Such a Fun Age(31)

So when she remembered Robbie asking if he could come to her mansion, Alix remembered saying no in a more polite way than she should have. At the time, she was much more disturbed about the idea of him seeing the rest of the letter. Alix marched straight to Kelley, who denied receiving the letter altogether.

“Why would I show one of your notes to Robbie?” Kelley kept saying. Alex confronted him at his car while wearing knee pads and a ponytail. “I swear I didn’t get that one. But if Robbie wants to come over . . . that would be kind of awesome.”

“Kelley!” Alex screamed. “That letter was like . . . the most important one!”

On top of having to explain the contents of the letter, Alex remembered being equally annoyed at Kelley’s fondness of Robbie Cormier and the five other athletes he was always seen with. They were stars on and off the field, loud and funny and cute. They were overly friendly with the high school custodians and they showily high-fived them when they passed in the halls. When any member of this group showed Kelley an ounce of attention, Kelley’s neck went red as he tried to act both interesting and normal. It wasn’t hard to picture Kelley showing Alex’s note to Robbie in passing. Kelley thought he was “awesome” and their lockers were stacked near a frequently used water fountain.

But Alex wasn’t about to have a party when her plan was to lose her virginity. She didn’t know these people, Claudette would be spending the weekend at the house with Alex and Betheny, and she wasn’t going to college as a virgin. It didn’t take much for Kelley to win her back over. “Hey, maybe you dropped the note or something.” He said this with his forearms on her shoulders. “But it’s fine because you told him no. He’s not just gonna come over. But . . . am I still invited?”

That weekend, with the Counting Crows playing inside her bedroom, and Claudette and her sister downstairs in the movie room, Alex and Kelley had sex for the first time. It was exactly a week till prom. Alex felt very in love and less like a cliché. When they finished they spooned on her bed and watched reruns of The Real World Seattle.

It was around 10:30 p.m.—three episodes later—when Robbie Cormier and eight other students showed up. The security cameras later showed Robbie at the front gate, punching in the code to her driveway, which—as if Alex needed any more proof—confirmed that Kelley had in fact shown Robbie her note.

“You are lying,” Jodi said. “What bad kids!”

“So suddenly all the coolest kids in school are at my house,” Alix said. “And they’re knocking on our windows and blasting music and demanding that we turn on the hot tub jets. As you can assume, most of them were wasted.”

“I was bad in high school,” Rachel said, “but I was never that bad.”

“Sometimes,” Tamra said, “I think about sending the girls to public school? And then I hear things like this and I’m like, no way.”

Alix disagreed with this sentiment, but she went on and said, “It was a disaster.” She remembered rushing to the window at the sound of a boom box turning on. Robbie was leading group jumps into her pool to the sound of “The Real Slim Shady” while another student pretended to hump an inflatable crocodile. From upstairs in her bedroom, Alex looked from her backyard to Kelley. “What am I supposed to do?”

Kelley slipped his shirt back over his head. “Alex, wait,” he said. “Maybe . . . I mean . . . your parents are out of town.”

Alex pushed the curtains back over her window and felt her mouth drop all the way open. Two hours ago, he was telling her he loved her, and asking if they should get a towel. But now Kelley proceeded to walk around her bed to locate his socks and shoes. Alex watched him assess the opportunity being presented to him downstairs: the chance to befriend the most popular athletes in school because he happened to be in the right place at the right time. She suddenly felt embarrassed; it was supposed to be their night. She crossed her arms and asked, “Are you kidding me?”

Betheny didn’t knock. She opened Alex’s door and said, “Alex, what is happening?” Claudette was behind her, a dish towel thrown over her shoulder. With a hand on the wall she said, “Should I call the police?”

Kelley began to lace up his shoes.

This was possibly the most authority Alex had ever held, all while her crotch still ached from her first time. It was the sight of her little sister, the wet towel on Claudette’s shoulder, and the expectant energy of Kelley’s silent social climbing that made Alex nod and say, “Yes, call the police.”

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Kelley stood up. “Alex, come on.”

Betheny followed Claudette downstairs and Alex reached for her sweatshirt off the bed. “This isn’t cool,” she told him.

“Alex, wait wait wait.” Kelley followed her downstairs, and Alex swore she saw him carefully look for windows, just in case anyone from outside could see him, so he would be prepared to duck. “This doesn’t have to be a big deal. Robbie’s cool. Just let them hang out.”

“You don’t even know them!” By this she meant, They don’t know you for a reason.

Kelley, understanding the implication, replied, “I know them way better than you.”

Someone outside yelled to turn up the music. Alex walked into the kitchen, where Claudette was hanging up the phone. “They’re on their way,” she said. Alex said, “Good.” Kelley said, “Really, Alex?” He grabbed his backpack from the kitchen table and walked out the side door.