Or at least, it made things easier to keep telling myself that. It wasn't a date because I was meeting Alice there. But it was something, because I'd made actual plans to meet her, like normal people go to parties and make plans with girls. Roswell was still intent on hooking up with Stephanie, but the prospect didn't seem to cause him much anxiety. When I asked how I should proceed with Alice, he just shrugged and said, "Well, you could start by having a conversation." After dinner, I went over to his house. His mom let me in with her hair up in some kind of fancy braid. She was in the middle of fastening the clasp on her necklace and gave me a smile. "He's in his room, getting all dolled up for his fans. Do you think you can prevail on him to drive responsibly?" "I can try. I don't know how much influence I have." That made her laugh, and when she did, she looked like him. Her eyes were the same shape and the same deep, frosty blue. She adjusted her grip on the necklace and gave me a one-armed hug.
