Page 96 of My So-Called Perfect Life

“Sure thing,” he replies. “I’ll be right back, then we can finish talking about Saturday. Seriously, it’s no big deal. It will actually be fun. I think you’ll love my parents.”

I smile. “Of course, I will.” The second he turns his back, my smile falls, and I feel as though I’m going to puke.

Something else must have caught his attention, because by the time I’ve finished my cider, he still hasn’t returned. I’m probably panic-drinking, so I may have downed it at a faster pace than normal. Amelia and Mercy arrive just as Roxy hands me a new bottle. They burst through the door like they are being chased by a group of brain-eating zombies. They sprint across the bar, jumping as though they’ve just won a car on “The Price is Right,” shrieking at a volume only dogs can hear.

“Ohmigod!”

“You’ll never guess what happened.”

“I still can’t believe it.”

I wave my hands in front of their faces. “I’ve been listening to screaming five-year-olds all day. My hysteria-to-English translator ran out of batteries. Can you slow down and calmly tell me what’s going on?”

They glance between each other with a sparkle in their eyes and smiles so large, they look creepy.

“We just won four tickets to the *NSYNC reunion concert Saturday.”

No way. I must have heard them wrong. I tried to buy tickets to this concert a year ago and it sold out too quickly.

I shake my head. “Don’t tease me, guys. That isn’t funny.”

“No joke,” Amelia squeals.

“You seriously won tickets?” I ask, still in disbelief.

“Yup!” Mercy says, popping the P. “And you will never guess who’s going to make an appearance.” She spells the letter J then T in sign language.

I gasp. “No way!”

“Way!’ Amelia says with a smile.

“You mean. . . JT? He’s going to . . . and we have tickets?”

I shriek so loudly I’m amazed the glasses don’t shatter. The three of us jump up and down, screaming and hugging.

“Hey, could you guys keep it down?” Simon, a Wednesday afternoon regular who works at the accounting firm across the street, shouts as us. “My ears are starting to bleed. Airhorns make less noise than the lot of you.”

Amelia winces. “Whoops.”

I clear my throat, now hoarse from screaming. “Sorry, Simon. We will tone it down.”

Mercy points to me. “You might want to pull yourself together.” My blouse is untucked, and my hair has fallen out of its clip.

I turn around to fix myself and spot Ryan pulling a handcart full of boxes of beer. Pulling my hair back into its clip, I run over to him. “You’ll never guess what happened!”

“What?” he asks with a smile, clearly picking up on my enthusiasm.

“Amelia and Mercy just won tickets to the *NSYNC concert on Saturday night! I’m so excited! I tried to get tickets and it was sold out. I looked at getting them second-hand but they’re so freaking expensive and I’m still paying down wedding debt,” I ramble on too excited to contain myself.

He pulls the cart behind the bar. “What happened?”

“They won tickets!” I call over my shoulder. “Merc, how did you get the tickets?”

“The radio,” she calls back.

“People still listen to the radio?” I ask. “Even with all the commercials?”

“Yes, you snob!” Amelia says. “Not everyone listens to podcasts all the time! Real people listen to the radio.”