“It’s the four of us together,” Juliana says as she hands Monique the tickets and she looks them over.

“Oh, you guys are VIP,” Monique says with a wide smile like she’s happy for us. “There’s a section for you in the front right of the room, right next to where Mr. Booker will be signing. It has a sign in front of it that says VIP. You can’t miss it. Head that way and Keisha will get you situated.”

“Awesome. Thank you,” Juliana says, nodding.

“Yeah, thank you!” I chirp with a voice an octave above what I’m used to hearing. I don’t even know why it came out that way, but my excitement has got me acting brand new today. Everyone in the group looks at me like they’re embarrassed as we walk past Monique and enter the store that’s already packed with people.

“Damn, Alina, are you gonna make it?” Shay asks as we enter, her straight hair swishing in the wind as she turns around to look at me.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “I get more excited with every step we take.”

“Keep it together,” Juliana says from the front.

“I’m fine,” I tell her, but DeShaun chimes in.

“She’s not fine, but I’ll gag her if I have to.”

“Don’t do that. She might like it,” Juliana says, giggling, and the rest of the group joins her.

“See, that’s what I get for getting drunk and giving y’all too much information,” I say, rolling my eyes.

The three of them continue laughing to themselves while I frown behind them, and we make our way through the sea of people. We see the VIP sign and head for it, and when we reach the roped off section, a gorgeous Black woman in a black dress stands in front of it. Her jet black hair looks long, but she has it twisted together and pinned to the top of her head, giving off total African queen vibes. When she sees us coming, she smiles and steps forward.

“Hi, do you have VIP tickets?” she says to Juliana, who hands her our stubs. “Great. My name is Keisha Jefferson. I’m Nathan Booker’s PA. We have this section set aside for the VIP guests who will get to hang out with Nathan after the signing is over. You’ll get an hour with him as a part of this VIP group. So, hang out here until the signing ends, and I’ll take you where you need to go afterwards to meet Nathan. Sound good?”

“Definitely,” Juliana answers.

“Sounds perfect!” I blurt from my spot at the end of our line, and my friends all pinch their lips together as Nathan Booker’s assistant looks at me with an expression that’s both confused and amused.