the summer things changed

The Night Before

It's 5:30, Dinner is at 6 and I still have no clue what I'm going to wear, Anthony said that it was very low-key and I didn't need to wear anything extravagant but first impressions are important.

I settled for a nice pair of jeans, a white collared shirt, and my favorite sweater vest, I'm hoping this outfit says I'm put together but I don't try too hard.

After finishing getting dressed, I hopped down the stairs two at a time, my parents and I  loaded up into the car and started the short car ride to the Larusso's

" So Mr. Larusso is a..."

"A car salesman and a wresting coach"

"NO, he's a sensei at Miyagi-do...that's karate"

"Right, listen, Stevie, I don't think he's gonna care if we know this stuff already"

" Ok but I just want this to go well, I've never had a real friend before"

Before I knew it, we had pulled into the Larusso's driveway....great. I reminded myself to take a deep breath and remember this is supposed to be fun.

I pressed the doorbell, a girl opened the door, the girl I saw at the camp, this must be his older sister, Sam, she was pretty

" Hi, I'm Sam, it's nice to meet you, come in"

She opened the door to reveal a huge house, It was pretty big from the outside but it was even bigger than I imagined.

As we walked in, her parents joined us in the living room and we all took a seat, Anthony came to join us a few minutes later and he took a seat next to me on the couch. A few minutes after that there was another ring at the door, a boy around Sam's age walked in and apologized for being late. He also seemed surprised to see my family there

" Hi I'm Miguel, I'm Sam's... boyfriend"

"Cool I'm Stevie, and these are my parents"

After our introductions and some more small talk, we made our way into the kitchen for dinner, luckily I'd never been a picky eater so whatever we were having I was gonna be completely fine with it. 

" So Stevie, you went to camp with Anthony"

" Yes Mrs. Larusso, I went there two summers ago"

" Did you not like it there? Anthony was bummed when you didn't come back the next summer"

"MOM"

I chuckled at that, it was nice to know the feeling was mutual.

" Yeah I loved it there, but my family and I moved because of my dad's job"

We continued small talk as we finished up dinner, I got to know Miguel, he was pretty cool and he and Sam did karate with Mr. Larusso which I thought was pretty cool. They told me all about the All-Valley tournament and the big fight that happened, much to Mrs. Larusso's disapproval.  I asked Anthony why he didn't do karate and he said it was like a cult. 

" Well Stevie, if you're ever interested in learning karate, you could always come by the dojo, I'd love to have another student"

" Thank you, Mr. Larusso, I'll definitely think about it"

After dinner was over, the adults went into the living room to talk more and Anthony showed me his room. It was simple, a bed, a desk, at the middle of his room was a huge gaming set up.

" Do you want to play something?"

"Not really, I'm not good at anything"

Wow. Coming out it sounded way more depressing than in my head.  I took a seat on a little couch he had on the other side of his room.

"Are you nervous?...about school"

" A little bit, I hope we have classes together though, it'll make it easier"

He joined me on the couch.

" Well my parents already talked to the principal, they're good friends, and he said he would try his best, and we'll at least have lunch together... our tables are pretty full but I suppose I can save a seat for you"

"That's very kind of you Anthony"

He filled me in on the school, who to talk to, who not to talk to, the worst teachers, the best places to skip, but it was getting late

"Stevie, it's time to go home"

Anthony and I both stood up, before we made it to the stairs he turned and hugged me.

" I'll see you tomorrow"

" See ya"