44

Lily

You’ll never guess what happened the following day. Kara only came up to me and handed me an invitation to her sleepover!

I looked at it suspiciously. ‘Did your mum say you had to invite me or something?’

‘No, she did not! And you don’t have to come if you don’t want to,’ she snapped, and she took it back. Then she flicked her hair and went over to sit on the table with Lily and Nadima and the others. So of course they instantly started talking about me. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they kept shooting little glances my way. I ignored them.

A few moments later, Lily slid into the seat next to me and handed me the invitation again. ‘I asked Kara to invite you,’ she said.

I was gobsmacked. ‘Why?’

‘Because I want you to come, you muppet!’ She grinned.

‘You might, but nobody else does,’ I muttered, glancing over to Kara and that lot. They were chatting away, pretending that they weren’t trying to listen to every word we said.

‘Jaz, that’s not true.’

I started picking away at a blob of dried glue on the tabletop. ‘Yes, it is. No one’s hardly spoken to me at all for two weeks.’

‘Well, you’ve hardly spoken to any of us either!’ Lily put the invitation down on the table in front of me. ‘I hate it like this, Jaz,’ she said. ‘It’s horrible. Why can’t we all just be friends like before.’

‘Because it’s not as simple as that, is it?’ I said.

‘Yes, it is! You’re the one making it difficult.’

ME making it difficult? I nearly choked. ‘No, I’m not! I’m not the one having a party and inviting everyone except me! So how is it my fault?’

‘Well, you have been invited now,’ said Lily, pushing the envelope towards me.

‘Only because of you. Kara doesn’t really want me there, does she? Or Nadima,’ I pointed out.

I glanced over to Nadima, but when she saw me looking at her she blushed and looked away.

‘How do you know Nadima doesn’t want you there? Have you asked her?’ said Lily.

I didn’t answer. I just rolled my eyes.

‘Please come, Jaz. Then maybe you and Nadima can have a chance to make up and we can all start being friends again.’ She picked up the invitation and handed it to me again. ‘Please?’

I didn’t answer. I just took the envelope and stuffed it into my bag.

‘I think you should go,’ said Mum, when I showed her the invitation.

‘You are joking! Wild unicorns wouldn’t drag me to Kara’s sleepover.’

We were unpacking the supermarket delivery. Gus and Dan were lugging the bags from the front door and dumping them on the kitchen table, while Mum and I put the stuff away.

‘If you don’t go you’ll just make things worse,’ said Mum, loading vegetables into the fridge. ‘Look, Kara’s made a gesture of friendship by inviting you. Accept it, and go!’

‘But she doesn’t really want me to go. Lily made her invite me,’ I said, slamming a multipack of baked beans into the cupboard with a satisfying crash.

‘Even more reason for you to go then,’ said Mum. ‘Lily really wants to stay friends with you – so don’t make it harder for her!’

‘What about Nadima? What if she doesn’t want me there?’

‘It’s not her party so it’s not her choice,’ said Gus, taking a packet of chocolate biscuits out of one of the bags and opening it. He handed me one.

‘Come on, Jaz! Think this through. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face!’ said Mum.

‘Oh, I dunno. Might be an improvement if she did,’ said Dan.

I grinned and made a rude sign at him behind Mum’s back.

In the end I decided to go. But only for Lily’s sake.