Snow, Snow Is Here To Stay

The Nelsons

My dad came home with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong, honey?" my mom asked, as she pulled up a chair for him.

Dad grimaced, "You know my old friend Luke Nelson from high school when I lived here?"

"Yeah..." my brother responded.

"His father passed away. I can't believe it! He was so healthy," my dad shook his head.

"Oh, no!" my mom exclaimed, hugging my dad.

My dad turned to me, "You might know Luke's daughter. They actually live near here."

"So what's her name?" I questioned. Maybe it was one of my new friends.

"Marisa Nelson."

I gasped. No freaking way. "What!?"

Adrien glanced at me. "You know her?"

"Yeah! She's in my homeroom and some classes! She hates me!"

My dad looked at me in confusion. "I'm sure she doesn't. She's super nice."

I scoffed, "Yeah, right."

"Anyways, we're going over to their place for dinner."

"I am not. You guys go," I stated.

My mom eyed me and I sighed.

"Fine," I agreed, reluctantly.

Two hours later, my family was in front of Marisa's house, about to ring the bell. I pretended to be interested in my phone as my dad rang the bell. Marisa's dad had answered the door.

"Well, if it isn't Leo Wong! Valedictorian of our grad class 1993! Come on in!" Luke smiled broadly, hugging my dad.

"Thank you so much for inviting us over!" my mom beamed.

I sighed. I walked into the house and the first thing I noticed was Marisa standing at the corner with her arms crossed.

"You know I'm not happy about this either," I said, when I passed her. She rolled her eyes and led me into the dining room. Dinner went on without Marisa and I talking to each other once. My parents had a full-on conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Nelson while Marisa, Adrien, and I sat there silently.

Adrien pulled out his phone and sank into his seat. He seemed completely unaware to the intense glaring contest me and Marisa were having. I gave him the evil eye and then turned back to Marisa, who was leering right back at me. At that exact moment, Mrs. Nelson decided to say the worst thing I could have possibly imagined: "Oh, Marisa, why don't you show Anna your room? I know you guys want to talk but it's awkward with adults here."

Ha ha.

My dad nodded. "That sounds like a great idea!"

Marisa smiled placidly. "Sure. Follow me, Anna."

I politely followed her up the stairs.

She stomped up the stairs with me in tow. She flung open the door to her room, walking inside. I followed her and was immediately shocked by how many posters there were. Most of them were for boy bands. I noticed one of The Beatles which especially stood out to me among the rest.

"Hey, who's your favourite member of The Beatles?" I wondered. Marisa glanced at me with narrowed eyes.

"John Lennon," was her reply.

"Oh, same! My favourite song is Imagine. Adrien and I sing to it all the time," I grinned.

"Hmm. That's cool, I guess," said Marisa. I started singing the chorus of Imagine and surprisingly, Marisa hummed along.

"You can say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one," I sang. We stared at each other, then started laughing. But then, Marisa stiffened and sat down on her chair.

"So..." I started.

Marisa glared at me, "I know Marco asked you to dance. Honestly, I don't really care."

"Yeah right," I muttered under my breath.

She continued, "But I know you also have a date with Ben. How's this going to work out? Are you going to be like Veronica from Archie and run back and forth between the two guys?"

I sighed. "I'm going to decline one of them."

Marisa chuckled, "Anna, Anna, Anna. You can't decline them after you accept, silly."

I thought about that and I knew she was right. I was going to have to tell the truth.

"Well, good luck with that." Marisa stood up and grabbed a dress from her closet.

"Is that your outfit for the dance?" I asked.

"Yup. How does it look?" Marisa smiled.

"Um...it's nice but isn't it supposed to be pretty casual?" I answered.

Marisa shrugged. "At least all eyes will be on me." I sighed and my phone buzzed with a message. It was Ben. He was asking what colour I was wearing to the dance. I ignored it and texted back asking him to meet me at my locker tomorrow morning. I had some bad news for him.