She’d found the garage fine, and by the time she got there, many of the floors were already full. Her heart was racing, pounding in her chest so hard that the sequins on her dress bounced a bit in rhythm. She rubbed her palms, slightly sweaty, on the steering wheel. You’ll be fine, she thought. You’ll be fine. She was worried about looking out of place, worried about being incompetent, worried about Cassandra taking one look at her and laughing her clean out of the Club. She pulled out her phone. 10:59PM. She pulled up Cassandra’s box. -Here! Code? :) Almost immediately, the bubbles popped up as Cassandra responded. -Right on time, good girl ;) Code 2nite is #4377 -Thx! See you soon! Cassandra sent a kissy face in return, and Lila giggled. She’d never had many friends, partially because of her busy schedule and partially because she’d just never learned how to fit in with the other girls at school. Lila’d always guessed a mother taught you that, and her father hadn’t been much of any kind of parent.
