Boys & Bikes

Chapter 8

My hair flies through the wind as I glide down the streets on my new white bike. I'm loving it. My nerves take over when I approach Esmé's house. This Dutch party can either go really well or really bad. Then again, nothing can beat last week's hellish party. I ring the doorbell, stopping to quickly admire my fresh manicure. White gel nails seem good. I smile in satisfaction at my nails when the door opens, startling me and causing me to jump. Esmé grins at me.

"Come on in!" she smiles. For some reason, I'm getting strong aunt vibes from her right now. I follow her upstairs. Andrea greets me, dressed in a black sparkly mesh top with a black bra underneath and some black jeans. Abby is wearing a black and gray lettuce trim tube top with some torn boyfriend jeans and fishnets underneath.

"Cute outfits, guys!" I compliment. I take my nerdy raincoat and rain pants off to reveal my tight, white spaghetti strap top and jeans. Esmé finally comes in wearing a striped blue & white button down mini dress.

"Hot hot hot" Andrea hollers. Esmé shuffles to the window and does her eyebrows.

"Just a warning, Dutch people love to party so they drink a whole ton" Andrea warns us.

"Oh wow" I say.

"Remember when that Dutch dude got so drunk that he puked on you?" Abby laughs.

"I remember" Esmé fake smiles.

Gross, I hate puke. I have a minor fear of it to be honest. Haven't puked since I was 6 and I don't plan to break that record any time soon.

"No drinking guys?" Abby asks.

"No drinking" Andrea reassures.

"Let's go!!" Esmé yells and we get gone. It's a long bike, and the wind feels like a cold slap to the face.

The wind slowly gets too cold to endure, and right before it becomes completely unbearable, Esmé pulls her bike over and we follow. I breathe out in relief.

"Dag, lieve schat" Esmé says to her Dutch friend Kiki who's waiting on the sidewalk.

"hoe gaat het met je?" Kiki enthusiastically asks. No idea what they're saying.

"goed, en met jou?"

"ja, ook. kom binnen, of je krijgt het koud!"

Okay so I understood... none of that. We head inside, Kiki embracing each of us in a warm hug. She somehow manages to smell like cinnamon, while the rest of her house smells like alcohol. I notice Abby's whole body stiffen as she enters the large house. The strong stench of beer fills the entire area. Kids ranging from age 13 to maybe 18 prance around the house. Even the youngest kids are carrying cigarettes or beer cans. Esmé laughs, because clearly my shocked expression wasn't well suppressed.

"Yep, 13 year olds drink here," she shrugs.

It's only a matter of time before Esmé goes off to make out with a tall Dutch boy and Andrea and Abby disappear, leaving me totally alone, once again.

"Hoi" I hear as I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and come face to face with a tall, blond boy, with the most European looking blue eyes I've ever seen. He hotly smirks as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Uhm, ja hallo" I say, trying not to send myself into panic mode because I can't speak Dutch.

"Ben je nieuw?" the cute boy asks. I'm assuming he asked if I was new so I take a chance and nod. He smiles.

"Ah, leuk. Op welke school zit je?"

My mind races as I try to translate his words in my head. Based on the basic dutch i've learned, I think he asked me what school i'm at.