The Girl Who Feared Men (SAMPLE)

Chapter 20: The Sleepover From Hell

Songs:

Melanie Martinez- Crybaby

Melanie Martinez- Dollhouse

Melanie Martinez- Carousel

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Ellie

Megan's house is huge.

Actually, huge is an understatement. Megan's the daughter of a male CEO and a female police officer so her whole family is just sitting on piles and piles of money. I was surprised when Jessa said I could go. I thought she'd laugh in my face and tell me to stay at home but she was more excited than I was. She said she was glad I was finally making friends.

If only she knew.

When I enter Megan's house, she grabs my sleeping bags and extra clothes before taking them upstairs to her room. The first thing I see is her parents large, bright, wide-toothed smiles and I immediately dislike them. As the night progresses, I come to hate Megan's parents. I don't have anything against them personally. I just hate people who smile so damn much. Every time I see their faces, they're smiling.

Even when they don't know I'm looking.

I think it's weird when people carry a smile on their face 24/7. No one is that happy and no one should be smiling that much. It's almost as if they're trying to hide something. It's as if they're trying to put up this facade that they're this perfect little family. I don't think anyone is as bothered by it as I am but I can't help but stare at them. I guess it's because they remind me of my mom and Danny.

It makes me feel like I'm in some sort of dollhouse.

And I've always hated dolls.

After a while, Megan's parents go upstairs and they don't come back down. I assume they're sleeping but they must be some really heavy sleepers because Megan starts blasting music and none of them come back down and tell her to lower the volume. Megan's house has three living rooms and she's moved all the cheerleaders into one of them. Lucky for me, I was smart and came an hour late. I wanted to avoid awkward small talk with any of the cheerleaders that aren't Melanie and Saron as much as possible. Since all the cheerleaders are here, Melanie and Saron are too and I don't look like a complete loser.

Unfortunately, coming late meant that by the time I'd arrived, Megan was so busy being a host to everyone, I couldn't pull her aside and ask her to tell me more information about Julia Marshall- the only reason why I'm here.

"Ellie!" Melanie exclaims when she sees me. I smile when I see her jolly face. She gives me a hug and Saron does the same.

"Wait, are you back on the team?" Saron asks?

"No, no. Megan kind of blackmailed me to be here," I laugh playfully but when I see Saron's wide eyes, I realize she didn't get the joke. "I'm kidding. She didn't actually blackmail me," I say.

"Oh, phew," Saron says "You had me scared me there."

Melanie and I exchange a look before laughing. When our laughter dies down, I ask Saron something I've been wondering for a while. Saron seems like the odd one out, she's pretty but she's extremely ditzy so I've been wondering how she's been on the team for so long. When I ask her- using kinder words- she says she's not sure. Not long after, she's called over by another group of people and Melanie fills in the blanks.

"She was on the original team back in middle school. She grew up with everyone here and even though she's hanging out with us, she's loved by everyone else," Melanie explains.

"What about that other girl, Patrice? She made it onto the team too, right? Who does she hang out with?" I ask.

Melanie points over to a girl across the room. I recognize her from the tryouts and at first glance, she looks like she's standing in a large circle of cheerleaders but once you look closer you can tell she's standing off to the side, laughing only when she feels it's appropriate to laugh and trying her best to fit in.