Bryn was the one who called a meeting of the DG on Monday. “Five o’clock at Costello’s,” she informed her friends. Cassidy suspected the reason for the meeting was because some of the girls seemed ready to disband their little club. Perhaps that was a good thing. After all, hadn’t Cassidy been opposed to this idea in the beginning? Of the five girls, she’d been the heel-dragger. But for some reason, she felt differently now.
As usual, thanks to jazz choir practice, she was the last one to join them at Costello’s. Bryn had already ordered her a coffee. “Thanks,” she said as she took the empty chair. “Sorry to be late again. The concert is this week, so no more after-school practices after Wednesday.”
“Well, as you know, I wanted us to meet,” Bryn began. “Now that we’ve all had our first dates, and now that the guys have been freed from Worthington’s spell.”
“It’s not a spell,” Emma said defensively. “According to Isaac, it’s just a commitment to be honorable toward girls. If you ask me, that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Bryn nodded. “I know—I know. Anyway, my point is, now that we’ve sort of broken the ice, you know, in the whole dating arena . . . well, I just wonder how necessary it is to keep our little club going.”
“Meaning you don’t need anyone’s help getting dates from now on?” Abby said to her.
Bryn shrugged. “I’m not saying that. I just wonder if the DG has outgrown its usefulness.”
“You’re saying the only purpose of the DG was to get us dates?” Emma asked pointedly.
“Well, wasn’t it?” Bryn frowned.
“Maybe . . .” Emma looked hurt now. “I guess I thought we were friends too.”
“Well, of course we’re friends,” Bryn told her. “That hasn’t changed.”
“To be fair,” Abby jumped in, “Devon started this club as a way to get the guys to start dating. Right, Devon?”
Devon, who had been very quiet all day, just nodded. Her expression was somber.
“So what do you think about it?” Bryn asked Devon. “Do you want the club to end?”
Devon’s expression was hard to read, but Cassidy thought she was upset. Maybe she was still stewing over her bad date with Jason. “The club belongs to all of us,” Cassidy said quietly. “If we’re considering ending it, I think it should be put to a vote.”
“Fine,” Bryn said. “Let’s vote.”
“Not yet,” Cassidy told her. “First, I’d like to open it up for discussion.”
“Isn’t that what we were doing?” Bryn demanded.
“Well, we’ve heard your opinion,” Cassidy told her. “But not everyone has spoken up.”
Bryn nodded. “Okay, does anyone else have anything to say?”
“I do.” Abby held up her hand, then, looking sheepishly around the table, she put it down. “I want to say that I kind of like the DG. I feel like I learned a lot about dating and boys and stuff. But the best part of it was getting to know you guys better. I’m not sure I want that to end. To be honest, I feel like I’m still figuring out this whole dating thing too. I had fun on my date with Kent, but I honestly don’t think I’m ready to go out on a date with just me and a guy. That makes me really nervous. It would make my dad nervous too. So I’m not so sure I want to part with the DG. Not just yet, anyway.”
“Oh.” Bryn looked surprised. “I didn’t know that.”
“You never asked me,” Abby told her.
“I understand how Abby feels,” Emma added. “I’m not very secure around boys either. Not like some of you—like Bryn and Devon—”
“Don’t include me on that list,” Devon said hotly.
“Well, you always act like you know all about boys,” Emma told her. “Like you’re the expert.”
“Well, I’m not. Okay?” Devon glared at her. “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. I would think that after seeing what happened to me on Saturday you would get that, Emma.”
Emma blinked. “Fine. I get it. Sorry.”
Devon softened now. “Sorry . . . I didn’t mean to go ballistic on you. I guess I’m feeling a little sensitive. Especially when it comes to boys. I am not the expert. Okay?”
Emma held her hands up. “Okay, okay. I get that.”
“Good.” Devon pointed at Bryn. “I guess you’re the expert now.”
“Moi?” Bryn shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on,” Cassidy jumped in. “Let’s agree that none of us is an expert when it comes to boys or dating. Okay?”
They all nodded and agreed.
“Like we said early on, maybe there is safety in numbers,” she continued.
“You can say that again,” Devon concurred.
“And the Dating Games are like other games,” Cassidy reminded them. “We learn as we play and go along. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“We’ve got a good set of rules,” Emma pointed out.
“So maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to give up on this,” Abby said.
“Are we ready to put it to a vote?” Bryn asked.
“One more thing.” Cassidy looked around the table. “I want to go on the record as saying that I think the most important thing about this club isn’t learning about dating and boys.”
“What are you saying?” Bryn asked.
“Well, I know some of you have hinted at this too,” Cassidy continued. “I think the most important part of the DG—and it’s the reason I want this club to continue—is our friendships. The DG has taught me more about being a good friend than it has about dating. Quite honestly, I don’t want to venture into the dating world without some trustworthy girlfriends backing me up. We need each other. I have a feeling it could be rough out there.”
“That’s for sure,” Devon said. “I can attest to that.”
“Now are we ready to put it to a vote?” Bryn asked. “All in favor of keeping the Dating Games club going for a while, raise your hand.” All the hands went up, and the girls burst into laughter. “I guess we’re stuck with each other,” Bryn said happily. “The truth is, I didn’t really want the club to end, but I just assumed everyone else would.”
“I need this club,” Devon told them in a serious tone. “I need you guys for my friends too. I’m sorry if I gave the wrong impression a while back. I know I can come across as snotty and arrogant sometimes—usually when I’m feeling insecure. I’ll try to do better.”
They talked a while longer, and it was obvious that everyone was hugely relieved that the DG had not been abolished. Perhaps none more so than Cassidy, which was ironic when she considered how opposed she’d been back in the beginning. However, it seemed quite clear that they all needed each other.
“So,” Cassidy said slowly as they were getting ready to leave. “I have a little news flash for everyone.”
“What is it?” Bryn asked.
“The reason I wasn’t in the cafeteria today at lunchtime was because I went to an Honor Society meeting.”
“Because you’re, like, the brainiac of the group?” Devon said teasingly but with a smile.
“No, that’s not why I told you that,” Cassidy clarified. “The topic of discussion at the meeting was our fall fund-raiser. Honor Society is going to host a masquerade ball on Halloween, and, well, I wondered if the DG would like to start planning for our next dates.”
“Yes!” Bryn said with enthusiasm.
“But do we have to have the same dates as last time?” Abby asked. “I mean, I like Kent and all, but I’m not sure I want to go out with him again. It’s not like we’re a couple.”
“I know I do not want to go out with Jason—ever again!” Devon declared.
“I’m open to going out with someone else,” Cassidy agreed. “Lane is nice, but I don’t want to get serious.”
“I have an idea,” Devon said suddenly. “How about blind dates?”
“Blind dates?” Bryn looked horrified.
Devon chuckled. “Yes, guys like Darrell Zuckerman, you know?”
Bryn looked even more worried. “Seriously?”
“Hey, it could be fun,” Cassidy told her. “We’d really have to trust each other, wouldn’t we?”
“And since it’s a masquerade thing, we’d be in costumes, so you wouldn’t even have to know who you were with,” Emma added.
“Are you guys in?” Devon asked with enthusiasm. “I mean, doesn’t it sound like fun?”
“Let’s vote,” Bryn suggested. After some more discussion, they put it to a vote—and it was unanimous.
“There we have it,” Cassidy declared as she wrote it in the notebook. “The next big date for the DG will be blind dates—for the masquerade ball on Halloween. Sounds like fun!”