“I mean, it’s pretty normal,” Lily reasons. “His dad is a top model, and he’s also been a celebrity for most of his life—nothing huge, but he has a bit of a fan club. It’s not surprising he keeps his circle small. There are some crazies out there. But yeah, all that to say, it’s pretty wild you got that from him.”

I can only bob my head. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

“Are you kidding? We are absolutely not missing this. It'll be awesome to see them get drunk and ridiculous. Plus, free booze.”

“I don’t really drink,” I argue.

That’s not quite true. I haven’t made the conscious decision to not drink, I’ve just never had an opportunity to do it before.

“Well, I drink enough for both of us, so you can be the DD. Except, it’s thirty minutes’ walk, max, so no point waking up my old, tired car for the trip. All right, what are you wearing?”

Shit.

I have literally nothing fit for a young crowd’s party. A church group’s luncheon, sure.

I look through my wardrobe, far sparser than Lily’s, and find various versions of the simple A-line skater dress I’m wearing, in beige, and pink, and baby blue, and cream. There are a few knee-length skirts and blouses, not unlike the one Lily has on.

My roommate joins me, clearly sensing my despair as I riffle through the selection a second time. “Sorry, I—” I bite my lower lip. “My grandma shops for me, most of the time. I mean, it’s her money.”

I feel incredibly lame.

“Wait, this one!” Lily says as I pull out one of my shirts; white, with a layer of lace, and then a top underneath.

It’s rather pretty, but I literally wore it to accompany Grandma to brunch.

“Yeah?”

She nods eagerly. “Yep. With one of my skirts. Give me a second. Do you have tights? And heels. You’re going to need heels.”

She hops back onto her side of the room as I look at my five pairs of shoes.

I am pretty certain that by heels, she doesn’t mean two-inch tall Mary Janes or loafers, but that’s all I have.

“The red ones,” she says, pointing to the first pair of heels. “And this.”

“Hell no.”

She’s holding a pleated leather skirt, high-waisted, and shorter than anything I’ve ever worn in my entire life.

“Hell yes.”

5. Claire

5

CLAIRE

There’s no date, or even time, on the invite. I’m not sure when we should show up, so I defer to Lily on that point.

She might not have been invited to a party in one of the private student houses before, but she’s as confident now as she is about everything else. “I’d say eleven or so.”

“Eleven!” I repeat.

That’s about when I usually go to sleep.