Caroline showed me the shower and when I was done I threw on my best underwear, a dress, my white converse sneakers and my denim jacket. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Caroline said, ‘Ooh la la, you look fancy.’

‘Who are you trying to impress?’ Ashley said, giggling, not knowing about my crush on Trent. And then she said, ‘Do you want us to do your make-up?’ I nodded.

Caroline sat me down in front of the mirror in her bedroom, lit up a joint and took a drag. ‘Do you want some?’ she asked, holding it out in front of me.

‘What about your parents?’ I said and she rolled her eyes. I didn’t want Caroline and Ashley to think I was boring so I said, ‘Yeah, why not?’ I had the smallest drag.

I could still feel the alcohol so I couldn’t really tell if the weed was taking effect or not. It wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. Having Caroline and Ashley do my make-up felt weird enough as it was.

Ashley took a drag on the joint and then put foundation on my face. Caroline applied mascara that seemed to make my eyes pop. Finally, Ashley dabbed cherry-coloured lipstick on, making me pucker my lips to make sure it was all spread evenly.

I looked at my reflection and felt really self-conscious.

‘You look so hot,’ Ashley said before taking another drag on the joint.

‘Really?’ I asked.

Caroline said, ‘Hell yeah!’

When we came out of Caroline’s bedroom, we passed her brother putting some beers into the fridge. He was barefooted and wearing jeans and a sloppy navy knitted jumper.

‘Hey,’ he said, spotting us walk by.

‘Hey Mitch,’ Ashley said.

Caroline said, ‘You remember Phoebe, right?’

Mitch looked at me. Well, it was more like he looked me up and down. I realised because of the make-up and my clothes I must look differently than at school. He said, ‘Yeah, of course, but you seem different.’

I felt embarrassed. Mitch walked towards me and shook my hand. He gave me a really nice smile and said, ‘Nice to see you again.’

I started feeling all self-conscious again but managed to spit out, ‘Nice to see you too.’

When us girls sat back outside beside the fire, Caroline fed me another glass of wine. ‘Anyone else coming from school?’ I asked. I looked up and saw Caroline’s parents and a few of their friends drinking up on the balcony.

‘Hayley can’t make it, and Matilda will drop by when she finishes her shift. Mitch’s friends will probably bring their girlfriends. And yes, Trent is coming,’ Caroline added, ‘but really, he’s a dickhead.’

I didn’t really even care about what Caroline had said about Trent, I was more worried about Matilda being a cow to me.