Chapter Twelve

"Hi, Dawn," I stammered, trying not to look confused. "I didn't know you were coming."

I shot my dad a quizzical look. I was pretty surprised that he hadn't called ahead of time. A warning would have been nice. Dawn looked pretty much the same as she had the last time I had seen her, if only a little bit more tired. Her long blonde hair was a little scraggly, but still pretty. She was wearing a pair of holey jeans and a belted cardigan sweater over a blue t-shirt with some band name that I had never heard of printed on it. A green scarf was tied and knotted loosely around her neck.

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming," said Claudia, coming up behind me. She was munching on a Snicker's bar, which seemed to have magically appeared in her hand. "How are you?"

"Okay," she answered, resting her suitcase against the hallway wall. "A little tired."

"Maybe you should help Dawn bring her things upstairs," said my father, glancing at Claudia sideways. "That is, if you're done studying."

"Ummm, yeah, I think we're done," I answered, looking at Claudia. "I think you'll do okay on the test tomorrow."

"Hah, we'll see," laughed Claudia, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Thanks for the help, Mary Anne."

"Don't mention it," I mumbled, seeing her to the door. "I'll call you later."

I turned to Dawn and she sort of shrugged awkwardly, and started to lug her suitcase up the stairs. I grabbed her carry-on bag and followed behind her. We went straight into the guest room, which also served as a bedroom for Dawn on the infrequent occasion of a visit.

"Um, I'll go get you an extra pillow from the linen closet," I said, standing a little awkwardly in the doorway.

"Oh, thanks," she answered, throwing her suitcase in the middle of the floor. She surveyed the room, looking it up and down. "Hasn't changed much, has it?"

"Nope," I replied. "We don't have guests often."

"Oh, yuck, I always hated this comforter," she said, flopping down on the bed.

"Well, I didn't pick it out," I answered, taking a seat next to her. The flowery pattern did look like it belonged in a ninety year old grandmother's house. "Do you think you'll be here long enough to get a new one?"

"Why, am I cramping your style already?" she chuckled, kicking off her shoes. She let her long hair drape over the back of the headboard.

"No," I retorted, a little defensively. "I just know my father mentioned something about you living here..."

"Well, that won't happen," snorted Dawn. "I think I'd rather sleep on a park bench in L.A. then live through another New England winter again, no offense."

"I figured that," I snickered, easing up a little. Dawn seemed just like the relaxed and laidback person she was when I first met her, not someone who was just busted for dealing drugs.

"So what's new?" she asked, getting up and dragging her suitcase to the bed. "Do you and Claudia hang out now? I thought she was some big time druggie."

"She's not a big time druggie," I answered. "She doesn't do anything that most normal kids in high school wouldn't do."

"Then she does things that most normal kids in high school would do?" smirked Dawn, placing her clothes in an empty dresser drawer. She eyed me suspiciously, a playful glint in her eyes. "Do you party with her?"

"Sometimes," I answered nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. I didn't need to prove my coolness to Dawn. "Abby's having her birthday party tomorrow. You can come if you want to. I mean, if you're allowed..."

I trailed off slightly. I wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about her recent troubles.

"That's okay," replied Dawn. "I don't have a present for..."

"It's not that kind of party," I interrupted, kneeling down to help Dawn unpack. "If you can, you should come. Most of our class will be there. Abby's getting a keg."

"Abby's going to have a kegger?" squealed Dawn, bursting into giggles. "And you're going?"

"What's so funny?" I snapped. "Teenagers party on the East Coast too!"

"I know that, but I didn't think you and Abby and Kristy did that sort of thing," she said, suppressing her giggles. "I'm sorry for laughing."

"Don't worry about it," I muttered, putting away a pair of her jeans. "And Kristy definitely does not drink. Or party. Or do anything a normal human being would do."

"I guess things aren't going too well between you two," she commented casually. "Lovers quarrel?"

"How are your friends?" I asked, brushing off her last remark. I would have asked about them by name, but besides Sunny, I wasn't sure who her friends still were.

"Good, for the most part" she answered, flopping on the bed again. "I'm not as close with Maggie anymore, but we still hang out sometimes. It's not like here, where you're practically shunned if you dare befriend anyone outside of your clique."

She talked for a little bit about school and some boy she had a crush on back home. Surprisingly, she seemed pretty happy, without the tone of desperation and regret she had the other night on the phone. From what I gathered, she seemed to have an active and healthy social life; her grades were doing fine and she was involved in a ton of environmental and grassroots programs. She mentioned that she wanted to apply to Berkeley next fall.

"Amalia does too," she chatted cheerily. "She wants to go into Journalism, while I was thinking about maybe doing something with Public Policy." She got a little dreamy eyed. "I really think I'd like that."

"You seem to be doing pretty okay," I couldn't help remark. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Oh, I'm sure you've heard nothing but bad from my dad and Carol," muttered Dawn, her face suddenly clouding. "Carol's out to get me. She does nothing but complain about my appearance, my choice of friends, the things I do. God! Stepmothers are evil!"

I wisely bit my tongue. Instead of answering, I decided to get Dawn her extra pillow. I couldn't seem to find one, so I decided to check the downstairs coat closet, to see if Sharon had put them there by mistake. As I started down the stairs, I heard Dawn calling after me.

"Mary Anne," she yelled from her room. "Your phone is ringing."

I started back up the stairs, to see Dawn coming out of my room holding my phone.

"I didn't want you to miss it," she said, handing the phone to me. "But it's a text message anyway."

I flipped open my phone. It was from Alan, wishing me a goodnight and good dreams. I couldn't help but smile, which caused Dawn to smirk.

"Who's Alan?" she asked playfully, her blue eyes sparkling. "And why is he telling you to have good dreams with a little winking smiley face?"

"You know Alan," I stammered, my face flushing. "And…"

"Wait, Alan Gray?" she interrupted, her face screwing up in confusion. "That Alan?Something is going on between you and Alan Gray?"

"Yes," I answered, sighing. I was a little sick and tired of people acting so shocked at the idea of me and Alan. "He's my…boyfriend."

"Oh, wow," she laughed, her hands flying to her mouth in surprise. "That's so…I mean, good for you, but what a strange couple! You've changed, Mary Anne, I can tell."

I took that as a compliment.

Dawn went to bed fairly early, while I went and finished most of my homework for the weekend. Most of my teachers are usually pretty good about giving out weekend homework on Thursday, in case any of us had weekend plans. Of course, most of the kids who had weekend plans weren't the ones did their homework ahead of time. The next day trickled by slowly, more than usual for a Friday. Abby talked nonstop about her party. She supposedly had even hired a DJ. After school, I came home to find Dawn sprawled on her bed reading a copy of The Nation, listening to her i-pod.

"What are you listening to?" I asked, coming into her room. She pulled her headphones off and sat up.

"The Elected," she said, closing her magazine. "I saw them at Sunset Junction last year. They're freaking awesome."

"Yeah," I muttered. I had never heard of them. "What did you do all day?"

"Not much," she shrugged. "I slept until ten, then got up and made breakfast and pretty much hung around the house. Mom called to see what I wanted for dinner. Don't worry, I didn't ask for tofu and alfalfa sprout pie or anything like that."

"Hah," I snickered, kicking off my shoes and tossing them into my room down the hall. One hit the doorframe, while the other only made it halfway down the hall. "What did you ask for?"

"She's picking up a vegetarian lasagna and spicy spinach from Cabbages and Kings," she answered. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose a little. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad."

"I know," I admitted. I was glad that Dawn had selected something that was at least mostly palatable. "After dinner, do you want to come to Claudia's with me? We're going to meet there before we head to Abby's to help set up. I think one of her friends is going to give us a ride."

"Sure," she said brightly. "I'm pretty sure Mom will let me go if I'm with you. Are we spending the night at Abby's?"

"Yeah, I think so," I said. "I don't think either of our parent's will like it if we come stumbling in at three in the morning."

"Yeah," she answered, smiling. "Good thinking."

Sharon came home at about five, and we ate about a half an hour later, without my father. He was staying at the office late, as usual. During dinner, Dawn seemed really mopey and barely said two words. I wasn't sure why. The lasagna was pretty tasty, but I only had about one bite of the spicy spinach. I didn't want to have dragon breath later. After we were done eating, I went upstairs and changed. I came back down wearing a royal blue silk top and a pair of dark jeans with black heels.

"Hot," said Dawn, as I grabbed my bag. "Should I get dressed up more?" She gestured to her outfit of a green long sleeved thermal tee, mouse brown corduroys, and a brightly colored scarf.

"No, you look fine," I answered. "It's not that fancy of a party. I just felt like dressing up. Besides, I'm sure Claudia has something you could borrow if you really want."

We left, after I told Sharon that we were meeting at the Shillabar's before heading to Abby's. I didn't want her to know the truth, in case she ended up telling my father. Not that she really seemed to care; she pretty much waved us out the door after hugging and kissing Dawn and telling her to be careful about eighty times. She said nothing to me.

"I thought we were meeting at Claudia's," said Dawn as we started down the street. "Are we going to the Shillabars first or something?"

"No," I replied. "But I'm really not supposed to hang out with Claudia. Soooo…"

"So, you lied," she smirked. "Sneaky, sneaky…"

Dawn's bad mood seemed to have dissipated almost completely. She was again smiling and happy, practically skipping down the street.

"Why were you so upset during dinner?" I asked, reaching into my purse for a piece of gum. "Did you find a piece of beef in your lasagna or something?"

"No, I just didn't have anything to say," she responded hesitantly. "I feel bad for what I did and what I put mom through."

She looked at the ground, her hands in her pockets.

"So what do you think is going to happen?" I asked, handing her piece of gum. "Do you think you're going to live with Carol and Jack again?"

"Not if Carol has anything to do with it," murmured Dawn. "She's turned into a real bitch. She goes through all my things when I'm at school, just looking for anything that might be even slightly incriminating. As if I can't tell that everything's out of place. Plus, every time I bring a boy over, she totally hits on him. It's disgusting."

I couldn't help but laugh, even though Dawn remained stony faced.

"Why do you think she dislikes you so much?" I asked delicately, stopping to rub the back of my heel. My shoes were not exactly comfortable.

"I don't know," shrugged Dawn, shoving her hands into her pocket. "I think we just butt heads on a lot things. At first she was really cool, more like a friend than a stepmother. But lately she's been so strict. And she just dotes on Gracie…"

Dawn's voice trailed off. I felt like she had more to say, but I didn't want to push her any further.

The front door to Claudia's house was open, so we let ourselves in and ran up the stairs to her room, just like old times. Claudia was sitting at her vanity, braiding her hair into cornrows. She nearly jumped a mile when she saw us in the mirror.

"Oh my Lord, you scared the hell out of me!" she cried, twisting a rubber band at the end of a braid. "What do you think of this hair?"

"It looks nice on you," I said, taking a seat on her bed. "It's not for me, though."

Dawn half-shrugged and stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Yeah, I don't really like it either," said Claudia. She undid the tiny braids and shook out her long dark hair. "That was a waste of two hours."

She turned around in her chair and smiled at both of us.

"You can come in, Dawn," she stated brightly, nodding to the bed. "Don't worry, I don't have ants anymore. I kicked the candy habit long ago."

Dawn laughed shyly and hesitantly took a seat next to me. Claudia smiled and disappeared under the bed beneath me. Dawn eyed me suspiciously. I was going to ask if she was okay, when Claudia emerged with a bottle of Malibu.

"Do you have a liquor cabinet underneath there?" asked Dawn, smirking.

"You'd be surprised," answered Claudia, dusting herself off. She poured us drinks into three slightly dirty shot glasses that were sitting on her desk. Dawn eyed me strangely again, yet she didn't refuse the shot when Claudia handed it to her.

"Do you want money for any of this?" I asked, ignoring Dawn's weird glances.

Claudia shook her head no and downed a shot. Dawn and I followed, even though I nearly gagged.

"Don't worry about it," she said, grinning and pouring another shot.

She began to pour us a second drink, but I Dawn and I both declined it.

"Consider it a present for tutoring me this week," she continued, after swallowing another shot. "I got an A minus on my English exam. But I'm almost certain I failed my math test. I didn't even get to the last page."

She laughed, although it wasn't really that funny. I would have been mortified if I hadn't been able to complete a question, let alone a page. She sat down again at her vanity and began brushing the kinks out of her hair. Dawn began flipping through Claudia's CDs, and we eventually ended up listening to some indie band that was supposedly very popular while Claudia did our hair and make-up. I made a mental note to update my music collection.

Before we left for Abby's, we each had another shot of Malibu. It was Claudia's fourth, which made me a little worried. It was only seven thirty and Claudia was already quite tipsy. We started down the stairs, when Claudia turned around suddenly.

"I almost forgot something," she said, giggling and stumbling a little back to her room. "I'll meet you guys downstairs."

Dawn started to give me another look, but I cut her off before she had the chance.

"Stop making those faces!" I hissed. "What's the matter, anyway?"

"Claudia's pretty wild," she whispered, not wanting to be heard by Claudia or her parents who had returned home a few minutes earlier and were listening to NPR in the kitchen. "She's drunk already."

"She's not drunk, she's just…tipsy," I replied uncertainly. "Besides, you drank too."

"Not like a sailor home from shore leave," she shot back, although still completely cool in temper. "What's she doing in there, anyway?"

"Probably hiding her alcohol," I answered, but I started down the hall to Claudia's room anyway. "I'll check on her."

Her door was slightly ajar, and I peered around the corner. Claudia was holding her hollow book, and seemed to be counting something. I opened the door slightly, and Claudia nearly jumped a mile, slamming the book shut.

"Oh my Lord, is this scare the shit out of Claudia day?" she shrieked, her face flushing. She hugged the book to her chest protectively. Yet she flashed a smile as soon as she caught her breath. "I'll be right down."

"What are you doing?" I asked. I couldn't help it. Claudia was acting very shady.

"I was just getting some extra cash," she answered casually, opening the book to me. "See?"

Inside laid some rolled up bills and other harmless looking objects.

"Oh," I said, flooded with relief. I felt bad for doubting my friend. "I just wanted to see if you were ready."

"Yuppers," she chirped happily. She zipped her purse and we rejoined Dawn in the hall.

We met Mr. Kishi in the kitchen, who eyed us warily but said nothing. I was glad Mrs. Kishi was in the bathroom; her Stepford mom act was starting to bug me. We gave a half hearted greeting and Mr. Kishi grabbed his car keys; Claudia was currently on good terms with her parents after her A minus in English and had roped her father into giving us a ride. Claudia managed to make it out of the house without staggering, but fell flat on her face halfway to the sidewalk.

"Heh, Claudia, those are some tough heels to walk in," adlibbed Dawn, while I quickly yanked her up.

Mr Kishi turned around and knitted his brow at us, but said nothing.

"Yeah, I'm always tripping," she giggled with a wink, although she managed to sound coherent and articulate.

Dawn wisely slipped into the front seat, while I grabbed Claudia and piled into the back. Dawn managed to capture Mr. Kishi's attention in a conversation about global politics, while I worried that he would smell the vodka on all of our breaths. I wasn't sure how he could be that oblivious. The whole ride I had horrible visions of us pulling into the Stevenson's driveway just as Abby was lugging a giant keg through the front door. Of course, when we showed up, her house looked entirely silent and serene, much to my relief. We quickly hopped out and made a beeline for the front door, barely looking at Mr. Kishi as he pulled away.

"Whoa, I really have to piss," cried Claudia as we burst into the entranceway. She ran ahead of us to the bathroom.

"Claudia's nuts," muttered Dawn as soon as we were alone. "Although, I guess if my dad and Carol were as ignorant as the Kishis, I would do half the stuff she does simply because I could get away with it."

"Get away with what?" called Abby, entering the hall.

She was holding a bunch of balloons.

"Do you like them? My Grandma had them delivered for my birthday. I thought I'd put them in the hallway."

"Nice," said Dawn, glancing around the foyer. I forgot she had only visited Abby's house maybe once or twice years earlier.

"Hey Dawn, glad to have you on the East Side," Abby joked, making the symbol with her fingers. "Want to see the spread?"

We followed her into the rec room, where she had a full keg on ice, plus two coolers full of beer cans and bottles. She had tables set up for flip cup and pong. The slightly sketchy DJ was setting up his equipment in the corner.

"Yo, DJ Casplash!" she yelled to him. "Check yourself before you wreck yourself!"

He cocked his head at us, but I think I saw him roll his eyes.

"I pretty much have everything set up," she said, flopping down on the couch. "There wasn't much to do, other than get the alcohol and plastic cups."

"How did you get the alcohol?" asked Dawn, sitting next to her.

"I paid that bitchy waitress Angelina from the Argo seventy five bucks to pick it all up for me," she laughed. "I guess she's been supplying Cokie Mason for almost a year now. Oo, let me show you the VIP selection."

She led us into the kitchen, where I noticed that the mud room was almost entirely stuffed with extra beer. Abby gleefully showed us the contents of her fridge, which was stocked with rows and rows of jello-shots. Plus, fifteen bottles of various kinds of liquor were lined up along the counter.

"Wow, all of this must have cost a fortune!" cried Dawn, picking up a bottle of Grey Goose. "Did Hanukah come early this year?"

"Let's just say it's a birthday gift courtesy of Mom," quipped Abby, picking up a bottle of Jose Cuervo and unscrewing the top. "May she rue the day she ever gave me her charge card."

She took a giant swig.

"Ole!" she laughed, tequilia spilling out of the sides of her mouth. She plunked the bottle hard down on the counter, causing more tequila to spill down the sides of the bottle.

Claudia soon joined us in the kitchen, and we each had a jell-o shot at her suggestion. She quickly helped herself to one more.

"Starting early?" snickered Abby playfully. "No one will even be here for another half an hour."

"She already started early," Dawn whispered in my ear.

I nudged her with my elbow and mouthed for her to keep quiet. If Claudia wanted to get drunk early, that was her own business. I was certain that despite my own doubts Claudia had partied enough to know her own limits. Besides I was feeling much more relaxed now that I was actually at Abby's, and the jello-shot and Malibu from earlier were starting to kick in. As the first guests started to arrive, Dawn and I went into the kitchen to make a drink.

"Do you want a margarita?" asked Dawn, looking in the cupboard. "There's some mix in here. I'll make us some before it gets too crowded."

"Sure," I said. I opened the cabinet and grabbed two margarita glasses. "Thanks."

"You know, it's pretty cool that you let loose a little," said Dawn, packing the blender with ice. "You're not that mousy anymore."

"Oh, thanks," I scoffed, watching the blender swirl everything together. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I said you weren't mousy," sighed Dawn, rolling her eyes. "Last time I was here you were practically Kristy's bitch, too quiet for your own good, and stayed home alone on Friday nights, forget attending drinking parties. It's pretty cool we can hang out and be chill now."

"So you can only hang out with me when I drink?" I remarked, folding my hands across my chest.

"No, you're just more relaxed," commented Dawn, shrugging her shoulders. "A year ago you would have flipped if Claudia offered you a drink in her bedroom. You're not so concerned anymore about getting into a little trouble. Although I think that's all Claudia is."

"Trouble?" I smirked. "At least she didn't get caught dealing marijuana."

I felt a small bubble of guilt forming in my chest as soon as the words left my lips.

"Sorry," I stammered, sipping my margarita. "I didn't mean…"

"It's fine," she said, drawing in a deep breath. "But there's something I have to tell you…"

Dawn never got the chance to finish, as a stream of people flooded the kitchen, including Stacey McGill and Sheila MacGregor.

"Hey, Dawn," said Stacey quizzically, fairly surprised by my stepsister's presence on the East Coast.

"Hey," she answered nonchalantly. "Want a drink? I guess I don't mind playing bartender tonight."

Dawn winked at me. I returned it with a smile and went to see who else had arrived while Dawn checked for sugar free mixers. The music had started, and there were about ten kids mingling in the rec room. Alan was among them.

"Hello," I said, coming up to him. I gave him a peck on the mouth.

"You taste like margarita," he replied, slipping an arm around my shoulder. "Or at least I think. Let me see again."

I laughed, when I noticed Cary Retlin standing in a corner, talking to a girl who looked very familiar, at least from the back. She had long dark hair, and was wearing an extremely short skirt and three inch heels.

"I know, can you believe that?" commented Alan, seeing where my attention had wandered.

"That can't be…" I started, but my voice trailed off in disbelief.

I walked over to them, but before I had a chance to tap on Kristy's shoulder, she spun around and looked at me through about an inch of make-up.

"What do you want?" she sneered, looking at me eye to eye. In her giant heels we were the exact same height.

"Whoa, Kristy, what are you doing here?" I cried, practically keeling over from shock.

"I was invited, wasn't I?" she exclaimed nastily, putting one hand on her hip. "I'm here to party."

Much to his surprise, she grabbed the cup of beer from Cary's hands and downed it one gulp.

I was pretty sure my jaw hit the floor.