I loved Summer Vacation. I got to sleep in, go to the pool and the beach everyday, and read all the new Vampire-Based books that were basically my guilty pleasure, along with Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I felt bad for all the loser kids who went to Day Camps, sat at home watching TV all day (the bad TV shows that no one ever watches), and brought handheld games to all the summer hot spots. Oh, what an awful thought. Shiver, shiver. That would never be me, because Summer Vacation (capitalized because it is that important) was my time to shine. I was dull and lifeless in winter and dragged myself to school every day after dreading into the wee morning hours.

I was surprised and excited when Percy called me on my cell phone one Tuesday. Percy was two years older than me and sketchy as Hell, but I didn’t even care. She made my summer five hundred times more fun. She took me to secret beaches where we had to crawl under broken fences to get in without getting arrested. My old best friend Claire was such a kid and just wanted to eat dairy-free popsicles all day at the family pool. How ridiculous.

“Hey, Percy.”

“Frozen custard place?”

“No. F*****g. Way.”

“Yes, way! They just got a new flavor. I heard it’s, like, Raspberry Bubblegum or something sick like that. I’m actually craving, so—”

“No, no, no. Are you serious, Lauren? We’re not getting frozen custard, that’s so lame. I got my friend Carson to make you a fake ID. We’re going into the city tonight, the train leaves in 20. Meet up there?”

“Oh, um, yeah. You got me a… Fake ID?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you say your old one snapped?”
Okay. I lied to Percy a lot about my maturity and everything. I’m thirteen, and she just turned sixteen. I can’t go around her telling the truth about how I’m still terrified of the dark, have never kissed a boy and don’t even know the names of four alcoholic beverages. She would drop me immediately. I think she thinks of me as her little project; she’s popular, gorgeous and amazing at everything. She is the IT GIRL of Connecticut and I need connections. If she drops me, I’ll be entering the high school this fall a loser like Claire.

“Whatever. I know you’re coming with, because if you don’t…” Percy’s voice trailed off. I heard her druggy mom yelling in the background.

“I’ll be there.”

“Perfect. I’ve gotta get out of here, so meet me now.”

“Alright. Wait, Percy, what am I supposed to wear? Like, a crop top?”
She laughed. Her mom’s yelling came closer. I couldn’t understand what she was hollering, but it was something about losing the TV remote. “Lauren! You’re hilarious. Wear a bodycon.”

“Um, what?”

“Cocktail dress. You know. See you.” The line disconnected. I took a deep breath.
I had been planning on saving my money for my family vacation in a couple months, but I shoved it all in my purse that I had stolen from my mom’s closet. I had also stolen the sluttiest, most body-fitting dress I could find. It clung to my skin and made me feel absolutely ridiculous. I wore dark makeup and five inch heels to make me look older. I was already pretty tall and voluptuous so I could pass for twenty-five.

TO BE CONTINUED