Late to the Party - Kelly Quindlen Page 0,10
and Maritza was elated, especially because it would help with her application to Georgia Tech in the fall. The only downside was that it was a full-summer commitment, which meant she’d be missing her family’s annual Panama trip for the first time ever.
“Fine.” Maritza shrugged. Her eyes darkened. “Except Vivien Chen was being a snotty bitch again.”
Vivien Chen was Maritza’s sworn enemy. She was in our class at Buchanan High School and was one of the smartest, most accomplished people around. Unfortunately, she had a knack for high performance in the same exact things as Maritza: science and dance. This past year, Maritza and Vivien had been in the same honors physics class and had competed for the position of dance team captain. And while Maritza had earned the better grades in physics, Vivien had ultimately won out as dance team captain. Maritza had taken it pretty hard; on the day their coach had announced it, back in April, she’d cried for two hours in my car.
“JaKory said you have a plan,” I said pointedly, glaring at her. “I’d rather hear about that than Vivien Chen.”
Maritza stared at me for a beat. Then her words tumbled out, loud and fast as ever. “Listen, I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have made that dig at you, Codi. I was just—I was caught off guard. I never imagined in a million years that your little brother would go on a date before I would. Before any of us would.”
The only sound was the rushing of the river. I stared at my watercolors, trying to make sense of my emotions.
“Codi-kid,” Maritza said, using the old nickname. She nudged the croissant toward me. “I’m sorry, okay? It was a dick thing to say. I was just feeling shitty about myself, and … well, I think we were all feeling shitty.”
She tore the croissant and held out a piece to me. I was still annoyed, but my urge to hear her plan outweighed it. I met her eyes and took the piece she offered.
“Ha,” she said, grinning. “Softening y’all with food always works.”
“Shut up,” I said, rolling my eyes and dipping my piece into her fresh coffee. “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on, or what?”
She tapped her fingertips together, giddy. “Okay, so … you know that girl Rona, on my team?”
“The one who used to sit in Ben Reed’s lap while Mr. Clanton ‘rested his eyelids’ during health class?” I asked. “Yeah.”
“She was talking to me at the meeting just now, and she mentioned this party she’s going to tonight. This guy Ricky Flint, he just graduated, is having it at his house. Rona said anyone could come. And guess where he lives?”
A sense of apprehension trickled over me. “Where?”
“In your neighborhood, Codi.” She said it like a punch line, her eyes bright and fiery. Next to her, JaKory nodded triumphantly. It was obvious she’d already told him this part.
I knew where they were going with this, but it wasn’t something I wanted to hear. We were falling into a conversation I wasn’t ready for.
“And … you think we should avoid driving that way in case they accidentally set the house on fire?” I said.
“Ha, ha,” Maritza said, rolling her eyes. “But for real, wanna go?”
They looked at me expectantly. JaKory nodded very slightly, like he was trying to encourage me.
“Not really,” I said quietly.
“But think about it!” Maritza insisted. She moved to straddle the bench so she was facing me directly. “It’s so close, we could walk there. That way we could drink!”
“Drink?” I repeated, feeling dazed. “Since when do we drink?”
“Since today, because I want to try something new. We’ll drink, and we’ll meet new people, and maybe—maybe—there will be a cute girl or guy that we can talk to, and flirt with, and kiss—I mean, isn’t that what you want?”
I looked to JaKory for help, but he avoided my gaze.
“We can’t just go to some random guy’s party,” I said.
“Why can’t we?”
I struggled to articulate what I was feeling. “We—we don’t—I mean, what are we gonna do, just waltz in there and act like we were invited? We won’t know anyone. We’ve never even been to a party before.”
Maritza leaned forward, an urgent energy about her. “Listen to me,” she said. “Last night we picked up your little brother from a date, something none of us have ever experienced, and we watched him almost kiss a girl for the first time, something I’ve been wanting to do for ages.