Free Premiere by Melody Carlson Page B

things out he pulled the plug on whatever it was he had planned for the four of us tonight.”
    “Why don’t you and Tony do something anyway?” I suggest.
    “Because now we don’t have reservations anywhere.”
    “But still, you could—”
    She waved her hand. “It’s okay. I’m over it.”
    I shake my head and wonder if she came over here to make me feel guilty. And if so, why?
    “But I must say, you do look glamorous.”
    I look down at my T-shirt and jeans. “Huh?”
    She points to my head. “Hairdo…makeup. Must be for the Malibu Beach party, huh?”
    “How did you hear about Malibu Beach ?”
    “Paige’s Page.”
    “Huh?”
    “Facebook.”
    “Oh…”
    “She wrote about the party. In fact, that’s how Blake figured out that tonight was not going to work. I thought you already knew.”
    “Not really. You know, we only heard about this party yesterday,” I tell Mollie.
    “That’s what it said on Facebook.”
    “So do you, like, check it out every day?” I ask.
    “Not every day. But sometimes I get a tweet and then I go and check.”
    Okay, I don’t even want to talk about Twitter. I’m so not into that. I mean, seriously, why is everyone out there blabbing about everything? Sometimes I wonder what would happen if all our cell phones, IMs, emails, and all that just vanished. Would everyone go nuts, or would we learn how to just have a normal conversation? Of course, I can’t say this to Mollie because she’s so into all that. Maybe I was just born into the wrong generation. Or I’m “conservative,” as Fran told me earlier today.
    “And Paige is really getting a lot of fans too.”
    “ Fans? ” I try to wrap my head around how Paige can possibly have fans when she doesn’t even have a show yet.
    “Fans, friends, whatever. I think she has about five thousand on Facebook now.”
    “You’re kidding!”
    “The Wonderland spot was one of the most-watched You-Tube videos.”
    “It’s on YouTube?”
    “Do you like live under a rock, Erin?”
    I scowl at her. “I have other interests.”
    Mollie frowns. “Don’t you ever check these sites out?”
    I just shrug. “Not really.”
    “And you should probably get your own page too, Erin.”
    I get out of bed now. I look at myself in the mirror, trying to estimate how much damage I may have done to my makeup and hair. It actually looks pretty much the same as it did earlier, and I’m sure Paige can fix whatever doesn’t.
    “Is that what you’re wearing tonight?” Mollie is looking at the garment bag hanging on my closet door.
    “Yeah, it’s called meow meow or something like that.”
    “What?” Mollie gives me a weird look. “Can I see it?”
    “Sure. Go ahead.”
    While she’s unzipping the bag I make a trip to the bathroom. It’s already after seven and the limo is supposed to get us at seven thirty. Okay, this is so surreal that I can’t even wrap my head around it. How weird is it that I’m going to a Malibu Beach party, dressed to the nines, and riding in a limo?
    “Are you getting ready?” Paige calls from the kitchen where she’s getting herself a soda.
    “I guess.”
    “I already touched up my makeup and hair,” she says. “I’ll come in and look at yours in a few minutes.”
    When I return to my room, Mollie is standing in front of my mirror, holding the black dress up like she’s wearing it.
    “Kind of boring, isn’t it?” I say as I close the door.
    “Boring?” She turns and gives me an are-you-crazy look.
    “I mean, the dress isn’t that interesting. But it’s what fit me.”
    “It’s pretty. And it’s not a meow meow. It’s a Miu Miu.”
    “Isn’t that what I said?” I say with a smile. I start removing my clothes, trying not to mess my hair, thinking about what the hair guy said about wearing a button-up shirt next time.
    “I’m trying really hard not to be jealous.” Mollie hands me the dress with a sad little smile.
    “Hey, if there was a way I could trade places, I