When I first got there, I was surprised by how few people were there yet, as I came fashionably late. I wasn't intending to be fashionably late so much as I got talking to Paul, Jimmy, Nate and Sam and then realized I was late.
Jamie was there, and I decided to sit with her, which immediately Erin made an issue of. Erin thinks something strange is going to with Jamie and I, which is ridiculous. I mean, I like her, obviously; we're friends. But Erin just gets really weird about the two of us talking to each other.
Last year, the three of us, (Erin, Jamie and I) were in a class, and Jamie was always quiet. She almost never talked. Most of the other (predominately girls) were untalkative too, but because I knew Jamie, I spoke to her before class. Erin did mention once that I was the only person who ever talked to her, which was sort of the point. Jamie is nice, but shy. Just because someone is shy doesn't mean they should be ignored. I make it a special point to try to engage shy people, especially shy girls, because I know how hard it is in a new social setting with people you don't know. It's easy to let your be unheard.
I think one of the other problems was that I walked in and there happened not to be any chairs available, which wasn't necessarily a big deal, but a young man (thankfully, sitting next to Jamie) got out of his chair immediately and offered it to me. I don't need men to always do the chivalric thing, but I try to be appreciative when they do. I think the fact that I was dressed in a white dress with black curly designs all over it annoyed Erin too, because this wasn't necessarily the sort of party to come dressed up to. Whatever. I need more excuses to be dressed up for, and I'm happy to take whatever I can get.
One of my many frustrations with this party was that I couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone about it. I was invited, but no one could tell me when it was going to be. Or where.
So I was a little annoyed to discover that this party was BYOB, because seriously, no one said anything. I had to nag Erin just to get her to tell me what was going on. (And then happened to run into someone who actually did tell me what was up.)
This is like in March when I went to a party with her and Carrie. Before I got there, Carrie gave me three different addresses to the place, all of which turned out to be other places. (I walked in on another concert, and when I asked about the event, the people there thought I was mad.)
Liz, who, for some reason was there, implied that I was stupid not to know better. I actually could have brought something for myself, as I passed multiple stores in my walk over.
Liz isn't part of this group of friends, though obviously she's friends with Erin. She's been hanging around a lot lately. Erin told me in March that Liz had broken up with this guy that she's been with for years. I felt bad for her because of the circumstances Erin described, which made it sound like this guy freaked out on her.
All that said, sometimes Liz can be really snarky, and I'm not sure how to react. I always try to be nice, though it's a struggle for me sometimes.
Jamie very sweetly stepped in and offered to me some white wine, which sounded good to me. We trooped downstairs to borrow glasses. (I get the distinct impression Erin didn't plan much for this party, as the only thing she mentioned doing was cleaning. To be fair, the cleaning probably took a long time.)
The basement is where the kitchen is and the huge table everyone eats at. I'd been down here a couple of times before. As Jamie and I trooped down there, we found one group of people trying to study. (Someone later mentioned that Erin had probably pissed her housemates off by having this party at this time of year.) When we turned into the dining area, there were Marguerite and Virginia. I said hi to both of them, kind of surprised to see Virginia but not so much to see Marguerite as she lives there. They both looked like they were working on homework, Virginia with her computer out. Marguerite was working on an art project. Part of her project was to illustrate some things, including a poem I had offered to let her use. I asked her if that part was done, and she said not yet.
"I love that poem!" she gushed. "You said some very true things and I love that you used a snake!" (The snake was part of an image in the poem.
I was totally touched that she liked it so much.
Jamie and I got our glasses and headed upstairs. We cheered and drank.
I got to talk to Anne, who I haven't seen in ages. Anne was wearing this really tight, really short shorts. The way her body was shaped and the way the chair was designed made it look at various times like she wasn't wearing anything on the bottom half of her body. I knew what that felt like because I feel like I have awkward fashion moments all the time.
Part of the time, I sat outside with Bobby and talked. Bobby told me about the novel he wrote while he was in high school, which was apparently about unrequited love. He implied heavily that it was written from personal experience. Bobby is not physically attractive, but he's so great to talk to that I find it hard to believe some girl would be dumb enough to turn him down.
While we were sitting outside, some friends coming late to the party came up and said hello. Mostly they just drank and fooled around, and thinking Cory was done with whatever bad poetry reading he was doing, we headed back inside.
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