Last night I slept over at Tiffany Baker's house. Ordinarily I would think I had kind of outgrown sleepovers, but Tiffany Baker is the coolest girl in school, so I figured if she hadn't outgrown them, neither had I. So I couldn't pass up the offer. Besides, Tiffany rarely talks to me and my friends, so I was excited that I was going. I called my best friend, Melissa Torres (aka Mel) and my other really good friend, Kristine Koren, to see if they had been invited (it was a party). They had, so we all talked on three-way about what we were bringing, who else was going, et cetera. We figured Bonnie Sulfin would be there, because she's Tiffany's best friend. Hal Akel would probably be there too. Her little sister is Eileen Akel, Rachel's best friend. I don't like Hal at all, and if Eileen is anything like her sister, I can't see how Rae can stand her! But maybe they're different. We also figured out that Valerie Shenta would be there. We'd seen her get the invitation. The question was, why were Valerie, Mel, Kristine and I invited? We barely talked to Tiffany. Still, a party was a party, and a sleepover too! When I hung up the phone I grabbed my bag and threw it into the car Sheena and I share (since we're the only kids who can drive--for now!). Sheena was in Oregon with some friends and had carpooled there so the car was mine for the week! I stuck in my key and drove to Mel's house. Mel just turned 15 (she's a year younger than all of us) and hates to be seen with her parents, so I drive her everywhere. Kristine can drive, so she drove herself over. The cool thing about Tiffany's house is that it's huge (she's rich!) and she lives in the huge attic (which really isn't like an attic--it's too nice!) and she has a room on the 3rd floor, so we had two party rooms. And the attic has a bathroom and a little kitchen, so we didn't even have to go downstairs for anything! It's like a little apartment. AWESOME! It was like we were at college or something (only 3 more years--I can't wait!). Well, we all rushed upstairs and unpacked and settled in, and Jenny Horten walked in. Oh, no. She despises each of my friends and especially me. Nobody has any idea why. "Well, well, well," she said. "Dally is here. Since when do we associate with her, Tiff?" Tiffany just looked at her like, STOP. "I think Dalia's cool," she answered. "So just shut up. You've given her enough bull over the years." Jenny just sat there sulking. Then she unpacked. After everyone was here (Valerie, Hal, and Bonnie DID end up coming, as we thought, and one more girl, Anne Harty, too), we all unpacked and gossiped. We did each other's hair as we talked. Ah, the joys of being popular. That was the life for me! I wanted a really cool hairdo. Unfortunately, Tiffany and Bonnie were busy with someone else's hair, so only Jenny was left to do something really nice. "Will you do my hair?" I asked her, waiting for the big blow-up. "Sure," said Jenny, and I cringed, expecting her to yell at me. Then my face softened, realizing she hadn't. Jenny smiled. "One problem," she said. "You're taller than me. I can't do it unless you sit." I laughed and sat down. I'm pretty tall, 5'9", so there was no way Jenny could have done it, even if she stood on her tiptoes. Jenny's only 5'3". We all laughed and stuff for awhile, then we ate pizza and talked MORE. When we finally went to sleep (after a million makeovers) it was 4:30 am. When we woke up, Jenny had made breakfast and was setting the little table up there. We all ate a nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and waffles (Jenny sure likes to cook!), and I was enjoying it especially because it was a lot quieter than at home--no fighting! And there were only 9 of us here instead of 18. I savored every second. But then we had to go. We all got dressed and left, till there was only Tiffany's little black Lexus in the driveway. I had totally stereotyped them. Just because they were rich didn't mean they were stuck up. And as it turned out, Jenny called me this morning, wanting to get together. I have a feeling I just made some really good friends! And all because I did something that I wouldn't have ordinarily. Sometimes it's good to take risks, you know?
