Brunch was apparently a staple of Novah's life, and I was required to attend on our day off from school. She and Jules picked me up, and I was surprised Jules was wearing a tuxedo, and Novah wore a dark purple dress and a cute little hat with lace.

Jules's older sister, a senior named Dottie, sat in the passenger seat, so maybe that had something to do with the sudden wardrobe change. I'd only met Dottie once or twice, but I knew she and Novah had been dating for a year. She had fiery red hair and wore a cute little gingham sundress.

Climbing in beside Tasha in the back seat, I found Jules, Novah, and Dottie weren't the only ones dressed up. Tasha's glossy hair was braided in a plait down the back, and she wore a long red blouse with a flowing black skirt. Her feet were tucked into sparkly silver pumps compared to my Converse, which were still splattered with green paint from the flying football fiasco.

"So... brunch is more of a formal thing..." I said, hoping I'd at least find a tube of lip gloss at the bottom of my purse. Alas, no such luck. I was stuck in ripped jeans and my Star Wars T-shirt with the cartoon of a fallen AT-AT.

I'd assumed we were grabbing a bite to eat and going straight to rehearsal. Jules even wore gloves, though they were black fishnet and fingerless.

Jules laughed. "Brunch is as fancy as we desire. We have an hour and a half before rehearsal starts. It's a miracle Tasha's mom even let her out of the house."

"She thinks it's a study group, and I can do it since I'm not contagious anymore," Tasha said. "But I'd never pass up on brunch with my girls."

"Let's get this party started," Dottie smiled. 

Jules drove us to a cute hole-in-the-wall bakery I'd never been to called Sweetie Mimi's Donuts and Creamery. The place wasn't too busy. An older woman was filling donut orders. Jules went up to the counter and ordered a bunch of things while Dottie took us to a reserved table.

When Jules joined us, they carried a plate of donuts, a plate of toast strips, and cute jams and jellies in little tins painted in cow print. Dottie seized the donut plate and promptly began pulling a vegan glazed donut apart.

"Mimi's Donuts are the best," Tasha said. "I wish my mother let me come more often."

"The mini quiches and frittatas will take her a bit to whip up since she doesn't make those in advance," Jules said. 

"I just wish they'd sell ice cream before eleven," Novah said. "So we'll have to settle for brunch instead."

"Sad," Dottie said. "But three cheers for Mimi."

Jules got fresh coffee for each of us at the counter, and I buttered a strip of toast. I'd never eaten a fancy brunch at a restaurant. It was pretty relaxing until the door to the restaurant flew open, and a familiar voice made me want to curl under the table and hide.

"I'm telling you, this place has the best frittatas in the world," Samantha said as I turned to see her and Juan walk through the door.

Shrinking in my seat, I hoped they wouldn't see us. Jules blanched, and Tasha stared open-mouthed. Only Dottie and Novah seemed unaffected by the daunting presence of Samantha Chance.

"Way better than some retro cafe," she said, smiling at the woman behind the counter. "I'll have a feta and ricotta frittata. I don't actually want the spinach in mine, but can it be on the side? Hold the peppers, and if any bacon lands in my dish, you'll probably have to remake it because bacon is totally not vegetarian."

The woman sighed like she was used to the antics of Samantha Chance and looked at Juan. "And you?"

"I forgot," Samantha interrupted. "I also would like a decaf half-fat latte with a splash of soy and no whip."

Juan looked a little flabbergasted but casually ordered a donut, muffin, and black coffee.

"I can't believe he's dating Samantha," Tasha said. "Like I didn't believe Carson when he told me."

"Yeah, well, let's just hope she's too occupied to notice us," Jules said.

We weren't that lucky. The moment Samantha went to look for a table, she spotted us. She waved and dragged Juan over.

"Wow," she said. "Fancy meeting all of you here. Tasha, it's been ages! I suppose you're feeling better?"

"Well enough," Tasha said.

"Juan, honey, drag that table over so we can sit with our friends," Samantha said, gesturing to a nearby empty table.

And just like that, our fun brunch came to a crashing halt. Juan pulled the tables together, and they joined us. We couldn't tell her to leave. The shop was too small for her to avoid us. We were trapped unless we decided to make an abrupt and rude exit.

Tasha seemed the most uncomfortable. She began meticulously spreading apricot jelly on a slice of toast and trying to ignore the conversation about animal rights that Samantha had begun with Dottie.

"I mean, I can't believe that a lovely place like this donut shop would even consider having meat on the menu, Dot," Samantha said. "A good brunch can be meatless."

"Some people like ham in their quiche or bacon on their donuts," Dottie said. "I'm not trying to make a statement."

"Well, my cousin Jacqueline just launched this fabulous faux fur purse line," Samantha said. "Some of them even look exotic, like tigers and giraffes."

"I don't need a faux purse," Dottie rolled her eyes. 

"Besides, fur on purses is a little tacky," Novah added. "It's asking for attention."

Jules blew their cheeks out. "As fascinating as this conversation is, can we discuss something a little less niche, like school?"

"The football team seemed to do well against Westside the other night," Tasha said. "I got to listen to it on the radio."

"Jack did play well," Jules said.

Juan shot them a dirty look. "Do we have to sing his praises even when he's not around?"

Jules glared at Juan. "Well, sorry if Jack's the only person on the football team I actually know. Makes him easy to root for."

"Make new friends," Juan spat back.

"Woah," I said. "Take it easy. This is supposed to be fun. Tasha, maybe you can give Samantha some tips about playing Celia."

Tasha looked at me like I was crazy, but I just smiled. It seemed safer than Samantha on her soapbox or Juan on his anti-Jack crusade.

"I mean, should Celia really just get together with the awful guy that kicked out his brother?" Samantha asked.

"That is how Shakespeare wrote it," Tasha said. "It's not like you can rewrite a classic."

"But wouldn't it be fun if we gave it a cool modern twist?" Samantha asked. "I mean, like having the girls reject the guys, or they decide, nah, this isn't the time for marriage. Let's go on an adventure."

"Isn't that the ending of Mama Mia?" Jules asked.

I resisted the urge to smile as Tasha shot me an SOS look across the table. Luckily, I didn't have to devise a clever response because the food arrived.

The mini quiches and frittatas were hot and fresh. I dug into one of the ham quiches and took another strip of toast.

"Looks amazing," Samantha said. "I'd ask you for a bite, Rita, but I'm afraid you ordered a ham quiche."

"I'm sure our food is coming soon," Juan said. "If you wanted to eat faster, we should have stopped by my sister's cafe."

"Well, there isn't anything on that menu that is vegetarian that isn't fried," Samantha said. "And I don't like grease on my food."

"And yet we're at a donut shop," Juan muttered under his breath.

I couldn't help but agree with him, except Samantha hadn't ordered a donut, so I supposed she wasn't actually eating anything fried.

Samantha grumbled as her coffee order was brought out, and she tested it with a stirrer. Once she had a few sips, though, she didn't seem to have any complaints.

"How has catching up on school been so far, Tasha?" Jules asked.

"Not being able to go to physics has its limitations," Tasha said. "Teaching myself hasn't been easy."

"Maybe you could ask Juan to tutor you," Samantha said. "He's like so good. Totally got me through the unit on force."

Juan set a hand in Samantha's. "Tasha has my number. If she wants my help, all she has to do is ask."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Helping Samantha with her homework was how he started cheating on Shayna. It probably wasn't a good idea to test fate again.

"Or you could ask the kids with the photographic memory," Novah casually twirled the stirrer in her coffee. 

"No offense, Novah," Samantha said. "But when was the last time you turned in a homework assignment."

Novah blushed. She was smart and remembered everything she read, but Novah tended not to finish anything that she didn't complete in class. 

"I hear Kai is at the top of the class," Jules said, steering the conversation away from Novah. "And he and Shayna were studying together before the last test."

Juan's ears turned red. Kai hadn't bragged about it, but it was pretty common knowledge after one of his neighbors snapped a photo of her car at his house. Rumors about people like Shayna tended to spread like wildfire.

"Think Parker will be at today's rehearsal?" Samantha asked.

Dottie shook her head. "I heard he had to head back to college. Pretty cool that he visited your rehearsal. I hadn't seen much of him since he graduated last May."

Jules glared at Dottie. I wondered if maybe Dottie was also a huge fan of Shayna's brother, and they didn't approve.

"At least Parker was tolerable," Juan said. "He never looked down on us basketball guys. He joined the team and was always a team player at practice."

I didn't think that Jack looked down on anyone. He seemed to know everyone at school's name and didn't exclusively hang out with the other jocks. I hadn't known him as long as Juan, but I'd never really seen the sides of Jack he usually described.

Tasha set down her fork. Her mini quiche had already disappeared. "Well, I don't know about you girls, but my mother will start to worry before long."

I nodded. "We can box up the rest of the food."

Tasha and I walked up to the counter to ask for to-go boxes. When we returned, Novah, Dottie, and Jules helped us pile in the extra donuts and frittatas. We said our goodbyes and piled back into Jules's battered van.

"Sorry to rush everyone out," Tasha said. "My mom texted me, which seemed like a good enough excuse."

"Not complaining," Jules said. "I didn't realize Samantha was a brunch fan too."

Jules started the car, and we drove Tasha around the back of her house. We dropped Dottie off at Jules's house, and then Jules headed to the theater since it was nearly time for rehearsal.

The theater was unlocked, which wasn't too unusual. What was strange was that Kai, Hugh, and Carson all sat in the theater, but Anton was nowhere to be found.