'Are you almost finished?' My father's voice was full of desperation and impatience. 'Coming!' My mom and me shouted back at the same time. He grunted once again.
My mother's footsteps echoed through the apartment as she made her way to the living room. 'Finally,' dad mumbled. The door bell rang. 'Just in time,' her clear voice sounded and a few moments later I heard multiple voices and greetings.
My parents had invited Olivia, Benjamin and their grandsons over for dinner. 'Shit', I mumbled and swiftly grabbed my phone on the bed and accompanied them in the other room. There my parents were very busy welcoming our guests. Olivia was wearing a flower printed blue and purple dress that ended below her knees, this time Benjamin wore a regular tie in coordination with the colours his wife was wearing. My feet took me closer to them and my eyes scanned the two boys whom I hadn't met before. One of them looked a few years older than me and smiled at me. The dark haired boy wore a green flannel shirt and black jeans. His younger brother was chatting with my mother, but when he saw me he looked profoundly shocked. And so did I.
Just my luck. The guy from yesterday appeared to be my neighbour. My stomach turned at the thought of how awkward this dinner was going to be for the both of us. We both smiled and nodded unhandy at one another while Olivia introduced us. The oldest boy was called Jack and the one from yesterday's encounter was Caleb.
When my dad came back from storing their coats he proposed to take a seat and so we did. Gladly my parents were the ones to talk the most. In situations like these they always knew exactly how to behave. This meant that the only talking I did was answering questions. Once we had finished our plates Jack, Caleb and I left the table (under light duress of my parents) and moved to the living room.
'I graduated last year,' Jack told me. 'I'm attending UCL, which is great because I can come off campus anytime to come home.' He smiled. 'That's wonderful! For which degree are you studying?' 'Biochemical engineering,' was his answer. 'Wow, that's kind of the direction I wanna head to too,' I commented. I truly found Jack's college life interesting so I insisted him on telling us about some of his typical college experiences. He had chosen to become part of a fraternity and he pleased us with stories about his horrible pledge week. His brother looked slightly distracted but then again, he had probably heard these stories so many times before.
In the middle of one of his legendary adventures he was called at the table by my father, who had just heard that Jack was studying at the same university he had attended in this younger years. Jack apologized for leaving and promised to continue another time. I mentally cursed at my father for putting me in another awkward situation with Caleb, who still hadn't said a word to me.
'So...' I hesitated. 'You know, if you would't have flicked me off I would have bought you an apologize coffee,' he cut me off. 'I already had one anyway,' I answered while repositioning myself in the couch. I felt he was trying to make up with me, but the poor boy just didn't know how to start so I took the lead. 'Let's just start over, okay?' If we were going to live in the same building we might as well try to be friendly, I figured. 'I'm sorry I was rude yesterday, I had a on my mind and I guess it was a reflex to take it out on you,' he claimed relieved. 'It's okay. I mean... I may have exaggerated a bit,' I confessed as I scooted a little bit closer to him. 'Friends?' He smirked at me with a playful look in his eyes. 'Whoa, calm down there.' We both laughed, but this time it was a genuine laugh, not a fake one like at the dinner table with our families. 'But I guess we can give it a try.'
