It’s the time for
Champagne and party poppers
In the midnight rain
And we’re never gonna stop, yeah
‘Champagne and Party Poppers’ from The In-Between
You’re going to host a party?’ says Kira, doubtfully. We’re sitting in the common room. It’s been two days since I’ve got back from Manchester, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
‘What’s wrong with that?’ I say.
‘Well, for one, you’ve never hosted a party before, and two your mum loves her home. There’s no way she’ll be cool with people getting up-and-close with her artefacts,’ says Kira.
‘Okay, good point,’ I say.
‘Who are you going to invite?’ says Faye. ‘I think it sounds fun.’
‘Oh I definitely think it sounds fun,’ says Kira. ‘And also a bad idea. But I’m here for it.’
‘Why did you decide to do this, anyway?’ says Faye. ‘I thought we were going to hang out after school.’
‘We can still hang out after school.’ I pull at the sleeve of my jumper. There’s no point lying to them. Kira is drawn to lies like a seagull to chips. ‘In Manchester, Ollie seems to be a party person, so I thought I could invite him, and you know—’
‘Show him a side of your personality that hasn’t existed until now?’ finishes Kira.
‘I like parties and hanging out with people!’ I say defensively.
‘Yeah, but you’ve never thrown a party before,’ says Faye.
‘Who’s having a party?’ says an all-too-familiar voice. Tori has appeared beside us with Mia and Farah.
‘Erm, me,’ I say, caving immediately. ‘Do you want to come?’
‘Sure!’ says Tori. ‘Can I bring my boyfriend?’
‘He goes to Benson’s,’ says Mia, leaning forwards.
‘The more the merrier,’ I say, shrugging. I need numbers for this party. And Tori is fine, I guess. In small doses.
‘Oh, can he bring some of his friends?’
‘Are they hot?’ says Kira, leaning forwards.
‘Er—’ says Tori.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ says Kira. ‘We need boys at this party. Bring them.’
‘Great!’ says Tori. ‘Send us the details.’
‘I thought you were anti-party?’ I say to Kira.
‘Well, if you’re going to go ahead with it, may as well make it good,’ says Kira. ‘Also we need more boys than the ones in your weird love triangle.’
‘It’s not a love triangle!’ I say, pushing Kira.
‘How long have you been with your boyfriend?’ Faye asks Tori, thankfully digging me out of this hole before anyone can ask any questions. Luckily, Tori loves to talk about herself.
‘Oh, a few months,’ says Tori. ‘He’s the son of one of my mum’s friends.’
Kira rolls her eyes. I don’t blame her, almost all conversations with Tori include mention of her influential mother.
‘Speaking of which,’ says Tori, excitedly, ‘his dad managed to upgrade our Rose Conrad seats. We now have a box!’ She claps her hands together, and I have a strong urge to clap mine around her mouth. ‘I’m so excited to sit in a box.’
‘What’s a box?’ says Mia.
‘It’s a special area you can sit by yourself with a bar and food,’ says Tori.
I can’t even get a ticket to sit at the back of the stadium and Tori is getting table service at the concert. Of course.
***
‘Can I have a party for my birthday next month? As my birthday is on a Friday?’ I say. I’m leaning against the doorframe of Mum’s office, watching her type notes on her laptop.
‘Sure,’ she says, squinting at a piece of paper, then putting it down. ‘What do you want to do?’
‘I was thinking of having a few people over here. Get some food, some drinks.’ I feel very nervous right now, but I tell myself nothing I’m saying is a lie.
‘Kira and Faye? You don’t need to ask me that.’
‘Maybe a few more people.’
Mum puts the paper down and turns around.
‘How many people are we talking?’
‘You know – some girls in my classes, some in Kira’s classes, Ollie, so on . . . ’
‘I need a number, Selena.’
‘I’ve only invited around five people!’ I say. And it’s true. They’ve invited other people.
‘Okay, fine,’ says Mum, nodding. She pauses.
‘You know what, I’ll see if Gina wants to go away that night.
We wanted to go to a spa soon anyway. I could do with floating in some water and taking the pressure off my joints.
Plus you’re officially an adult then – I’m sure you don’t want your mother hanging around for your party. ’
This is even better! Mum won’t even see the number of people there. I’ll enlist everyone to help me clean. Everything will be fine.
The stars are aligning – that’s got to be a good sign, right?
‘Thanks, Mum,’ I say, beaming. ‘I’m glad you trust me.’
And even if I haven’t been fully honest with the truth, it’s true, she can trust me.