The Code for Love and Heartbreak - Jillian Cantor Page 0,67
people on New Year’s Eve, she says. Either that or I promised her I’d be home right after dinner.”
I nod and let her in. Dad definitely won’t care if Jane sleeps over. Izzy has had plenty of friends sleep over. But I’ve made it to nearly the end of high school without ever having a friend sleep over. I always thought sleepovers sounded terrible. All those hours of having to talk to someone? But Jane is easy to talk to, and I don’t want her to have to leave in an hour right after dinner. And I don’t really want to spend New Year’s Eve by myself, either. I’ve gotten kind of used to having Izzy around again this week, having someone else to cook and watch movies with again. And I’ve grown to actually like Jane these past few months. I’m glad she’ll be here to keep me company while Iz is out.
Hannah shows up a few minutes later, and I’m about to ask her if she wants to sleep over, too. But when she takes off her coat, I see she’s wearing a pretty long-sleeved green dress and heels. Oh, and is she wearing lipstick, too? “I thought we’d just have chili and maybe watch a movie,” I say instead, frowning, looking again over her outfit. “And if you want to sleep over, Jane is going to.”
“Oh, I would but...after you texted, George texted me and invited me to go to a party with him and his brother tonight. He said they were already coming here to get your sister so they could pick me up in a little bit, too. You don’t mind, do you?”
“We don’t mind,” Jane says quickly, flashing Hannah a smile.
I bite my lip, and frown a little. Because I kind of do mind, though I can’t exactly articulate why. Who cares if Hannah only wants to stay a little bit and then go out? But since when does George go to parties with John and Izzy’s friends?
Dad walks out into the hallway and says hello to Jane and Hannah before I can say anything. “I hope you girls are hungry,” he says, and he ushers them both into the kitchen, where he sets out bowls of chili and corn bread.
It’s like Izzy hears the bowls hitting the table from all the way upstairs, because thirty seconds later, she’s in the kitchen, too, looking ridiculous, wearing her red checkered bathrobe, her hair up in big pink curlers. She is going all out for this reunion with John, like he’s going to forget how she normally looks after one whole week.
“Oh,” she says, catching sight of Jane and Hannah, her mouth actually falling into an O of surprise. “I didn’t know you had friends over, Em. Sorry for how I look,” she apologizes to them.
Jane shrugs, like she doesn’t care or even notice, and she digs into her chili. “This is delicious, Mr. Woodhouse,” she says, and Dad beams.
Hannah stares at Izzy, wide-eyed, and reaches for her own mess of red curls to smooth them down, somewhat self-consciously. I wonder if she’s nervous going out with a group so much older than her for New Year’s Eve? I couldn’t have even fathomed how to handle that as a freshman, and I think maybe I should say something vaguely comforting. But then, of course, Izzy does it first. “Hey, I hear you’re coming with us.” Izzy smiles reassuringly at Hannah in between spoonfuls of chili.
“Yeah...I mean...I hope that’s okay. George invited me.”
Izzy shoots her another smile. “Sure, you’ll have a great time. Jessi throws the best New Year’s Eve parties.”
I struggle to remember which one of Izzy’s friends is Jessi. And I can’t. I wish I’d paid more attention last year because for some reason I want to picture exactly where George and Hannah are going to be tonight, what they’re going to be doing. And why Hannah looks so dressed up and so nervously excited at the same time.
Izzy rushes through her chili and goes upstairs to get dressed, and we’re almost finished when the doorbell rings again. “I’ll get it,” I say. Izzy is still upstairs, and Dad is eating his chili and asking Jane and Hannah to tell him more about our app and how we’re preparing for the competition. Jane is talking about how she worked with the servers, and Hannah is telling him how she implemented the UI, so no one else even moves but me.