One Perfect Year at Stevenson High

Chapter 11

Adora rode in the backseat, letting the rush of air through the open window dry her damp hair as she listened to Bow and Glimmer bicker about what movies they were going to watch that night.

"C'mon, Bow," Glimmer whined from the front passenger seat. "Slumber parties were made for scary movies."

Without taking his eyes off the road, Bow shook his head. "Well this slumber party was made for romantic comedies, so too bad."

Groaning, Glimmer swiveled to look back at Adora. "What do you want to watch? We need a tie breaker here."

"Sorry, Glimmer," Adora laughed. "I think the birthday boy gets to make the rules today."

Bow beamed victoriously and winked at her in the rear-view mirror. "Thank you, Adora!

"Boooo!" Glimmer slumped back down, defeated.

A short while later, Bow pulled into the driveway of a large, stately old home in a neighborhood Adora had never been to before. She gazed wide-eyed down the wide street lined with towering oak trees that shaded neatly manicured lawns and two-storey homes. Compared to the busy, cramped street where Adora had spent most of her life, this place was quiet and peaceful.

"Wow," she breathed as she shouldered her bag and followed Bow and Glimmer up the walk. The front doors of Bow's home opened to reveal two men waiting at the threshold.

"Welcome back, kids!" one of the men said, shining the same bright smile that Bow often wore. His dark eyes sparkled over a pair of half-moon glasses and his long hair was fashioned into dreadlocks. "How was the beach?"

"It was awesome," Bow replied as the men pulled him into a tight hug.

"And who do we have here?" asked the second man. He was shorter with a neat mustache, and he eyed Adora curiously.

Bow glanced back and grinned. "This is Adora, the newest member of Vocal Rebellion! Adora, these are my dads, Lance and George."

Adora wasn't used to meeting parents. She thrust a hand out awkwardly as a nervous laugh bubbled at her lips. "Hi, I'm Adora. Err, wait, Bow just said tha—"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence before George and Lance pull her into a crushing hug as well.

At the same moment, the convoy of cars carrying the rest of the party pulled up to the house. George and Lance ushered everyone inside, where a plenty of pizza and ice cream was waiting. Adora was mortified when, despite Bow having explicitly told everyone not to bring gifts, the others proceeded to shower him with wrapped boxes and ribbon-laden bags overflowing with tissue paper.

"I'm so sorry, Bow," she fretted during a brief moment when she was able to pull him away from the others. "I didn't bring you a gift and I feel terrible about it."

"Are you kidding?" Bow said. "You're the only one who listened to me. Besides — the fact that you actually came if gift enough for me."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He looped his arm around Adora's and pulled her toward the kitchen. "Now come on, let's get some ice cream."

The whole group spent the night spread out like a game of Tetris made of sleeping bags on the living room floor. Adora half-watched the cheesy rom com Bow picked, letting her attention get pulled away by one conversation after another. At one point, as she was listening to Mermista tell everyone about the time Seahawk got them kicked out of the Dolphin Club social, Adora felt her phone buzz. She pulled it from her pocket to find an alert — Lonnie had just posted a new picture. Adora tapped the notification. A photo filled the screen: Lonnie had taken a selfie in the mall food court, and her grinning face took up the bottom right corner of the photo. Over her shoulder, Catra, Scorpia, Kyle, and Rogelio squeezed into the frame. Catra looked bored, her pink tongue peeking between her lips as she flipped the camera off. Scorpia's arms were wrapped around Catra's middle in a tight and unrelenting hug.