Dinner started and I was sure that Jill was a good cook. With a spotless home and a warm smile I doubted she was bad at much. The meal started with a huge fresh green salad. The lettuce was romaine and leafy green mixed, crisp, and perfect. The salad had cut cucumber, carrots, and sweet tomatoes. I wondered where she had found ripe tomatoes this time of year, but the thought did not last long. The dressing was a perfectly seasoned home made Italian. She served a crusty French bread with warm drippy butter, and a delightful pot of homemade spaghetti with meat sauce.
I was enjoying myself despite the resistance I had felt about coming, and had just helped myself to my second helping when Rylie started doing impressions. He had always been one to goof around, but tonight was different. Because we were sitting at a different table from the adults he could make fun of them without them noticing, and it made the whole thing much funnier. As my father spoke about a patient Rylie would puff up his chest and make a mocking face. When my mother would speak about something that filled her day he would bat his lashes and stick out his lips mouthing the words. We were all laughing hysterically under our breaths. Rylie finally stopped to eat, and I found myself taking a large bite of pasta. Just as I was about to swallow Rylie did an impression of Jill, and I snorted in laughter. A small piece of noodle went right out the back of my mouth and lodged itself in my sinus. I could feel the noodle stuck up my nose, and I began to panic.
I quickly excused myself from the table, and went to the adult table. I had to wait for Ben to finish his story before I could interrupt, and it seemed like an eternity, but when he had I quietly asked Jill where the bathroom was. To my horror she pointed to the door directly behind the table. I walked in and made sure to flip on the fan when I turned on the light. I was hoping it would muffle the sound some. I had always hated when people put a bathroom right next to a dining area. I felt bathrooms should be placed in more obscure places, out of the way where no one would hear you when you used them. Having one right next to the area where people gather just did not make sense. I was horrified that they might think I was pooping, but I did not want them to hear me trying to get the noodle unstuck, so I left the fan on.
I grabbed a tissue from the box that sat on the ornately decorated counter. The bathroom was done in soft tones of green, with a rich granite counter top, thick bath mats, and a luxurious shower curtain with gold tassel fringes. The mirror was a framed beveled glass that sat in a thick gold frame above the drop in sink. I tilted my head back and tried to look up my nose to see if I could see the noodle. I could not. I realized as I looked in the mirror just how bad I really looked. My hair was almost dry now, and was frizzy and falling out. I took the tissue and tried to quietly blow my nose into it, but with no success. I tried again, but was really worried about being too loud. I knew I was taking too long, so I leaned over the counter again to see if I could see the noodle now. As I leaned forward I knocked over the soap container and it crashed to the floor. I scrambled to pick it up relieved I had not broken it. Then I heard a light tap on the door and heard my mother’s sweet voice asking, “Is everything all right in there?”
“Fine.” I answered, “Just tipped over the soap.” It was true, and she did not need to know that I was distressed because of the noodle. It was then I realized that I had not flushed, and they would think I was extremely rude if I came out without flushing. So, I dropped the unused tissue into the toilet and flushed. Then unlatched the door and walked back out. Everyone was looking at me, and I was extremely embarrassed. My face turned bright red.
To make matters worse, the front door opened just then and a stream of seventeen year old boys walked in the house laughing hysterically. Here I am standing in the bathroom door, a noodle stuck up my nose, hair all frizzy, and a bright orange sweatshirt, and of course, the most attractive boys in our school walk in, all I could do was wish I was invisible.
I instantly recognized all but two of them. Jared, was the first to walk in. He was the class president, and one of the most popular and best-looking boys in the school. He had been dating the head cheerleader for the past 2 years.
He was followed by Ethan, a dark haired loner who excelled at sports and while never had a girlfriend, also never lacked female company. This was most likely due to the fact that he was a stellar athlete and considered attractive in a rough way, not to mention he was somewhat of an enigma, and girls always like a charming challenge. Even I had fallen victim to his charms in the past.
Braden was next, my best friend in the world. He was easy going and funny, but generally considered a nerd. He took all of the honors and AP classes offered at Salmon High, and excelled in them. He was skinny like most nerds, but still had a muscular frame, probably from all the kayaking he did on the river. He had a thin face, and a hawkish nose, with deep, knowing eyes of dark brown.
The tall brown haired, tan skinned boy that walked in behind him was no doubt Erik, and though I had not met him before, he looked a great deal like his mother.
Behind him was a guy I had never seen before. He was pale skinned, but not unattractive, in fact as I got a better look at him I realized he was extremely attractive. He was well built, his muscular arms bulging out under his t-shirt. He did not wear a coat, and that struck me as odd since it was so cold out. He had pale blue eyes, almost too light, and dark hair hidden under a Yankee’s baseball cap, and he wore a smug expression, one I was used to seeing on my brother’s face.
The boy who came in after him was Marcus. He had flaming red hair, and a reputation for being loud, he was basically our class clown. He was not attractive physically, but had a personality that drew people to him. He was my favorite of the bunch, though by association to Rylie I was familiar with them all.
After filing in, and shutting the door the laughter died down, and they all looked at me as if on cue. I am sure it was because everyone else in the room was staring at me. I flushed an even deeper shade of red and wished I could disappear. I had never felt uglier, and here I was, with a whole house of people staring at me, and half of those people were the most popular guys in the school, and to make matters worse, I still had a noodle stuck up my nose. Uncomfortable and embarrassed I was rooted to the spot, frozen.
No comments:
Post a Comment