Normal Gossip - S3 Ep2: The Adventures of Flat Margaret with Jessica Goodman

Episode Date: September 14, 2022

Writer Jessica Goodman joins us for a tale of a One Direction concert weekend gone wrong.  Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicagoodman and buy her books!  You can support Normal Gossip directly bybuying merch or becoming a Friend or a Friend-of-Friend at supportnormalgossip.com. Episode transcript here. Follow the show on Instagram @normalgossip, and if you have gossip, email us at [e-mail] or leave us a voicemail at 26-79-GOSSIP. Normal Gossip is hosted by Kelsey McKinney (@mckinneykelsey) and produced by Alex Sujong Laughlin (@alexlaughs). Credits by Shira Belén Buchsbaum.

Hey, quick favor. We are conducting an audience survey. We'd be really grateful if you could take just a few minutes and answer it. Please visit survey.prx.org slash gossip to take the survey today. That's survey.prx.org slash gossip. Thank you. This is why you really shouldn't travel or do big exciting things with people you don't know. Hi, and welcome to Normal Gossip. I'm Kelsey McKinney. In each episode of this podcast, we're going to bring you an anonymous morsel of gossip from the real world. Today, I have with me as a little treat, Jessica Goodman. Jessica Goodman is the New York Times bestselling author of They'll Never Catch Us, They Wish They Were Us, and the counselors. Jess, welcome to the show. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for having me. I cannot even

begin to explain how excited I am to be here and also to hear the gossip. I'm thrilled that you're here. Do you want to start with the most basic question of all and just tell me what your relationship to gossip is? Yes. I mean, thank you for asking. You're welcome. I would say that my relationship to gossip is longstanding, fruitful, and very important to me and my identity. I definitely identify as a low stakes gossip, I would say. It's been this way. I've always been interested in what's happening, what the goings on are, and who's doing what and where. And my mom has all of my childhood assignments stuffed away. She loves me very much. Recently, or maybe a couple years ago, she found this piece of paper that I drew in second grade

that was like, what do you want to be when you grow up? And on one side of the piece of paper, I wrote that I wanted to be a journalist, and on the other side, I wrote that I wanted to be an author and write books. Wow. Congratulations on achieving both of your childhood dreams. Thank you. It feels good. This is just a humble, not even a humble, it's just a brag. You're just bragging. Great job. I'm just bragging. But on the journalism side, it says that it says something like, I want to be a journalist because I want to know all the gossip before it happens. Yeah, same. And yeah, and I think that's how a lot of journalists start out, because we just want to know what's up. We're nosy, we're inquisitive, we're curious.

And so gossip has always been a part of my, I guess, personal and professional life. How did you know as a child that journalists were big gossips? Like, where did you gather this information? Honestly, it's a little confusing because what I drew was not of like a newspaper reporter or anything. It was of like a newscaster reading the traffic on Long Island where I'm from. So I don't know why I assumed that if you covered traffic, you also knew gossip, but you know, maybe, maybe I watched like a TV show or a movie or something. But I don't know how I knew, but I think I just felt it in my bones. Also, my relationship to gossip has transformed in the past year or so because I co-wrote this book with Dumois, which is coming out in November. It's

called A Non-Please, which if you follow Dumois, you know what that means. Keep the goss anonymous. But so as part of that book, I've really been steeped in the world of celebrity gossip working with the person who is Dumois. Yeah, can you tell us first a little bit what it's like working with a gossip celebrity and then second, how that has like influenced your work on the book? Yeah, well, we wrote the book together, you know, by doing a series of like long calls, and the book is a novel based on their life running this account. So it's like a novelized version of that. Yeah, and so I've learned a lot about like what it's like to run a celebrity gossip account. And let me tell you, it's pretty wild. Yeah, what have you learned? Is there anything

you can share with us as a little sneak peek? I mean, I think what's pretty wild about it is that like Dumois regularly interacts with celebrities who are either like trying to get their own gossip out there, snuff their own gossip out or like set the record straight in a lot of ways. So like I've never seen their DMs or their inbox, but like I can only imagine how chaotic it is and how full of like morsels and nuggets and craziness. I know someone who recently like an A-lister slid into their DMs to compliment something they had written. And that person like did not follow them at the time. And I like this has really freaked me out because I'm like, oh my god, the celebrities are on Instagram. Like in the same way that you and I are like snooping around on Instagram,

like the celebrities are there. Yes, they are. And you know, of course there are Finstas, but I get the sense that a lot of celebrities just like hang out in their regular Instagram and like DM people like Dumois. So my relationship to gossip in that way has changed because I've really been like thinking hard and deeply about like what it means to gossip about celebrities and you know, with celebrities in a lot of ways. And like I've been thinking a lot about like why people are interested in celebrity gossip in that way because you know, like thinking about like motivations for characters and things like that. And let me tell you, gossip, it is hot and spicy and the people want it as you know, Kelsey McKinney post a normal gossip.

We love drama in this family. And I think it's so interesting that you say that like the celebrities are involved in this account, right? So like when you're having these conversations, you're having conversations with someone who has essentially inverted a classic power dynamic, right? Where like usually you assume celebrities are like the ones with the platform and the ability to say whatever they want and the ability to kind of, you know, drive thousands of stands to action at any moment. And yet you have someone like Dumois who can like completely upend that natural order, which is kind of fascinating to me. It's super fascinating, especially in our Instagrammified world where celebrities have really taken the power away from some of the more

traditional and longstanding sources of celebrity information like magazines and you know, TV and newspapers and tabloids in a lot of ways because you know, you and I have both worked in the magazine space and like a lot of celebrity profiles are now written by friends of celebrities or in like a different sort of style than they had been where once a celebrity profile was like the end all be and now celebrities have their own platforms in a lot of ways. And so, you know, the whole concept around celebrity gossip has really changed in the Instagram world. And obviously, I think Dumois at the forefront of that. So it was really like my little gossip loving little body brain heart was just really excited to work on on this book with them.

As a fiction writer, I do want to ask you about, you know, most of your first three books are all YA, which means that they're dealing with high schoolers high schoolers and like late high schoolers high schoolers famously obsessed with gossip cannot get enough of it. How famously obsessed they are. How have you like used that thought about it in approaching those stories? Oh my god, that's such a great question because gossip was like the cornerstone of my high school experience. Well, I think for good or for evil, I think for both like there's so your I mean, there's so many ways that gossip can be a plot point because I mean, I write stories about young women mostly who have really strong and complicated female friendships and those female

friendships are often very important like plot points, you know, and what happens based on how these these girls are interacting with one another and their friendships. And I mean, when you're a young person, if you find out that your best friend has talked shit about you or or told someone something that you told them in confidence, highest stakes on the planet, you know, every your entire life is ruined. And or at least it seems that way to you at the time. And I have I have been in this situation where I have told somebody something that I shouldn't have. And I've also been in the situation where somebody has told something that I share with them in confidence. And in both in all those times, my world was over, you know, until until everybody

moved on. And I think that like when you're writing about young people, especially teenagers, the stakes are so high, even without, you know, grade A level, you know, traditional drama, it's just high because you're so emotional at that age. And things feel so intense. And so I love writing teenagers. And I love writing teenagers who love to gossip, because there's so much drama and mischief that they can get into just by like having a game of telephone by accident. I'm laughing because all three of your books so far are also about a murder. So it's like very funny to hear you say the highest stakes in the world are gossip, right? Like, oh, I mean, let's be real, though, all of those murders could have been avoided without gossip.

Without gossip. So with somebody who loves gossip, perhaps my work is is a is a warning to young people. Just one big flashing on sites that's like, don't gossip or your friends might die. To transition us into today's story and speaking of something that teen girls often like, have you ever liked any boy bands? Yes. Definitely. Which ones? I would say that I am team Backstreet Boys for sure. I also went through I also went through a phase where, you know, I was born in the 90s. And so Backstreet Boys in sync was like my vibe, but very much very much a Backstreet Boys kind of gal. But I also went through a phase where I was into like old school music. And so like the blocks seemed like very cool and ironic to me. And I actually really liked

So you are a boy band aficionado. Yeah, are you? Yeah, definitely. I mean, I love a boy band. But sadly, I was on the team of in sync in elementary school, though, barely, because I was mostly on Britney Spears' team. So I was like, I don't care about these two bands. I loved Britney Spears, too. I mean, a fun thing about me is that one of the guys from Dream Street, do you know this band Dream Street? One of those guys went to my elementary school. And so I think he was a couple years older than me. But everyone in my circle was like, we are ground zero for Dream Street. We were like, we were like this street team of Dream Street. If anybody wants to get down on Dream Street with me, get in my DMs. What does it feel

like to be so close to celebrity, just like in its grasp? You know what, it feels good. But you can know that I definitely went to summer camp that year that they blew up. And I was like, oh, yeah, Dream Street used to go to my elementary school. Our story today is going to take us a little bit into the past. Can you please just close your eyes and imagine that the number one song in the country is Royals by Lord. Imagine it is late November 2013 and you are 23. You're still trying to get your bearings in a new city and like desperate to figure out how you can have the kind of like dream life that you want, but you like barely have enough money for rent. Did you rip this from my diary? Did you rip this from my diary?

Okay, sure. Only because I don't have access to your diary. How does this situation make you feel? It makes me feel like I'm like exactly how I was at 23 living in New York for the first time being like I am the queen of the world and I'm going out to have 45 whiskey diet coaxed tonight. You have to. You're immortal. There's no reason not to. Okay, so our friend of a friend, Alice, feels very stressed similarly to how you feel. She's like trying to figure it out. She feels really overwhelmed. She feels like if she like wakes up in the middle of the night one more time and remembers something else she's forgotten to do, she's going to die. Okay, I've been there. Alice lives in like a mid-sized city and she's a line cook.

Yes, chef. I know. Thank you, chef. Her like dream one day is to have her own restaurant, but what that means for now though is that she is just working all the time like every day forever and she feels like she's getting nowhere, right? She's like, all I do is go to work, come home, try to figure out how to feed myself, do my stupid chores, scroll on my phone for half an hour, wake up and do it all again. One day, Alice is on her like, you know, you get a 20 minute break. So she takes her 20 minute break outside and she sees that she has not one but two calls from Sarah. Sarah is an angel. Alice is like, Sarah is my oldest friend. She would never call me for something stupid. She's responsible. She's a Virgo. She's in med school.

We love Sarah. Okay. Everybody needs a Sarah. Yes. So Alice is like, obviously I'm going to call her back immediately because she called me two times. So she calls her back and Sarah is like, Alice, hello, are you free in August? And Alice is like, ma'am, it is November. August is so far away. And Sarah is like, I know, I know, but did you log into the social media site that we check every single day today? Is the social media site Facebook? No. Okay. Important context here is that Sarah and Alice love this site. Like they started doing it together in high school and just never stopped. And specifically, they're on a portion

of the site devoted to Alice and Sarah's absolute favorite band. It is 2014. Would you like to guess which band it is? 2014. Their favorite band. We were talking about boy bands. So, I mean, boy, like fallout boy? No, it's One Direction. Oh, of course. Okay, got it. Wait, what website is this? It's Tumblr. It's Tumblr. Okay. Oh, we're really in 2013. Okay, got it. Journey back in your brain. Tumblr. One Direction 2013. Baby Harry Styles. Okay, exactly. So, Sarah is like a huge Zayn fan because she thinks that they have a lot in common and Alice is more of a Harry Styles gal. Right. And this is like pre-Zayn going on his own. Okay. This is like right before Zayn went on his own, right? A couple years. Okay. Yes. We have been over fan fiction on the pod before. I just want

to clarify that's not what we're doing and that's not the part of the internet that these girls are on. They're just like in stand zone, right? Like they love the band. I'm familiar. Okay. Alice is like, no, I have not been on tumblr.com today because I have been at my line cook job for 500 hours. And Sarah is like, well, they just announced a tour with 21 stops in the United States. Fantastic. Fantastic. Alice is like, I want to be super happy about this. I want to feel the optimism that Sarah has. She's like, but I do not have like the cash reserves to see One Direction. Much less the cash reserves to travel to see One Direction. Also, when you're that age, I mean, even now sometimes, this is November and that's in August. You're like, who knows what my

life will be like. Who knows if I'll even be living in the same place, what country I'll be in, where I am, what job I have. It's like impossible to plan that for an advance. Yes. So Alice is like, oh, that's, that's great, but they're having a tour. And Sarah is like, well, I'm trying to ask if you want to go with me. And Alice is like, I mean, yeah, but it's 500 years away and also I can't afford tickets. And Sarah is like, well, my parents have offered to buy me a ticket since I'm so miserable in med school and they've offered to buy one for a friend. So that's what I'm calling to ask about. Oh, well, thank you. Thank you to Sarah's parents. That's so nice of them. What a gift. Yeah. So Alice is like, in that case, hell yeah,

I'd love to see One Direction. Like, thank you. She's like, we'll have to be a little frugal, though, because like, I don't have a lot of money to blow on this trip, right? So, okay, wait, so they have to, One Direction is not coming to their midsize city. They have to travel to a different city to see One Direction. Okay, cool. I hope they're going somewhere fun. Yes. So a few weeks later, Sarah calls Alice and they go online together to like the website because tickets are about to go live. Do you have any experience buying concert tickets online? Yes, it's hell, especially something like One Direction. It's a nightmare. And it was worse in 2013 because in 2013, they hadn't built out that

technology yet. It gives fans first access. So basically, you set an alarm on your phone and then like pray to whatever God you believe in. And then it doesn't matter because the ticket bots get them all. I'm upset that 2013 is almost 10 years ago. I don't want to think about that too hard. Yeah, that's okay. Moving on. So Alice and Sarah's like plan, you know, they have like, their phones open, they have their computers open, they have everything open. No luck. They don't get tickets for their first choice city. They don't get tickets for their second choice city. They don't get tickets at all. And they're like, this sucks. We love this band so much. My parents were going to buy us tickets. What do you think they should do?

Oh my gosh, this is so sad. I think they need to start going on Craigslist. And I think they need to start going on all of those little sites that everybody uses to get the resale tickets. But it sucks because the resale tickets are always so much more expensive and you never really get what you want. And so I think in 2013, what I would have done is picked like four cities and the weeks before like tried to get tried to get the like this is like really not going to work for a Virgo, but like try to go try to go last minute because there's so many opportunities to like get those last minute tickets of people who like really can't go or need to offload or whatever. Like I feel like that's when you get the cheap tickets is like right before.

But that sucks because it's not in your city. So like, what are you going to do? You what are you going to do? Travel and then not go? I don't know. Oh, it's tough. It's really tough. They're in a pickle. Yes. So I agree with you that probably the smart decision would be to like wait until the week before, but Sarah is a Virgo like me and she's like, if I leave anything up to spontaneity, I'll die. So she's like, I'm going to log on to the social media site and I'm going to be like, hello, we are looking for tickets in to the show in one of these two cities and we have money to pay for them. So just like throw it out into the universe that we're looking for these tickets. We will pay $1 million for your tickets. Highest bidder come at us.

For a couple of weeks, they get like no hits, right? It's just like months are going by, they've got nothing. In March, Sarah is like, I'm posting again because like soon the tickets will be too expensive to fly places. So like I'm going to give it one last chance. Immediately, they get a message from this girl, Violet, who they've known online forever. Absolute sweetheart, like the kind of online friend who like faves everything you do and always comments on your photos and stuff. If this is going to be a catfishing story, I'm excited. It's not. But Violet and her best friend, Elizabeth, have always been really nice to Sarah and Alice. So they're like, we kind of have this parasocial friendship. They're going

together. They have two extra tickets. It's like a good deal. They'll let us buy them at face value and sit with them. And they're like a little more than we wanted to pay, but also they're in the pit. Wow. Okay. That sounds really fun, especially if it's a city that is easy to get to and the tickets aren't super expensive. That sounds great. Making some new friends. Because this sounds good, it's obviously all going to go to shit, but I'm excited to see how. Yes. They're like great idea. We love it. So they talked to Violet up front and they're like, listen, we're in like, we'll buy this, but we don't have like a ton of money to blow on this trip because Alice is on a tight budget and like Sarah is in med school. Violet's like, oh my god,

of course, like no problem. We can get one hotel room with two full beds if that works. And like we'll strategize from there. Wait, so Violet and her friend also don't live in this city. They are also traveling to go to this concert. Okay. Wow. Yes. Everyone is traveling to see one direction. Wow. Okay. For sure. Okay. Violet puts them in like a group text with the four of them, right? So now we have like moved into texting and these girls are amped and they are well organized. So the first thing they do is they decide that they're all going to bring gifts for each other to like celebrate the show because it will make it feel more exciting. Wait, this is so sweet. It's so cute. I love this. What kind of gifts are we talking about?

We'll get there. Please be patient. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm so excited. I love friendship. It's so nice. The second thing they do is they divide up responsibilities, right? Wow. These girls are very organized. Yes. Especially for like basic strangers. Okay. Yes. But they're all excited. This is like the most important night of their life. It's a huge deal. So they're like Violet's in charge of the hotel room. Alice, because she's a chef, is in charge of like meals. Sarah is in charge of logistics. So like getting everyone from point A to point B. Elizabeth is not in charge of anything because of what we will call Elizabeth's misery. Elizabeth's misery is this on the same day that

Alice and Sarah failed to get tickets online. Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were sitting in their like one direction ticket war room that they had built at Elizabeth's apartment. They had like eight electronics open and the minute the clock struck, they're like hitting yes, right? Margaret also has one of those fancy credit cards. It's like really heavy and made of metal that allows you to buy tickets early. So they were like in early. They get four tickets pretty easily, two for Elizabeth and her sister, one for Violet and one for whoever else wanted to go. Wait, but is this the same trip? Okay. So Elizabeth's, I'm going to assume Elizabeth's sister, for some reason, can't go. Yes. Okay. What happened next is that after they got the tickets,

Margaret left Elizabeth's apartment. So her sister left her apartment to go to work and on her way there, she was rear-ended and smashed into the car in front of her. Oh my God. Poor Margaret. So she had to go to the hospital. She was so dizzy. Elizabeth is like, I watched Grey's Anatomy. Like maybe she has a concussion. Maybe she has a brain bleed. Yeah, we've all thought that. Terrifying. Elizabeth and Margaret spent 14 hours in the hospital. Oh my God. I know. Before they were like dismissed, right? Oh, yeah. Poor Margaret. Yes. After this, like Margaret had a really hard time driving. She had like some PTSD, normal for a car accident, and also like a bunch of other shit went wrong. So now she has to have

surgery the week before the concert and can't come. So that's why they were able to give the tickets to Alice and Sarah. Damn. Okay. So Elizabeth's misery is like kind of justified, I guess. Yeah. I'm picturing Margaret being like, go on without me. You must see one direction. Like, I don't need you to take care of me. The pilgrimage to see one direction only requires one of them to make it for their family. Yeah. She's like, go forth. Bring me back a t-shirt. Exactly. Okay. So that's like the context of this trip. We have 10 girls who are planning one girl with a hurt sister and like we're moving forward. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Because everyone is arriving at like an East Coast airport, they decide we'll meet at a bar in the terminal and

then we'll share an Uber to the hotel. Wow. Okay. So they were organized enough to like get their flights to arrive around the same time too. Yes. So Sarah, because Sarah is in charge of logistics and she's like, I've done the math and it's cheaper to take an Uber than to take a shuttle. She's probably right. Wait. So are they all, they're all coming from like two and two are coming from different cities though. Yes. Not the same city. Okay. Got it. Great. So Alice and Sarah arrived first on their flight and they had their little beers and like 45 minutes later, Elizabeth shows up and immediately Alice is like, hmm, I don't know about this girl vibes off. Yes. Elizabeth is like all dolled up. Like she just got off a plane, but she looks like she

could like head into a runway at any minute. Like high heels, dress kind of situation. Yes. Yes. Like hair is perfect. Nails are done. She has like somehow more bags than you're allowed to have on a plane, right? Like that's the kind of scenario. And they're only there for the weekend. Exactly. And they're there for two days. Okay, cool. So Elizabeth is like hugging both Alice and Sarah when she like remembers something and she goes digging through one of her bags. She's pulling out like all sorts of shit, right? She's pulling out like a phone charger, a makeup bag and Ellen Hildebrand book, right? Another phone charger. Finally, she's like, aha. And she pulls from the back a tiny paper doll that has been sloppily glued to a piece of cardboard

and laminated and attached to one of those giant popsicle sticks that doctors use to look down your throat. Wait, like a flat Stanley on a popsicle stick? Yes. It's not flat Stanley. It's a little doll picture of her sister. Okay. Okay. Elizabeth is like, let's take a pick with Margaret. Wait, do Alice and Sarah know about the context or is this just like random? Yes, they know about the context because Elizabeth will not shut up about it. So she's like, my sister sacrificed for us to have these tickets, right? Okay. Okay. She's kind of been like, we're going to take pictures to send to my sister the whole weekend. So when she's like, let's take a picture with Margaret, Alice and Sarah are like, what the fuck is going on? But

sure. That's the correct response. Exactly. Elizabeth is like, not satisfied with the first picture because her sister is washed out. And it is very difficult. You mean the flat Stanley version of her sister? Okay. And the flat Stanley Margaret is like, difficult to get the camera to focus on because it's laminated. So it's like super shiny. That's right. She didn't think, she's not a Virgo. She didn't think this through. No. After like five attempts, Elizabeth is like recruiting a stranger to take a picture of the four of them. Oh my God. Poor Sarah and Alice. Okay. So this takes like 10 minutes, right? And when it's done, Sarah is like, Elizabeth, where is Violet? Like, when does Violet get in? I want to get us in an

Uber and get away from this bar where all of these people have seen us taking a picture. And Elizabeth is like, oh, Violet's already at the hotel. She got in a few days ago. This is theoretically not a big deal. But of course, Sarah is like in the Uber texting Alice. And she's like, if she wasn't going to take the Uber, she should have told me, right? I agree with Sarah. Also, I'm going to assume that they had been all chit chatting on a group text for the whole week before. So why wasn't Violet like, hey, guys, I'm here. Like, I got here early. Like, it's weird to pretend like you're somewhere texting when you're not. Exactly. So she like, she just let them all think that she was like getting on the plane with

Elizabeth. Okay. Violet, you seemed cool. Now you're sus. Yeah. So Sarah is like really mad. She's like, you know, with three of us, we could have taken the shuttle and it would have been cheaper. The only reason I chose to take the Uber is because there are four of us. Alice is like, well, technically there are four of us if you count Margaret. No, she didn't. No, she didn't. Stop it. So already. Oh my gosh. They arrive at the hotel and it is like objectively nothing to write home about, right? It's like, for sure. Big Box Hotel, it has two beds and a TV, whatever. They get there. Violet is like on one bed watching TV. So they're like making small talk,

getting to know each other. Violet's like, I already put all my stuff in this closet so you all can use like all of these drawers in the other closet. They're like, whatever, they're putting all their stuff away. So Violet has been staying in this hotel room for days? Yes. Okay, I'm concerned about Violet. Sarah, having none of this because she's mad at Violet for not taking an Uber with them, it's like, why exactly are you here so early? Thank you, Sarah. I'm glad that these, that Sarah is confrontational enough to ask the real questions because when you're 23, it's, and you know, even when you're older, it's very easy to be very passive aggressive about this stuff and just be like, all right, I guess this is how my

life is going. Like, I guess I'm just going to sit back and take this weird shit. And Sarah is like, no, I need some answers here. And I really respect Sarah for that. Alice is like, Sarah's not going to let this go, right? Like she's like, I can just tell that this is already like, this is it. It's going to be like this the whole weekend. And Violet is like, oh, you know, I got here a few days early because one of my friends had one direction tickets to the shows last night. This feels like treason. And I can't really put my finger on why. Sarah is like, wait, so you've already seen the show. And Violet is like, yeah, twice. It's so good. And she starts like raving about the show. And wait, she's seen it twice. She went twice in

the city and she's going a third time with them. Why didn't she say something if they're all texting the whole week? Sarah cannot handle this. Sarah is like, one, going to vomit out of envy. Two, she's like, I stayed offline like off of the tumbler for weeks to avoid spoilers for this show. And now like about the set list and like about the set list and like the decor and stuff like that. Oh my God. Oh, I feel for Sarah, because it's so nice to love something so much. And then Violet's like gripping it away from her. So what do you think Sarah should do? Like Violet is going on and on? How do you stop her? I think you would say, I mean, if you're being like a mature adult, I think you would say, I'm so happy that you have those experiences. This therapist voice.

I know, right? I've really been trying to avoid spoilers and I would really appreciate if you could just like, you know, let me not hear anything. Like please, please keep it to yourself. We can chat about everything tomorrow night after we've already seen the show. But if I'm being like chaotic drama, Sarah, which I, which I kind of hope she is, I think you start yelling at her and you're like, why are you like, why didn't you tell us? This is so strange. We don't even know you. Like why are you being like, why aren't you being real with us? This is so weird. What are you hiding? Alice like can see Sarah on the brink of like full explosion, right? And so before Sarah explodes, Alice is like, let's do our gifts. Everyone gift time. Yay. Oh, I forgot about the gifts. Okay.

I hope Elizabeth brought them all flat margrits and like that's her gift. She's like, one for you, one for you, one for you. Take it with you on your journeys. No, there's only one flat margrit. Of course she is unique. Yeah. So everyone does their gifts. Violet has gotten everyone like these necklaces that glow and have like one direction on them. Sarah has gotten everyone cups, like those big cups with a straw that have the boys' faces on them. Oh, I know. Elizabeth has not gotten anyone their own gift because she's been busy with her sister, but she has brought a whole bottle of champagne. Okay. Wait, how did she bring it on the plane? Would fucking love to know. Okay. Okay, Elizabeth. A little scary. We like it.

Maybe she bought it at like duty free or something. I guess she could have. Yeah, I don't, this was not disclosed to me how she got it there, but she had one. Okay, great. She just pulls it out like Mary Poppins. Exactly. Okay. Alice like feels a little self-conscious because she was like, I thought that we were making gifts. Like I couldn't go out and buy a gift. Okay. Well, we love handmade gifts. I mean, if anyone shits on it, they're dead to me. Alice has brought everyone a little book for each of their favorite guys in the band with pages of like facts about them and a basic biography in reference to the song's story of my life. I think I might cry that that is the sweetest, most genuine gift one could ever give or receive.

That's so, that's so nice. It's so cute. And she hands them out and she's like a little self-conscious and everyone's like, I love it. I love it. I love it. And Elizabeth is like, wow, I used to make things just like this when I was a kid. Okay. That's so mean. Elizabeth, it's cool. And Alice is like really upset, right? Because she's like, I was already self-conscious and like she's about to like turn on Elizabeth, right? Like teeth bared when Elizabeth's phone rings and it's her sister. And so she like runs out into a hall to take it. This is why you really shouldn't travel or do big, exciting things with people you don't know. Because I'm going to assume that one direction is like a pivotal, not just like banned, but like just value in these people's lives. And they're

really risking a lot by not going with people that they really trust, you know? It's like doing like a serious drug with people you don't know. It's like, I don't know, man, that's really, really risky. You don't know what's gonna happen. It is. But like Sarah and Violet try to console her right there. Like we love our books. Like we think this is so cute. We're going to keep ours forever. Like it's perfect. Violet is like, I love mine. I love Liam so much. He's a perfect angel. When Elizabeth comes back in, Alice puts her shoes on because she's like, I need to go to the grocery store and get a rotisserie chicken and some other supplies because like I'm going to make us a big salad for dinner before we go like out for a special surprise.

I love that rotisserie chicken is a staple in my life too. So I feel really supportive of this move. I had one for lunch. They're perfect. Yeah, they're fantastic. Immediately. Elizabeth is like, oh, I'm actually a vegan. Huh. Was that not discussed? Alice is like, are you fucking kidding me? Like I asked everyone their dietary restrictions. And Elizabeth is like, I'm sorry, it's new. I just like changed my diet to make my sister feel better about hers. Does it really mess everything up for you? And Alice internally is like, yes, it does mess everything up for me. But externally, she's like, no, no, no, it's fine. I'll find us a plan. Chickpeas it is. Exactly. She's like, I'll just go to the grocery store and I'll figure it out. Violet is like,

actually, there's another problem with your plan. And Alice is like, what now? And Violet is like, the problem is that there is no fridge in our hotel room. Uh-oh. Okay. So this is a Violet problem because Violet booked a hotel room. Yes. Okay. Okay. Everyone is like, Violet, we need a fridge so that we can like eat cheaply. And Violet is like, I know it's like, it sucks that there's no fridge. There was supposed to be one. I already talked to the front desk and they're going to like knock $100 off of our bill. So like, there's no refrigerator, but we're saving $100. Okay. But you're going to spend more money by not having a fridge and

having to like go out, even like to Jimmy John's or whatever. Yes. Okay. But for people who money is not a big deal, they don't really understand that, right? Okay, right. So Violet and Elizabeth, money is not a big deal. Like they don't really care. Okay. Yeah, yeah. It's not looking good for for our dear friend, Alice. Okay. Alice is like, fine, I'm going to figure this out. As her special plan for the night, she had found them a karaoke bar that they could go to. And so she calls the karaoke bar and she's like, do you have vegan food? And they're like, Okay. Yes. And she's like, okay, perfect. So the karaoke bar has small plates and they have pictures of beer and Alice is like, good enough. Great. Okay. Everyone's excited. Sarah orders

them an Uber. They go to the bar in the car. Alice texts Sarah. And it's like, they are a lot. Again, this is why you really shouldn't do big things with people you don't know and have never met. Like I there are so few people in my life that I would do something like this with and I know them all so well and so deeply. Yes. Sarah is like, I agree. I know. But also like, let's try and have fun at karaoke, right? Like, let's not get fucked up by this. Yes. This is also like, I like I actually could I take it back because I definitely would have done something like this in my early 20s and I probably did. Like I definitely went to music festivals with people that I like barely knew, but I don't think I would like, no, you know what, I went to Bonnaroo

with people that I barely knew and I had a great time. I had a great time. So like, okay. Okay, girls, I see you. You're one to talk. Over here, let's never take a trip with people you don't know. I know. I just had a flashback. I was like, Oh, right. I did go to Bonnaroo with people that I like one of the one of the girls I shared a tent with I was very, very good friends with. So like, yeah, yeah. Okay, I've done that. Okay. They get to the karaoke bar. Elizabeth like makes them take a photo with her cut out sister outside, right? Fine. Alice's feelings of like dislike for Elizabeth are only intensifying, like they get into the karaoke room. I agree. Yeah. Elizabeth does not like the vegan food

that is offered immediately. She's also like, Oh my God, I just love to sing. Oh, she's a don't make me sing kind of girl. Uh-huh. Exactly. So make me sing. Oh my gosh, I can't wait. Exactly. Alice and Sarah are like, Yeah, we were in choir in high school too. Like we also like to sing. It'll be fun. Everything starts off okay. They sing some one direction songs. Alice is Harry. Sarah is Zane. Violet is Liam. Elizabeth is Niall. And the cut out of Elizabeth's sister, Margaret is Lewis. Okay, so Margaret does have a song. Good to know she is. Um, great. Fantastic. Okay. But there are only two mics and Elizabeth is singing two parts. So she's like hogging one of the two bikes. Okay. Okay. I'm upset with everyone is drinking a lot

of beer, just so much beer. And suddenly the cue for the songs, you know how you can like see it at the bottom. The cue for the songs is like getting competitive, right? Like someone is singing Celine Dion. Someone is singing Whitney Houston. Someone is belting out like a spring awakening song. Okay, so it's a karaoke bar where people are actually good. It's not like a, it's not like a jokey kind of karaoke room. Okay. Yeah. Yes. Alice can tell that like Elizabeth is getting upset. And she can see Violet's phone on the table, like lighting up with texts from Elizabeth. So it's like not like Elizabeth is being subtle about the fact that she's like not happy that other people are also good at singing. Oh my gosh. I love that these two groups of girls are like

side texting one another too. Yes. Alice like goes and does her song and afterward, Elizabeth is like you're a little pitchy. Elizabeth, who says that? That is such an insane thing to say. Coupled with the fact that she was also like shitting on her lovely, thoughtful, beautiful present. Yes. Sarah texts her immediately after this and is like maybe let's like cool it, right? Like Elizabeth seems upset. Let's not like create chaos. See, yeah, Sarah is just like, let's get through the concert. Like I really just want to see this concert and have no drama and just make sure I get, I get there. Yeah, I understand. I understand. But I would also love to see them just like completely get rid of these girls, but it's hard because they got the tickets from these

girls. Yes. Okay. Alice is like no way in hell. I am not going to stop singing because this adult woman is throwing a little fit. Sarah is like, okay, but she's like having an emotional time like her sister is hurt. Like please think about this. And Alice is like, guess what? I don't care. I'm also having a hard time. Yeah. Alice is 23 and life is hard. You know what? When you're 20, everyone's having a hard time at 23. You know, all these girls are going through something. It's a terrible age. Awful age. And Sarah is like, okay, yes, you're also having a hard time, but like there's a little bit of a difference in the hard time of like you're figuring out your job. And she has like family drama. And Alice is like, do not care, cannot be brought to care.

She grabs all of all of those things can be hard. Yes, everything can be hard at once. She grabs the remote. She punches in the code for the perfect song to destroy Elizabeth. That song is Beyonce's Love On Top. She must have the range. That is wild. What? On Top is famously a hard song to sing. It has by my count like 75 key changes. And it also requires you to be able to not breathe for like four minutes. Also, like I love that this has turned into a sing off. I was really not expecting that. This is crazy. Okay, so Alice thinks that she's going to crush Elizabeth while singing Beyonce's Love On Top. Yes. By Beyonce. Yes. Okay, okay. For sure. I love the confidence. Except when this song comes up, Elizabeth also stands up to go to the stage. Wait, she put it

into? Yes, they both put it in the queue. Oh my God, these girls are wild. I love them. So Alice is like, this is my song and Elizabeth is like, no, it's not. I also put this in as a song. So then they have to sing Love On Top together. That is so, so chaotic. Oh my gosh. And wait, and I hope it's like that scene in Bridesmaids when Roseburn and like Kristen Wiig are kind of like going head to toe, you know, with the like when they do their speeches. Oh my God. For the next hour, Alice is like pouting. Wait, is it because Elizabeth actually had a better voice than her and like crushed her while singing Beyonce's Love On Top? No, I think it's just like she's mad. She's like, this is not how I wanted this to go.

Also like this was a travel day. So these people might be tired. Yes, everyone's exhausted. Wow, okay. Really big, really big day. Highs and lows. In the Uber home, everyone is texting their buddy, right? It's just like everyone's like quiet, furiously texting one another. Okay, furiously typing in the car home. How are you feeling at this point? I'm feeling great personally. I feel terrible for everybody involved because you know what, these girls don't, they don't want to be with each other. They just, they just want to be alone. And if they had been different people, then what they would have done was just had two separate weekends and then met up at the concert or maybe before the concert, you know, for like a little

quick drink at the snack bar or something like that. Yes. But no, they have decided to try to be lifelong friends and we're going to find that this backfires. Yes, everyone sleeps in. They wake up in the morning and everyone has like kind of had the like come to Jesus moment of like today is the day we're going to see One Direction. I want to have a fun time. I'm not going to create chaos. And I also cannot sing like Beyonce. Yes. Yeah, I hope they understand that. Okay. Elizabeth is like, I'm going for a run. She comes back with iced coffee for everyone. That's very nice. Maybe that's her apology. Yes. Everyone is on their like best behavior all day. We've all been in that situation, you know, or you realize what you've done the night before

and you kind of like your tail between your legs and you're like, I'm sorry. Yes. Sorry. Here's a croissant. Alice like cooks them all ramen for lunch. How does she cook them ramen with the hot water? Oh yeah, I guess no fridge. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I guess she's just in the hotel to like save them some money. They spend all afternoon making like posters to take to the show. They're dumping like pounds of glitter onto globs of Elmer's glue, right? Like they're not getting their little deposit back for this big box hotel. No, Sarah spends a full three hours like carefully drawing a picture of Zane's face onto her poster board and then filling all his hair in with glue and then like dumping glitter on top of it. So

there's glitter. I would kill it along something that much right now. That's amazing. When the posters are done, they're like, okay, it's time to get dressed and put on our makeup and they have obviously coordinated their outfits. Fantastic. What are we talking about colors, themes? Yes, we're talking black pants, shirt that you have made with the guy that you likes face on it, body glitter. Fantastic. Sounds great. Love it. I'm assuming like really nicely well done makeup. Yes, like we're looking hot tonight. Yes, like you and I wish we could do makeup as good as these girls, right? Yeah, and we wish that we had the same kind of t-shirts that they're wearing. Yes, I do. Elizabeth has forgotten her black pants, so she has to wear red pants,

which is like a small thing, but did come to us in the email. So I feel like I must include it. Well, because it's like, did she forget or did she just want to stand out? She just want to be a little individual when they were all trying to be part of a group? Exactly. Okay, or maybe, maybe it was like an ode to her sister, you never know. Sounds like a little backstabby to me. It sure does. They go to this show. The show is at the city's football stadium. Have you ever been to a football stadium show? Yes, I saw Taylor Swift at MetLife and it was life affirming. Yes. Which tour did you see? I saw the 1989 tour. Of course. It was great. Yeah, I think I've seen a couple. I saw Beyonce at MetLife also. Have you?

I saw Taylor's 1989 tour. I've seen Beyonce in tour in a big stadium. I've seen a couple more too, because I used to write about music and so I would like get to go. And the only way I can like think to explain this to people who haven't been is that it's like a church, which is like maybe my trauma, but it's like 50,000 people in one stadium who like all are devoted to this band and know every word to their songs. Totally. Kelsey, that is so like tell me you were evangelical without telling me you were evangelical. It is. Like the first big concert I went to, I was like, oh, God's fake. Like. This is the same feeling I get at church. Weird. Yeah. God is music. Of course. Yeah, I totally agree with that. That's how I felt going to music festivals for the first time too.

Where you're like, wow, everybody here is like so excited to see the same thing I'm excited to see and it lasts for three days. Yes. And there's like no better way to get full body chills than when like a big artist stops singing and you can hear everyone in the stadium like yelling. I know it's so special. Oh my God. Yeah. So nice. Yeah. This also means that it's like kind of a nightmare logistically to get there. I was just going to say oh poor Sarah because you know that there's always like so much drama with the parking and like getting there and like if you have to tailgate. Oh my gosh. So Sarah Virgo has done a lot of research and what she has learned is that they're going to take an Uber like pretty close to the stadium and walk a little bit and then they're

going to take public transit home because like everyone has said that that's the easiest way. Yeah. I mean, yeah, you and I probably both know that that's true after you leave one of these things. It's best just to follow the crowd and get on the train. Follow everyone else. Be just one of many ants. Yeah. You're just a little fish in a big sea. Yes, exactly. So they like, you know, they're there. They have their posters. Everyone is like so excited that they go into the pit. They're like near the front of the pit, which means that they're like standing on the football field, right? Which is like so exciting. So cool. So exciting. And they're surrounded by people who are like also in the pit, which means that they like logged on with their heavy credit cards and like we're

able to get the tickets and like everyone is like having the same enthusiasm and just like euphoria. Yes. Alice and Sarah are like stunned. They're like, this is the best moment of our lives. Nothing better has ever happened to us. And Violet is like, oh, have you guys never had pit tickets before? My jaw just dropped open. That, that's so mean. Why are these girls so mean? It's so mean. So now Sarah is mad. Like Alice is done being mad and Sarah is mad. Sarah is texting Alice like, I hate her. She's making me crazy. Is this the kind of pit where like there are seats like, or can they just kind of mill around and stuff? There are seats, yes. It's like the one, like the folding chair seats. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So they can't just kind of like lose them in the

crowd by accident and like we'll find each other later. Okay. So they, they're, they're, they're seated. Yeah. Yes. That's, that's tough. That's tough. Alice is like, focus. We are at this show. It is the best night of our lives. We're having fun. She's like, what we're going to do is we're going to get you a little space from these other two girls and we're going to go to the merch stands and get whatever you want, right? Good call. Good call. Violet's like, where are you guys going? Oh no, Violet. Oh, we're going to the merch lines. Like we want to get this t-shirt or whatever. And Violet's like, oh my God, the lines are so long. Like both shows I've been at, they've always been so long. And Sarah is like, okay, guess what? I don't care. They sell out of

things. So I'm going now to get the thing that I want. Yeah. Like, okay, you just want to flex that you've been to the show twice before. Like we get it. Violet is like, Violet's like, oh, they don't sell out of things online. Oh, so Violet's trying to do the thing that's like, you can buy this online. Don't wait, don't wait. But as we know, that's not always true. And then you don't get the thing you want. Oh God, she's going to ruin it for them. And Sarah's like, one, they do sell out of things online. Two, they have like special shit that you can only get at the show. Yeah, that's the point. That's the point. They're like, whatever, we're going to get our merch. So they like, yeah, stand in line. Sarah will not stop talking about how much she hates

Violet. They like get their merch. Oh, good. Okay. I was worried. So they got their merch. Okay, good. Yes. They get their merch and like the merch for a little bit just like calms Sarah down, right? Well, that high of like getting the thing that you were in line for and now it's yours and you can you can wear it, you can own it. There's nothing like it. Yes. So they have their shirts, they go back to their seats, they get there and Elizabeth is like throwing a fit. Because apparently her sister called and she like couldn't get service. So she stood on her chair to take the call and when she got down, she broke her nail and it hurts and she's like, I need a medic. I don't even know what to say. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

Sarah, you may remember is in med school. So she's like, let me see your nail and she's like, you're fine. Wait, this like, oh my God, that's so that's so wild that these freaking girls. Okay. Elizabeth is like, no, I am not fine. So Violet takes Elizabeth to the show EMT and the two of them miss like a half of five seconds of summer, the opening band so that Elizabeth can get a bandaid for her nail. Okay, but at least that gives our girls, Alice and Sarah some some extra space where they can rock out to five SOS, which are low key really good and just kind of have a good time on their own for a little bit. Yes. They're like, this gave them the breathing room they needed because now they're like into it, right? They're like, you're committed. We don't care about these

girls. When they come back and Elizabeth is like, please, can we take pictures with my sister's doll? They're like, yes, like we are so happy we'll do whatever we don't care. I kind of feel like Elizabeth should stop subjecting them to taking photos and just do it with Violet, her actual friends. Like I don't know why her sister would care about these two randos. That's a great point. The lights start to dim. Everyone in the stadium screams. Everyone is like, ready. The guys are coming out. At this moment, Violet sees the shirt that Sarah has gotten. And she's like, where did you get that one? Like I haven't seen that one online. And she's like trying to have a conversation with Sarah about this shirt. Not the time. It's one D. It's one D time. What are you doing?

Sarah and Alice are like, can you be quiet for one second? Some of us have never seen this show before. Good for them. But then for like the first song, Sarah is just like whispering in Alice's ear about how much she hates Violet. Okay. What do you think that Alice should do here? Honestly, I got new friends. I mean, I think, I think that, oh, it's tough because I've been in that situation too, where like you just can't let it go. And you're like, this is bothering me so much. But they've been waiting for this forever for like eight or nine months. I really just want them to let go. You know what? I hope that they're sitting in an arrangement where like Alice is next to Violet instead of Sarah. And if they're not, they should switch around. So great mind

reading. They were not. So Alice is like switch seats with me. I was sitting next to them. Good. I need you to focus because like they're right here, right? Like we are 10 yards away from these guys that we are obsessed with. They're like rocking out, right? Like Alice and Sarah are having the best time. Oh, good. Like Elizabeth is trying to like take a photo so that like her picture sister and like Harry Styles are both in focus. She's like spending the whole concert doing that. Right. And the laminate isn't working. And it's also 2013. So the cameras aren't that good. Exactly. And it's just kind of like far away and grainy and she's gonna like slap a filter on it anyway. And it's going to be like, you know, Lark or whatever and like not really work.

Yeah. Exactly. Poses to her 2013 Instagram. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yes. Alice and Sarah, they don't know anything about this because they're like, this is the best night of our life. They're like crying. Like tears streaming down their face. They're like, I hope the boys see we're having so much fun. This is the day that I like meet Harry Styles and we get married. Yeah. Exactly. When the confetti like, you know, the confetti falls at the end. When the confetti falls at the end, Violet takes a picture of Alice and Sarah dancing that they like still have framed on their walls, right? Like years later. Okay. Well, at least Violet was good for something, you know, everyone is so happy. How are you feeling? We're almost at the end. I'm feeling

happy that Sarah was able to let it go and have this like special photo that she and Alice like treasure forever, which makes me think they're still friends, which, which I also love because the longstanding friendship is one of the best things in life. Yeah. Yeah. I think I'm feeling okay, but you know, go on. All right. The problem with having pit tickets, as you may know, is that it takes forever to get out of the stadium. So they're having to like wait to get into the lower bowl, wait to get into the concourse, right? While they're doing this, Violet is just getting more and more jealous of Elizabeth's shirt. Oh my God, does she steal it? I really hope she doesn't steal it. No, she's just like, what's our plan for getting home? And Sarah's like, oh,

we're going to take public transit. And Violet's like, okay, do we have time for me to try and get one of these shirts on the way out? She should have gone earlier. Sarah is like, sure. Like, I don't want to fight. I'm having a great time. Whatever, go get your shirt. Except that, of course, Sarah was right. And the lines are extremely long and they wait forever. And in the end, the shirt is sold out. Oh, yeah, been there, been there. It's a real, it's a real tough one. And you really feel sad, but what are you going to do? You know, you got to move on. And then they get to the train and the trains have stopped running because they took so long standing in line at the merch stand. Oh, no. Then they have to wait in that little

rideshare corral for like an hour and pay $70 for the Uber back to the hotel. That's dark. That's really dark. And it's probably also like one or two a.m. at this point too. Yes. Alvin and Sarah are furious. They're like, these girls are so annoying. Elizabeth and Violet are like, no, no, no, like, we're having a really good time. It's fine. Alice is like, it's not fine. I don't have the money to pay for a $70 Uber. And like, we're here for no reason. And Violet is like, okay, I'll pay for the Uber. Like, this is my fault. I'm happy to pay for the Uber. Like, please just sing these songs and let's continue our business. Okay, that's that. You know what? That's correct. That's like, that's the right thing to do. That's the right thing to

do. Yes. So Alice feels better. They all go to sleep dreaming of the concert. They're exhausted. We are very close to the end. Who do you think the villain of this story is? I'm going to say Violet because I'm worried that she's going to steal the t-shirt. And that would be so mean. It would be so mean. Okay. The end of the story is that Violet left first the next morning. She didn't steal the t-shirt. Okay, okay. This sucks for everyone because remember, there's glitter everywhere. So they're all doing that thing where you like, try to scrape it with your hand into a pile. The sneaky villain is glitter. Yeah. So Violet is gone. She like, can't help because she, her flight out was early. It's obviously futile to try and

get all this glitter off the floor. Of course. Wait, also, and were they all supposed to like, take Ubers to the airport together via Sarah's Logistics and Violet just booked a different flight that she told them, okay, yeah. Yes. Finally, the remaining three give up and they're like, you know what, the hotel is on Violet's card. Like, suck it Violet. Suck it. Exactly. Even Elizabeth, who's like her lifelong friend. Okay, yeah. They finish packing and they do like, a final sweep of the room. You know, when you're like, dummy checked, did anyone leave their phone? Yeah. And they found in the closet that Violet had put her clothes in a mini fridge. What? That was working just fine. What? Was it sabotage or was she just stupid?

She didn't want to cook the meals. She wanted to eat out. So she sabotaged. Was the mini fridge supposed to be in there or did she put it in there? That I don't know, but my guess is that she put it in there. Oh my God. That is some, that is some cougou banana shit. Oh my God, that's crazy. That's so, that is ludicrous. It's also not all. Wait, well, I wonder what Elizabeth's reaction was. Was she like classic Violet? A couple weeks later, Sarah calls Alice again during her shift, right? Like Alice gets to her break because she has three calls from Sarah. Alice calls her back and Sarah is like, have you seen what Elizabeth just posted on Instagram? Alice opens her phone and she clicks on the like photo. There is a post of Elizabeth and her sister.

It was not a car crash related surgery that she was having that caused her to miss the one direction show. It was an elective cosmetic surgery. Like she was just getting a nose job. What? Yes. Why, what, why did she make up this elaborate backstory? I don't know. Also like her sister Margaret like probably didn't like one direction enough if she was going to schedule her nose job for the same thing. I have so many questions. That is so crazy. It's bonkers. What? And she knew that these girls would see. Yes. And I'm going to assume that she told the lie to a couple other people too because you don't just make up an elaborate story and tell it to two people. Yes. Okay. So she posted like, you know, look at Margaret's new nose basically.

Exactly. And Sarah and Elizabeth are like racking their minds and they're like, you know, now that we think about it, she never said like what kind of surgery she was having or like she did not explicitly say that like the car crash and the surgery were related. Right. Right. Then why did she have this cut out? Like why bringing your sister, like was her sister actually a 1D stan or was it all a ruse? And if so, why? I don't know. Does this make you want to change who you think the villain is? No, I still think the villain is violet, but I'm confused and concerned for Elizabeth. And I think that I really hope that these girls like didn't keep in touch.

I'm so sorry, but there's one more thing. Okay. At the end of the call, Sarah like sighs and she's like, you know, I wasn't going to tell you this, but now it seems fine. Look what I took. Not only. Oh, great. What did she take? She sends through a photo to Alice's phone. She's holding flat Margaret. Oh my God. That's incredible. And clearly, Elizabeth like didn't really care that much about flat Margaret. If she didn't realize she was missing, honestly. Wow. Sarah's like chaotic little queen too. That's so great. I love that. I was not expecting it really, really a wonderful surprise. And so like just a silly harmless prank. So silly. Nothing like

hiding a mini fridge or lying about your sister's surgery. Truly. Do you have any final thoughts? Oh man. You know what? I think a love of pop culture and a love of a specific group, actor, band, whatever will make you do really nutty things. And I'm really, I'm just really glad that like Sarah and Alice got to see One Direction that they were with each other. And you know what? If they had to like, you know, go through the trauma of hanging out with these two really wild girls for two days, like at least they got a great story and were able to see One Day at the same time. And I'm like curious how they feel about One Direction now and like all of the, you know, solo, the solo stuff. The people who sent us this story told us that Alice and Sarah

and Violet are all still like big 1D fans. But Elizabeth has left the fandom. Okay. I wonder, I wonder what happened. But so does Violet still keep in touch with these with Sarah and Alice? No. Okay. That's, that's for the best. That's good. And I'm hoping that like, you know, Sarah and Alice are maybe in like better places now, like financially, emotionally, and they can like afford to go see Harry Styles together, you know, in the pit as, as was pre, like as was their destiny, you know, and I hope it's like a more fun experience. And just the two of them agree and they can cook all the meals they want. One of the beautiful things about aging from 23 is that things get better. Most of them. Yeah. Yeah. Jess, thank you so much

for coming on the pod. It was a delight to have you. Thank you for having me. This was a real roller coaster and just a treat upon treat. And I think you're going to go listen to some 1D. Thank you for listening to normal gossip. If you have a gossip story to share with us, email us at normal gossip at defector.com or you can leave us a voicemail at 2679 gossip. If you love this podcast and want us to keep making it, become a friend or a friend of a friend at support normal gossip.com. You can follow the show on Instagram and TikTok at normal gossip. You can follow Kelsey on all social media at at McKinney, Kelsey. This podcast was produced by Alex Sujohn Laughlin defectors projects editor is Justin Ellis. Our editor in chief is Tom lay.

Jay told the era is our production assistant. Thanks to the rest of the defector staff. Defector media is a collectively owned subscriber based media company. Normal gossip is hosted by Kelsey McKinney. And remember, you did not hear this from me.