Being as new to town as I am, I had no choice but to let Cheer Girl pick the spot; the only remotely cool place I’ve been outside of school and that one shitty night at the diner is the batting cage I went to with my dad when he visited last weekend. I didn’t think Amber would be quite as into it, not to mention that there’s no way we wouldn’t run into anyone from school there.

I shudder to think where we might be going that won’t have a single Atherton teen there on a Saturday night.

But let’s be real—I’d follow this girl anywhere.

Still, I can’t help teasing. “I’m not sure you can be trusted. Promise me there’ll be no clowns?”

“Oh, come on. Give me a little credit.” Her phone declares a left turn and I follow. “But good to know your feelings about clowns.”

“Aren’t those everyone’s feelings about clowns?”

“I for one happen to find clowns extremely sexy,” she says, and it’s so deadpan and unexpected that I laugh hard enough to miss the next turn. Eventually I get back on the right path, and Amber promises to stop distracting me, only to sing along to the radio in the most tone-deaf fashion possible.

“For some reason, I thought you had to at least be able to carry a tune to lead a cheer. I’m really learning a lot about you on this ride.”

“There is a difference between chanting and singing, thank you very much. And it’s not my fault you listen to weird emo shit.”

“You’re the one pretending to know the words!” I point out.

“I didn’t say I don’t also listen to weird emo shit!” She turns up the dial, and then we’re both singing along, anxiety and inhibitions forgotten as we continue toward our mystery destination.

When we arrive, I have to blink three times to make sure I’m actually seeing what I think I’m seeing. “We’re going bowling?” I ask, only vaguely aware I’ve already asked this at least twice.

“Okay, please stop being ‘too cool’ for this and at least give it a shot,” Amber says with a roll of her blue-green eyes. “First of all, it’s fun. Second of all, no one else from school ever comes here. And third of all, if you’re afraid I’m going to embarrass you by bowling you under the table, you’re right, I will. But it’s still fun. Maybe more for me than for you.”