It’s been two hours since I got dropped off at the sleepover, and so far I think I’m doing okay. Right now we’re walking to the video shop through the still-hot summer evening.

‘Do you like any of the boys in our class?’ Tiffany asks me as we pass by a front garden full of white roses. What should I say? Not Stephen or Matthew! She means a different kind of ‘like’. I could say nobody, but I don’t want them to think I’m a blob with no opinions. ‘Uh,’ I splutter, ‘I think Tristan’s pretty cute.’

Charlotte and Olivia, who are just ahead of us on the footpath, turn to look at me. Panic tightens my chest. Tristan is a tall boy who sits at the end of our row next to his friend Jason. What if there’s something wrong with him I haven’t noticed?

‘He’s a doll,’ Olivia says.

‘Yeah,’ Tiffany agrees, giving me a big grin, ‘he’s like gorgeous enough to be on Neighbours or something.’

Seems like my dorkometer is beginning to work already! Suddenly, the shadows lengthening across people’s grass look beautiful. I imagine a girl my age standing at a lounge-room window, looking out at me, who’s walking along with three cool friends. That lonely girl is so jealous she feels like throwing up. If only she knew that two of my friends are models! There’s a page from the Myer summer catalogue stuck on Olivia’s fridge, showing her and Tiffany in board shorts and singlet tops.

We’ve reached a Mobil service station now. I’ve never been to this shopping centre before, but it’s similar to the one near my house. We pass by a computer store, a pizza place and a Bakers Delight, then we’re at Video Ezy. Olivia’s already told us she’s got a coupon for a new release plus three weeklies, which works out perfectly. She gets to choose the new release because her parents are paying, and the rest of us each get to pick a weekly.

We walk into the shop. Olivia heads straight to the new release wall while Charlotte makes a beeline towards the horror section. What am I supposed to do? Follow them, or go somewhere else? Confusion marches in and shoves aside my happiness.

‘Want to look at the comedies with me?’ Tiffany asks.

‘Sure!’ I answer. Hope I didn’t sound too desperate.

We wander up and down the aisle. There are hundreds of movies here. How do I know which one to choose that won’t make me look stupid? I wish they had codes on them that labelled them, ‘Dork’, ‘Semi-Dork’ or ‘Cool’. There’s Muriel’s Wedding, my old favourite. Is that a safe choice, I wonder? I have to pick something. Maybe they’ll like it. I imagine the four of us dancing around to the Abba music that Muriel loves.

‘What did you choose?’ I ask Tiffany.

She answers by holding up a DVD. It’s Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.

‘You ready, guys?’ Suddenly, Charlotte and Olivia are beside us. Olivia reaches over and takes the DVD Tiffany is holding. ‘This movie is awesome!’ Olivia enthuses. ‘I’ve watched it like twenty times.’

I hold up Muriel’s Wedding. ‘Is this OK?’ I ask. My heart is beating faster than it ever has before at any video shop.

‘Sure,’ Charlotte answers. ‘My auntie loves it. She’s 42 and never had a boyfriend.’

I should have known. My time as a Cool Girl lasted two days.

‘Charlotte,’ Olivia says with a warning tone in her voice, ‘are you forgetting something?’

Forgetting what? What’s she talking about?

‘Muriel’s Wedding’s a good movie,’ Tiffany says. ‘It’s got great music.’

We’re sitting on the floor in Olivia’s bedroom, which is about five times the size of mine. She’s got all this great stuff, including a hair crimper, which Tiffany is using on me. Charlotte is sticking tiny blue stars onto her silver fingernails, while Olivia is reading us an article called ‘How to Keep a Guy Interested’ from Girlfriend.

Charlotte hasn’t said anything to me since we left the video store. But she’s sending me vibes. Right now, as Olivia reads how you shouldn’t always be available when your boyfriend rings, Charlotte is looking at me out of the corner of her eye as if she’d like to obliterate me. What have I done to her? I just want to be happy! This is like the most normal-girl night of my entire life. We’ve watched Romy and Michelle, eaten two giant pizzas and drunk two bottles of vanilla Coke. Pretty soon we’re going to pop some popcorn, light candles and put on the latest Nightmare on Elm Street.

Olivia reaches the end of the article, shuts the magazine and takes a handful of lollies out of the big bowl that’s in the centre of our rough semi-circle. ‘Your hair’s lookin’ good, girl,’ she says to me. ‘You should wear it crimped more often.’

I can feel Tiffany’s fingers touching her handiwork. ‘It’s really silky,’ she says. ‘What kind of shampoo do you use?’

‘Uh …’ I don’t want to tell them about the giant economy bottles Mum buys from the discount hair place at the mall. Mentally, I do a scan through all the shampoo and conditioner commercials I can remember and announce, ‘Pantene Pro V.’

Olivia nods as though I’ve just said something extremely wise. ‘I’ve been trying to get my mum to buy that. She says it’s too expensive.’

‘I use it,’ Tiffany says, running her hands through the white-blonde hair that was once on a TV ad.

I glance over at Charlotte. She’s munching on jelly babies, looking as if she couldn’t care less what shampoo I use.