by Chloe Taylor
“Maybe just head to waist,” Zoey admitted, patting Kate’s shoulder. “I’ll give you that.”
“That’s bad enough,” Kate groaned.
She was spared any further contemplation of a pink-clothed future by Priti’s arrival.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s go inside and see how Libby is doing,” Kate said. “Hopefully, she isn’t too nervous.”
Libby was in the synagogue lobby with her family, greeting friends and family. To the best friends who knew her so well, her cheeks were pale, and she looked very nervous behind her friendly, polite smiles.
When she saw the girls, her face lit up.
“Just need to use the restroom before the service,” she told her parents as she came over to her friends. “Come with me, you guys?”
As soon as the door of the ladies room closed behind them, Libby confessed, “Actually, I don’t have to go. I needed to get away for a pep talk. I’m scared to death to be the center of attention and to have to give a speech.”
“You’re going to be great,” Priti assured her.
“Take a deep breath,” Zoey suggested.
“Take lots of deep breaths,” Kate said. “Breathe in and out slowly. We’ll all do it together. Okay, here we go. . . . In . . . two . . . three. . . . Out . . . two . . . three.”
They practiced slow breathing for a minute or two until the color came back into Libby’s cheeks.
“I feel a little better,” she said.
“You’re going to be great,” Zoey said. “You’ve been practicing this for, like, ever. You know it.”
“And we’re going to sit in the front row and be your cheerleaders,” Priti said.
“You can’t sit in the front row—my extended family is so big, they filled it up,” Libby said.
“Okay, the second row,” Kate said. “But you’ll be able to see us, and we’ll be smiling at you, so you’ll know how awesome you are.”
“That’s right,” Zoey agreed. “In fact, don’t look up because you might get blinded by our teeth.”
Libby laughed and then gave each of her friends a hug.
“You guys are the best. Now, I’d better get out there or my parents are going to send in a search party!”
Mrs. Flynn had saved seats for the girls, right behind the family.
“Libby asked that you sit right here,” she said. “She wants to make sure she can see you.”
Sophie swiveled around in her seat.
“Hi, Zoey! I love your dress. Did you make it?”
“I did,” Zoey said.
“I can’t wait till it’s my Bat Mitzvah, so you can make my dress,” Sophie said. “I want it to be just like Libby’s, but even more prettier!”
Zoey laughed. “That’s a tall order, Sophie, but luckily, I’ve got a while to think about it.”
When the service began, Zoey was surprised by how much of it Libby conducted herself, even though the rabbi was standing by Libby’s side. She was impressed by how calm and in control of everything her friend was, considering how anxious she’d been in the ladies’ room just a half hour earlier.
Whenever Libby looked up, Zoey made sure she was smiling encouragingly, and once, she noticed the corner of Libby’s mouth curl into an answering grin as her eyes returned to the prayer book.
If Libby made any mistakes with the Hebrew, Zoey certainly didn’t know, but Libby’s family nodded approvingly the entire time. When Libby finished reading from the Torah, her grandfather took out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes, smiling proudly through his tears.
Then Libby stood at the podium alone to make her speech. She talked about the passage she’d just read from the Torah, and how she related it to her life, and thanked her grandfather for inspiring her to have a Bat Mitzvah in the first place. Then she thanked her parents and sister, and her extended family. “And a final thank-you to my best friends—Kate, Priti, and Zoey—for helping me stay calm—well, calmish—when I was freaking out.”
Finally, the service was over, and they gathered in the social hall to make a blessing on the bread and wine, and to have a little snack—bagels, fruit, and little pastries that Libby said were called rugelach—before the big celebration later in the evening. Libby told them this ceremonial blessing part was called the “kiddush.”
“There’s so much food!” Zoey exclaimed. “I thought you said it was just going to be a little snack.”
“Mom might not be that religious, but she said she believes in the tradition of a big buffet, so no one goes hungry!” Libby said. “Luckily, we can donate the leftovers to the food pantry.”
“That’s great,” Kate said. “I’m glad it won’t go to waste.”
“I’m just so relieved!” Libby said as they waited for the rabbi to say the blessing over the wine—or in their case, the grape juice. “Now I can finally relax and enjoy myself!”
“That’s right,” Priti said. “I can’t wait till later. Time to P-A-R-T-Y!”
The rabbi recited the blessing, and they all clinked their tiny plastic glasses of grape juice.
“To Libby!” Zoey said.
“To celebrating!” Kate said.
They all took a sip. Then Libby’s grandfather recited a blessing in Hebrew over the huge loaf of braided bread, which Libby told them was called “challah.”
“Now, let’s get some of those rugelach before they all disappear,” Libby said. “I was too nervous to eat much this morning, and I’m starving!”
Later that evening, Mr. Webber drove Kate, Priti, and Zoey to Libby’s Bat Mitzvah party.
“Have you ever been to Hilldown Manor?” Zoey asked her dad, looking at the address on Libby’s invitation.
“I went to an alumni fund-raising event there once,” Mr. Webber said.
“What’s it like?” Kate asked.
“Nice,” Mr. Webber said. “Pretty fancy. Big fountain out front. Valet parking.”
He smiled at Zoey.
“Behave yourselves, now, ladies. I don’t want to hear about you jumping in the fountain or anything.”
“Daaaad!” Zoey groaned.
“We wouldn’t do that, Mr. Webber,” Priti assured him. “I wouldn’t want to ruin my dress!”
“Of course,” Mr. Webber said. “Silly me!”
He turned down an avenue of linden trees, which opened to an imposing stone mansion with a large fountain out front, illuminated by lights.
“Wow!” Kate said. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was fancy.”
“I can’t wait to see the inside!” Priti said. “It looks almost as glittery as my dress.”
Mr. Webber laughed.
“You all look beautiful,” he said, pulling up in front of the entrance, where a few young valets in red shirts waited to park the cars. “Have a great time! I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The girls had arranged to have a sleepover in Libby’s basement, so they could attend the close-family-and-friends brunch the following morning. They’d dropped clothes and pajamas at Libby’s house earlier in the week.
They could hear the DJ as soon as they walked in. In the hallway, there were a few different photo backdrops, including one of a candy store, to go along with Libby’s Bat Mitzvah theme.
“Let’s take our picture!” Priti exclaimed.
The photographer let them choose from a big box of props. Zoey wrapped a big furry Twizzler across her shoulders, Kate held an enormous Jolly Rancher, and Priti wore a hat that looked like the top of a Pez dispenser.
“Say ‘sweets’!” he said.
“SWEETS!” they chorused.
He printed out three copies of the picture, one for each of them. The photograph said “Libby’s Bat Mitzvah Celebration” on the border.
“Wow, that’s really sweet!” Priti said.
The girls took their photos and went to explore the rest of Hilldown Manor.
“Ooh, look, glow sticks!” Kate exclaimed, seeing a table with candy-decorated baskets filled with a variety of glowing fluorescent sticks an
d bendable strings outside the ballroom doors.
Kate and Zoey made glowing bracelets and necklaces. Priti went with a glowing crown and anklets.
“Now, I sparkle and glow from head to toe!” she said, twirling for her friends. “Let’s glow to the dance floor!”
Libby was in the center of the dance floor, next to the party coordinator, who was starting up a Hula-Hoop competition. Libby’s face lit up when she saw her friends. She looked beautiful in her dress. “You’re here! Just in time!” she exclaimed.
Libby turned to the party coordinator, whose name was Alvin, and informed him that Kate was the Hula-Hoop queen of their group.
“Great!” Alvin said, grabbing a very embarrassed Kate by the hand and pulling her to the middle of the dance floor. He handed her a glowing Hula-Hoop. He took another one for himself and said to Kate, “Are you ready?”
Kate’s face was flushed with embarrassment at being the center of attention, but she was a natural competitor. “I was born ready,” she said.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Alvin said. “Okay, Frank the DJ, hit it!”
At the first strains of “Twist and Shout,” they were off. Alvin was a flashy hooper with style galore, but Kate had the edge on stamina.
“Oh, look, Miles is here!” Priti said in Zoey’s ear as they watched the contest.
“Ugh, and there’s Emily,” Zoey said, catching sight of the person she least wanted to see on the other side of the dance floor.
Alvin’s hoop finally fell to his ankles, and he raised Kate’s arm and proclaimed her the victor with a necklace made of candy.
“Now, enjoy some of the fine eats and then come back here for some more games,” he said.
“You guys are at my table, of course,” Libby said, dragging them over to a big round table with a huge centerpiece made from different types of candy.
“Can we eat the centerpiece?” Priti asked.
“Someone at the table gets to take it home,” Libby said. “That’s if you’re hungry after dessert. Have you seen the dessert table? There’s a chocolate fountain.”
“Can’t we just skip dinner and go straight to dessert?” Zoey asked.
“I wish,” Libby said.
There were already some kids sitting at their table, some of whom Zoey recognized—like Miles, Sean, Gabe, Josie, and Tyler.
Libby introduced them to friends from her Hebrew school class. Zoey couldn’t help noticing that one, Ezra, was really cute. She whispered a question into Libby’s ear, asking if he was nice.
“Ezra’s really sweet,” Libby whispered back.
Over the main course, they all introduced themselves, but mostly the Hebrew school kids talked to their classmates, and Libby’s school friends talked to one another, with little intermingling.
Between courses, Alvin called them back to the dance floor.
“Now we’re going to play an icebreaker game called Snowball. Can I have a volunteer? I’m giving away this top hat to the first one with their hand up!”
Zoey’s hand shot straight into the air, because she thought the hat would top off her outfit to perfection. Alvin pulled her to the middle of the dance floor.
“What’s your name?”
“Zoey.”
“Thanks for volunteering, Zoey,” he said, placing the top hat on her head.
Zoey loved it, and she planned to wear it all night.
“Now, all of you form a circle around Zoey and me,” Alvin began. “And we’re going to start off the dancing . . . then Frank the DJ is going to call out—”
“SNOWBALL!” shouted Frank the DJ.
“Then Zoey’s going to pick a new partner, and so am I, and we’re going to dance with our new partners until the next time Frank the DJ yells out—”
“SNOWBALL!” all the kids shouted with the DJ.
“You guys are quick,” Alvin said. “I bet you get good grades in school. Okay, let’s get this party started, Frank!”
As soon as the music started, Zoey and Alvin began to dance. But Zoey was worrying about who she should pick to dance when Frank the DJ said, “Snowball!” She wanted to ask Ezra, but would that be too weird since she didn’t even know him? Except Alvin did say it was supposed to be an icebreaker, right?
“SNOWBALL!”
With no more time to think, Zoey turned to Ezra and pointed. He smiled and joined her on the dance floor.
“Nice hat!” Ezra said.
“Thanks,” Zoey said. “So . . . you know Libby from Hebrew school?”
“That’s right,” Ezra said. “I know you know her from school because she talks about you and your other friends all the time.”
He has a really, really cute smile, Zoey thought.
They only got to dance together for a short while before it was Snowball time again, but it was enough for Zoey to decide that Ezra was even cuter up close than he was from across the table.
She picked Sean next.
“Hey, I love your bow tie,” she said.
“Me too!” Sean said, smiling. “This really cool friend of mine made it in woodshop!”
Soon the dance floor was full, and Zoey was having a great time dancing with different partners—boys she knew from school, and friends of Libby’s from Hebrew school. But then Alvin announced it was the moment they’d all been waiting for . . . DESSERT!
“I can’t choose! It all looks so yummy,” Priti moaned when they reached the front of the mob at the dessert table. “I want to try everything!” She took a few pictures of the table with her cell phone. “Mom asked me to take pictures, so that I can describe all the desserts to her for her blog,” she explained.
“I just want to try everything, period,” Kate said.
“Well, I’m not impressed.”
Zoey looked up to see who was talking and saw Emily, who was looking at the spread of goodies with a scornful expression.
“My mother’s a chef, and her desserts put these to shame,” Emily said. “This caterer is really lame.”
Zoey glanced over at Libby to see if she’d heard, but fortunately she was busy chatting with other friends around the chocolate fountain.
“Well, I think the food has been amazing so far,” Zoey said. “And these desserts look really superyummy.”
“That makes two of us,” Ezra agreed. He’d come to stand next to her in the dessert line, which made Zoey nervous and happy at the same time. “In fact, I’m going to grab two of these gooey brownie things before they’re all gone.”
Emily raised her chin and stomped away from the table.
“What got into her?” Sean asked, grabbing a plate from the buffet and starting to load it with brownies, cookies, and cupcakes.
“She hasn’t eaten enough sweets,” Ezra said, joking.
“That’s not going to be Sean’s problem,” Priti observed, eyeing Sean’s full plate. “I’m going to explore the chocolate fountain.”
She drifted toward the melted chocolate.
“Cool tie,” Ezra said. “Is it made of wood?”
“Yeah,” Sean said. “Zoey made it.”
“You did?” Ezra asked Zoey. “Wow. That’s so awesome.”
Sean winked at Zoey. She wondered if it was obvious that she thought Ezra was cute, and she resolved to play it cool.
“Love the top hat, Zoey!” Sean said. “It makes the outfit.”
Over the dessert course, Libby’s two groups of friends were mingling more—switching seats and having fun getting to know one another.
“Emily is just plain wrong,” Priti said after she’d tried every single dessert. “These taste as good or better than they look.”
“Yeah, they’re amazing,” Ezra said. “Why was that girl so snarky about them?”
“Who, Emily?” Zoey said. “She’s just . . . Well, her mom is a chef, so she’s always comparing everything to how her mom does it.”
Ezra looked dubious. “She’s still a guest at this party, though, right? That was just rude. What if Libby heard?”
&n
bsp; “‘What if Libby heard what?’ ” Libby asked. She’d been flitting around the room saying hi to all her relatives and other guests. “Come on, it’s time to dance again!”
She grabbed Sean’s hand and dragged him to the dance floor. Tyler asked Kate to dance, and Priti asked Miles. Gabe and Josie were an automatic pair, of course.
Zoey watched her friends head off to the dance floor and was finishing up her dessert when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.
“So . . . do you want to dance?” Ezra asked.
“Sure!” Zoey replied, thrilled that he’d asked her.
“I really like your dress,” Ezra said. “It looks cool when you dance.”
“That’s ’cause it’s a flapper dress,” Zoey said. “Actually, I made it.”
“For real?” Ezra exclaimed. “The bow tie and your dress?”
“And Libby’s dress. And Kate’s and Priti’s, too!” Zoey said with a smile.
“I don’t believe you. They’re all so different,” he said. “Plus, they look like they came from a real store!”
“The store of Sew Zoey—in my house,” she joked, laughing.
“I feel so boring and underdressed now,” Ezra said. “Hey, can I borrow your prize top hat?”
Zoey nodded, and he plucked it off her head and settled it on his own. He looked adorable.
She looked around to see if her friends noticed, and she overheard Tyler telling Kate that he liked all the flowers on Libby’s dress.
“What about my dress? Do you like mine?” Kate asked.
“Well . . . yeah,” Tyler said.
Kate didn’t look happy with his response. Not one little bit. The two of them stopped dancing and started what looked like an intense conversation by the edge of the dance floor.
When the song ended, Alvin announced that it was time for the traditional hora. The older guests joined the younger ones on the dance floor, and everyone made a big circle along the edge.
Just then Kate came over to where Zoey was chatting with Ezra. She seemed upset.
“Zoey, can you come with me to the bathroom?”
“Sure,” Zoey said, waving good-bye to Ezra.
Zoey was a little disappointed to miss the hora after all the practicing they’d done, but Kate needed her. The two girls headed off to the ladies’ room.