Mallory's Super Sleepover (8 page)

All of my friends and my brother and my parents are having hot chocolate and French toast for breakfast. That’s what I’m having too, except mine is being served with a side order of trouble. I can tell by the way Mom is not looking at me that my side order will be served the minute my friends leave.

And I’m right.

As my friends start to leave, I give out the beaded picture frames that Mary Ann and I made for party favors. When I try to give one to Mary Ann, she shakes her head like she doesn’t want it. I know she’s mad that I’m mad at her, but I don’t see how that gives her the right to be mad at me.

As soon as my last friend walks out the front door, Mom and Dad tell me they want to see me in my room.

“Someone’s in T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” Max whispers as I walk past him.

I almost never agree with my brother, but this morning, I know he’s 100% right.

The minute I get to my room, Dad tells me to sit down.

I sit cross-legged on my bed and look at my parents who are standing up cross-armed. I have never felt so small, and they have never looked so big.

Dad clears his throat. “Mallory, Mom and I are extremely upset with you,” he says.

I look down at my bedspread. “I know,” I say in a soft voice.

“We trusted you,” says Mom. “And you broke that trust in many ways.”

I look down and focus on a spot on my bedspread. I wish I could be that spot and not me right now. I don’t know what to say to my parents.

But they seem to know exactly what to say to me.

“Mallory, we are disappointed in you,” says Mom. “You asked if you could have a sleepover party, and we said yes. We told you that we expected it to be a nice night with a few friends. We told you that we wanted your help in making sure the party did not get out of hand. When you asked if you could invite more people than we had in mind, we said yes. And when extra friends showed up at the last minute, we very nicely told you we understood and that it was your birthday and it was OK.”

Mom starts pulling back fingers as she talks like she’s keeping a tally of all the things that I asked for and that they gave to me. “You asked for new pajamas, and we got you those. You told us what you wanted to do at the party, and we said OK to everything.”

Mom recrosses her arms and tucks her hands around her sides like she’s done counting because there’s no sense in even trying to keep track of all the nice things they did for me.

“Mallory, we did everything we could to make your party exactly what you wanted it to be, and I don’t understand how you could have let things get so out of hand.” Mom stops talking and looks at me.

Even though I’m glad she’s done, at least for the moment, in a way, I wish she’d keep going. I know I did so many things wrong, and I’m not even sure what to say to my parents.

Neither of them says a word. It’s my turn to talk, and I know it.

“Mom, Dad, I’m really sorry about everything that happened at the sleepover.”

Mom and Dad just look at me like what I said is nice, but it doesn’t begin to explain things. I take a deep breath. I know I owe my parents an explanation. I think back to when Mary Ann and I first started planning the party. Even though Mary Ann wanted everything to be big, big, big, I knew Mom and Dad wanted me to keep things small.

“Mallory, we’re waiting,” says Dad.

I know I don’t have a choice. It’s time to start explaining.

“I didn’t mean for the party to get out of control,” I tell Mom and Dad. “When Mary Ann and I first came up with the idea of having a sleepover, it seemed like a good idea. When I talked to you about it, I know you wanted me to plan something small and nice with just a few friends.”

I pause. I want to get my words right. “I didn’t think that would be hard. But Mary Ann had different ideas. She thought everything needed to be big to be fun. She wanted to invite a lot of people. And once the party started, it was like everything just kind of got out of control.”

My lips feel dry, but I keep talking. “I know we shouldn’t have made a mess in the kitchen or had the water balloons in the house. I know I should have gone to get Crystal once things started to get out of hand. But Crystal was supposed to be the babysitter and she shouldn’t have gone outside to talk on her phone.”

My throat feels tight, but I know I have more explaining to do. I tell Mom and Dad that it was Arielle and Danielle’s idea to decorate Pamela. “I know they shouldn’t have done it, but it was like one thing led to another and before I could stop them, they were laughing, and they just kept doing it.”

I think before I say what I’m about to say next. “And the biggest problem is that Mary Ann is my best friend and she didn’t help me stop anyone from messing up the kitchen or making water balloons in the house and coloring on Pamela.”

Mom and Dad listen to what I have to say. I’d like to see them nod like what I’m saying makes sense or hear them say, “
Sweet Potato, we understand. Growing up isn’t easy, and don’t worry, we forgive you.”

But that’s not what they do or say.

Dad shakes his head like what I’ve said is not a good explanation. “Mallory, Mom and I agreed to let you have a sleepover. We gave you a few simple rules that we expected you to follow, and you didn’t do that.”

Dad pauses like he wants every word that he’s saying to sink into my brain. “You listened to what Mary Ann and your other friends wanted you to do instead of doing what you knew was the right thing to do.”

Mom picks up where Dad leaves off. “Mallory, it’s not Mary Ann’s fault that she thought having a big party would make it fun. It was your fault for not explaining to her that your parents said you had to keep the party small. She and the rest of your friends should have known better than to make a mess in the house or color on someone. Crystal shouldn’t have been outside on the phone, but this is your house and it was up to you to go get her and to stop your friends when things started going wrong.”

I nod, like I understand what Mom is saying.

But she keeps explaining like she’s not sure I do. “Part of growing up is taking responsibility for your actions and thinking through the consequences of your choices. Just because your friends do something or tell you to do something, does that make it right?”

Mom looks at me like she’s waiting for an answer.

“Mallory, as you get older, there will be lots of things your friends might do, and just because they think it’s a good idea or it might be fun, are you going to do those things if you know they’re the wrong things to do?”

I think about some of the things I’ve done lately, and I know they’ve been the wrong things to do.

Not listening to what Mom and Dad wanted me to do was wrong. Blaming Crystal and Mary Ann when things got out of hand was wrong. And not stopping Arielle and Danielle from doing something that I knew would upset Pamela was really wrong.

I look at Mom and shake my head no. “I know what I did was wrong,” I say in a soft voice. I try to swallow, but when I do, I feel tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes. “I haven’t been ten very long, and I already feel like I stink at it,” I say to Mom and Dad.

Tears start to trickle down my face. Dad hands me a tissue, and I blow my nose into it.

“I think we’ve talked about this enough for now,” says Dad. “Why don’t you spend some time in your room thinking about what happened.”

He bends down and kisses me on the forehead. But I can tell it’s not an
I’m-so-happy-you’re-my-daughter
kiss. It’s more of an
I-love-you-because-you’re-my-daughter-but-I-don’t-like-what-you-did
kiss.

“I’m sure you’re tired,” says Mom. She pulls my comforter up over me. “Why don’t you rest while you think.”

Mom and Dad leave the room. I pull my covers up around my chin. I’m not sure if there’s a word that means tired, sad, bad, upset, and disappointed in myself, but if there is, that’s the word that would describe me.

And it’s not at all how I want to describe myself.

I rub the soft fur behind Cheeseburger’s ears.

When I turned eight, Grandma told me you get to make one wish for each year old that you are. Right now, I don’t need to make ten wishes. I just need to make one.

I squeeze my eyes shut and pretend like I’m at the wish pond.
I wish I could restart being ten and do a good job of it.

I keep my eyes closed and think about everything that happened.

When Mary Ann and I came up with the idea of having a sleepover, it seemed like such a good idea. I thought I would invite a few friends and plan some fun things.

Even when Mary Ann said we should make it the biggest, bestest sleepover ever, I never thought it would turn into the biggest, worstest sleepover ever.

I pull Cheeseburger in close to me. Mom and Dad were so nice about letting me have a sleepover. I feel like they did what I wanted them to do, but I didn’t do what they wanted me to do, and just thinking about it makes me feel terrible.

Mom and Dad were right. I didn’t think through the consequences of my actions. I shouldn’t have listened to what my friends had to say. I should have done what I knew was right. I think about my wish. I really do wish I could start over being ten and do a good job of it. Then it hits me. I can’t start over, but I can do a good job of it . . . starting now!

I pull back my covers and hop out of bed. I have a plan.

I quickly put on some clothes and throw my hair into a ponytail. Then I sit down at my desk. “Cheeseburger, I’ve got a lot of work to do and I want to do a good job doing it,” I say to my cat.

I get out markers, scissors, construction paper, a plain T-shirt, one of my leftover party favors, some old photos, and some glue.

I cut and glue and color. I use my neatest writing and think carefully about what I’m making. When I’m done, I gather up everything that I made and put it into a shopping bag.

Time to put my plan into place.

Step 1: I go into the kitchen to talk to Mom and Dad.

“Mallory, why aren’t you resting?” asks Mom.

“I can’t rest when I have things to do,” I tell my parents. I reach into my shopping bag and pull out the apology card I made for Mom and Dad. I watch while they read it.

“I want you to know how sorry I am about everything that happened at the sleepover,” I tell my parents.

Mom and Dad look at each other. “Mallory, as long as you understand what you did wrong and promise us that you won’t let something like that happen again, we don’t need to dwell on it,” says Dad.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” I say to Dad. “Because I’ve got some other people I need to see.”

Step 2: I get into the minivan with Mom.

When we get to Crystal’s house, Mom pulls the minivan to a stop. “Wait for me,” I say.

Mom smiles. “I’m not going anywhere.”

But I am. I walk up to Crystal’s house and ring the bell. A minute later, someone opens the door and it’s Crystal.

She frowns when she sees me. “Mallory, what are you doing here?”

I clear my throat and start talking. “I want to apologize for how I acted and what I said about you at the party. I should have gone outside and gotten you when everyone started making a mess.” I hold up the
World’s Best Babysitter
T-shirt that I made for Crystal. “I hope you’ll forgive me, and I really hope you’ll keep being my babysitter.”

Crystal’s frown turns into a smile. She takes the T-shirt and slips it on over her clothes. Then she gives me a big hug. “You know I have a soft spot for T-shirts,” she says with a smile.

I’m glad she likes her gift. I hug Crystal and wave good-bye. There’s someone else I need to go see.

When Mom and I pull up in front of Pamela’s house, I hop out of the minivan. “This might take a little longer,” I tell Mom.

She nods like she understands.

I clutch the shopping bag in my hand as I walk up the sidewalk. I know this won’t be easy. Pamela was really upset when she left. I take a deep breath and ring the doorbell.

When the door opens, Pamela is standing on the other side.

“If you came to bring me my party favor, I still don’t want it,” says Pamela.

I shake my head. “What I came to bring you was an apology and an explanation.”

Pamela is quiet like she’s listening.

“I want you to know how sorry I am about everything that happened at the sleepover. It was Arielle and Danielle’s idea to draw on you. It was their fault for starting it, but it was my fault for not stopping it. I knew you wouldn’t think it was funny.”

Pamela is quiet. I can’t tell if she’s accepting my apology or not.

“Pamela, I’m really, really, really sorry about what happened.”

Pamela knows when I say something three times, I really mean it, but she still doesn’t say anything.

I reach into my shopping bag and pull out a marker. “If you don’t believe me that I’m truly sorry, I’ll write
I’m sorry
all over my arms and face.”

I didn’t mean to be funny, but Pamela actually laughs when I say that. “Mallory, don’t be silly. I don’t want you to write on yourself.”

I can tell Pamela just accepted my apology. I lean over and give her a big hug, and she hugs me back. Then I leave. Time to put the next part of my plan into place.

Step 3: When Mom and I drive by the Winstons’ house, I ask her to drop me off. I walk up to their house and ring the bell.

Too bad for me, Winnie is the one who answers the door. She was the last person I wanted to see. “May I speak to Mary Ann please?”

Winnie shakes her head. “I never thought I’d say this, but I don’t think Mary Ann wants to speak to you.”

Sometimes I listen to Winnie, and sometimes I don’t, and now is one of those times when I don’t.

I push past Winnie and walk straight to Mary Ann’s room. She is lying down on her bed. I know she’s upset about what I said to her last night. I sit down beside her.

“Do you remember last year in third grade when Mrs. Daily taught us the expression
setting the record straight
?”

Mary Ann doesn’t nod like she remembers, but I know she does. I keep talking. “Well, I need to set the record straight.”

Mary Ann sits up a little, like she’s starting to listen.

“I blamed you for some things that weren’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault that you told me that a bigger party would be more fun. I should have listened to my parents when they said they wanted to keep it small. I shouldn’t have blamed you for leaving the kitchen a mess and going to make water balloons. I should have gone to get Crystal when the problems started. And I shouldn’t have blamed you for laughing when Arielle and Danielle were decorating Pamela. I knew she wouldn’t think it was funny, and I should have stopped them.”

I pause like it is Mary Ann’s turn to say something, and she does.

“Mallory, I’m sorry too. I’m your best friend, and lately, I don’t think I’ve been acting like a very good one.”

I didn’t expect Mary Ann to apologize, but it makes me feel good that she did. I guess we both did things that were wrong and we know it.

I hold up my pinkie. “Let’s pinkie swear that we’ll always try to be the best, best friends.”

Mary Ann giggles and hooks her pinkie around mine. “Best, best, best friends,” she says.

Then I remember what I brought for Mary Ann. I take one of the party favors we made out of the bag. “I put a picture of our first sleepover in it,” I say. “I hope you like it.”

Mary Ann looks at the picture of us in our pajamas when we were little. “We’ve been having sleepovers for a long time,” she says.

“And I hope we keep having them for a long, long, long time,” I say.

We hug each other. Then we talk for a few minutes about the party, especially the fun parts, and then I go home.

When I get to my room, I collapse on my bed. I’m not sure if it was last night’s or this morning’s activities or both, but something is making me very sleepy.

I rub Cheeseburger’s back and feel her body relax next to mine. I can tell they all liked what I made them, and even better, they liked my apologies. It feels a lot better doing things the right way than the wrong way. I take a deep breath. My eyelids are starting to feel heavy. I think for a minute. Then I realize there’s one more step in my plan.