9781250209153

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ALSO BY KELLY QUINDLENLate to the Party
ABOUT THE AUTHORKelly Quindlen is the author of the young adult novel Her Name in the Skyand Late to the Party. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and a formerteacher, Kelly has had the joy of speaking to PFLAG groups and highschool GSAs. She currently serves on the leadership board of a non-profitfor Catholic parents with LGBT children. Kelly lives in Atlanta. You cansign up for email updates here.
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Begin ReadingTable of ContentsAbout
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For Mom, who always bounces back, a
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Tally Gibson was the first and only
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keep up, but she rolls easily off D
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Outside, in the senior parking lot,
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seen you that pissed off before. I
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shoulder and stalks toward the park
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2It takes a moment for my senses to
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own phone.My mom shows up fifteen m
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“Mom, don’t—” Irene tries.
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“What’s the damage?” Dad asks
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“Do we have to?”Dad tilts his h
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“Remember when she didn’t speak
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3The next morning, I pull into Iren
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She snorts. “Right. You only impl
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then she and my sisters queued up a
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I wince, all thought of Danielle’
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fish my notebook out of my backpack
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The whole team looks at me, their m
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Still, that afternoon, before the e
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This time, when the cheerleaders sh
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Now she glares at me. “Would you
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I open my mouth to say something, b
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on her. But the truth is, I was afr
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“Ding-dong, the witch is dead,”
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“So?”“So that’s all she eve
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sidelines. The cheerleaders break o
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hands, but she takes a practiced si
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“You’re picky as hell,” Honey
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Kevin drives us since he’s the on
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Irene narrows her eyes. “And why
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She purses her lips. “For how lon
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Thora snorts. “With her? She hit
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anything when I came out. Just try
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Candlehawk boyfriend to turn our wa
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acknowledge her sexuality (“You g
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Me: Yeah, so?Only a small, distant
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“She thinks it’s a dead end,”
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“Buck, don’t say ‘shit’ in
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“Why didn’t you keep them movin
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we’ve ever drawn—maybe the only
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“Yeah, I know, I’m just conside
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Just when I’m about to deliver th
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It’s the first time she’s said
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“Scottie, we’ve been meaning to
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I shake my head. This girl never ce
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“No. I’m trying to point out th
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Tally looks stricken. She tries to
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Charlotte, he pops a video onto the
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Irene snorts derisively. She falls
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squat in the center. It’s one of
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Honey-Belle stares meaningfully at
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Prescott. The Candlehawk boyfriend.
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Sometime later, I find myself stand
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Freaking weirdo. I wash my face and
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is Dirty Dancing. She plays that so
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again?” the queer soccer goalie s
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I shake my head in the darkness, bu
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When we pull into her driveway, she
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“I’m renaming our lunch special
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me up in a hug, and everyone scream
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But it’s not enough for Honey-Bel
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“You played great tonight,” she
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13Holiday break begins with a rains
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“That was … whatever,” I say,
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When Mass ends, I’m eager to leav
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a sacred tradition for them? Has sh
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She hands me a perfectly wrapped bo
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Her eyes flicker in the glow of the
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“Here, you little brat,” Thora
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Her eyes bug out the slightest bit.
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I can’t remember the last time I
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“You played really great in the C
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would be too hard to switch schools
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15The party is at some hip, boxy mo
Page 153 and 154: She stares at me, unamused. “I ca
Page 155 and 156: I have a sudden, strange sensation
Page 157 and 158: “Go run outside,” Danielle says
Page 159 and 160: “Why were you there in the first
Page 161 and 162: “Is everything okay?” Mom asks
Page 163 and 164: By the time I stop sobbing, I’m s
Page 165 and 166: Mom smooths my hair back from my fo
Page 167 and 168: I point at Danielle. “That’s wh
Page 169 and 170: “Good memory,” she says flatly.
Page 171 and 172: “Yes.” She smiles sadly. “Loo
Page 173 and 174: 17I never anticipated how mundane t
Page 175 and 176: sprinting down the field, their lun
Page 177 and 178: SAOY?”“Yeah, I am.” Her eyes
Page 179 and 180: “Darius Hart … Michael Lottke
Page 181 and 182: Which, go figure, is the exact thin
Page 183 and 184: The next day, I seek out Charlotte
Page 185 and 186: 18I find Honey-Belle before school
Page 187 and 188: The woman’s eyebrows jump. “Her
Page 189 and 190: The championship game dawns on a co
Page 191 and 192: And then the buzzer blares. It’s
Page 193 and 194: The stands go haywire. People are l
Page 195 and 196: An idea strikes me. “Hey … what
Page 197 and 198: 19Life settles into a calmer pace o
Page 199 and 200: It’s a beautiful March day when w
Page 201 and 202: ACKNOWLEDGMENTSI had so much fun wr
Page 203: bottom of my heart.
Page 207 and 208: Copyright © 2021 by Kelly Quindlen
Page 209: About the AuthorCopyright
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