IT WAS ALREADY DARK WHEN they arrived back in San Francisco, and Lili was exhausted, but it was a good exhausted, the kind that came from spending a great day with your friends blowing through way too much money, eating way too many things that were bad for you, and knowing you would do it all again if you could. The four girls were zombies on the flight back to the city, but when they arrived at the Pages’ mansion in the marina, Lili could feel their energy return.
Lili loved sleepover parties, especially since her parents never let her throw them because they were too worried her friends would be too loud and wake up her baby sisters. A. A. sometimes had them over, and they’d spy on A. A.’s brother and his friends and order room service all night, but mostly they had sleepovers at Ashley’s house, because they always hung out at Ashley’s house.
Even for Lili’s twelfth birthday, she had to get ready for her party at Ashley’s house instead of her own, because Ashley wanted to “surprise” her with a gift before the party. The gift turned out to be a framed photograph of Ashley. Lili kept it in a drawer in her bathroom next to the toilet. Just for once Lili would love to get ready at her own house instead of having to drag all her makeup and her ceramic flat iron (which weighed a ton) to Ashley’s.
Okay, so maybe her mom could be a little strict. Maybe hanging out at her house wouldn’t be as fun anyway, since they weren’t allowed to watch anything but PBS, and they had to use the computer in the kitchen only.
She followed as Lauren led the way to her bedroom, which was two stories. Upstairs was a loft sleep-and-play area with shelves of books, dozens of toys, a computer cubby, and four built-in bunk beds that had flat-screen televisions installed at the foot of each bed. Downstairs Lili saw a king-size bed, a vanity with theater lighting and a plush cushioned seat, and mirrored closets that took up the whole back wall. It was lavish and extravagant, but she expected nothing less after seeing Air Force Page.
“You can put your stuff in here,” Lauren told them, indicating an empty closet near the bathroom. “I’m changing into pj’s,” she added, disappearing into a bathroom.
Lili wondered why Lauren wouldn’t change outside with the rest of them as the three slipped into their matching pajamas: pink glitter tanks with “The Ashleys” monogrammed in front and striped cotton capri pants from Limited Too, her hands-down favorite store at the mall. Sure, Robertson Boulevard was great and all, but the local Galleria was just as good in a pinch. And you didn’t need a private jet to get there.
Lauren came out of the bathroom wearing a sloppy old oversize T-shirt that said “Cal” (for UC Berkeley) and faded sweatpants. She stared at the Ashleys in their glitter pj’s. Lili couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the girl. Didn’t she know that everything had a style quotient? In any event, Lauren had just failed the sleepwear category. “You guys want to play a board game?” Lauren asked.
“Sure—Scruples?” suggested A. A.
“Or What If?” Lili said.
“Nah, let’s play Seven Deadly Sins,” Ashley decided.
They all looked at Lauren hopefully, but she just stood there in her bunny slippers, looking distressed. “I don’t have any of those,” she told them. She opened a closet and removed boxes of Monopoly, Sorry, Clue, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit. They were all brand-new and still wrapped in plastic. Lili guessed correctly that Lauren’s mom had purchased them especially for her first sleepover party.
Ashley crinkled her nose, a dangerous sign. “No, thanks,” she said politely, although it was obvious that she thought Lauren was a bit of a dweeb for imagining they would be interested in playing any of those games.
“We could make ice-cream sundaes,” Lauren said, a bit desperately. “Or s’mores. We could build a campfire outside.”
A. A. yawned without covering her mouth. “I’m sleepy,” she said drowsily, lying down on the silk comforter on top of Lauren’s bed.
“Don’t be a tool, it’s not that late,” said Ashley, sitting next to A. A. and giving her a friendly shove. “It’s not even close to midnight.”
“What about giving each other makeovers?” Lauren asked frantically. “I just got a ton of new stuff from Sephora.” She lugged a train case full of cosmetics out of the bathroom and spilled it all over the duvet.
“Can I have this?” Ashley asked, plucking a Chanel lip gloss from the pile. She pocketed it without awaiting an answer.
Makeovers were so sixth grade. Poor Lauren, Lili thought. She had absolutely no idea how to throw the perfect sleepover party. Really, it was so easy.
“You guys, you know what we could do,” Lili said, knowing it was time to save the evening, since Ashley looked content to watch Lauren squirm and A. A. could barely keep her eyes open. She pulled out the Gregory Hall directory she kept in her bag. A. A. had nicked it from her brother’s room last year, and they took turns hiding it for safekeeping. The front of the book was all faded and torn, and there were chai and water stains on some of the pages. It had survived many a sleepover party.
“What’s that?” asked Lauren, as she stacked the board games back in the closet and several stuffed animals tumbled out and hit her in the face.
“You’ll see,” Lili said, sitting next to Ashley on the bed and riffling through the pages. She nudged Ashley. “Do you think we should start with . . .” She let the sentence trail off, since she knew Ashley knew what she was thinking. They had talked about it while Lauren was in the bathroom.
Ashley looked at Lauren and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah.”
“Whose phone are we using?” A. A. asked, rubbing her eyes and looking a lot more awake now that something interesting was happening. She pushed herself up on her elbows.
“Give it here,” said Ashley, taking the phone book out of Lili’s hands. She always had to run the show. “Where’s your phone?” she demanded.
Lauren hunted down the cordless and brought it over. The four of them huddled close to one another as Ashley continued to flip through the pages of the directory.
“Do you think he’ll be home?” Lili asked, nervously twisting a lock of her hair. This was her favorite part of any sleepover, but it was the most nerve-wracking, too. She felt her stomach drop at what they were about to do. Even though she wasn’t going to be the one doing the deed, she felt terrified for Lauren. It was scary to find out exactly how you rated.
“We can only hope,” Ashley said, leafing through the Rs—Ramsey, Reading, Reckler—until she found the one they were looking for.
“What’s going on?” Lauren asked, trying to look over Ashley’s shoulder.
“Should we tell her?” said Ashley.
“Tell me what?”
“Do it,” Lili urged. Put the poor girl out of her misery. Besides, they had to do it now before it got too late in the evening.
Ashley deposited the phone book in Lauren’s lap. It was open to Billy Reddy’s page. There was a photo of Billy, looking tousled and gorgeous, along with his address and phone number.
“What do you want me to do this with this?” Lauren asked.
“Billy Reddy’s your friend, right?” asked Ashley. “You keep telling us how close you guys are.”
“Uh-huh.” Lauren fidgeted, and the color drained from her cheeks. Lili had the distinct feeling that Lauren’s vaunted connection to Billy wasn’t as strong as she kept implying.
“Okay, then. He should be able to accept a rank call from you,” Ashley said.
“What’s a rank call?” asked Lauren, as A. A. punched in a series of numbers on the telephone.
“It’s ringing!” Lili whispered, feeling so excited she wanted to puke.
“You’re about to find out,” Ashley said, handing Lauren the phone. “Now, when he picks up the phone, this is what you say. . . .”