by Tia Mowry
“Good thing it’s too hot for an outdoor party,” she said at last. Suddenly her eyes widened. “Wait, I’m a genius!” she exclaimed.
Cassie smiled faintly. “Okay,” she said. “Why?”
Lavender grabbed her arm, looking excited. “Pool party!” she blurted out. “It’s perfect! You can have it at Megan’s house, and it won’t cost you a penny!”
“Wha—” I began.
Too late. Lavender whirled and raced back into the house, shouting Megan’s name.
“Come on,” Cassie said. We followed her inside.
By the time we reached the living room, Lavender was dancing around in front of Megan. “. . . and I heard the weather’s supposed to stay hot through next weekend,” she was saying. “So it’s perfect, right? What do you think?”
“Hold on,” I began.
Megan was already nodding. “Sure,” she said with a smile. She glanced at Cassie, then at me. “It would be superfun to have your birthday at my pool. I’m sure my parents will say yes.”
“Text them right now.” Lavender grabbed Megan’s purse, digging into it for her phone. “Go on!”
“Wait!” I could feel the situation spiraling out of control. I glanced at Bianca, who had returned from the bathroom, and at Liam. As it was, my friends were being treated like losers right here in my own house. How much worse would it be at Megan March’s place? Besides, Megan wasn’t even my friend. I wouldn’t only be in danger of feeling like a guest at my own party, I’d risk feeling like an unwanted guest!
But Liam was smiling. “Pool party?” he said. “Awesome! That’s even better than my caveman idea.”
He actually looked excited. I stared at him in surprise, distracted enough that by the time I returned my attention to Megan, she’d sent her text.
“There, I just asked,” she said. “It’s really only a formality, though. They’ll say yes. My parents love throwing parties.”
“True story,” Lavender agreed. “The Hawaiian luau they threw last summer to raise money for the Six Oaks Hospital? Absolutely epic.”
Her mention of the hospital reminded me of Cassie’s vision. I glanced over and found her staring at me. We’d discovered that we could sometimes change the future by figuring out what was happening in our visions. That meant there was a chance of helping Bianca avoid the terrible scene Cass had just observed. But only if we could figure out what was going to happen in time to stop it.
I wandered over to the sofa. “Hey, guys, make room,” I said lightly, squeezing in between Bianca and Liam. I leaned closer to Bianca, making sure our shoulders touched. If I got a vision about her, too, maybe it would give us more information.
But I got nothing. That was another thing Cassie and I had discovered—it wasn’t that easy to bring on a vision. They seemed to come whenever they felt like it.
I tuned back to the rest of the room. Cassie, Megan, and Lavender were chattering about food and decorations and invitations. Liam was listening with interest.
“We don’t have much time,” Megan said, “if we’re throwing this party a week from today.”
Cass nodded. “I’ve got a good design program on my laptop,” she said. “I’ll start working up an invitation. That way I can e-mail it to everyone as soon as Megan’s parents give the official okay.”
“Wait,” I said. “Aren’t we going to talk about the other ideas we all had?”
“What’s the point? The pool party is perfect.” Lavender checked her watch. “Come on, Megs. Let’s go back to my store. We can get some of the stuff we need there, then take Amigo to the park while Cassie works on the invitation.”
Bianca stood up as soon as the two girls left. “I should go, too,” she said softly. “I have, um, stuff to do at home.”
“I’ll walk you,” Liam offered. He tossed me a sloppy salute. “Thanks for the lemonade, Caitlyn. I can’t wait for the party!”
Soon they were gone, too. Cassie was at the dining table, already leaning over her laptop. I stomped over and glared down at her.
“What was that all about?” I demanded.
She blinked up at me. “What?”
“You know what.” I crossed my arms. “You and your friends totally took over! It’s supposed to be my party, too. Don’t I even get a vote?”
She shrugged. “So why didn’t you say something?”
“I tried!” I exclaimed. “The trouble is, Lavender never listens to anyone but herself. And maybe her dog.”
I noticed Cassie touching the key-shaped necklace that had come in the package. She’d been wearing it nonstop since it had arrived.
“And, by the way, that’s supposed to be for both of us, too.” I pointed at the pendant. “I haven’t even had a chance to touch it yet. Hand it over.”
Cassie frowned, and for a second I thought she might refuse. Then she pulled the necklace off over her head.
“Whatever,” she said, tossing it at me. “Be my guest. Just try not to lose it, okay? You’re not exactly famous for keeping your stuff neat.”
Ignoring that, I checked out the pendant. It really was pretty cool. There was an etching of a tree on the top part, and little scratches and dents in the metal that made it look really old. I slipped it on over my head, and the pendant settled against my skin, feeling oddly warm.
When I glanced at my sister, she was watching me with narrowed eyes. Then she turned back to her computer.
“Let me know who else you want to invite to the party besides the king and queen of the dweebs,” she said as her fingers flew over the keyboard. “I need to send this out soon.”
BY THE NEXT morning, my annoyance had worn off. Most of it, anyway. I was still peeved that Cass and her friends were railroading me into this pool party. But it was too late to worry about that now. The vision about Bianca, on the other hand, might still be fixable. My sister and I needed to get over our petty disagreements and figure out what to do.
Cassie had already left the room by the time I woke up, so I pulled on some clothes and went looking for her. She was eating breakfast while Mom puttered around in the kitchen.
“Oh, Caitlyn, you’re up,” Mom said when I entered. “Good. I was about to come wake you. I don’t have to be at work until tonight, so how about a trip to the mall—the three of us?”
Cassie looked up in surprise. “The mall?”
Mom nodded. “You keep telling me about all the shopping you’ve been doing there,” she said with a smile. “Reckon I should see for myself.”
I stared at her. She was acting as if nothing had happened. That wasn’t like her. Mom believed in confronting issues, not avoiding them. Well, except when those issues had anything to do with our father.
“You want to go to the mall? Really?” Cassie sounded suspicious.
Mom chuckled. “Yes, really. I’ve been so busy with the move and the new job that I haven’t had a moment to buy you two birthday gifts yet.” She shrugged. “This way you can pick out what you want and save yourself a trip back to exchange everything.”
“Sure, Mom,” I said uncertainly. “That sounds fun.”
Cass shoveled the last bit of cereal into her mouth. “Yeah, I’m always up for the mall,” she said. “Just give me a minute to get dressed.”
“Meet you at the car in ten minutes,” Mom said, hurrying toward her room.
That left me alone in the kitchen. Once again, I apparently didn’t get a vote.
“Guess we’re going to the mall,” I muttered with a sigh.
8
CASSIE
THE SIX OAKS Galleria was pretty pathetic compared to the shopping in San Antonio. But it was miles better than the collection of dusty old stores in archaic Aura. It felt kind of weird to be there with my family, though. Mom hated malls, and Caitlyn had the fashion sense of a gnat. If not for my helpful advice, she’d probably go to school in sweats and sneakers every day.
I eyed Mom as we pushed our way through the heavy glass doors. Cold air hit us—they had the AC cranked up to arcti
c in there. It felt good after the swampy weather outside, even though I sort of wished I’d brought a sweater. The mall was packed, which wasn’t surprising. What else was there to do on a boring Sunday in the middle of nowhere?
“What do you say, girls?” Mom said cheerfully, glancing around. “Where should we go first?”
That was weird. Mom never sounded happy about shopping. Especially if she had to deal with crowds to do it.
“Why don’t we start with the party shop?” I suggested, squinting in the direction of the directory as I tried to remember where I’d seen the store. I’d never been inside—streamers and balloons hadn’t been on the shopping list when I was there with my friends—but I vaguely recalled the place looking pretty well stocked.
“Party shop?” Mom echoed. “Is that the name of the latest teen clothing store?”
“No, I mean an actual party store,” I said, heading in the direction I thought the place might be. “We’ll need some decorations for next weekend.”
“Party?” Mom’s voice went sharp. “What party?”
“You didn’t tell Mom about the party?” Caitlyn asked. “Because I didn’t either.”
Oops. Now that she mentioned it . . . “Our birthday party,” I said, barely managing to avoid adding a duh at the end. Knowing Mom, that wouldn’t go over well, and I didn’t want to have to buy all the party stuff out of my allowance money. I was saving up for a cute pair of jeans I had seen. “We meant to tell you—Megan’s parents offered to let us have it at their house. They have a pool.”
Mom stopped short, causing the teenage couple walking behind us to veer around us. The guy shot us a dirty look and a muttered curse, which Mom ignored.
“Hold on,” she said, looking from me to Cait and back again. “I thought we agreed there wouldn’t be a party this year.”
“No, we didn’t,” I said. “We definitely didn’t agree. You said we’d talk about it later.”
Just one more subject we were supposed to talk about later, I thought. But once again, I opted not to mention that part out loud.
She frowned. “Look, I told you we could still do something special. How would you like to drive back to San Antonio for the day, have dinner at that Italian place you like so much?”
“No way.” I shook my head. “This is our birthday we’re talking about! We want a party.”
I glanced at my sister, wondering if she was going to back me up. Judging by the look on her face, that would be a big fat no.
“I do love that Italian place,” she said softly.
“Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed, glaring at her. Then I turned back to Mom. “You can’t do this! I mean, it’s a miracle I actually managed to find some cool friends in this ridiculous little middle-of-nowhere town. And now you want to make me look like a loser by forcing me to cancel the party? Are you seriously trying to sabotage me like that?”
Mom put her hands on her hips. “Cassandra,” she said in a dangerous tone I’d never heard before, way beyond scarymama. “I don’t appreciate—”
“Hey!” a loud voice interrupted. “Waters family!”
I spun around. Of all people, greasy Gabe Campbell was walking toward us. Right behind him was a teenage guy I didn’t recognize, but with their matching smirks, I assumed they were related.
Mom quickly rearranged her expression from acute fury to polite impatience. “Hello,” she greeted the boys as they reached us. “It’s Gabriel, yes?”
“Hi, Ms. Waters.” Gabe grinned at her. “This is my cousin Thad.”
“Yo,” Cousin Thad said, still sneering at us.
“What a coincidence running into y’all here,” Gabe said. “It’s almost, you know, supernatural or something, right?”
“I suppose.” Mom looked a little confused.
Supernatural? Caitlyn and I exchanged a panicked look, both remembering Gabe lurking in the hall the other day. Did this mean he really had overheard us? Did he know our secret?
Not that it mattered if he was about to spill it to Mom, since she obviously already knew.
“Well, we’d better move along,” Gabe said. “Nice seeing y’all.”
He and his cousin disappeared into the crowd. Mom turned her attention back to us.
“Now, where were we?” she said. “About this party . . .”
“Never mind that,” I blurted out. “Are we ever going to talk about how you stole our package?”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened. Mom’s narrowed. “Cassandra!”
“No, I’m serious! It’s pretty obvious you don’t want us to know anything about our father’s side of the family. Why are you so determined to keep us in the dark about them?”
Mom scowled. “That’s quite enough, Cassie!”
I glanced at Caitlyn, expecting her to jump in and suggest we cool off, or change the subject to the weather, or whatever other crazy thing Miss Always-Sunny-Inside-My-Head might come up with to keep the peace.
She didn’t notice me, though, because she was staring at Mom. “Are you ever going to tell us about our dad?” she asked, half-cautious and half-plaintive. “Why don’t you want us to know anything about him?”
Mom opened her mouth, then shut it again. She blinked at us, looking as if she’d suddenly developed severe indigestion. “It’s not that—” she began. “I mean, the thing is . . .” She shook her head, her expression darkening. “Look, this isn’t the time or the place. End of discussion.”
“No way!” I yelled, so loudly that several shoppers turned to stare at us curiously. Lowering my voice, I met Mom’s steely gaze with my own. “It’s not right,” I said, trying not to let my voice shake. “He’s our father. We deserve to know. And that package came for us. Not you. It’s ours, and you should give it back.”
“Sorry,” Mom retorted, not sounding sorry at all, “but that’s impossible.”
“No, it’s not,” I exclaimed. “We’re not babies anymore—we’re almost twelve, and—”
“No, I mean it’s really not possible,” Mom interrupted. “I already sent it back.”
My jaw dropped. “Huh?”
“You what?” Caitlyn sounded confused.
“I sent it back,” Mom repeated, emphasizing each word. “Return to sender.”
My mind swirled. Was she serious? I could feel tears forming in my eyes.
Mom must have noticed, because her expression softened slightly. “Enough about that,” she said briskly. “But maybe I was too hasty about the party. I’ll have to speak to Megan’s parents, of course. But I suppose a party would be a nice way for you two to settle in.”
She didn’t sound very sure of that. But I blinked back my tears, trying to see the silver lining here. Mom was still refusing to talk about our dad, and she’d sent our package back—the only thing that might have explained what was happening to us. But at least she wasn’t going to insist on making me a social outcast.
At least there was that.
“OKAY, SO WAS that the least fun trip to the mall ever, or what?” I commented, flopping onto my bed. It was late that evening. Mom had just left for her night shift at the precinct, ordering me and Cait to be in bed by ten. But I felt restless and wide-awake.
Caitlyn’s only response was a grunt. She kept her eyes trained on her laptop, which was open on the bed in front of her.
We hadn’t talked much since the mall debacle. Okay, we hadn’t talked at all. Unless you counted “Pass the salt” at dinner.
What was she mad at me about now? Whatever it was, she needed to get over it. And not only because we had a party to plan. I could do that by myself.
What I couldn’t do on my own was figure out the rest of the mess that was our lives. How could Mom have mailed back that package? And if the package was really gone, how were we ever going to find out more about this Sight thing? It was pretty obvious that Mom wasn’t going to be any help at all. Pretty much the opposite, actually.
“Cait?” I said. “Earth to Cait.”
She shot me a brief, annoyed l
ook. “What? I have to finish these word problems for tomorrow.”
Her tone was anything but friendly. Fine. I wasn’t going to beg her to talk to me. Clicking off the light on my bedside table, I turned my face to the wall and waited for sleep.
9
CAITLYN
I SAT IN homeroom on Monday feeling out of sorts. The B Boys were horsing around in the back of the room, playing keepaway with Biff’s math book. They were making tons of noise, and it was giving me a headache.
But I knew it wasn’t really the B Boys who were bugging me. I hated fighting with Cassie. I hated it a whole lot. And I could tell she’d wanted to make up the night before.
But I hadn’t been ready then. Not because her friends had hijacked the party. Whatever, I could deal with that. Not even because she kept calling Liam and Bianca nerds. I was used to that sort of thing from her.
That scene at the mall, though? That had shaken me up. For real. When Cassie had started going at Mom, it was like she’d totally forgotten they were in public. What was she expecting to happen, anyway? Mom didn’t deal well with threats or tantrums, and she could be just as stubborn as Cassie. Confronting her like that? Not only was it guaranteed not to work, but it might even make her less likely to tell us the truth.
We needed Mom on our side right now if we ever wanted to figure out what was happening to us, and Cassie may have ruined that for us forever.
“I got my pool party invitation!” Liam said, breaking into my thoughts. “If you need an RSVP, consider this mine—I’ll be there.”
“Cool.” I forced a smile, then glanced at Bianca. As usual, she was reading a book at her desk, her dark hair falling forward to block her face from view. “What about you, Bianca? Did you get your invite?” I knew Cassie had e-mailed the whole guest list the night before. At least she’d said she had. I was actually a little surprised that she hadn’t “forgotten” to send anything to my friends.
Bianca looked up briefly. “Yes, I got it,” she said. “Thanks.”