Favorite Crime•The Summer I Turned Pretty

summer night

"Steven, I swear to God, if you look at that phone one more time, I'm putting it in the screen basket." Laurel warned as we all sat at the dinner table.

"It's just, we want to see your beautiful faces. Can dinner be a screen-free zone? You know, like the olden days." Susannah asked. She always found a way to make things sound nicer.

When Steven didn't respond Jere scoffed.

"Steven." He said snatching his phone and tossing it perfectly into the basket.

"Okay, when did you get so athletic?" I asked and he just smirked.

"He started working out last year, never lets us forget it." Steven said and Conrad just let out a light laugh.

"Oh, you're just jealous because Jere has a better body than you." Belly said and Steven's face fell.

"Uh, no, actually, it's all about the lean look now. Otherwise, you can't wear tailored suits." He tried, but failed to defend as everyone at the table laughed at him.

"When are you leaving for training camp, man?" Steven said looking down the table at Conrad.

"Uh, he quit football." Jeremiah answered for him. I could tell by the look on Conrad's face he thought Jeremiah did that on purpose, because he knew the reaction he'd get.

The plan always was that we'd go to Stanford together. Conrad and I have dreamed of it since we were kids. We kept up the grades, we did the extracurriculars, and we came from good families, we were shoo-ins.

I knew I changed this past year, and I knew I also let go of my responsibilities, but what I didn't know is Conrad had fell as well.

"You can't quit football." I said flatly as the room went silent.

"You quit cheerleading." Conrad said with a shrug as he kept his eyes on his plate.

"What about Stanford?"

"What about it? There are other schools." He said and I scoffed.

"No there isn't, not to us."

"I'm sure you two will have plenty of time this summer to discuss college plans, but all this talk about tailored suits reminded me. I have a surprise for you girls." Susannah said as she got up and handed us each an envelope.

"So, this is why you had to stop by - the country club." Laurel said with a dry laugh as Belly and I opened the envelopes.

"I wrangled you two invitations to be a debutante." She said with a bright smile.

"Is that the thing where the girls wear white dresses and curtsy?" Belly asked and she nodded.

"It's when a girl comes of age and is presented to society. I-I know it sounds silly, but I swear it's fun. Girls come from all over New England to Cousins just to be a part of it. You two will make so many new friends." Susannah said and you could see how excited she was about it. There was no way Belly or I could say no.

"I cannot believe you are still holding on to this archaic dream." Laurel said not holding back her eye roll.

"No, it used to be about finding a husband, but now it's about networking. They teach you leadership skills, like how to market yourself,and it benefits charity. It's, um, like a bat mitzvah." She defended as Laurel stepped back in from the kitchen with a fresh bottle of wine.

"It is not like a bat mitzvah. There is nothing religious about a debutante ball." Laurel said laughing.

"The whole deb scene is bullshit. It's for sheep." Conrad added to the conversation and Jeremiah agreed.