Many hours have passed since Ella and I finished drawing. We talked a while longer and then played jazz music until we each decided that our artwork was finished.
Ella got invited to a game night taking place later tonight. She invited me to come too. Her friend group consists of Alex, Tucker, and Leo. I've hung out with Alex more than the rest of them. She's more like me, which is exactly why we haven't gotten together without Ella. She is also shy and unsure of whether somebody genuinely likes her or is just being friendly. Feeling that way makes us not want to reach out to anyone. Ella is very warm and affectionate with the people she loves, so you can gather how she feels about you right away.
Alex, Tucker, and Leo are all roommates. Alex is the only girl out of the three. If I were her, I would be uncomfortable rooming with two guys, but I don't know the guys at all, so I really shouldn't judge.
Their apartment is all decked out for game night. There are a bunch of colorful lights surrounding the living room. It feels like we just entered an arcade. They have their Nintendo Switch and TV set up for Mario Kart with chips and nacho cheese on the coffee table. In the corner, there's a grey and white dog bed with a beautiful Bernese mountain dog asleep on it.
I already feel more at home than when I was at the party with Scarlett last night.
Ella goes around hugging and saying hi to everyone.
"Hey Jo," Alex says timidly.
I go over to Alex and give her a hug. "Hi, Alex." She tightens her arms around my back which makes me feel like we've hit a new spot in our friendship.
"Hey guys. This is Josephine, but we call her Jo."
"Hi," I say diffidently as she introduces me to Tucker and Leo. "Who's that?" I direct my attention to the dog.
"His name is Oliver. He's been with me since freshman year." I envy Tucker for having a furry companion around.
"So Jo. You much of a gamer?" Tucker changes the subject.
"I was growing up. My dad would play video games with me and my sister. We grew up with the original PlayStation and the GameCube."
"Sick!" Leo's tone mimics a typical skater boy. "I wanted those so bad growing up, but we didn't have the money for it."
"My mom got the PlayStation for my dad for father's day when I was four years old. My sister and I got the GameCube for Christmas a couple of years later."
"What kind of games did you play?"
"We played a lot of cartoon games from Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. My mom didn't like it when my sister and I played fighting games. But my dad would play Tekken 4 with us when my mom was busy gardening. My sister and I competed a lot in Mario Kart too."
"Oh no. You brought a pro to our game night." Leo teases Ella.
"I'm pretty sure I've lost all of my tricks. I haven't played in years."
"You'll do great." Alex chimes in. I smile at her sweet comment.
We get into positions to play 5-player Mario Kart. They let me pick my character and car first. I choose Yoshi, and everyone boos at me dramatically. I picked the green wild-wing car to match my player. Ella chose Princess Peach and her royale kart which doesn't surprise anyone at all. Alex went for Toad and matched him with his cute toad kart. Leo got Bowser and his tyrant cart while Tucker landed on Mario and his original kart.
The first game starts in Toad's factory. We rev our engines as the countdown begins.
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YOU ARE READING
In Two Years
RomanceJosephine Bellamy is a student at the University of Massachusetts. Jo is a hopeless romantic who has decided to take a break from love. Although she fantasizes about love, she has decided that she would not let that get in the way of her studies. On...
