Slumber Party

Mandy hosts Liz and Sarah for a slumber party at the Straussberg home. The evening begins with an argument over matching sleeping bags, followed by disagreements about pizza toppings and which activity to try first. Liz and Sarah turn nearly every similarity into copying and every difference into a contest, leaving Mandy caught between them.

When Liz complains privately about Sarah, Mandy advises her to agree and compromise sometimes. Sarah soon makes the same complaints about Liz, and Mandy gives her the same advice. Neither girl truly listens. Each uses agreement as another way to insult the other, while Mandy works harder to keep the gathering peaceful.

Liz produces a frightening zombie movie that Mandy and Sarah do not want to watch and that Mandy's parents would not allow. Before the argument is settled, Mr. Straussberg reminds them that they may remain awake only if they stay quiet. Once he leaves, they turn to truth or dare.

Sarah dares Liz to carry a pizza crust to the end of the long, dark driveway. Liz tries to escape by describing a glowing-eyed monster that freezes anyone caught in its beams. Then two mysterious lights actually appear outside the window. Terrified, Liz abandons the dare and admits that she thinks Alex Jefferson is very cute.

The lights remain unexplained, but the next faces at the window belong to Alex and David. The boys have sneaked away from Alex's house wearing a duck mask and Mandy's Cinderella mask in hopes of frightening the girls. They deny making the earlier beams and beg to remain indoors rather than return through the darkness. The girls agree only if the boys accept that the slumber party still belongs to them.

Truth or dare becomes even more chaotic with the boys present. When the questions grow embarrassing, David discovers Revenge of the Killer Zombies, Part 3. Mandy insists that the boys should leave and the forbidden movie should stay off, but the others call her uninteresting and remind her of her own advice about compromise. She reluctantly stops objecting.

Liz and Sarah resume fighting, and a pretzel thrown in anger grows into a full food fight with chips, ketchup, and mustard. Afterward, everyone wants the one piece of pizza Liz saved. Because the microwave is being repaired and the oven seems too slow, Liz places the pizza directly on a hot light bulb, claiming it will work like an easy-bake oven.

As the pizza begins to smoke, Liz and Sarah pull Mandy in opposite directions and demand that she choose between them. Mandy finally refuses to remain trapped in the middle. She tells her friends that their selfish fighting is not how friends should behave and orders everyone to stop the movie, send the boys home, clean the mess, and honor her parents' rule about noise.

Her stand comes moments too late. The pizza triggers the smoke alarm, and Mr. Straussberg finds the forbidden movie, the food-covered room, the two unexpected boys, and the smoking light bulb. He calls Alex's parents and decides Alex will remain for the night in David's room. Since all five wanted to stay awake, he gives them a safe way to do it: cleaning every part of the room they have ruined.

Working through the night changes the group's mood. Liz and Sarah discover that each prefers the chore assigned to the other and trade jobs without fighting. By morning, the girls have fallen asleep after restoring the room, while the boys remain asleep even longer. Mandy, Liz, and Sarah apologize, and Mr. Straussberg promises several serious conversations before another party.

Despite spending much of the night arguing and the rest cleaning, the girls call it their best slumber party. Their conflicts have not vanished, but they have learned that friendship requires honest limits as well as compromise. When Liz suggests heating a breakfast sausage, Mr. Straussberg makes certain she uses the oven - and not another light bulb.