“Leo, you seem really cool, but I don’t know a thing about music so I am not your girl.”
He held out his fist for a bump and I obliged. “That’s cool,” he said. “Thanks for listening. Good to know you, Maddie.” With that he took off as fast as he had come.
The rest of the way to class I found myself wondering if his music was any good. Was that something rich people invested in? New artists? I’d heard the saying “making your money work for you.” I probably did need to invest in things so the money could grow even more. I really needed to see a financial advisor.
In Math, my desk mate, Alison, kept interrupting the teacher’s lecture to ask me how much money I’d have if it grew at certain rates of interest. Mr. Conway must’ve overheard because he said, “That’s a great exercise, Maddie. Let’s do some money math.”
He then spent the rest of the class multiplying and dividing my money.
“How much would she have if she gave us each five thousand dollars?” Heath Meyer asked from the back.
Mr. Conway just laughed. I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring.
Government class came next. I’d forgotten that Alison was in that class with me as well until she basically orchestrated a repeat of math class by asking Mrs. Forrest what kind of government would have to be in place to force me to share all my winnings.
I glanced Alison’s way. “Thanks a lot,” I whispered.
She smiled. “It’s saving us having to listen to a real lecture. So thank you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. She was right; the class seemed way more entertained by this topic.
After class, I pulled out my phone. It had been buzzing in my pocket the entire period. It showed forty-three notifications. I scrolled through my social media accounts. More congratulations. More tagged, candid pictures of me at school. More people talking about how they would spend fifty million dollars.
By the time lunch came around I was confused. I pulled the collar of my shirt up to my nose wondering if I smelled like money today. It was like everyone knew what had arrived in my bank account that morning and they were eager to help me spend it.
I found my friends standing under a tree in the commons and draped an arm around Blaire, leaning into her. “I need a hot tub and a pound of chocolate,” I said.
“Are you going to buy a hot tub?” Elise asked.
“What? No. I was just saying it’s been a crazy day.”
Blaire patted my cheek. “Ah, too much attention for our poor antisocial girl.”
I smiled. “I’ve never been antisocial. Just underappreciated.”
Blaire laughed. “It’s amazing what money will do.”
“Let’s eat,” Elise said, “I’m starving.”
“Starving is an overused word that diminishes the importance of those in the world that actually are starving,” Blaire said.
Elise rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m famished.”
Blaire gave up with an exaggerated sigh and we walked toward the BBQ truck. We’d eaten there almost every day since my lottery win.
“So,” Blaire said as we fell in step with each other. “Are you any closer to deciding to go to Stanford with me?”
“What? No, nothing has changed,” I said.
“What do you mean? Everything has changed.”
She was right. The main reason I always gave for not wanting to cross the entire state with her was my family. They weren’t in a stable place. My mind went back to that morning, eating breakfast with them, our smiles stretched around the entire table. Maybe alleviating the money stresses had solved all the major issues in our family. Everything else was normal day-to-day problems that they could handle without me. And Stanford really was a good school. One of the best. But I wasn’t ready to make any commitments yet.
Blaire swung her backpack around to the front of her body and unzipped it. “I brought something for you.” She pulled out a stack of stapled pages. “This is the information on Stanford. This is more than me telling you why it’s the best place to go if you want to go into veterinary studies. This is research, Maddie. Facts. I know you like those.” She put the papers in my hands. “Just think about it.”
“Maddie!” a guy across the campus called out.
I looked over. A scrawny kid, probably a freshman, was waving both hands at me. “Yeah?” I asked.
“Hi!”
“Hi,” I said.
Elise waved. “What about me? Are you going to say hi to me, too?”
“Who are you?”
“Maddie’s best friend, Elise.”
“Hi, Elise!”
She laughed.
He ran over. “Can I take a selfie with you guys?”
“Of course,” Elise said, right as I was about to say no. He held up his phone and snapped a pic with us, then ran off.
Blaire rolled her eyes. “I hope everyone gets sick of you sooner rather than later because this is going to get old.”
I pushed her arm. “Thanks a lot.”
“You know what I mean.”
The comprehensive multisource packet that Blaire had put together for me was amazing. Stanford really was a great school. But still, UCLA was closer to home. And it wasn’t like it was a bad school. Location was more important. Did money really change all that?
I sent Blaire a text: Thanks for the packet. It’s impressive.
She texted back: Hmm. That does not sound like I convinced you. Let’s have a meeting.
A meeting?
Next Thursday at 7:00 p.m. We will discuss this further.
Okay, boss.
I entered the date into my phone calendar. She was giving me over a week to think about this. She wanted me to think hard.
There was a knock at my door. It swung open and Beau’s head appeared.
“You know, when you knock, you should actually wait for a response.”
“Oh. Right.” He shut the door and knocked again.
“Come in.”
He came in with a smile. “I didn’t know the routine, since you never wait for me to respond in your efforts to save me from my oversleeping.”
“This is true. I’ve trained you poorly. The difference is that I’d have to wait hours for a response. You will get one right away.”
“And here I was coming to ask you what you wanted for dinner, but all I get is abuse.”
“Mom isn’t making dinner, too? I thought she was starting a trend this morning.”
“Not yet,” Beau answered, laughing. “Though maybe if she really does quit her job, we can look forward to that.”
“The thought of homemade dinners by Mom shouldn’t scare me but it totally does,” I said, getting up off my bed and stretching. “So … dinner? Are you making or buying?”
“I was hoping you would buy. That’s why I asked for your opinion at all.”
I took one of my socks off and threw it at him, but then said, “Fine. I will. I don’t have a preference. Whatever you want.”
“Chinese food?”
“Sounds good.”
He started to leave and I said, “Beau, wait.”
He turned, eyebrows raised.
“You’re going back to school, right?”
“Yeah, sure. Next semester.”
“That doesn’t sound very convincing.”
“You want me to sign something in blood? Declare it on my hands and knees? Shout it from the rooftops?”
I shoved his chest with a laugh. “Fine. Whatever. Get out of here.”
If Blaire really wanted me to go to Stanford with her, the only way it would happen would be if I knew things were good here at home. And I wasn’t quite convinced yet.
The next day at lunch Trina Saunders walked up to our group. Trina of the sparkling smile, gorgeous clothes, and awesome bowler group. I actually wasn’t sure about that last category—we hadn’t stuck around the alley to find out, but I assumed she was since she was athletic. She was the star soccer player at our school.
“Maddie,” she said lik
e we spoke all the time. “I hear you’re throwing a party.”
“What? Who said that?” I asked.
“When someone wins the lottery, they throw a party.”
I laughed. “You know a lot of lottery winners?”
“Yes. I know one.” She pointed at me. “And she’s going to throw a party.”
“You are?” Elise asked. Her eyes were big and full of hope as she stared at Trina. I found myself nodding my head.
“You’re right,” I said. “I am throwing a party.”
Blaire coughed. “You are?”
“Yes.” Why shouldn’t I? Everyone at school already knew. And they wanted to celebrate with me. Elise had claimed my birthday wasn’t a real party because I’d only invited three people. And she was right. It wasn’t an anything because not even those three people showed up. I had a real party to throw. Plus, I wanted to make Elise happy. “Spread the word.”
Trina took a pen out of her backpack and wrote her phone number on the notebook I was holding. “Text me the details and I’ll get to sharing.”
“Invite your friends,” Elise called out to Trina as she walked away. “Mason and Beth and Heidi and everyone else!”
Trina smiled at Elise over her shoulder and then was gone.
“See, she’s not sinister,” Elise said at the same exact time Blaire said, “See, sinister.”
They looked at each other and laughed.
“So … a party, huh?” Blaire said.
“It will be fun. You guys will come, right?”
“We’ll be there,” Elise said, and I hoped she spoke for both of them.
In the parking lot after school that day, Trina appeared once again by my side. She had her hair up in a high ponytail and athletic shorts on. This time her friend Beth Lucas was with her.
“Hey, Maddie,” Trina said. “You know Beth?”
“No. Hi. Nice to meet you.”
“I was thinking about earlier,” Trina said. “And I hope I didn’t pressure you into having a party. If you don’t want to have one, you don’t have to.”
“No, it wasn’t you at all.” If anything had pressured me into it, it was Elise’s puppy dog eyes. “It will be fun.”
“It will be fun. You’ve never come to any of my parties but I think you would’ve liked them.”
“They’re awesome,” Beth said.
I almost said that I hadn’t been invited to any of their parties. I held my tongue. Because the truth was, even if I had been invited, I probably wouldn’t have gone. But one party wasn’t going to hurt anything. It would be like a rite of passage for me. Something I could say I did at least once in high school. It would help me live a little, like Seth had suggested I needed to.
We continued walking and soon we reached my car.
“Is this you?” Trina asked, patting the back of the Corolla.
“Yes.”
“You haven’t gotten a new car yet?”
“No. I’m going to, though.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “What are you going to get?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“My dad owns a car dealership.”
“A really nice one,” Beth added.
“Really?”
“He could give you a discount if I tell him you’re my friend.”
“Friend?”
“New friends, right?”
I smiled.
“Not that you need a discount but … ” She trailed off.
“No, yeah, that would be great. I still like discounts.”
“Text me and maybe I can meet you out at the dealership Saturday.”
“I work Saturday mornings but yes, after that would be great.”
“Okay. I have to go. Coach always gets mad when we’re late for some reason.” Trina smiled, and she and Beth jogged away.
I climbed into my old car and sat behind the steering wheel for a moment. It was weird going from invisible to suddenly not. Doors that had been closed before now seemed wide open. All kinds of doors I hadn’t expected.
Weird … and kind of nice.
My mom was standing in the kitchen when I got home. A plate of cut-up veggies sat on a plate on the counter and she pointed at it.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“An after-school snack.”
“Cucumbers and peppers?”
“You like cucumbers and peppers.”
“If you’re going to go all homemaker on me, can I request homemade chocolate chip cookies instead?”
She laughed and turned on the faucet to wash her hands.
I grabbed a slice of cucumber. “Does this mean you officially quit your job?”
“I did,” she said with a happy sigh. “And I got so much done around the house today. It was nice. I even had time to read.” She twisted off the faucet and grabbed a dish towel hanging on the oven handle.
“That’s great.” I took a bite of the cucumber and started to walk away. “Oh.” I stopped just before I exited the kitchen. “I’m going to have a party next Friday. Is that okay?”
“Here?”
“No … ” Everyone wouldn’t fit in our house. I hadn’t thought about that part. Where was this going to be? “I’m not sure where. But everyone at school is so happy for me and I want to celebrate with them.”
“A party, huh?” She smiled. “It’s about time you did some stuff normal teenagers do.”
“What is this ‘normal’ you speak of, Mom?”
“Apparently it took you winning the lottery to become normal.”
“Funny. Really funny.” I waved the cucumber at her and went to my room.
I sat down at my desk. I had never thrown a party consisting of more than a couple people in my life. And now, for my first time, I was expected to throw the most amazing party ever? I was so screwed.
I powered up my computer and typed: Awesome party ideas.
Lists and lists of kid party ideas came up—pin the tail on the donkey, magic shows, princess cakes, nothing that would work. Even if I were a kid, I didn’t think any of those ideas fit my search criteria.
This time I entered: Epic adult party ideas.
And immediately regretted it. I quickly exited out of the screen. I tapped the keyboard in thought, then typed: Amazing party locations in Orange County.
After scanning through the list for twenty minutes, I’d found my place. It was going to be more than epic. It was going to be unforgettable.
I took out my phone and called Blaire. She picked up after a few rings.
“Hey, what did you get for number ten on the Calculus assignment?” she asked. “I can’t figure it out.”
“Oh, I haven’t looked yet.” Where was my backpack, anyway? I stood and looked around my room. I must’ve left it in my car.
“Well, call me when you do because I need to talk through it.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Planning a party.”
“Ah. You’re planning Elise’s party?” she asked.
I laughed. “Was it that obvious?”
“Even I couldn’t have said no to her pleading eyes.”
“You’ll come though, right?”
“Yes. Only because I’m curious.”
“Funny. But you won’t be laughing when you hear my plans. It will be amazing. I found a yacht that rents by the night.”
“A yacht?” Blaire asked.
“Yes, a huge yacht.”
“As in a big fancy boat that goes on the ocean?”
“Oh, is that what a yacht is? Never mind, I’m not sure what I found then. Yes! A yacht. It will be like no other party anyone’s been to before. That’s why it will be awesome.”
“That is pretty cool. How much does renting a yacht for a night cost?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
I heard a gasp over the phone and immediately regretted telling her. “It’s just one night. One big purchase. I’ve done the math, B
laire. Believe me, I have. If I only had ten million when all was said and done, I could live off the interest of that forever.”
“You’re going to spend twenty million dollars?”
“No! Of course not. But come on, will you help me make this amazing and not worry about money right now? For once, we don’t have to worry about money.”
“It sounds like you already made it amazing, but yes, I’m here for you. Why did I doubt that my overachiever friend wouldn’t be able to overachieve at throwing a party?”
“Imagine what the two of us will accomplish together.”
“We’ll blow their minds.”
I was still thinking about yachts, even at the zoo, as I walked to my day’s assignment: the train ride station. It was one of my favorites. When I rounded the ticket booth, I saw Seth up ahead, clipping the metal chains for the line onto their respective poles. Seth and I got stationed together a lot. I knew Carol liked to partner up similar age groups and there were only a handful of high school students. But still, odds dictated I should only be with Seth around once a month. Probably even less.
Why was I questioning this? It was a good thing. I had fun with Seth. I hoped he was having fun with me, too, otherwise this really sucked for him.
He smiled my way.
I waved and, when I reached him, helped clip up the tail end of the chain.
“Maddie. How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m bored out of my mind.”
“Still no phone or television?” That would explain his continued lack of knowledge about my lottery win. He’d have to be completely cut off from the online world right now not to know. People were tweeting and Facebooking and Instagraming about it constantly. Even though Seth and I didn’t go to the same school, we were online friends and people were tagging me all over the place.
“No,” Seth replied. “This is the torture of our day.”
“I figured,” I said, feeling relief. “I haven’t gotten any texts from you this week.”
“I know. My thumbs are going through withdrawal. It seems my friends are all going through withdrawal as well. I didn’t think my texts were that great. Can you even remember what the last text I sent you said?”