“This was just words, but that can still be painful,” Kristy reminded her.
At Kristy’s comment, Mal looked up, then back down quickly. Words certainly could hurt, and Mal knew it.
“I’m supposed to baby-sit for Bill, Melody, and Skylar on Sunday afternoon,” Mary Anne put in.
“Maybe what they need is something that forces them to work together,” Jessi suggested.
The rest of us nodded in agreement. But what? I wondered.
“We have until Sunday to come up with something. We’ll all work on it and call you if we have any suggestions,” Stacey said to Mary Anne.
“Great,” she replied, sounding relieved.
I looked around at my friends, then cleared my throat. “How would you guys like to come to a party?” I asked.
“A party? Where?” asked Stacey.
“For what?” asked Jessi.
“What kind of party?” said Abby.
“Who’ll be there?” Mal wanted to know. Everyone but her had sat up a little straighter and looked a little brighter when I asked the question.
“Right here, Saturday night, starting at seven and lasting until nine-thirty or so. Remember when I was trying to think of a way that you guys could get to know my seventh-grade friends a little better? That’s what it’s for.”
“Sounds like fun,” said Stacey.
“I’ve already talked to Shira, Joanna, and Jeannie. And Josh,” I added. “They’ve all said they’ll be here. I was waiting for the meeting to invite you guys. Do you think you’ll be able to come?”
“Logan and I were planning to watch a video on Saturday night at my house,” said Mary Anne. “Could he come too? I mean, you don’t want Josh to be the only boy.”
“That’s a good idea. Do you want to call him or should I?”
“I’ll talk to him tonight,” said Mary Anne.
“Have you told Shannon about the party?” asked Kristy.
“I’ll call her.” I picked up the list I’d been working on ever since Janine had said yes, and I added call Shannon after rent a video and order pizza.
“What about Anna?” Abby asked.
“Sure. Ask her,” I said. “I’m leaving the asking up to you guys.”
This would bring the total number of people to what? Ten or eleven? That was still a small group.
At six, everyone except Mary Anne and Stacey left. “Your parents agreed to let you have a party when they’re out of town?” Stacey asked.
“They didn’t say I couldn’t, and Janine said it was okay,” I replied.
“Janine said what was okay?” My sister stuck her head inside the doorway.
“That I could have a party tomorrow night,” I said.
“I thought it sounded like fun.” Janine stepped inside the room and sat down in the director’s chair. “Don’t you guys?”
Mary Anne and Stacey nodded.
“I’m thinking about the food. What do you like to eat? I know Claudia will say chocolate, but what about everybody else?” Janine asked.
“I thought we’d have pizza,” I reminded her.
“We can have pizza too, but what about dessert?” Janine said.
“You seem to have things pretty much under control,” Stacey said, slipping her arms into her denim jacket and grabbing her backpack.
Mary Anne stood up too.
“But I could use help planning games. I wouldn’t usually have games, but since the whole idea is for people to get acquainted, I thought games would be a way to break the ice,” I said. I didn’t want Stacey and Mary Anne to leave. They kept glancing at Janine, as if waiting for her to leave first. But Janine seemed to be glued to the chair.
“Games?” she mused. “I could develop a trivia game, perhaps. Something challenging but not too challenging.”
“I think I may have enough games after all,” I said quickly.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Stacey said to me. “Casual?”
“Definitely.”
“And I’ll invite Logan,” said Mary Anne.
“Thanks. See you later.” As Mary Anne and Stacey walked out of the room, the telephone rang. Janine and I reached for it at the same time, but she pulled back.
“Hi, Claudia. It’s Peaches,” my aunt said. “How are things going?”
“Good.”
“Are you eating dinner?”
“Not yet. The BSC meeting just ended.”
“BSC meeting? Even with your parents gone? Oh, well. I’m sure they thought of that before they left. Janine was home, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, Janine was home.” I looked at my sister and rolled my eyes. What had happened to my fun-loving aunt Peaches?
“Russ and I thought the two of you might like to join us tomorrow evening for dinner,” Peaches continued.
“Dinner? Tomorrow? Saturday?” I stammered. “Um …”
“Claudia, ask Janine how she feels about coming over,” Peaches said.
“It sounds like fun, but,” I paused, “Janine and I were planning something … special. A sister thing.”
Janine’s head snapped up and she smiled at me, nodding and giving me a thumbs-up.
“You and Janine? A special sister thing?” I could hear the disbelief in her voice. Peaches and Mom are as different as Janine and I are.
“That’s right. Me and Janine.”
“That will be nice,” said Peaches, sounding doubtful. “Have a good time. And be sure to …”
“… call if we need anything,” I said, finishing her sentence for her.
“All right. ’Bye.”
I hung up the phone. “That was Peaches,” I told Janine. “She wanted us to come over tomorrow night. I didn’t think she needed to know about the party.”
“I think you’re correct. And the special sister thing sounded nice.” Janine’s eyes gleamed. “I’m feeling very excited about both your party and the special sister thing. What did you have in mind? Perhaps a sister slumber party?”
“Maybe,” I said, not wanting to commit myself yet. “But Janine, let’s concentrate on the party.”
“Yes, first things first.” She sailed out of the room.
I decided not to worry about what she might expect on the sister front. I had a party to plan. I needed to come up with some games. I wanted people to talk to one another, get acquainted. I could see how easy it would be for Josh, Shira, Joanna, and Jeannie to end up on one side of the room and the BSC members on the other — like boys and girls at sixth-grade dances. So how could I make sure everyone mixed?
I had some stickers in my desk. What if everyone received a sticker when he or she arrived and had to match it to a group of others? I found hearts, a page of animal stickers, and some stars. Three groups would be enough. All the hearts could be one team, the animals the second, and the stars the third. But what would each team do? If Janine really wanted to make some special food, she could create a giant cookie for each team to decorate.
Also, I could make up a list of facts about everybody at the party and people could try to match each fact to a person. That would be a start.
I started writing down facts:
I talk in my sleep. (Mal)
I live in a haunted house. (Mary Anne)
Carolyn Keene is my favorite author. (Me)
I love those Mets. (Logan)
This could be addictive, I thought as I wrote faster. By the time I finished, I had enough facts to keep everyone talking for days.
At dinner, Janine agreed to be in charge of the giant cookies. She suggested that we use some of the grocery money to buy decorations. She also said she’d type the facts (without the answers) on her computer and make copies for everyone the next day.
By the time I finally turned off my light and crawled into bed, I was so tired I thought I’d fall asleep immediately. But I couldn’t. I was too excited. I looked at my clock. Only nineteen or so more hours until party time.
“Claudia! You’re not dressed yet.” Janine came into my room wearing
a pleated skirt, loafers, and a sweater. She moved toward the bed, then changed direction and lifted a pile of clothes off my desk chair, tossing them onto the bed.
“I’m still deciding,” I said. “But at least I’m changing clothes.”
“I changed,” Janine replied, sounding hurt.
It was hard to tell with Janine. She had plenty of clothes, but most of them looked the same to me. Maybe she’d had on a navy skirt earlier and changed to black for this evening. Her sweater had a little bit of red trim and the one she had on earlier in the day had been a solid color. It wasn’t a big change. On the other hand, I’d taken out several outfits, tried them on, and decided they weren’t quite right for a hostess. I wished I had more time. I could have put together something special. All I had time to do now was choose from what was in the closet … and in the dresser … and on the bed … plus the few things on the floor.
“Our guests will be arriving in a short while,” Janine informed me, looking at her watch.
Our guests? “Janine, did you invite any of your friends to stop by?” I asked, thinking maybe I’d missed something.
“Of course not. This is a party for your friends, so that they may become better acquainted with one another. It will also give me an opportunity to get to know them better,” she said. She picked up a red mohair sweater and laid it alongside a pair of black jeans. “Look, I have on red and black too. If you wear this, they could be the official hostess colors.”
“But I’m the official hostess,” I told her.
Janine looked me directly in the eye. “And I’m the official chaperone.”
She had me there. I slipped into the black jeans, then pulled a black turtleneck over my head. I had a fleece top with turquoise, hot pink, and lime green stripes and one thin line of red. It was a boxy jacket style and looked festive, I decided.
“That’s bright,” Janine said as I buttoned the jacket.
I found a pair of earrings I’d made out of curling ribbon and put them on, then stood back and looked at the results. Cool.
“The food is prepared. I have three large cookies for decorating later in the evening and a dozen sacked cookies for each member of the winning team. I’ve ordered pizza to be delivered at eight, and there’s a variety of soda on ice in the cooler, plus the overflow is in the refrigerator. I also have chips and pretzels and even some fruit, should someone want a healthy alternative to the junk food.” Janine ticked each item off on her fingers.
“Janine, you are the goddess of food and I thank you.” I gave her a quick hug.
“You look terrific,” Janine said. “Ready?”
“I think so.” I pulled a brush through my hair one more time. I’d decided to wear it loose. “Josh and Stacey should be here in a few minutes to help set up.”
As we ran down the stairs, the doorbell rang. Janine practically knocked me over in her rush to reach the door first.
“Stacey!” she said, throwing the door open. “I’m so delighted you could come. Enter!”
“Hi, Janine. Hi, Claud.” Stacey stepped inside. “Josh is right behind me.”
“Joshua, come right in,” Janine called out the door. “It’s party time.”
I hugged Stacey. “I’m so excited,” I whispered.
“Now, let’s see what still needs to be done,” Janine said as she closed the door behind Josh. I wiggled my fingers at him in greeting as he stood waiting for his instructions from the “official chaperone.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “First you have to have a sticker.” I peeled off a red heart for Josh (for obvious reasons) and a blue star for Stacey and stuck them on their shirts. For myself, I chose a pink heart. I wanted to be in Josh’s group.
“What about me?” Janine asked.
After exchanging a glance with Stacey, I gave Janine a star.
“Stacey, you choose the music. Josh, you set out some of the napkins and plates that we’ll need later for refreshments. Claudia, you start filling baskets and bowls with snacks,” Janine said.
And, Queen Janine, what will you be doing? I wondered. She joined me in the kitchen. When the doorbell rang, she offered to take over and finish.
I wiped my hands quickly, then ran into the front hall. My first real guest. I opened the door. “Hi!” I said, with a big smile.
“Hi, yourself,” Pete Black replied.
Pete Black? Had I invited Pete? He’s a good friend of Logan’s, but I didn’t remember even talking to him during the past week. He must have sensed my confusion, because he added, “Logan mentioned you were having a party and that it would be cool if I stopped by.”
“Sure, the more the merrier,” I said, quickly trying to figure out how many people that now meant. Twelve, maybe? That wasn’t so many. I was “stickering” Pete with a squirrel to start the third group when I saw Emily Bernstein, another eighth-grade friend, coming up the walk with Erica Blumberg. Uh-oh. The word must have gotten out.
“Claudia, this is a great idea,” Emily said, stepping inside.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Erica added.
Janine had come into the hallway. She gave me a strange look but didn’t say anything. Emily, Erica, Pete, and Stacey were chatting away while Josh looked on. I stuck a bear on Emily and a star on Erica, explaining that we’d be dividing into teams as soon as everyone arrived.
Before I could close the door, the Junk Bucket, Charlie Thomas’s car, pulled up. Kristy climbed out, followed by Shannon, Abby, Anna, and Shannon’s best friend from Stoneybrook Day, Greer Carson. I took a deep breath. This was a get-to-know-people party, after all. Still, I was starting to worry about whether we’d ordered enough pizza and if we had enough soda. Would three teams be enough? And I hadn’t included everybody in the trivia game!
I gave out stickers without really thinking about who should go where. Mary Anne and Logan arrived, followed by Rick Chow and Austin Bentley, two more friends of Logan’s.
“What a crowd!” Mary Anne said, hesitating in the doorway.
“There are a few more people than I expected,” I admitted. “And not everybody that I expect is here yet.”
“You said to let our other friends know about the party,” Mary Anne reminded me.
I didn’t remember exactly what I’d said, but it obviously hadn’t come out the way I’d meant it. I gave everyone in that group stickers too, then greeted Jeannie, Joanna, and Shira, who were followed by Mal and Jessi.
There was a solid wall of people around the table where we’d set out the food, as well as a crowd in the living room. I looked outside and saw no sign of other unexpected guests, so I closed the door. Someone turned the stereo up a notch. I started for the living room to turn it down again, then saw it was Janine adjusting the knobs. She was talking to Greer, who had on a star that matched Janine’s.
In fact, when I settled down enough to notice, I realized that people were mixing with each other pretty well. Joanna was talking to Kristy and Austin Bentley, while Shira was giggling with Emily and Jessi. Mal, Josh, and Mary Anne were sitting on the steps leading upstairs, deep in conversation — about what, I had no idea.
“Thanks for coming, everybody!” I shouted, wondering if I could be heard above all the noise. Janine rushed to my side, smiling. The noise level dropped a bit and a few people turned my way.
I raised my voice a little higher. “I gave out three kinds of stickers. Find the other people who are wearing the same kind you are. They’re your team members.”
I took a deep breath. It was much quieter as people moved to find their teammates. They stood in silent clumps, looking at me. I caught Josh’s eye and he smiled, making me feel better. “I’m going to pass out sheets with trivia facts about some of the people here. You’ll need to talk to each other to find who the fact is about.”
Pete said something I couldn’t hear and everyone around him laughed.
“The winning team will be the one which correctly identifies the most people,” I added.
Janine handed me the sheets
she’d typed up, and I passed them out. There were exactly enough. Janine must have made extras. “Let the games begin,” Janine added.
“I thought there were going to be fourteen people here,” Janine said quietly to me. “I count twenty and with me, twenty-one. I didn’t really think we’d use all those sheets.”
Twenty-one. That sounded like a lot. I had thought eleven or twelve people would show up.
“I ordered pizza for fifteen,” Janine continued.
“We’ll make it stretch,” I replied.
“The snacks are almost completely gone already,” Janine pointed out, “and I figured on two sodas per person.”
I squirmed a little.
“Where did the extra people come from?” Janine asked. “How could you have been so far off on your total?”
I was more worried about stretching the food than about exactly how many people were present. After all they were here and they weren’t going to leave.
“We still have the giant cookies,” I reminded her. “And everybody’s probably eaten dinner so they won’t be that hungry.”
“People do seem to be having fun,” Janine observed. “I guess it’s all right. I think I’ll try to match person with fact.”
I smiled. “Okay,” I said. I headed for the den. The star team was already there, filling out their sheets.
“Is there a prize?” Rick called to me as I passed his group in the living room.
“First choice at pizza,” I said.
“I hope you ordered sausage and bacon. We’re ripping through these questions.”
“Claudia, no fair if you work with your team. You know all the answers,” said Kristy from the dining room.
“That’s right,” yelled Pete, “no fair.”
“I promise I won’t help anybody,” I assured them.
Then I heard it and my heart practically stopped — the sound of breaking glass coming from the direction of the living room.
Either Janine was faster than me, or she was already in the room when it happened, because she was on her knees picking up pieces of the shattered vase when I arrived — along with just about everyone else in the room.
“Be careful of the broken glass,” Josh warned me.
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