The next day at lunch Kim Jennie walked up to our group. Jennie of the sparkling smile, gorgeous clothes, and awesome bowler group. I actually wasn't sure about that last category - we hadn't stuck around the alley to find out, but I assumed she was since she was athletic. She was the star soccer player at our school.

"Suzy," she said like we spoke all the time. "I hear you're throwing a party."

"What? Who said that?" I asked.

"When someone wins the lottery, they throw a party."

I laughed. "You know a lot of lottery winners?"

"Yes. I know one." She pointed at me. "And she's going to throw a party."

"You are?" Irene asked. Her eyes were big and full of hope as she stared at Jennie. I found myself nodding my head.

"You're right," I said. "I am throwing a party."

Jisoo coughed. "You are?"

"Yes." Why shouldn't I? Everyone at school already knew. And they wanted to celebrate with me. Irene had claimed my birthday wasn't a real party because I'd only invited three people. And she was right. It wasn't an anything because not even those three people showed up.  I had a real party to throw. Plus, I wanted to make Irene happy. "Spread the word."

Jennie took a pen out of her backpack and wrote her phone number on the notebook I was holding. "Text me the details and I'll get to sharing."

"Invite your friends," Irene called out to Jennie as she walked away. "Hanbin and Rosé and Lisa and everyone else!"

Jennie smiled at Irene over her shoulder and then was gone.

"See, she's not sinister," Irene said at the same exact time Jisoo said, "See, sinister."

They looked at each other and laughed.

"So ... a party, huh?" Jisoo said.

"It will be fun. You guys will come, right?"

"We'll be there," Irene said, and I hoped she spoke for both of them.

☘ 𝔏𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔬 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢 ☘

In the parking lot after school that day, Jennie appeared once again by my side. She had her hair up in a high ponytail and alethic shorts on. This time her friend Park Rosé was with her.

"Hey, Suzy," Jennie said. "You know Rosé?"

"No. Hi. Nice to meet you."

"I was thinking about earlier," Jennie said. "And I hope I didn't pressure you into having a party. If you don't want to have one, you don't have to."

"No, it wasn't you at all." If anything had pressured me into it, it was Irene's puppy dogs eyes. "it will be fun."

"It will be fun. You've never come to any of my parties but I think you would've liked them."

"They're awesome," Rosé said.

I almost said that I hadn't been invited to any of their parties. I held my tongue. Because the truth was, even if I had been invited, I probably wouldn't have gone. But one party wasn't going to hurt anything. It would be like a rite of passage for me. Something I could say I did at least once in high school. It would help me live a little, like Jimin had suggested I needed to.

We continued walking and soon we reached my car.

"Is this you?" Jennie asked, patting the back of the KIA.

"Yes."

"You haven't gotten a new car yet?"

"No. I'm going to, though."

She nodded thoughtfully. "What are you going to get?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it."

"My dad owns a car dealership."

"A really nice one," Rosé added.

"Really?"

"He could give you a discount if I tell him you're my friend."

"Friend?"

"New friends, right?"

I smiled.

"Not that you need a discount, but ..." She trailed off.

"No, yeah, that would be great. I still like discounts."

"Text me and maybe I can meet you out at the dealership Saturday."

"I work Saturday mornings but yes, after that would be great."

"Okay, I have to go. Coach always gets mad when we're late for some reason." Jennie smiled, and she and Rosé jogged away.

I climbed into my old car and sat behind the steering wheel for a moment. It was weird going from invisible to suddenly not. Doors that had been closed before now seemed wide open. All kinds of doors I hadn't expected.

Weird ... and kind of nice.

☘ 𝔏𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔬 𝔏𝔬𝔳𝔢 ☘

My mom was standing in the kitchen when I got home. A plate of cut-up veggies sat on a plate on the counter and she pointed at it.

"What's this?" I asked.

"An after-school snack."

"Cucumbers and peppers?"

"You like cucumbers and peppers."

"If you're going to go all homemaker on me, can I request homemade chocolate brownies instead?"

She laughed and the faucet to wash her hands.

I grabbed a slice of cucumber. "Does this mean you officially quit your job?"

"I did," she said with a happy sigh. "And I got so much done around the house today. It was nice. I even had time to read." She twisted off the faucet and grabbed a dish towel hanging on the oven handle.

"That's great." I took a bite of the cucumber and started to walk away. "Oh." I stopped just before I exited the kitchen. "I'm going to have a party next Friday. Is that okay?"

"Here?"

"No ..." Everyone wouldn't fit in our house. I hadn't thought about that part. Where was this going to be? "I'm not sure where. But everyone at school is so happy for me and I wanted to celebrate with them."

"A party, huh?" She smiled. "It's about time you did some normal teenagers do."

"What is this 'normal' you speak of, Mom?"

"Apparently it took you winning the lottery to become normal."

"Funny. Really funny." I waved the cucumber at her and went to my room.

I sat down at my desk. I had never thrown a party consisting of more than a couple people in my life. And now, for my first time, I was expected to throw the most amazing party ever? I was so screwed.

I powered up my computer and typed: Awesome party ideas.

Lists and lists of kid party ideas came up - pin the tail on the donkey, magic shows, princess cakes, nothing that would work. Even if I were a kid, I didn't think any of those ideas fit my search criteria.

This time I entered: Epic adult party ideas.

And immediately regretted it. I quickly exited out of the screen. I tapped the keyboard in thought, then typed: Amazing party location in Busan.

After scanning through the list for twenty minutes, I'd found my place. It was going to be more than epic. It was going to be unforgettable.

I took out my phone and called Jisoo. She picked up after few rings.

"Hey, what did you get for number ten on the Calculus homework?" she asked. "I can't figure it out."

"Oh, I haven't looked yet." Where was my backpack, anyway? I stood and looked around my room. I must've left it in my car.

"Well, call me when you do because I need to talk through it."

"Yeah, okay."

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Planning a party."

"Ah. You're planning Irene's party?" she asked.

I laughed. "Was it that obvious?"

"Even I couldn't have said no to her pleading eyes."

"You'll come though, right?"

"Yes. Only because I'm curious."

"Funny. But you won't be laughing when you hear my plans. It will be amazing. I found a yacht that rents by the night."

"A yacht?" Jisoo asked.

"Yes, a huge yacht."

"As in a big fancy boat that goes on the ocean?"

"Oh, is that what a yacht is? Never mind, I'm not sure what I found then. Yes! A yacht. It will be like no other party anyone's been to before. That's why it will be awesome."

"That is pretty cool. How much does renting a yacht for a night cost?"

"Twenty thousand dollars."

I heard a gasp over the phone and immediately regretted telling her. "It's just one night. One big purchase. I've done the math, Jisoo. Believe me, I have. If I only had ten million when all was said and done, I could live off the interest of that forever."

"You're going to spend twenty thousand dollars?"

"No! Of course not. But come one, will you help me make this amazing and not worry about money right now? For once, we don't have to worry about money."

"It sounds like you already made it amazing, but yes, I'm here for you. Why did I doubt that my overachiever friend wouldn't be able to overachieve at throwing a party?"

"Imagine what the two of us will accomplish together."

"We'll blow their minds."