Puddin'(51)

The first thing on my feed is a real killjoy though.

Melissa Gutierrez checked into Clay Dooley Dodge Service Department with Bryce Dooley, Sam Crawford, and Jill Royce. COME ON DOWN TO OUR CAR WASH, Y’ALL! HELP GET THE SHAMROCKS TO STATE!

I shove the phone in my back pocket. Maybe I was better off without technology. That’s fine. I can sit here silently forever. I’ve spent the whole afternoon with this girl. My capacity for small talk is more than depleted.

Millie leans back, bracing herself with her palms pressed into the sidewalk. If she’s annoyed by my blatant decision to ignore her, she doesn’t show it.

Finally, my mom pulls into the parking lot and I pounce up from the sidewalk as fast as I can, trying to avoid any interaction between my mom and Millie. Honestly, Millie’s the kind of girl who you just know is parental crack. She’s cheerful, polite, and fat. A parent’s dream come true for their daughter’s BFF. There’s no way anyone is getting into trouble with Millie.

But it’s too late. My mom has already rolled down the window. “Is that Millicent?” she calls.

Oh, shit.

“Yes, ma’am,” calls Millie as she pushes herself up from where we were sitting on the curb. “Is that my favorite school secretary?”

“Callie,” my mom says, “can you believe that last fall on Secretary’s Day, Millie and her mom brought me that sweet little cactus I keep on my desk? They even knitted sweet little seasonally appropriate cozy-looking things for the pot.”

I shake my head and climb in the front seat. “Yup,” I say. “Totally believe it.”

Millie leans through my open window and says, “You know, my mom always says succulents and sweet tea are the surest way to the heart of a true Texan woman.”

“Well,” says Mama, “between succulents, sweet tea, and the perfect barbecue sauce, I think your mama is right.”

I turn to my mom. “I have homework. We should go.”

“Baby,” my mom says, “it’s a Saturday night. And you’re grounded. You’re in absolutely no rush to be anywhere.”

Millie sighs and cranes her head to the side like a perfect little golden retriever. “I sure do hope Callie’s grounding is up soon. I invited her to a slumber party this evening with some of my favorite young ladies.”

Ugh. She’s really laying it on thick. I swear, she’s a master manipulator.

“Oh,” my mom croons. “That is so precious of you.”

My mom glances to me, and I try to discreetly shake my head. I’ve got big plans tonight, and they include an entire box of microwave popcorn shaken up in a bag with chocolate syrup and a private viewing of whatever trash reality TV shows I can find, but ideally something where people have to survive in the wilderness for weeks without killing each other or eating poisonous berries.

“It has been a hard week,” she says. “I bet some girl time would do you good.” Mama turns to Millie with a sparkle in her eye. “I think I can make an exception.”

Millie claps her hands together and twirls in a circle like a spinning-top toy. “Oh, how wonderful!” She turns back to me. “It’s five thirty now. How about you pack a bag and I’ll pick you up at seven thirty?”

“Great,” I answer flatly. I turn my whole body to face her, so my mom can’t see me mouth, You’re a monster.

If Millie can read lips, she doesn’t falter as she says bye to my adoring mother and offers me a completely vicious wink.

One thing’s for sure: I have totally underestimated this girl.

When Ellen’s mother opens the door to Millie and me on her doorstep, we are greeted by a petite woman in a fitted denim dress and sculpted brown hair. “I best get out of y’all’s business before the real fun starts!” She squeezes past the two of us with a clutch wedged under her arm. “Bob, you stay out of the girls’ way! Go to bed early or something! It’s gonna be a late one for me!” She turns to us. “Off to go dancing!”

Ellen runs down the hallway, screeching to a stop in the doorway. “Bye, Mom!” And then she sees us. No, me. “Hi. Um, hey.”

Millie beams. “Ellen! This is Callie.”

Ellen lets out a held breath. “We are previously acquainted.” She puts on a smile. “Y’all come on in. Millie, could I speak with you?”

Millie nods, and the two turn off into the formal dining room while I stand in the foyer. They whisper for a moment before I hear Ellen say, “If you say so.”

Wow. This is like ten times worse than walking in on your parents talking about you. I’m not surprised by Ellen’s hesitation, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel like shit because of it.

The two rejoin me in the foyer, and Millie turns to me. “Let the fun begin!”

We follow Ellen upstairs to a second TV room besides the one opposite the dining room.

“Millie’s here,” says Ellen as she emerges from the stairs. “And she brought a friend.”

“Is it Malik?” someone asks before letting out a wolf whistle.

Everyone laughs, and then I step forward from behind Millie.

And silence.

Willowdean grunts before looking to Ellen, her nostrils flared, like my presence is the ultimate betrayal.

I shake my head and look to Millie. I knew this would happen. Surely she did too. Or maybe this girl is just giving me a taste of my own medicine after all these years, and this is her way of kicking me when I’m down—getting her whole gang of losers to shun me while I’m trapped at her stupid slumber party.