Part 21 (1/2)

Moving like a master of espionage, I made it from the physics lab to the vending machines to my car without being spotted and settled in for lunch. Claudia's phone was off, so I texted her the latest, turned on my car radio, and sang along to all the shallow pop music I could find. I darted into my precalc exam at the last possible second. When I finished ten minutes early, I was ecstatic. I could have taken the time to go over any problems I wasn't totally confident about, but far better to take a risk on a couple of iffy answers than deal with further fallout from Nate's insanity. I turned in the test, grabbed my stuff from my locker, and slipped back out to my car as fast as I could.

”'Like a thief in the night'!” Claudia crowed when I got her on the phone. ”Very dramatic. I approve wholeheartedly.”

”Appreciated,” I said. ”Except I slipped out to avoid drama. Those were my last exams-now I can stay away from everything Chrysella until Monday. Maybe by then Nate will get over himself.”

”You mean until Sat.u.r.day.”

”What? What's happening Sat.u.r.day?”

”h.e.l.lo! Have you also forgotten your address? Your shoe size? Your own name?”

”I promise you, Claudia, I have no idea what you're talking about.”

”Sat.u.r.day is only the biggest night of your life thus far, Cara: the night of your first Populazzi party.”

Chapter Twenty-Two.

Claudia was my best friend in the universe. I loved, admired, and respected her for a million different reasons.

And I now knew she was seriously mentally ill.

”Is this, like, alterna-Claudia from another dimension? Did you forget I'm grounded for life?”

”You also had your clothing, makeup, computer, cell phone, and bedroom door surgically removed,” said Claudia, ”and yet they've all been reattached.”

”This is different. Everything I got back, I need for school. You're talking about a party. You really think Karl would let me go to a party?”

”Of course not. You don't ask Karl. Ask your mom. How did you do on finals?”

”Great. Nailed 'em.”

”Tell her! Have her call your teachers! Prove how trustworthy you are. Even when you were sneaking around, you remained steadfast to your core values of industry and erudition!”

Claudia knew my mom well. I couldn't deny this tack had a good shot at working. But there was still one problem.

”Eddie didn't invite me to this party. He invited emo-girl Cara, half of the DangerZone Nate-and-Cara two-pack.”

”Did Eddie say he only wanted you there in emo-garb? Did he say you had to show up with Nate?”

”Did he have any clue I was only playing dress-up and about to break up with Nate? No. So he wouldn't have specified. The prerequisites were implied.”

”You think he's going to turn you away at the door?”

”He might! And it doesn't matter, because I'm not going by myself to a Populazzi party. Period.”

”Of course not,” Claudia said. ”I'm going with you.”

”You're ... what?”

But I was already sold. Claudia and I had dreamed about getting invited to a Populazzi party since forever. Actually going to one with her? Getting to show her all the Chrysella people she'd only heard about and seen in pictures? The two of us hanging out and laughing about the Penultimates and Supreme Populazzi, even as we were embraced and accepted by them?

”You really would go with me?” I asked.

”Sure! It would be fun. Plus then I get to pick out your next Ladder target in person. Much better way to choose.”

”Done! If you go, I'll go. I'll talk to my mom tonight.”

I said it like it would be the easiest thing in the world, but even finding face time for the conversation wasn't simple. I was required to go to my room the minute I got home, but Mom was downstairs prepping for dinner. If I called to her, Karl would know something was up and thwart it. I could toss her a note if she pa.s.sed by, but again, the Karl Factor. If he picked it up, the cause would be lost from the start.

Luckily, Karl's bowels helped me out. A half hour after dinner ended, he disappeared into the upstairs bathroom with the newspaper. I had at least a good fifteen minutes to make my case. I slipped down to the kitchen. Mom was finis.h.i.+ng up the last of the dishes.

”You're supposed to be up in your room,” she said.

”I know. I just have to talk to you about something.”

I had to make an argument that was both una.s.sailable and concise. I started by taking full responsibility for my mistake. I had lied, I had sneaked, I had betrayed her and Karl's trust, and that was wrong. Consequently, I had accepted my punishment without complaint. If I wasn't at school, I was at home. If I was at home and it wasn't mealtime, I was in my room. I told Mom I recognized she had already done a great deal to make the punishment more reasonable, and I very much appreciated it.

Then I tiptoed toward the dicey stuff.

”I'm totally fine staying with the punishment as long as you and Karl see fit,” I began, ”with ideally one exception.”

Now Mom was suspicious. ”Oh?”

I took a deep breath and explained that a guy named Eddie Riegert was throwing a big school postfinals party on Sat.u.r.day...

The word ”party” was too much for Mom. ”No, Cara,” she said. ”After what you did, I hardly think you've earned a party.”

I wouldn't let myself smile, but she'd given me the perfect opening.

”I get that. To earn a party now, I'd have to do something totally over the top-like ace all my exams and get straight As.”

”I don't know if even that would do it, Cara.”

”Really? But you said your biggest problem with me sneaking around is that you can't trust me. Even when I say I was doing it for a guy and I wasn't getting into trouble, you don't think you can believe me because I proved I'm a liar, right?”

”Exactly.”

”Okay-but there's no way I could have straight As for the whole term if I'd been busy getting in trouble. If I'd done the stuff you're afraid of, it would show in my grades.”

Mom pondered this. ”I guess we'll see when we get your report card,” she said.

”Yes, but that will be too late for the party. And Claudia was planning to come with me on Sat.u.r.day, which would make it pretty special.”

The addition of Claudia didn't sway Mom at all. She was not going to reward good grades on my word alone.

I heard the toilet flush. I was out of time. ”Call my teachers tomorrow, that's all I ask. See what they say, then let's talk again. Please.” I raced to my room and leaped onto my bed just as I heard Karl open his bathroom door.