Next Door to a Star by Krysten Lindsay Hager Page B

she told me Charlotte was going to a party with her friend instead. Great, so the whole world would be at Pilar’s house, and I’d be stuck home. Even Clark was going to the Ito’s because he had become friends with Pilar’s brother, Jeremy. Grandpa had bought sparklers for us. and Uncle Stu was going to grill hot dogs, but I wasn’t exactly in the party mood…if you could call sparklers and hot dogs a party.
    Charlotte called later and asked if I wanted to go with her to Deidre’s aunt and uncle’s party tomorrow. I went to put on my fake tan and imagined myself walking into the party looking all tan and gorgeous, and everyone would be wondering who I was and why they hadn’t asked me to hang out with them before. Connor and Lucas would want my phone number, Nick would be begging me to go out with him, Simone would realize I was cool, and Morgan would want to be my friend.
    Then reality set in. First, the fake tan squirted out of the bottle all gooey. I rubbed the cold cream all over my arms and legs and put a little on my face. Simone had said you had to wash your hands well or it would stain your palms. I wasn’t sure how to put the tanning stuff on the back of my hands without getting it on my palms and drying, so I decided not to put any on my hands at all. I sat on some paper towels so I wouldn’t get any brown stuff on my bed, but it seemed to dry fast.
    I woke up the next morning and I was definitely darker. My face was kind of orange, but my arms and legs had streaks on them. It was like somebody had burned me with a curling iron. Plus, my hands looked like I had white gloves on compared to the rest of me. I couldn’t go to the party all streaky. People would make fun of me. I thought about putting the tanning stuff on all the lighter places on my body, but then it might look like I had a disease. I ended up wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans to the party. Charlotte had on a t-shirt and shorts when she came to pick me up.
    “Aren’t you hot wearing all that?” she asked.
    “I want to be covered for the mosquitoes,” I said. “Malaria is nothing to mess around with.”
    “I have some bug spray,” she said. “But maybe I better bring a sweatshirt too. You got your hair chopped. It’s cute.”
    I wasn’t the only one wearing jeans at the party, but I felt like I was dressed for a winter carnival when I saw Morgan and Pilar. Pilar had a deep pink halter top on with tiny jean shorts, and she had put some shimmery stuff all over her arms and legs. Morgan was wearing a blue crocheted tank top, and she would have passed for at least seventeen. She had her curly blonde hair down for a change, and all the guys were sitting around her.
    “She’s so fake-looking,” Charlotte said as we watched Morgan and Lucas dance.
    Morgan seemed so confident as she moved her hips. I wouldn’t be able to dance so free even if I was alone in my own bedroom. I was glad I had worn jeans because I would have seemed like a skinny kid next to Morgan’s muscular legs. Simone was sitting next to Pilar and Connor, eating potato chips. Simone was wearing a black and white off the shoulder striped t-shirt and a jeans skirt. Nick was sitting off to the side drinking a glass of lemonade and watching the rest of the group dance. He didn’t look my way at all.
    Charlotte and I shared a lawn chair while Deidre sat on the porch rail. I ate hot dogs while I watched everyone else dancing and having fun. Deidre’s uncle made cupcakes with red, white, and blue frosting, and Charlotte had eaten two cupcakes when I noticed her lips were purple from the frosting. I gave her my napkin to wipe her mouth, but she didn’t seem to care.
    “Hey, you going to ignore me all night?”
    I looked up and Nick was standing there.
    “Oh, hey.”
    “Can I sit?” he asked. I nodded. “So what’s up?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Hadley, did I weird you out when I said I was thinking about you the other night?” he asked.
    “No, why?” I said