Emma and Laurel sifted through Madonna cone-boob corsets, French maid outfits, and a rack of pink tutus Emma would’ve begged Becky to buy for her when she was four years old. A few minutes into their search, Laurel pul ed out a leopard’s costume and shook her head as she examined it. “This isn’t right either. It needs to be perfect.”
“It’s just a dance,” Emma murmured. “What’s the big deal?”
There was a screech of metal as Laurel moved a cluster of hangers to the left. “Caleb real y likes Hal oween. And I want everything to be just right.” She bit her lip. Emma couldn’t help but smile. “Do you like him?”
Embarrassment flickered across Laurel’s face. “I know he tel s real y dorky jokes. And I know it’s not so great that he’s only on JV tennis. But he’s so nice. We have fun together.”
It took Emma a few moments to realize that Laurel was seeking her approval, apologizing for choosing a guy who might not be up to their clique’s standards. “If you guys have fun together, that’s what’s important,” she said, shooting Laurel a genuine smile. “I think he’s supercute.”
Laurel brightened. “Real y?”
Emma nodded. “Really.”
The corners of Laurel’s lips twitched into a relieved smile. I could tel how much Emma’s words meant to her. It was the kind of encouragement I’d clearly never given her when I was around.
The next rack of costumes contained bikini tops, angel wings, hot pants, and thigh-high boots. “So, does Caleb like you back?” Emma asked.
Laurel flicked a feather on the brim of a flapper headband. “According to Gabby and Lili, he’s interested.”
Emma tried to keep her face neutral. She didn’t want Laurel to see her flinch at the mention of the Twins’ names. Then Laurel let out a wary laugh. “Hopeful y they’re not lying to me as revenge for attempting to get them on-stage in thongs.”
At least they didn’t try to drop a giant light on your head.
“Do you think they’ve forgiven us for the prank?” Emma asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Laurel held a blood-spattered wedding dress to her torso and nodded. “After the party kicked into gear, they said they thought the prank was real y funny. I can’t believe they knew we were up to something. I thought we covered our bases. Maybe we’ve underestimated them.”
That’s an understatement, I thought.
Emma ran her finger over a sequined bowler hat. “So were Gabby and Lili in the auditorium the whole time I was in the nurse’s office?” The shuffling noises in the hal zipped through her mind. Those bits of glass on the floor. The eerie sense someone had been there listening, watching.
“Yeah . . .” Laurel squinted at her. “Why?”
Emma kept her gaze glued on a stack of food-themed costumes: a phal ic orange carrot, a round donut with leechlike felt pink sprinkles, and a Hershey’s Kiss. “I thought I saw Gabby in the hal , that’s al .”
Laurel grinned. “Maybe it was a ghost!” she said in a teasing, ghoulish voice, pointing to a Ghostface mask from Scream.
I wanted to burst out laughing; little did Laurel know the truth. But the ghost Emma heard in that hal was definitely not me.
Laurel assessed the bloody wedding dress once more and draped it over her arm. “This could work. So are you taking a date? Maybe someone named Al lex, perhaps?”
She stretched out the name and playful y punched Emma on the arm.
“Alex is just a friend,” Emma said quickly, turning away.
“Yeah, right!”
“Seriously. Like I said, she’s from tennis camp. And she’s a girl. Short for Alexandra.”
Laurel cocked her head and gave Emma a dubious look.
“A girl who’s thinking of you and can’t wait to talk?” she asked, reciting the lines from Alex’s text.
The bel s to the store jingled, and a man in a pin-striped suit with two smal blond boys entered. The kids ran for the rack of army uniforms and started shooting each other with the plastic machine guns. Emma watched them snake around the racks, ful y aware that Laurel’s expectant gaze hadn’t left her face. Emma knew if she didn’t give her gossip soon, she’d continue to pester her relentlessly. The more questions she asked, the more specifics Emma fabricated, the more opportunity Laurel had to catch Emma in a lie.
Emma took a deep breath and turned around. “Okay. There is a guy I’ve been hanging around with.”
Laurel’s eyes lit up. “Who?”
“Ethan.”
“Ethan . . . who?”
“Landry.” It felt strange and nerve-racking to say his name out loud.
The smile on Laurel’s face was uncertain, slightly amused. “Seriously?”
Emma stiffened, feeling vulnerable. It felt like she’d whipped off the Sutton mask and Laurel was suddenly looking at her. “We’re just friends,” she said as casual y as she could. “We hang out sometimes.”
“But Ethan Landry isn’t friends with people.” Laurel stil sounded incredulous. “He’s Mr. I-Vant-to-Be-Alone.”
The little boys raced around the Hal oween shop as though it were a war zone. Their father slapped an Amex on the counter and gave an apologetic look to the girl in the leather bustier. “Wel , I guess he’s changed,” Emma said.
“I suppose you’d be the perfect person to change him, Sutton.” Laurel got in line to pay for the wedding dress. “You should tel everyone you’re into him! It would do wonders for his popularity!”