Chapter 50: The Halloween Party

When Summer gets invited to Savanna’s Halloween party, she is extremely excited. Savanna is the center of the popular crowd. Every girl wants to be friends with her, and every boy wants to go out with her. Savanna has already had two boyfriends this year.

When Summer accepts the invitation, Savanna informs her that most kids are not invited. Savanna is nice about this but says not to talk about the party with too many people. She also warns Summer not to wear a costume. Apparently the popular kids are above costumes, even cool ones like Summer’s goth girl outfit.

Summer looks forward to the party anyway. Her only regret is that she cannot wear the unicorn mask she made herself for the Halloween Parade. She decides that this is okay. The party will be a better experience anyway.

When Summer arrives at the party, Savanna looks surprised. “Where’s your boyfriend, Summer?” she asks. Summer is confused because she has never had a boyfriend. When Savanna jokes that he does not have to wear a mask at Halloween, Summer realizes that Savanna means August. Summer explains that he is not her boyfriend, and Savanna laughs and says she was kidding.

Savanna takes Summer to the basement, where a bunch of kids from school are hanging out. There are both boys and girls, and Summer does not see Savanna’s parents anywhere. Except for Summer, the girls are all a part of Savanna’s usual group of friends. The boys are all part of Julian’s group. Privately, Summer reflects that these kids are actually “one big supergroup of popular kids” because they are all dating each other these days. She is surprised to learn that a couple more pairs of boys and girls have started going out. Some of the girls with boyfriends are totally flat, as Summer is herself.

Within minutes, Savanna and her boyfriend, Henry, corner Summer and announce that she needs to stop hanging out with “Zombie Kid” all the time. They say that everyone likes Summer, and that Julian has a crush on her. He would probably ask her out if she dropped August. Savanna says:

You could totally be a part of our group if you wanted to, and believe me, there are a lot of girls in our grade who would love that.

After hesitantly thanking Savanna and Henry, Summer says she needs to go to the bathroom. From there, she calls her mom and asks for a ride home. She stays in the bathroom until her mom arrives, and then she sneaks upstairs and leaves without saying goodbye.

On the way home, Summer sees kids all over the streets. She cannot believe she missed out on dressing up as a unicorn for such a terrible party.