Free Inside Girl by J. Minter Page B

cell phone number, his landline, his e-mail, and his AIM. Then he’d signed off—
Bennett
—with the zigzag underline. There was a PS too:
    It was cool talking to you yesterday. Give me a call
.
    Even though the party sounded cool and everything, I was also kind of cracking up inside. It was so cute and funny how Bennett had put down every possible way of contacting him and asking me to call. Twice. But even if it was kind of silly, it also melted my heart. When I looked back up at Meredith and Judith, though, they were just grinning at me like I was holding a winning lottery ticket.
    â€œDid you read it?” asked Judith. “Isn’t that amazing?”
    â€œWait a second, how did you get this note?” I asked. I was not getting a lot of privacy lately: first Sara-Beth was spying on me out of the window—now my school friends were reading my mail.
    â€œWe passed by your locker,” Meredith explained. “Bennett was about to stick it through the vents in your door, but he figured you’d be more likely to get it if we brought it to you. He did mention the party to us too.”
    â€œOkay.” I folded it up and put it back in my pocket. For a moment I was suspicious that they’d opened the note but then I figured it was easier to just believe them. At least he hadn’t mentioned anything about the ear-kiss. I wanted to keep that to myself.
    It was weird: I’d always been a really open, honest person, but since starting high school I suddenly had a lot of secrets. I had to hide Sara-Beth, because I’d promised to, and now that Philippa had run away to our house, I probably wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that she was there either. But I was also keeping a bunch of stuff about myself secret: the fact that my parents didn’t work, all the parties and craziness that went on at my house, my celebrity friends, my nights out on the town. I even felt weird mentioning my oldboyfriend, Jonathan, to Judith and Meredith, since they seemed to have had practically no experience with guys. And now I was hiding the ear-kiss too—supposedly to protect Bennett, but really more to protect myself. Enough was enough. I opened my mouth to tell Judith and Meredith about it, about anything and everything, but at just that second, Bennett walked by.
    â€œHey,” he said. “You got my note?”
    â€œYep.” I held it up, and he flashed me a dazzling smile.
    â€œI’ve gotta run to class. But I’ll talk to you later, right?”
    â€œI’ll call you.”
    Bennett disappeared down the hallway, and before he was even out of earshot, Meredith and Judith hugged each other.
    â€œThis is going to be the coolest weekend ever,” Judith said. “Hey, listen, we should all go over to your place to get ready before the party, Flan. We can do one another’s hair.”
    I hesitated, but fortunately, before I had to think of another excuse, Meredith jumped in.
    â€œNo, we should meet at my place, and I’ll help dress you guys up,” Meredith said. “No offense, Flan, but I think I have more accessories than both of you and Bloomingdale’s put together.”
    I had to stop myself from breathing a sigh of relief.
    â€œThat’s cool.”
    We decided that after the party we should sleep over at Judith’s because, as she pointed out, her bedroom had two big beds and a comfy couch, and she had her own TV. With cable. I wasn’t about to argue.
    The rest of the day, I sleepwalked around Stuyvesant. It’s really a huge school, not even in the same league as Miss Mallard’s. And even though the hallways are all sterile and white and kind of same-looking, it’s important to learn the geography, just so you don’t wind up stumbling into the middle of the wrong clique and making a fool of yourself. On the second floor, for example, there’s the Cuddle Puddle, a group of senior guys and girls who lounge around