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The winter air biting at Stacey’s cheeks matches the cold realization settling in her stomach. Just ninety-six hours ago, she was practically counting down the minutes, bouncing on the heels of her stylish boots in anticipation of Laine’s arrival. A whole week with her New York best friend sounded like a dream—a perfect slice of her old life brought right to the quiet, predictable suburbs of Stoneybrook. But that was four days ago. Four days of realizing that Laine hasn't just grown up; she has turned into an absolute snob.
From the second Laine stepped off the train, the atmosphere shifted. She immediately insisted on calling Stacey by her full name, Anastasia, delivering it with a sharp, performative roll of her tongue because she claims it is "way more grown-up." Stacey loathes it. Every time the heavy, formal syllables leave Laine’s mouth, Stacey feels a piece of her identity being erased, replaced by some fancy caricature she has no desire to be. Still, Stacey tries to remain optimistic. When she brings Laine to Stoneybrook Middle School for the day, she genuinely hopes for a bridge between her two worlds.
She shouldn’t have bothered.
Laine spends the entire morning sneering at the school rules, rolling her eyes at the dress code, and whispering loudly about how "quaint" everything is. By the third period, she successfully convinces Stacey to ditch study hall, dragging her down the hallway with an air of sophisticated rebellion that just feels exhausting. Lunch is even worse. Stacey had carefully arranged for them to sit with Pete Black, Rick Chou, and Austin Bentley, hoping to show Laine a good time. Pete is visibly infatuated, staring at Laine with wide, starstruck eyes, but Laine acts like a reeeal jerk. She picks at her food, drops passive-aggressive comments, and treats the boys like annoying younger siblings she is being forced to tolerate. She can’t be bothered to offer even a shred of basic politeness.
The tension only builds as the afternoon rolls in. After school yesterday, Stacey found herself standing by the lockers with Kristy Thomas. Kristy, who learned about xenogenders exactly two weeks ago, recently came out as leogender, proudly adopting she/xe pronouns. Right now, xe is absolutely pissed. Xe paces back and forth, xyr baseball cap pulled low, venting at top volume because Bart Taylor wants to stay home and watch a basketball game on TV instead of going to the annual SMS Valentine’s Day Dance with xyr.
"I mean, seriously!" Kristy fumes, xyr hands flying through the air. "A game? On Valentine's Day? It's totally bogus!"
Stacey nods sympathetically, but her attention is abruptly pulled away. OHHH SHIT.
Earlier in the day, Pete had finally gathered the courage to ask Laine to the dance, and to Stacey's surprise, Laine actually said yes. But the moment Kristy storms off down the hall with Mary Anne Spier, Stacey catches the sound of Laine’s sharp, nasal voice echoing from the alcove near the payphones. Laine is on the phone with King, her crowd back in the city. She is laughing loudly, making cruel, mocking fun of Pete’s outfit, his haircut, and the entire town of Stoneybrook. Listening to the vicious mimicry, something sours in Stacey’s chest. A heavy, cynical thought takes root: this entire dance is cursed. It has to be.
The curse only seems to gain momentum the following morning. In the quiet sanctuary of the school library, Mallory Pike and Ben Hobart get into an incredibly intense, incredibly dumb fight over a misplaced bookmark and who owes whom a slice of pizza. It escalates so quickly that by the time the librarian hushes them, they are whispering fiercely about calling the whole night off and not going to the dance together at all.
To top it all off, Mary Anne is harboring a deep, simmering fury toward Logan Bruno. They officially broke up eight days ago, and yesterday, their babysitting charges tried to orchestrate an elaborate, innocent scheme to get them back together. It failed miserably. Now, Mary Anne is practically vibrating with anger because Logan had the absolute nerve to suggest that maybe, just maybe, she should actually dance at this dance instead of hiding behind the punch bowl. The absolute nerve of him!
By Friday afternoon, Stacey is completely, utterly exhausted. She is extremely annoyed with Laine’s endless snide behavior, her restrictive, dramatic diet—"I really wanna lose five pounds before spring, Anastasia, the city style is so much more unforgiving"—and her relentless, exhausting obsession with her terrible-sounding boyfriend back in New York.
Which leads to right now. The Stoneybrook Middle School Valentine's Day Dance.
At first, things start off okay. The chilly evening air smells faintly of car exhaust and cheap perfume as the seven members of the Baby-Sitters Club, along with Laine and their respective dates, gather on the concrete steps in front of the school. Kristy, Mary Anne, and Mallory are going solo, standing in a protective, supportive cluster. Austin and Pete step forward, looking slightly awkward in their ironed shirts. Pete nervously extends a plastic box containing a corsage for Laine, while Austin offers one to Stacey. It’s a genuinely sweet gesture. Stacey smiles warmly, pinning hers on, but Laine barely glances at the delicate flowers, her lip curling into a faint, unimpressed pout as she gives a dismissive murmur.
The moment they step through the heavy double doors into the gymnasium, Laine begins to completely shit all over everything.
"Are those seriously paper streamers?" Laine asks, her voice cutting through the thumping bass of the pop music echoing from the speakers. "And oh my god, look at the sixth graders. They look like they dressed up in their parents' garage sale leftovers."
She doesn't stop. She tears apart the Top 40 tracks the student DJ is playing, mocks the bowls of pink punch and store-bought sugar cookies, and treats the entire gymnasium like a personal joke. Worst of all, she is a real dick to Pete. When he asks her to slow dance, she sighs loudly, rolls her eyes, and turns her back on him.
Within twenty minutes, she completely blows him off, leaving him standing entirely alone by the bleachers while she struts across the floor to dance with some cute, older-looking seventh-grader she spotted near the stage. Stacey stands near the gymnasium exit, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Her heart is hammering against her ribs, a volatile mix of embarrassment, protective anger for her friends, and a deep, aching disappointment. She looks across the crowded room, catching Claudia Kishi’s eye. Claudia looks stunning tonight, wearing a mismatched, brilliantly creative outfit with oversized heart earrings, looking like a living piece of modern art. Claudia gives Stacey a soft, deeply concerned look, a silent question of *are you okay?* written across her features.
Stacey swallows hard, the secret, burning affection she has carried for Claudia all winter flaring up in her chest. She can't keep pretending. She can't let Laine ruin this world, too. Marching across the gym floor, Stacey intercepts Laine just as she finishes her dance. She grabs Laine’s arm, pulling her into the quieter hallway near the water fountains.
"What is your problem?" Stacey demands, her voice shaking with restrained fury. "You have been a total asshole since the second you got here. Pete has been nothing but nice to you, my friends have tried to welcome you, and all you’ve done is act like you're too good for every single person in this town."
Laine crosses her arms, her expression hardening into a cold, defiant mask. "Oh, please, Anastasia. This place is a total joke. It's a baby town for babies. If you want to spend your life playing house with your little babysitting club, fine, but don't expect me to pretend this is cool. I want to go home. I demand to go back to New York. Tonight."
"Fine," Stacey snaps, the final thread of their childhood bond snapping cleanly in two. "Let's go."
Stacey is more than happy to oblige. She slips away to the payphone, her fingers trembling slightly as she dials her house. Within twenty minutes, Mrs. McGill pulls up to the school's curb, the station wagon's headlights cutting through the dark February night. The ride to the station is completely silent, thick with an unspoken, permanent finality. They arrive just in time, watching Laine buy her ticket, and board the 10:40 PM train back to New York City without so much as a real goodbye.
As the train screeches away from the platform, Stacey leans her head against the cool glass of the car window. A heavy wave of regret washes over her. In dealing with Laine’s drama, she has completely missed the BSC's Valentine Masquerade for the neighborhood kids—the event they had all worked so hard to plan. She feels like a terrible friend, a terrible club member, and an outsider all over again.
When Mrs. McGill drops her back off at the school so she can gather her things and help clean up, the gymnasium is already emptying out. The bright fluorescent lights are turned back on, casting a harsh, exposed glow over the deflated balloons and crumpled red napkins. Stacey sits on the bottom bleacher, pulling a small notebook and a pen from her purse. The realization settles into her bones with absolute clarity: she and Laine are probably never going to be friends again. And for the first time, she is completely okay with that.
With steady fingers, she writes Laine a brief, direct letter, explaining that they have simply grown into entirely different people. Reaching into her neckline, Stacey unclasps the delicate silver chain she has worn for years. She slides the shiny, jagged half of their "Best Friends" breakaway heart necklace off the chain, folding it carefully into the paper. It feels like a quiet, perfect touché. The heavy gymnasium doors creak open, and the sound of familiar, mismatched platform shoes echoes across the polished wood floor. Claudia walks out, her heart earrings swinging softly, her dark eyes filled with an immediate, fierce protective warmth the moment she spots Stacey sitting alone.
"Stacey," Claudia says softly, jogging over and dropping down onto the bleacher right next to her. "Are you okay? Your mom told us what happened when she came to get your stuff. Where's Laine?"
"On her way back to Manhattan," Stacey says, letting out a long, cleansing breath. She looks at Claudia, really looks at her—at the smudge of glitter on her cheek, the vibrant, unapologetic kindness that radiates from her. The contrast between Laine’s superficial coolness and Claudia’s genuine, beautiful soul makes Stacey’s chest ache with that familiar, secret pining. "I'm officially done with her, Claud."
Claudia reaches out, her warm fingers gently covering Stacey's hand. "Good. You deserve way better than how she was treating you. We all missed you tonight."
Just then, Mrs. McGill steps back into the gym lobby, waving her car keys to get Stacey’s attention. Seeing the two girls sitting so close together, she smiles warmly. "Stacey! If Claudia wants to come over, she can stay the night! I can call the Kishis right now!"
Stacey's heart does a sudden, erratic flip. She looks at Claudia, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink that has absolutely nothing to do with the winter cold. "Do you want to? A sleepover? Just the two of us?"
Claudia’s face lights up with a brilliant, genuine smile, her thumb lightly brushing against the back of Stacey's hand before she pulls away to grab her coat. "Are you kidding? Let me get my bag. I'll be right back."
Watching Claudia run toward the club members, Stacey slips the letter and the broken necklace into her purse, feeling lighter than she has in days. The Stoneybrook dance might have been an absolute disaster, but as she waits for the girl she is secretly, deeply falling for, Stacey decides that the night is turning out to be pretty perfect after all.