I stood there, holding the phone, totally stunned. Kelly Prescott, the richest, most beautiful girl in the entire sophomore class was inviting me to a pool party on the same night I was going out on a date with the sexiest boy in school. Who happened to be on the other line.

‘Yeah, sure, Kelly,’ I said. ‘I’d love to. Does Brad know where it is?’

‘Brad?’ Kelly said. Then, ‘Oh, Brad. That’s right, he’s your half brother or something, right? Oh, yeah, bring him. Listen—’

‘I’d love to chat, Kelly, but I got somebody on the other line. Can I talk to you about it tomorrow in school?’

‘Oh, totally. Bye.’

I clicked back to Bryce, asked him to hold on another second, put my hand over the mouth piece and yelled, ‘Brad, pool party at Kelly Prescott’s this Saturday. Be there or be square.’

Dopey dropped his joy stick. ‘No way!’ he yelled, joyfully. ‘No freakin’ way!’

‘Hey!’ Andy rapped him on the head. ‘Watch the language.’

I got back on with Bryce. ‘Dinner would be great,’ I said. ‘Anything but health food.’

Bryce went, ‘Great! Yeah, I hate health food, too. There’s nothing like a really good piece of meat, you know, with some fries on the side, and some gravy—’

‘Uh, yeah, right, Bryce. Listen, that’s my call waiting again, I’m really sorry, but I have to go, OK? I’ll talk to you tomorrow in school.’

‘Oh. OK.’ Bryce sounded taken aback. I guess I was the first girl who’d ever answered her call waiting when he was on the line. ‘Bye, Suze. And, uh, thanks again.’

‘No problem. Anytime.’ I hit the receiver. ‘Hello?’

‘Suze! It’s Cee Cee!’

In the background, I heard Adam yell, ‘And me, too!’

‘Hey, girlfriend,’ Cee Cee said, ‘we’re heading down to the Clutch. Want us to pick you up? Adam just got his licence.’

‘I’m legal!’ Adam shouted into the phone.

‘The Clutch?’

‘Yeah, the Coffee Clutch, downtown. You drink coffee, don’t you? I mean, aren’t you, like, from New York?’

I had to think about that one. ‘Uh, yeah. The thing is I sort of have something I have to do.’

‘Oh, come on. What do you have to do? Wash your cape? I mean, I know you’re a big hero and all of that, and probably don’t have time for us little people, but—’

‘I haven’t finished my thousand-word essay on the battle of Bladensburg for Mr Walden,’ I said. ‘And I’ve got a lot of geometry to do if I’m going to catch up to you geniuses.’

‘Oh, gawd,’ Cee Cee said. ‘All right. But you have to promise to sit by us at lunch tomorrow. We want to hear all about how you pressed your body up against Bryce’s and what it felt like and all that stuff.’

‘I don’t,’ Adam declared, sounding horrified.

‘OK,’ Cee Cee said. ‘So I want to hear all about it.’

I assured her I’d spare no detail and hung up. Then I looked down at the phone. To my relief, it did not ring again. I couldn’t quite believe it. Never in my life had I been so popular. It was weird.