The Big Five

15. Happy Birthday, Joey

"Watch out!" I shut my eyes to avoid seeing the mess I made. I heard a clatter then Joey's grunt.

"Ow, Nicole!" Joey yelled.

I opened one eye and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Joe."

I bet you're curious as to what we are doing. Well, Joey had the brilliant idea to have his birthday party in the Morgan Manor. Of course, Emma was flattered and even if she wasn't, she couldn't say no.

I was hanging a disco ball but I slipped and ended up dropping it.

Luckily, it landed on Joey's head and he caught it before it reached the ground.

I climbed down the ladder and grinned cheekily. "Sorry," I repeated.

I took the disco ball from his hands and went back up the ladder. This time, I made sure it stuck properly. Joey was having a pool party. Even though it was freezing in November, Emma's pool could heat up, so it wasn't a problem.

Inside would be music and dancing and outside would be the pool. Swimming and whatever. But I can't swim, so I'd probably have to do the serving stuff inside.

Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan allowed us to party here before leaving for some kind of business meeting outside of town. They were coming back at the end of the week, so this party was going to be perfect.

"I'm going to set everything outside, now, okay?" Joey said while picking up a box full of balloons and pool stuff.

I nodded and climbed down. I set up some lights around the room. Emma's living room was huge. And after we removed the couches, it seemed to be even bigger.

Maggie was setting up the dj set and Emma was making and preparing the food. Joey brought some beer and soda in case some people didn't want to get drunk.

This was going to be an awesome party. It would last all day and into the night so everyone had a chance to come. The cake would always be on the table so people could get it whenever they wanted. There wouldn't be any singing, but Joey was going to be the star of this party.

Once we finished setting up, we headed home. We would hand out invitations tomorrow and then have the party in three days. That would give everyone enough time to get ready with deciding on whether to come or not.

I waved back to Emma and walked on with Joey and Maggie. We were all holding some boxes that weren't needed with some extra supplies inside.

Maggie brought her bike and wanted to ride home, so I took Joey's car. I still could not believe Mr. Gordon let him have the car.

I stuffed the boxes into the trunk and got in the car. I shivered and pulled my sweater tighter. It was freezing.

Joey got in the car and smiled. "This is going to be the best party ever!"

"Yeah, but I really do wonder how many people would come with their swimming costumes."

"You kidding?" He raised a brow. "They're going to get a chance to swim in the Morgan Manor. I'm going to bet everyone will bring their swimming costume."

"I guess."

Joey drove me home and left. I sighed. I could see my breath in the air. I was having second thoughts about this pool party.

****

Maggie dragged me to the party. I really was thinking of not going, but when my two BFFs wanted me to go, I couldn't refuse. Especially when Maggie pointed out that Emma would need all the help she could get.

So here I was, serving food to all the people who were too lazy to get off their bums. Joey was right. Almost everyone brought their swimsuits. I was the only one not dressed in a bikini like I was at the beach for the summer. I seriously wondered how anyone could be so exposed in this weather.