PAIGE SAID, WAKING me the next morning. She sat cross-legged at the end of my bed. She was wearing my pink T-shirt emblazoned with a silver rhinestone heart. I sat up, blinking and trying to tame my bed head. “Thanks! Do I look older? I feel older.” Paige nodded. “You look so much older. Definitely thirteen.” “Maybe fourteen with eyeliner?” I asked hopefully. “Don’t push it.” Paige laughed. Someone knocked on the door and Paige got up to answer it. “Hey, birthday girl!” Callie said, stepping inside. She was carrying two giant bags from the Sweet Shoppe. She was dressed in yoga pants and a hoodie, her hair in a messy ponytail and she hadn’t put on makeup yet. “Cal! What are you doing here?” Callie stepped inside and put the bags on my desk. Both she and Paige smiled at me. “It’s your birthday! Duh,” Callie said, shaking her head. “But, guys! You’re already throwing me a party. That’s waaay more than enough,” I said. Callie and Paige rolled their eyes.
