Kissing the Shy Guy - Stephanie Street Page 0,42

you can. As soon as either your dad or I get back.” Her purse already hung from her shoulder, and she had one foot out the door. There was an emergency of some sort, and for some reason, this emergency couldn’t sort itself out without my mother’s help. Even though she’d promised me I could go to a party that had been on the calendar for two weeks. “I can’t take Melly with me, and you know she—”

“Can’t stay home by herself. I know.”

Mom patted my cheek. “Don’t roll your eyes. It’s very unattractive. I shouldn’t be any later than nine o’clock.”

My throat clogged with tears and other unspent emotions, making it so all I could do was grunt as I watched through the screen door as she got in her car.

Melly slid her arm around my waist. “Can we make popcorn, Jenny?”

I closed my eyes and sighed, reminding myself this wasn’t Melly’s fault. I couldn’t take my frustration out on her. “Sure. But we have to eat something healthy first.”

Melly scrunched up her nose. “Like what?” she asked, her voice full of distrust.

I closed the front door. “I don’t know. How about we go to the kitchen and see what’s in the fridge?”

An hour later, her stomach full, Melly vegged in front of the television watching an old episode of iCarly. It was the one where Carly’s older brother, Spencer, made a sculpture out of butter. It always grossed me out, so I left Melly in the family room and went to sit in Dad’s den. I was halfway through an episode of Outer Banks when my phone buzzed. It was a Snapchat from Lydia.

GF! Where are you? This party is legit.

I snapped a photo of myself curled up on the oversized sofa in the den. It was only seven, so I hadn’t even bothered to get ready for the party yet. I didn’t even send a caption with the photo, confident the expression on my face said it all.

Lydia sent back a sad face emoji, and I started my show again. I knew she’d send me another message in an hour or so just so I wouldn’t feel neglected. But I did feel neglected. Only not by my friends. And the more I thought about it, the angrier it made me. We had a calendar for a reason! I religiously marked down all of my activities. I even marked spur-of-the-moment things as I walked out the door.

Mom, on the other hand, pulled the it’s an emergency card every single time. She could wreck anyone else’s plans without batting an eye because it was something she was doing for someone else. Or she’d use guilt. Don’t you care about the sick children, Jenna? Or the homeless? Or the newly deceased and their families?

Of course, I cared! I wasn’t a monster. But I was also a teenage girl who had a life. I was also a teenage girl who wanted—needed—support from her own mother.

“Well, since I can’t get it from her,” I mumbled to myself and clicked out of Netflix to get into my Facebook account. I hadn’t been engaging with the DIVAS very much. I’d been too wound up trying to make sure I could still perform in the scholarship competition to be worried about what everyone else was doing. But now, I kind of needed some reassurance. Not that I would let them know that.

I found the message thread and began reading what had been said over the last week or so. Drama. Drama. And more drama. Not surprising. Oh. There was a message from Lillian Preston. I didn’t know her very well, or at all. She’d asked me how my project was going.

I bit my lip, wondering how much I should divulge. I wasn’t in direct competition with anyone except Lola. I snorted. Not that she was much competition, but still. I didn’t want to give away any secrets. But maybe that was silly. What difference could it make to tell them that I’d switched partners? None.

Me: Lillian. Everything is peachy.

After a few minutes, Rose responded.

Rose: *Insert eye roll* Nice of you to join us, Queen Jenna. And with such a detailed reply.

My lip curled in reply. Rose! I wasn’t even talking to her. I was talking to LILLIAN! I took a deep breath to calm myself before replying.

Me: Mind your own business, Rose.

Lillian: I’m glad to hear everything is going well, Jenna!

Me: Thank you, Lillian.

See? At least someone knew how to be kind.

Me: How is everyone