When it was my turn at the window I ordered an orange sherbet, and I had just taken my first bite when someone grabbed my arm, spinning me around.
"Frankie!"
"Happy Birthday."
"Thanks."
"Having a good day?"
"Mostly, yeah. I thought it would be grim without my parents, but my brother and aunt made up for it." I looked around. "Where's Nora?"
Frankie tightened her grip on my arm. "Okay, you need to come with me now. And you may as well know, resisting is futile."
She propelled me along the pool deck, past the spot where Peyton still lay with a towel draped over his head. She slowed me down long enough me to snag my bag and my new book before leading me out the gate.
"Wait! What are you doing? I need to tell Peyton-"
"Peyton knows."
Nora appeared and fell into step beside us. "You're being kidnapped."
"What?" My sherbet was melting; a sticky orange stream dripped down my arm. I licked the cone.
Nora took it from me and tossed it away. "You need a break from all the nasty stuff with that Camilla person, and more recently the totally stupid gossip about you and your 'new boyfriend,' not to mention all the stress of the BOE."
"The BOE?"
"Betrayal of Evan. Although you could have spared yourself that if you'd listened to us." She sighed. "The good news is, now that you've seen his true colors, it shouldn't be all that hard to forget him."
Since my brain was stuck on stupid again, I couldn't talk, so Nora did. "Plus, it's your birthday. Time for a makeover."
Frankie nodded solemnly. "At the Beauty Emporium."
"I can't afford that place!"
"You can, with all the money you've made this summer, but fortunately that won't be necessary. It's all arranged."
Frankie led me to Nora's car and opened the back door with a flourish. "Hop in."
"Wait. I have to call Aunt B, let her know..."
"She knows too," Nora said, starting the car and flipping the radio and the AC to full blast.
"So everyone is in on it but me? When did you set this up?" I asked.
Nora backed out of the parking lot. "Yesterday. When you called in sick, we realised the situation was critical and something had to be done."
"So I called my cousin Julian," Frankie said, turning around in her seat. "He's the artistic director at the BE, and when he learned of your sad plight, he agreed to give you a whole new look, pro bono."
"You don't have to thank us now," Nora said, leaning on the horn as a guy in a bright yellow Corvette cut us off. "When you win the Pulitzer just be sure we get front-row seats for the ceremony."
Their protectiveness brought tears to my eyes and gave me a little more hope. If they were willing to go through so much trouble for me, maybe I still had a future. Somewhere.

Labels: MY BIRTHDAY