I feel a jolt of surprise. I had figured that Chelsea had recruited some unsuspecting girl to our party to be foisted on Tim. But that isn’t the case at all. Kayla wants to be here. She’s interested in Tim. Apparently, when Tim sprouted up those six extra inches, he also became the kind of guy that girls take an interest in. I never noticed it before, but now I see it written all over Kayla’s face. Tim is hot now.

The idea of it doesn’t quite sit well with me.

I’m not sure why though. I’ve got Shane, after all.

“So is Shane’s mom gone?” Chelsea asks me. “Can we go over there?”

I reach into my purse and pull out my phone. Sure enough, there’s a text from Shane that came in about a minute ago: Just picked up Brandon and my mom is already on the road. Come on over!

I text back: Be there soon! Lope you!

His reply comes instantly: Lope you too.

Chelsea drives the extra block over to Tim’s house. I can see her getting ready to lean on the horn, but she doesn’t have to. Tim is already sitting on the front steps of his house, and he leaps to his feet when he sees Chelsea’s Beetle. Kayla watches him through the window, a smile playing on her lips.

Tim hops into the backseat of the car, next to Kayla. She scooches toward him as much as her seatbelt will allow. “Hey, Tim,” she says.

“Hey…” He frowns, obviously struggling to come up with her name. I turn and mouth “Kayla” as emphatically as I can but he can’t understand me. Finally, he takes a stab at it: “Kara?”

Kayla’s cheeks turn slightly pink. “Kayla.”

“Right. Sorry.” But he doesn’t sound sorry. He doesn’t sound like he cares at all. Tim has never liked cheerleaders. I could see him holding his tongue when I told him I was trying out.

“Where’s your bag?” Kayla asks him.

He frowns. “Bag?”

“We’re spending the night.” Kayla looks at Chelsea for confirmation. “Right?”

“That’s right, Timothy,” Chelsea says. “This is an overnight party. Didn’t Brooke tell you?”

“Yes…” He shrugs. “It’s fine. I don’t need anything.”

Kayla looks scandalized. “What about a change of clothes?”

Tim glances down at his jacket, which is hanging open to reveal a gray T-shirt and blue jeans. “I don’t know. I’ll just wear this tomorrow.”

“Boys.” Chelsea shoots me a look. “Sometimes I wonder what we see in them.”