“HOW MUCH STUFF DO YOU need for one night, anyway?”
A. A. stood with her hands on her hips, her pretty face looking puzzled, surveying the small forest of Nordstrom bags growing in the middle of her bedroom. After they’d spent way too much money on clothes, Lili had convinced her to help pick out camping gear for her upcoming trip.
Ashley’s mom had ordered her home after her credit-card company called to ask if the Visa had been stolen, since someone had rung up thousands of dollars in charges in less than an hour; and a cranky Dex had picked up Lauren to bring her home and wouldn’t take no for an excuse, saying something about having just driven a very long, very circuitous route that had taken all afternoon.
She and Lili had returned to the Fairmont penthouse loaded down with piles of outdoor equipment. Lili crawled from bag to bag on her hands and knees, checking the contents of each against her credit-card receipt. Clearly, A. A. didn’t understand how complicated camping was.
“All the sleeping bags have plaid lining,” Lili complained, rifling through one of the larger bags. “It’s so ‘Seattle’!”
“Did you really need to buy that huge a backpack? It’s bigger than you.” A. A. sat down on the white lacquered trunk and surveyed the booty.
“I know, it’s ugly, right?” Lili flicked the pack’s black utilitarian straps. Just looking at it made her feel anxious about this camping trip. She was definitely leaving her comfort zone in every possible way. “But Max said to get the biggest one because of the kind of trip we’re going on.”
“What kind of trip are you going on?” A. A. cocked her head to one side and pulled at a pigtail.
Lili sighed. “A secret trip.” She rocked back on her heels, shooting A. A. a mournful look. “I’m beginning to think it’s a stupid idea. Ashley certainly thinks so.”
“Of course it’s a stupid idea,” A. A. told her. “I mean, think about it. You’ve never been camping before in your life. You’ve never even wanted to go camping. Your mother would go ballistic if she knew what you were up to. The other people going are weirdos from the School of Rock. And the whole reason you’re doing it is to impress some boy.”
“Not to impress him,” Lili argued, though she knew she didn’t sound very convincing. “Just so we can . . . you know, hang out.”
A. A. made a face. “You can hang out anywhere in the city,” she pointed out. “You do realize Genghis Khan will kill you if she finds out about this,” she added, using their private nickname for Lili’s hard-liner mom. Lili didn’t mind too much—she’d come up with the nickname herself.
“That’s why I’m keeping it all.” Lili grinned, though she didn’t feel much like smiling right now. The thought of her mother finding out . . . it was way too scary to even consider.
“How about when she sees the credit-card bill?”
“My dad is the one who pays my card,” said Lili, standing up. All this crawling about was giving her sore legs, and she needed to be in top physical condition for the trip. “He never asks questions. And if he does, I’ll tell him it’s for Ashley’s birthday present. That’s why we got all this stuff at Nordstrom rather than some outdoor shop.”
“Just admit it. You wouldn’t be seen dead in an outdoor shop,” A. A. joked, throwing a sheepskin-covered cushion at Lili.
“I don’t even know what an outdoor shop is,” Lili said. “Or where it is. Thank God they even sell this stuff at Nordstrom. Okay, let’s go through our plan again for next Saturday. I’ll get dropped off here after my violin lesson. Are you sure your mother is here next weekend?” It was the day before Thanksgiving and everyone would be going away or celebrating over the weekend, so Lili wanted to go over the plan before A. A. got too distracted by turkey and stuffing.
It was crucial that A. A.’s mother be present and accounted for, because there was no way Lili’s parents would let her stay over without adult supervision. Even if the adult in question was Jeanine Alioto, a former supermodel who spent half her time traveling and thought being a good mother meant making sure the maid brought in a tray of hot milk and warm cookies every night.
“She said she would be. But you know her.” A. A. grinned. “Someone might invite her to the Venice Film Festival or something, and she’ll fly off.”
“Try and persuade her to stay, okay?” Lili needed everything to go according to plan. Jeanine wouldn’t even notice if Lili disappeared almost as soon as she arrived—A. A.’s mother usually spent her Saturday afternoons getting a hot-stone massage and top-down body waxing, in preparation for some glamorous event that night. Then she’d be out all evening and asleep half of Sunday. By then Lili would be safely back in the city and nobody over the age of fourteen would be any the wiser. But Jeanine actually had to be in the country for this plan to work.
“So you have your pack and your sleeping bag.” A. A. picked up her school skirt, the most despised item in her closet, and lobbed it onto her loft bed. “What else?”
“Hiking boots,” said Lili, lifting a pair of tan Timberlands out of their giant box, their thick dark laces tied together. “So not flattering. Water bottle. Fleece vest. A flashlight I can wear around my head for nighttime bathroom visits.”
“Lil,” A. A. said. “You do know that there aren’t any bathrooms up on Mount Tam. You know there are just bushes, right?”
“Yeah, of course I do!” Lili protested. She’d been hoping there would be little blocks of bathrooms, like mini log cabins, studded along the walking trails. Why not? If she were chief park ranger, she would have them built. Maybe with cute little skylights to let in the sun, and biodegradable toilet paper, and laminated reading material about local flora and fauna. Places people could recharge their cell phones. Maybe there could be wireless hot spots, so you could even check your e-mail!
“Bushes crawling with snakes and raccoons and spiders,” A. A. rattled off, as she lay back on the trunk, attempting to juggle her school shoes.
“Thanks, A. A.” Lili sighed. She hoped A. A. was joking. “You’re so supportive.”
“You know what I think. Doing all this for some guy . . . well, it’s just not worth it.” A. A. seemed very down on guys at the moment. For someone who was going out with her first-ever boyfriend, this was kind of surprising. Wasn’t A. A. in love?
Lili wanted to explain how much she liked Max. She wanted to go on the camping trip to show him she was a good sport, and someone who shared in his interests. Plus, she couldn’t stand the thought of him being up on the mountain with just his grotty friends and their skanky girlfriends for company.
“Just tell me it’s all going to work out next Saturday,” Lili begged her. She pulled the fleece vest out of its tissue wrap and held it up to her petite frame. “What do you think?”
A. A. mimed throwing up.
“I know,” said Lili. She never thought things would come to this: a burgundy fleece vest and a flashlight strapped to her forehead. Is this what you had to do when you had a boyfriend? She tugged off the vest and crammed it back into the shopping bag. The weather forecast predicted rain and high winds for the weekend. Perhaps the trip would be called off. Perhaps she could return all this horrible stuff and use the store credit for some cute outfits. God knows, she deserved it.
The intercom buzzed and Lili leaped up, feeling instantly guilty. Her mother must be downstairs, parked outside the Fairmont’s main lobby, waiting to drive Lili home. “Have a happy turkey day,” Lili said, giving A. A. a hug. “And remind your mother to be here,” she whispered, as though her conversation with A. A. was being monitored. “My life depends on it.”
A. A. waved her hand as if to say, Don’t worry about it. But Lili couldn’t help worrying. If one small thing went wrong, her perfect plans might crumble. And what would happen then, Lili didn’t dare to think about.