The second girl waved as she spoke. “And I’m Nina.” Her Puerto Rican accent was heavy as she rushed through her introduction. I waved and smiled, but secretly wished that I could have some space to think.
Jen looked around nervously and I realized that AJ’s observation of who I’d become was right; I was starting to close myself off. It made me feel a little guilty for making Jen so uncomfortable.
“So, what are you guys doing tonight?” I asked, suddenly stricken with a new idea to make peace between her and me.
She turned to look at Bianca and the others. “Nothing, I don’t think.”
“Why don’t you guys come to me and Deanna’s room to watch movies or something?”
Jen smiled and seemed like she was really excited that I was inviting her into my space. “Sure. We’ll be there. What time?”
“Uh, like eight or something,” I replied.
“Cool! I’ll pay for pizza,” Jen offered just as she and Bianca turned to walk away. I watched them disappear inside the dorm and I hoped that I wouldn’t regret what I’d just done. It wasn’t my mission to be mean to her or anyone else, but life had taught me a valuable lesson over the past year. I’d learned that people can do a number of things to shock and disappoint you. That led me to believe that the fewer people I had in my inner circle, the fewer the possibilities there were for me to get hurt.
Class ended at 3:30 and I rushed home to take a nap. Deanna came in at around six and the sound of the door creaking open woke me.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d be asleep,” Deanna said.
“It’s fine.” I stretched and yawned before sitting up on the side of the bed. Deanna was busy making her bed from the morning. “Got a sec?” I asked.
“Sure, what’s up?”
I was hesitant about telling her I’d invited them over, but there wasn’t any sense in prolonging it. She stopped what she was doing and turned to look at me. “I sort of invited Jen and Bianca and a couple of their friends over here later to watch movies.”
She looked at me strangely, like she didn’t think I was talking about the Jen and Bianca she was thinking of. “What brought that on?” She asked.
“Well, I’m just trying to be more open. I just thought that maybe I didn’t give Jen a fair shot when I met her.”
Deanna’s expression softened as she thought about what I said. “Ok,” she stated. “I guess it won’t hurt to put up with them for one night.” I smiled at her and climbed out of bed to help her straighten our room.
*****
There was a knock at the door at 7:30 and I assumed that it was Deanna and Karl coming back from the store with drinks. When I opened it, Terrell was standing there in the dimly lit hallway with a hockey mask and fake machete in hand. He screamed in my face and my heart sank. I stopped breathing for a second and dropped the TV remote to the tile floor, making the batteries pop out of it. When I came to my senses and realized who it was, I narrowed my eyes and punched him in the arm.
“You are so freakin’ immature,” I hissed.
He laughed and bent down to gather the pieces of the fallen remote. “You would’ve thought it was funny if I did it to someone else.” He handed me the batteries and other components and then walked straight into my room.
“Sure, come right on in,” I said sarcastically.
He sat in my desk chair and reared back to get comfortable. He was a big, muscular guy and easily exceeded the weight limit for the chair, but I didn’t bother to warn him. If he fell, that would just give me something to laugh at.
“What you doing tonight?” He asked “Scary movies.” I waved one of my DVDs at him.
Terrell perked up. “I love scary movies!” He smiled and tossed me his mask. “As if you couldn’t tell.”
“No kidding,” I replied jokingly.
“My invitation must’ve gotten lost in the mail, but lucky for you I’m free tonight. What time?”
“Eight,” I sighed.