"Well, that's a concert I'll never forget," Miriam said as the kids walked out of the Sky Dome.
"It was EPIC!" Abby said, pumping her fists. "So AWESOME!"
"Indeed," Priya said, without changing her expression.
"Yeah," Tyler said. As soon as he spoke, all four girls turned to glare at him.
"Uh," he said, laughing nervously. "We're all cool, right?"
"I don't know," Mei said coolly, looking around at her friends. "I think there are some people at school who might like to know where Tyler was tonight."
"Yeah," Abby said, smiling wickedly and putting her hands on her hips. Miriam and Priya also smiled at Tyler as if they were sizing him up.
Tyler gulped. "Go ahead and tell them," he said defiantly, though he was obviously nervous. "They won't believe you anyway."
"Oh really?" Mei said. She unzipped her pocket and pulled out a 4*Town ticket with Tyler's name on it.
"Where did you get that?" Tyler demanded, reaching for the ticket.
"I picked it up off the ground," Mei said, stuffing it back into her coat. "It must've fallen out of your pocket. But if you want it back, I suggest you do what we say."
"Wh-what do you say?" Tyler asked.
"I don't know," Mei said. "But we'll think of something. Meet us in my house after school tomorrow and we'll tell you what you have to do."
"This is blackmail!" Tyler said.
"So," said Mei smoothly, "now I guess we're even."
Mei and her friends walked away, leaving Tyler with a shocked look on his face.
After school the next day, Mei, Abby, and Priya all went to Miriam's house. Miriam's parents both worked late, so they had the house to themselves. They sat around in the living room, discussing their plans. And they waited for Tyler. But after fifteen minutes, he didn't show up.
"Well, he's obviously not coming," Miriam said, checking the clock. "I guess we should show his ticket to everyone then."
"Maybe he's just late," Mei said. "Maybe he couldn't get away."
"Why are you defending him?!" Miriam asked.
"I'm not," Mei said. "It's just - I was two hours late to his birthday party because I couldn't get away from my panda banishing ceremony. He waited for me, so it wouldn't be fair for us not to wait for him."
"You want us to wait for him for two hours?!" Abby exclaimed.
"Not two hours," Mei said. "Just another fifteen minutes. If he's not here by then, we split."
"Fine," Priya said. "But not another minute longer."
The four girls continued to discuss their plans when they heard the doorbell ring. The girls smiled at each other. Miriam got up to get it.
"Ah, Tyler," Miriam said, smiling. "How nice of you to join us. I was afraid you weren't coming."
"Yeah, yeah," Tyler said. "Look, my mom usually picks me up right after school, so I had to tell her I was coming over here to study. She didn't believe me at first, because I never go over to anyone's house to study. That's why I'm late."
"He never goes over to a girl's house to study, anyway," Abby said, making kissing noises.
"Save the excuses, Tyler," Mei said from the couch. "Come on in."
Tyler came inside to find the four girls smiling at him smugly. "All right," he said. "Let's get this over with. What lame ideas did you come up with?"
"I'll go first," Miriam said. "If we're going to be friends, you need a friendship bracelet."
"Oh, come on," Tyler said. "You want us to be friends?!"
"Hey, we're all part of the 4*Town club," Miriam said. "But there's five of us, just like 4*Town. So we've got to stick together, so everyone will know we're friends." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a friendship bracelet. "I make friendship bracelets in my free time, so I have an extra one. Here. Take this and wear it to school tomorrow."
"Ugh," Tyler said. "Fine." If all the challenges were going to be like this, it wouldn't be so bad. Miriam had already done all the work for him. And he could always hide it under long sleeves.
"All right," Abby said, jumping off the couch. "Now it's my turn." She put a 4*Town record into a CD player. "You're going to listen to a 4*Town song, and we're all going to sing and dance along, but you just have to stand there and watch. Don't move. We'll be watching. Got it?"
"Got it," Tyler said nervously.
Abby turned the player on, and the CD started playing "Nobody Like U". The four girls all enthusiastically sang and danced along, while staring at Tyler.
I've never met nobody like you
I've had friends and I've had buddies, it's true
But they don't turn my tummy the way you do
I've never met nobody like you
Then the chorus came on. The girls sang at the top of their lungs, and after last night, it was all Tyler could do not to sing and dance along.
You're never not on my mind, oh my, oh my
I'm never not by your side, your side, your side
I'm never gon' let you cry, oh cry, don't cry
I'll never not be your ride, or die, alright
They went through the rest of the song, with Tyler struggling to remain still as if he was trying to hold in a fart. Finally it ended, and Tyler let out a sigh of relief.
"Good," Abby said, taking out the CD and turning off the player. "You passed the test."
"My turn," Priya said. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her copy of Nightfall.
"Nightfall?" Tyler said, rolling his eyes. "Seriously? This just gets lamer and lamer!"
"We're going to do a dramatic reading of my favorite chapter," Priya said. "I'll be Stella, and you'll be Edgar. No, wait - you'll be Stella, and I'll be Edgar." The other girls snickered.
"My mom has an extra copy of the book in her room," Miriam said. "I'll go grab it."
Miriam ran to her mother's bedroom to get the copy of Nightfall and handed it to Tyler. "Eww," he said as she placed it in his hands. "I don't want your mom's girl book!"
"Turn to page 394," Priya said as if she were a teacher in a classroom. Tyler reluctantly complied.
"I've been thinking about you for a long time," Priya read aloud as Edgar. "About us."
"Me too," Tyler read as Stella, without passion. "You are in my thoughts all day and all night."
"Read it like you mean it!" Abby shouted. "And do the voice!"
"I want to take the next step," Priya read, putting her hand on Tyler's shoulder.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready," Tyler read in a high-pitched voice, trying to sound semi-passionate.
"Me neither," Priya read. "But we could find out together."
"I love you," Tyler read, trying not to vomit.
"I love you too," Priya read in a monotone. "You're so beautiful in the moonlight. At nightfall."
"Let's - let's kiss," Tyler read aloud, horrified. The passage he saw next was even worse: Edgar leaned in for a kiss, and their lips met passionately… They wouldn't really make him kiss Priya, would they? This wasn't how he wanted his first kiss to go down. Was it too late to back out?
Instead, Priya just blew him a kiss. Awkwardly, and glad that he wouldn't have to actually kiss her, he blew her a kiss back.
"And… scene!" Miriam shouted. "Good job, everyone! They'll have to cast you in the movie!"
Priya stuffed her book back into her backpack. Tyler gave his copy back to Miriam, and wiped his hands on his shirt as if he had touched something disgusting.
"Finally," Mei said, rubbing her hands together wickedly. "Now it's my turn."
"All right," Tyler said, resigned. "What do you want me to do?"
"Apologize," Mei said. "Apologize for making fun of me, and for blackmailing me."
"That's it?" Tyler repeated incredulously. "Just apologize?"
"Yep," Mei said. "That's it."
"Fine," Tyler said. "I'm sorry."
"Say it like you mean it," Mei demanded, folding her arms.
"I'm sorry I called you names and made fun of you for liking Devon," Tyler said. "And I'm sorry I blackmailed you to get you to come to my birthday party. I promise I won't do it again."
"Well, you can't do it again 'cause her mom already knows about the panda," Miriam said.
"Look, I said I was sorry," Tyler said. "What more do you want?!"
"I dunno," Mei said. "Maybe a hug?"
"A hug?!" Tyler exclaimed. "But you already - "
Mei stepped close to Tyler and hugged him tightly. "It's okay," she said. "I forgive you."
"And we forgive you too," Miriam said. "Let's go in for a group hug, girls!"
Miriam, Abby and Priya all came in to smother Tyler with a hug, just like they had the night before. Tyler didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or relieved that his trial was over.
"You have survived the gauntlet," Abby said, pulling away from him. "You are one of us now."
"You passed the test," Mei said. "Congratulations. And now, I'll hold up my end of the bargain." She took Tyler's ticket out of her pocket and held it as if she was going to rip it in half.
"Wait," Tyler said. "Can - can I keep it instead?"
Mei smiled. "Sure," she said, giving the ticket back to Tyler. He stuffed it into his backpack.
"ONE OF US!" Abby began chanting. The other girls joined her. "ONE OF US! ONE OF US!"
"YEAH!" Tyler shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "4*TOWN FOREVER!"
Abby put "Nobody Like U" back on, and this time all of them, including Tyler, sang along.
"Hey, I have a question," Tyler asked Mei when the song was over. "If your ancestor got her wish to turn into a red panda, does that mean the Chinese gods are real? Does that mean I should stop going to church?"
"I don't know," Mei said, shrugging. "I don't really think about that."
A few minutes later, Tyler's mom came to pick him up and take him home. Tyler waved goodbye to his new friends and got into his mom's car. He hadn't done any studying, but he still felt like he had learned a lot.