Okay, sorry that the May update is a little late. I’ve just been swamped. But here it is, so no more worries. Keep reading and reviewing, and I will keep posting. Deal? Good.

“Are you sure I look okay?” Zan murmured, checking her reflection for about the hundredth time in the full length mirror on the back of her door. She smoothed down her maroon dress again. It had spaghetti straps, and reached just above her knees. She was wearing plain black high heels on her feet. Her hair had been pulled back in pretty curls.

“You look absolutely stunning, dear.” Claire smiled broadly. She’d helped her step-daughter do her hair and makeup, and was as proud of Zan as any real mother could have been.

Zan graced her step-mother with a real smile. “Thanks.” She said.

“Well, are you ready then?” Claire picked herself up from where she had been sitting on the end of Zan’s bed. She was dressed in a black knee-length dress with long-sleeves and pearls around her neck. She looked every bit as stuffy and proper as Zan first thought, and she didn’t even mind anymore.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Zan agreed, smoothing down her curls one last time. It was the girliest she could remember looking in a very long time.

She followed her step-mother down the stairs and into the entrance hall. Her father and Brittany were waiting there, fully dressed and ready to go.

“Let’s hit the road.” Her father suggested.

They all climbed into the car and he drove them to the high school. They parked in the already crowded parking lot and headed inside.

“Zan!” Katie ran straight up to her friend when Zan walked in the door. Katie looked gorgeous in a green velvet dress with a square-cut neckline. She was wearing bright red sparkly pumps that reminded Zan of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

“Hey Katie.” Zan greeted her friend. She turned to her father and step-mother. “These are my parents.” It came out naturally, and she hardly even noticed she’d said it. “And this is my half-sister, Brittany. Guys, this is Katie.”

“Nice to meet you.” Katie said politely, shaking their hands.

“Likewise.” Claire smiled warmly. She was truly happy that her step-daughter had found some real friends so quickly.

“Well, we’d better go tune up.” Zan said, rolling her eyes at Katie as if to say, ‘Parents. What can you do with them?’ “I’ll meet you guys after the concert.”

“Alright. Good luck.” Her father called as she and Katie escaped.

“Your folks seem nice.” Katie commented as they walked on stage behind the curtain, where the chairs were arced up.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Zan agreed, scanning the crowd for a familiar blonde head.

“You brought your folks?” Freddy asked from behind her.

She whirled around, smiling. “Yeah, so what? You brought yours.”

“Yeah, I did.” He smiled back, then kissed her lightly on the lips. She smiled into their kiss. It was so nice to have somebody to hold you like this.

“Hey, this isn’t social hour!” Their band director snapped at them. “We’re about to perform! Warm up already!” So they did.

After the concert, Christmas Vacation officially began. Zan woke up late the following Monday, stretched luxuriously in her big, warm bed, then glanced at the clock. Nearly half past nine. She never slept that late.

She crawled out of bed and slid her feet into some fuzzy slippers she’d filched from Brittany. Her half-sister knew that she had them and didn’t care; she’d never actually worn them. Zan went downstairs, passing by her parents’ empty bedroom and Brittany’s occupied one. The only thing that would have made the holidays better was Brittany still being in school. But whatever. Zan could cope.

The telephone rang as she was in the kitchen, pouring herself a bowl of Lucky Charms. She answered it quickly, hoping to catch it before it woke Brittany up. “Hello?” She said, putting the box of cereal back in the pantry.

“Hey Zan, it’s Marta.” Marta said, sounding bright and cheerful.

“Hey, what’s up?” Zan answered, going to the refrigerator for the carton of milk. There were three different kinds: whole, 2, and soy. She chose soy.

“Well, a bunch of us are going out tonight. So you’ve gotta come too, okay?” Marta sounded extremely eager, even for her.

“Where are we going?” Zan questioned, settling down at the counter to eat her cereal. She made sure she got a marshmallow in each bite. That’s what made Lucky Charms so good.

“Well, there’s this music club that Dewey goes to a lot.” Marta admitted in a low, confiding voice. “You’re supposed to be eighteen to get in, but we’re gonna try and get in anyway. Dewey knows the manager or something.”

“You sure it’s not going to fall through?” Zan asked skeptically.

“Eh, it may.” Marta answered bluntly. “But even if it does, we’ll still have fun. We can go see a movie, or go to the skate park or something. Right?”

“Yeah, okay.” Zan nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Great. You need a ride?” Marta asked.

“I’ll catch one with Freddy.” Zan answered.

“Awesome. See you later.”

“Yeah, bye.” As soon as she hung up the phone, she dialed Freddy’s phone. It rang five times before the answering machine picked up. She didn’t bother leaving a message.

Seconds after she’d hung up, the phone rang again. “Hey Freddy.” She smiled when she answered it.

“Hey.” He sounded sleepy. “Jeez, you’re up early.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She shrugged, licking a marshmallow off her spoon. “Listen, everybody’s going out to some club tonight with Dewey, so I need a ride.”

“That’s fine.” Freddy agreed, sounding slightly more awake. “I’ll call Zach and figure out what time and exactly where.”

“Great. See you tonight then.” She kissed the phone, then hung up.

“You look… girly.” Brittany offered when Zan came down the stairs that evening at a quarter past eight.

“Is it too much?” Zan asked nervously. She was wearing blue jeans, tight blue jeans, with a hot pink belt. Her blouse was tight, hot pink, and hung off her bare shoulders. Her hair hung loose down her back, and she wore pumps instead of combat boots or Converse.

“I think you look beautiful, sweetheart.” Her dad said, looking up from where he was watching a Christmas movie on television with Claire. “What time will you be back?”

“I’m really not sure.” She answered. “But I’ll have my cell phone with me if you need to call me.”

“Check in with me at ten. And no later than eleven. You’re still only sixteen, young lady.” Her father was actually stern with her.

She couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll be home by eleven.” She promised. Then she turned and headed out the front door, pulling it shut behind her.

Freddy was waiting in his car at the end of her driveway. She hurried down, nearly toppling over in her high heels, and climbed into the front passenger seat.

“Hey.” She greeted him, leaning over and kissing him firmly on the lips.

“What time is it?” Zan shouted over the roar and pounding of the music. She leaned over Freddy to shout at Tomika, who was the only one wearing a watch.

“A quarter till midnight!” Tomika shouted back, checking her watch.

“Dammit. I was supposed to be home forty-five minutes ago.” She cursed, tugging her cell phone out of her back pocket. No missed calls. “Hm. I guess they must be asleep. Then they won’t care what time I come home.” She grinned, then went back to listening to the music.

It was nearing one when they finally left the club. Dewey bade them all goodnight, then drove home. He probably expected them all to do the same.

“Hey, my sister is having this huge party at my house because my parents are out of town.” Alicia said as they stood out front of the club, shivering in the December air. “We should go check it out.”

“How old is your sister?” Lawrence asked.

“Twenty.” Alicia answered. “Come on, let’s go.”

Alicia’s sister’s friends, it seemed, had managed to get hold of quite a bit of alcohol. It wasn’t long before all of them had a drink in their hands.

“You’re really pretty, you know.” Freddy slurred, his arms wrapped around Zan’s waist as they cuddled on the couch.

“And you’re drunk.” She laughed. Out of all of them, she’d drunk the most and managed to hold her liquor the best.

Suddenly the sound of sirens filled the house.

“Cops!” Somebody shouted, and there was an immediate scrambling for the exits.

Zan leaped to her feet, her hand still clutching Freddy’s, and the two of them took off after Katie and Zach, who were running for the back door. It was clogged with people streaming out into the grassy expanse of backyard, which ended in woods.

It was too clogged for them to get through. The cops caught up with them before they managed to escape.

Zan had a splitting headache by the time her father arrived to pick her up from the police station. It had to be close to four in the morning by this time, and the bright fluorescent lights were pounding at her skull painfully.

She sat in a hard-backed plastic chair, leaning against Katie. Katie was practically passed out. They were the only two left in the police station. Everyone else’s parents had already picked them up.

“Alexandria.” He said grimly, giving her a disappointed, furious look. She hadn’t even known he was capable of such a look. “Come on, we’re going home.”

“See you later.” She mumbled to Katie, which was really very funny. If her father kept up with this sort of attitude, she’d be grounded until the end of the school year.

She followed her father out into the parking lot. She’d lost her shoes at some point, probably in the scrabble to get out of Alicia’s house, but she hardly even noticed the cold. She climbed into the front passenger seat and let her head loll against the glass in the window.

“I’m very disappointed in you, Alexandria.” Her father said grimly to her. “I gave you very specific instructions. Be home by eleven. You understand that if you had done what I told you to do, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“God, yes, I understand. Can’t we do this another time?” She rubbed her temples wearily. She just wanted to go to bed now.

“No, we’re going to talk about this now.” He snapped. He sounded really angry. Angrier than she’d ever seen him before. “This is never going to happen again, do you hear me? Never. You’re grounded for the rest of your vacation from school. You’re going to stay home and do stuff with your family. And no seeing any of those friends from your band.”

“But dad, I have to see them! We have to have practice!” She blurted out, then grimaced. It was the first rule of dealing with parents. If you let them know how much you wanted something, the more power it gave them. Now she’d never get to go to practice.

“Well that’s just too bad.” Her father snapped, pulling into the driveway. “Now go to bed. I don’t want to see you for a long time.”

“I can do that.” She snapped, climbing out of the car and slamming the door shut. She stomped up the stairs and into her room, slamming that door shut as well.

I guess she’s backsliding, huh? Okay, well review please, and I’ll post another chappy!