Star's Last Slumber Party

“Star, your friends are here!” Yelled Mrs. Diaz from down the stairs.

Hearing Angie, Star’s ears perked up. It had been a while since her last slumber party and Star was filled with excitement at the prospect of spending another night surrounded by her best friends.

She jumped down the stairs, landing right in front of everyone.

“Slumber party!!!” Shouted Star, trilling her voice.

“What up girl!” Said Ponyhead as she bull rushed Star.

“Hey Star.” Said Janna with her usual laid back tone.

“Hi Star!” Said Kelly.

“Hey Kelly!” Star looked up at the top of Kelly’s head. “Tad’s not with you is he?”

“Oh no, he and I broke up again.”

“Well that’s good. I-I mean Tad not being here because it’s a girl’s night, not that you two broke up. Stammered Star.

“It’s okay, I know what you mean.”

“Hi Star…” Whispered Starfan13 from behind Star.

Without missing a beat, Star spun around and gave Starfan13 a tight hug. As she hugged her friend who was lost in bliss, another voice came from behind her again.

“Hey Star, how’s it going?”

Turning around once more brought Star face to face with Jackie Lynn Thomas.

“Oh, hi Jackie!”

Not too long ago, Marco had confessed his love to her and the two had been going out since. Star couldn’t exactly put her finger on it, but ever since then her feelings towards Jackie and become increasingly mercurial, especially when Marco was involved.

“Marco’s not here right now.” Said Star in an almost knee-jerk reaction.

“Okay…” Said Jackie, trailing off in a confused tone. “I didn’t really come to hang out with him though? I thought this was your slumber party.”

Star stared blankly at Jackie, processing what she had said without thinking.

“Right! Yeah, I thought you had wanted to see Marco first, since after all he is your boyfriend!” Said Star, exaggerating her tone and giving an awkward chuckle.

“Nope, I’m just here to have fun with the rest of you guys.”

“Well that’s great!” Star’s cheeks turned a little red from embarrassment.

Later that night…

The five teenagers sat in the middle of Star’s room, surrounded by all manner of snacks and junk food. They had been chatting the entire night about various topics, and the conversation had finally reached the topic of boys.

“So Kelly, you said that you and Tad broke up AGAIN??” Exclaimed Star before stuffing her face full of popcorn.

“Yeah, he said that we should see other people.” Said Kelly, before munching on some pretzels.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get back together in no time!”

“The thing is, I kind of agree with him.”

“Whaaaaat? But you and Tad have been together for like, forever! I mean, besides those five breakups.”

“Exactly, maybe it’s time to try to be with someone else…”

“Like who?” Interjected Ponyhead, her mouth full of food.

Kelly merely shrugged. “I dunno. How about you Ponyhead, any boys on your mind?”

“Nah, I don’t need no man, I’m a girl who does things her own way! Having a boyfriend would just slow me down!”

“I don’t need any boy, not as long as I have Star…” Said Starfan13, chucking creepily and leaning heavily onto her idol.

“Aww that’s so sweet!” Said Star giving Starfan13 a crushing hug.

“What about you Janna?” Said Starfan13, her voice muffled from her he being smashed into Star’s shoulder.

“Eh I’m not that interested. Messing with Marco is a lot more fun.” Said Janna, prompting a laugh from Jackie and a subtle twitch from Star.

“So Jackie… Got any juicy stories about you and Marco?” Said Janna before taking a drink of soda.

Star froze; this was something she did not want to hear. She wanted to escape, but couldn’t think of a way out.

“Oh darn it looks like we ran out of popcorn!”

“But there’s still some left-“

Before Jackie could finish her thought, Star inhaled the popcorn and ran off to the kitchen, leaving the rest of her friend puzzled.

Star walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, refilling her popcorn. After she finished pouring the popcorn into the bowl, she took a deep breath.

“Get it together Star, you can do this. You’re strong, much stronger than Jackie. Jackie…”

With a newfound resolve and maybe something else, Star went back upstairs. As she approached the door, she heard the giggle of her friends and her heart lifted. Maybe there wasn’t really anything to worry about.

Her good mood though was quickly shattered as she opened the door and saw Marco, looking a bit uncomfortable, standing in between all of her friends.

“Hey Star, I thought you said Marco wasn’t here.” Said Jackie innocuously.

“O-Oh no no no, I meant that… He…. Wasn’t there with us! At the time…” Said Star, her face flushed in her attempt to save face. She couldn’t help but feel something well up inside of her though.

“Hey Marco…” Said Star, giving a strained smile.

“Oh uh, hey Star. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was on my way down for some water and I just kind of got swept up all of a sudden and now I’m here.” Said Marco, scratching the back of his head.

This wasn’t good, Star was hoping Marco would stay put and not interact with Jackie at all tonight. She watched the two of them stand together, and her blood began to boil ever so slightly.

“Well, y’know… I was kind of hoping to have it be just a girl’s night. You know, all girls and no boys? Yeah…”

“Oh, okay. I’ll just get out of your hair then.” Said Marco as he began to walk away.

“Don’t be like that, stay.” Said Jackie, placing a hand on his shoulder.

As soon as Jackie touched Marco, she stopped thinking and pulled Marco away from her, staring her down.

As Star pulled Marco away, everyone else, including Jackie, merely looked at the two of them. Marco himself was quite confused on what had just happened and an awkward silence permeated the air.

Realizing just how strange and erratic her action was and the befuddled reaction of her friends, Star nervously laughed.

“Heheheheh…. ‘Scuse me…” Said Star before bolting out of the room with Marco in tow.