windows offered fleeting glimpses of rainbows. Pressing the doorbell, she heard a faint chime sound inside.
“Prissie, darling!” exclaimed Mrs. Burke as she opened the door wide. “It’s been too long! How are you?”
“Very well, thank you,” she replied politely.
Margery’s mother beckoned for her to enter, then smoothly plucked the wrapped gift from her hands and placed it next to the others on the hall table. “Luncheon will be served in ten minutes. The other girls are upstairs in Margery’s room. You remember the way?”
“Yes, Mrs. Burke,” Prissie said with a smile, then began to climb the elegantly curved staircase that dominated their front hall.
She trailed her hand on the banister as she daydreamed about living in the lap of luxury. Margery only had one sibling, a four-year-old brother named Gavin, so even though the Burkes’ house was bigger than the Pomeroy’s, there was barely enough family to occupy it. Wide open rooms were filled with tasteful decorations and so much quiet; Prissie thought this was what heaven must be like.
From Margery’s bedroom came the sound of squeals and giggles, and she peeked through the open doorway. “Prissie!” called her best friend, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against her bed. “You made it!”
“Happy birthday,” she replied brightly.
She and Margery may have been a matched set back in preschool, but as they’d grown up, differences made themselves apparent. All the Pomeroys were tall, but Margery took after her petite mother. While Prissie preferred to keep the same style, her friend was always trying new looks. At the moment, Margery’s blonde hair was teased into a tumble of chin-length curls, and her light green eyes sparkled with excitement. “We were just talking about the class lists! This is the first year Elise will be with us!”
Prissie blinked in surprise. Somehow, in all the excitement, she’d forgotten to check the roll. “We’re together again?” she asked, pleased even if she was the last to know.
“Like always!” piped Jennifer, whose deeply tanned skin suggested that much of her annual summer trip to visit relatives on the coast had been spent on the beach. “They wouldn’t dare split us up!”
“I hate how you have to spend the whole summer not knowing for sure, though,” April interjected. She was the resident expert on all things now — television, movies, and especially Facebook and YouTube. Her sleek, mouse-brown hair was bobbed, and her baby bangs formed a straight line over the rectangular frames of her glasses. Very little escaped the notice of her sharp gray eyes. “The risk of separation looms for weeks on end!”
“I think it’s indecent, the way they keep vital information a secret until the end of summer,” haughtily interjected the one girl in the room Prissie didn’t know. Her coloring was dramatic — porcelain pale skin and stark black hair. Hazel eyes were rimmed with a deep purple liner that matched her lace-trimmed leggings, and Prissie’s first impression was one of envy.
Margery made the introductions. “This is Elise Hanson. Her family moved in next door during the middle of summer! Elise, this is Prissie Pomeroy.”
Elise was flopped on the four-poster bed, reading over Margery’s shoulder as she flipped through a magazine. She quirked a light brown eyebrow, and Prissie realized with a jolt that she must color her hair. Elise returned Prissie’s assessing look—top to toe and back again — before giving her a mocking little smile. “Hey.”
Bristling defensively, Prissie coolly replied, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Her family runs the bakery on Main Street,” Margery supplied.
Narrowing her eyes, Elise said, “Now I remember! I’ve seen you around. Your family adopted that Asian kid, am I right?”
“Koji is an international exchange student,” Prissie primly corrected, not liking Elise’s tone.
“Whatever,” the girl replied dismissively, turning her attention back to the magazine.
“So what have you been doing all summer?” interjected April, and the conversation swerved into familiar territory. Prissie joined Jennifer on the padded bench. Since kindergarten, the four of them always caught up during Margery’s birthday festivities, trading secrets and making plans for the upcoming school year. However, the addition of Elise felt a bit awkward.
At first, Prissie thought Margery was just going out of her way to make sure that Elise was included, but before long she realized that the flow of conversation centered around the new girl.
April and Jennifer were obviously comfortable with Elise. In fact, Prissie was beginning to feel completely out of the loop. April made a saucy remark about pizza delivery boys that sent everyone else into gales of