As Warm as an Eskimo

“We’re here!” Tanner exclaimed as he pulled his dark green, 2001 Toyota Camry to the side of the road. I looked out the back window of the car at the tall white house before me. It was hard to believe that this mansion of a house and my grandparent’s tiny little ranch home were even in the same neighborhood. As I continued observing the location that I was going to be spending the rest of my night at, I noticed that there were at least fifty people scattered around the house, which illuminated in the dark woodsy area. I opened the back door of the old, rusted car and Joel, Tanner, and I started walking towards the house.

“Hey Tanner!” a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes exclaimed as she walked down the small, teenage-filled driveway. The gentle wind softly carried her long, pin-straight hair past her sun-kissed shoulders.

“...And Joel,” Joel added, raising his hand in attempt to be noticed, but her attention seemed to be solely focused on the twin standing on my right. After a moment, her fixed eyes began to venture over to the left and on to me.

She looked back at Tanner with cold eyes, “Who’s she?”

“This is Serena,” Joel put his arm around me, attempting to make me feel more comfortable. With that ever so warm greeting, I would need way more than an arm around my shoulder to feel truly welcome at this party. I’ve never been good with confrontation, and it definitely showed as I couldn’t help but slightly lower my head and peer down at the cement before me.

“Oh…” she replied, crossing her arms.

“And Serena, this is Er--”

“I can leave… if you want me too. I mean, I don’t have to stay. I was never officially invited anyway,” I blurted, cutting Tanner off from his introduction.

“Serena…” Joel said, removing his arm from around my shoulder so he could look clearly at my face.

“No, I don’t want to be in the way,” I explained and crossed my arms. My heart was pounding with anger and frustration. I anticipated this night to be a little nerve-racking and possibly awkward, but I never prepared myself for something like this-- for someone like this…

“Serena, you can’t leave,” Tanner pleaded, looking right into my eyes as he rested his hands on my shoulders.

“Yeah. I mean, how would you even get back? Tanner drove,” Joel said.

“I can walk… it’s not that far,” I replied.

“No. Listen, you’re not walking anywhere. You are staying right here,” Tanner told me. “Right?” he looked over at Erin.

“...Fine, whatever. She can stay; I don’t care,” Erin responded, hardly looking up from her slim silver phone. “Alright, well I’m going to go inside. Y’all can do whatever,” she slipped her phone into the back pocket of her small distressed shorts and returned to the garage.

“What the hell was that about?” I asked as she walked away.

“Erin’s been like ‘in love’ with Tanner since… well, pretty much forever. I mean, I can see why… he is a fine looking boy,” Joel smirked in regards to their identical appearance.

“Really? Then why don’t you go after her?” I asked Tanner.

“Not my type,” Tanner replied.

“Wait, what?!” I responded in disbelief. “I would think she’s every guy’s type. I mean, she’s got the blue eyes, the long blonde hair, she’s tan, tall… what else could you want in a girl?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty… but she’s a bit of a b***h,” he explained.

“A bit?” Joel retorted with a smirk.

“Yeah, I could see that,” I chuckled.

“See? Now, why would I want that in my life?” Tanner asked.

“Well she is in your life… you’re friends with her aren’t you?” I asked him.

“Not really… I mean, we’re more like friends of friends. And she isn’t usually this bad either; she just probably got a little jealous because you came here with us,” he replied, looking down at me.

“Probably?” Joel asked, raising his eyebrows.

“A little?” I added as I looked back up at Tanner.

“Okay, okay… there was definitely a lot of jealousy going on from her direction but don’t let that faze you,” he told me.

“Yeah, f**k her if she doesn’t like you; you’re much cooler,” Joel reassured.

“Thanks guys,” I smiled.

“Yeah, so you better not leave,” Tanner smiled back. Out of the left corner of my eye I could see a shorter girl with a familiar face beginning to walk towards the three of us. She had slightly darker skin and thick, straight, dark brown hair that fell just a couple inches past her shoulders.

“Who’s leaving?” she asked as she joined the little circle we created at the end of the driveway.

“Absolutely no one!” Joel exclaimed in joy.

“Hey,” the girl smiled at me. “Wait, I know you… you’re Serena, right?” she asked.

“Yeah…” I replied skeptically.

“I’m Amber. We met… last year was it?” she replied, looking up at Tanner and Joel for verification.

“At the waterpark!” I exclaimed, finally figuring out why she looked so familiar.

“Yeah! I was with Caitlyn when we ran into y’all,” she replied.

“That’s right,” Tanner said, recalling the day.

“Yeah, that was a fun day,” Joel added.

“Sure was! When did you come down here?” Amber asked me.

“Just about a week ago,” I answered.

“Hey, she’s going to school with us now,” Joel told her.

“Oh really? You’re not going back to Minnesota after the summer?” she asked me.

As I opened my mouth to respond, Tanner immediately answered with a smile painted across his face, “Nope! She’s staying down here.”

“Oh, why is that? Did you finally realize that Georgia is much cooler?” she smiled.

“Something like that,” I replied with a soft chuckle.

“Nice, that’s awesome!” she smiled. “Well, c’mon; let’s go inside and have you meet some people!” She grabbed my hand and led me into the garage, which wasn’t like a normal garage… you know, with a car, a lawn mower and random outdoor toys inside. Instead, it was decked out with slightly beat up brown couches and chairs, and a long black light rested upon each cemented wall. There was also an old foosball table tucked in the left corner, which was occupied by Erin and a tall, nicely toned guy with short, dirty blonde hair. He wore a light blue and white flannel with a white t-shirt underneath. His dark blue jeans were slightly torn around his left knee and rested properly around his waist. With his strong jawline and bright blue eyes, I would’ve mistaken him for a Hollister model if I hadn't known better.

“Hey, Tanner, you might not have to worry about Erin anymore… looks like she’s hitting it off with him,” I said, turning back at Tanner and pointing towards the foosball table.

“Who? Alan?” he asked, looking over at them.

“Sure, if that’s his name,” I replied. Amber, Tanner and Joel all joined together in a sudden burst of laughter. I looked at the three of them cluelessly as they gripped their sides, trying to catch their breath.

“Serena, that’s Erin’s older brother,” Tanner finally filled me in.

“Yeah, and he’s gay,” Joel added with a chuckle.

“Of course he is…” I sighed in disappointment.

“I know right? Isn’t every good-looking guy?” Amber asked, gently hitting my arm with the back of her hand.

“Hey, I take offense to that,” Joel said.

“Yeah, I’m not gay,” Tanner stated.

“Yeah, but you might wanna start telling her you are,” I replied, motioning towards Erin.

“Hey guys!” A fair-skinned redhead walked over with a drink in each hand.

“Hey! Caitlyn, this is Serena; Serena, this is Caitlyn,” Amber introduced with a smile.

“Hey,” I greeted as I lightly tucked a small section of my hair behind my left ear. My side bangs rested slightly above my right eye, and my loose blonde waves flowed down to the small of my back.

“Hey,” she smiled. “You want a beer?” She extended her left arm, offering a cold, unopened can.

“I just love the way you greet people, Caitlyn,” Joel joked. I peered down at the can before me. I have never been much of a drinker… In fact, I have only had a few sips in the past seventeen years of my existence-- not enough to get drunk or even buzzed. However, I accepted the drink and looked up at Tanner.

“No alcohol, my a*s,” I smirked.

“Well, what did you want me to tell your old lady? The truth?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, I’m sure that would’ve went over well,” Joel retorted. “Hey, don’t leave me hanging… What else you got?” he asked Caitlyn.

“There’s more in the fridge over there if you wanna take a look,” she replied, pointing to the dirty, off-white fridge placed against the cemented wall on the right of the foosball table. Joel wasted no time heading over to the fridge with a grin painted across his slim face.

“Ooo, what happened to your arm?” Caitlyn asked, pointing to the scar on the inside of my right forearm. I quickly covered it with my left hand and looked up at Tanner.

“Um…” I replied, looking back at Caitlyn. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Erin walking over. She was stumbling slightly as she passed the small love seat placed in front of us.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I was just curious,” Caitlyn reassured me.

“What doesn’t she have to answer?” Erin asked, walking up behind Caitlyn. She rested her arm on Caitlyn’s shoulder and placed her other hand on her extended hip.

“Caitlyn just asked how she got the scar on her arm,” some random guy answered from the recliner next to the love seat. I could feel my face turning red as I glanced over him. He leaned back in his chair with a smile plastered across his face, holding a beer in his right hand.

“Yeah, how did you get that?” Erin asked, tilting her head to the side with her finger on her chin.

“Erin, stop,” Tanner said, firmly. His hands were clenched, and I could tell his teeth were as well. It was weird to see Tanner like that… I always knew him as a happy, go with the flow type of guy. Looking up at him now, I realized that he was also someone you didn’t want to upset.

“Ugh,” Erin groaned as she took her arm off of Caitlyn’s shoulder. She folded her arms and continued, “You wanna know what I think it looks like?” She took a second to look me straight in my eyes. Her lips looked like she was sucking on a Warhead, and her blue eyes were shooting daggers into mine. “It looks like you cut yourself,” she stated.

“Erin!” Tanner yelled at her. I bit my lip to let the pain distract me from the rage surging throughout my body. I knew what she was going to say before she even said it, but that still didn’t keep me from being shocked that someone I literally just met could be so cruel. What did I even do?

“I’m leaving,” I said as I pushed past Tanner and started towards the driveway.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I heard Tanner snap at Erin before following me out of the garage.

I quickly shuffled past the mob of people standing along the driveway, keeping my eyes locked on the sidewalk that would lead me in the direction of my grandparent’s. I could feel my stomach drop with every step that I took as I maneuvered through the crowd of teenagers. Every person I passed seemed to be holding their beverage of choice and happily conversing with their friends.

How pathetic… I’m surrounded by people, but I feel completely alone… I thought to myself as I finally reached the sidewalk.

“Serena!” a voice called from behind me. I quickly turned around and saw Tanner walking towards me. “I am so sorry about that… Are you okay?” he asked as he lightly placed his hand on my arm.

Am I okay? I thought to myself. I just got accused of cutting myself in front of a bunch of people that I am going to have to face at school on Monday by the person that you’re ‘friends of friends’ with. Of course I’m not okay… But all that came out was, “Yeah, I’m fine,” and continued walking down the street.

“I had no idea that anything like this would happen, and if I had, I never would have--”

“It’s okay,” I interrupted. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I guess I just have a hard time fitting in… and I understand if on Monday you want to go our separate ways so that I don’t make things harder for you in any way--”

“Whoa, hold on… What kind of person do you think I am?” He stopped walking and turned to look me in my eyes. “Serena, you’re my friend; I’ve known you since we were six years old, and I’m not going to pretend like I don’t know you or like we’re not friends because of one person that I don’t even really consider a friend.”

I looked down at the ground between us and sighed, “Yeah, but we’ve only ever seen each other for a week or two during the summer. We’ve never gone to the same school… Tanner, I’m not the type of girl that people notice-- the type that people want to be friends with… the type that fits in…” I confessed with a slight feeling of shame. I didn’t want to admit it to him-- or even to myself, but it was true… I took a deep breath and continued, “Back in Minnesota, I was always getting overlooked… forgotten. People I went to school with for my entire life hardly even knew my name. I’ve never been asked to a dance, invited to parties--”

“Serena, none of that matters to me…” Tanner interrupted. With my head lowered, I could still feel his gaze concentrated on me. When I looked back up at him, his perfectly emerald eyes were fixed on mine. The way he looked so intently into my eyes made me feel as if he was looking right past all of my insecurities and into who I really am. “I see you,” he continued. The sincerity in his voice was something I had not expected. It was very rare for me to have a serious conversation with Tanner and Joel, and I only really knew them as being sarcastic and light-hearted. This was definitely a side of Tanner that I was not familiar with, but it actually made me feel much closer to him-- like our friendship really was… real. “Just because you may not have stood out to the people at your old school doesn’t mean that you don’t stand out to me. Hearing other people’s opinions of you is not going to change the opinion that I already have-- and have had for years. I mean, you could tell me that everyone absolutely hated you back at your old school, that they called you a ‘loser’ when you walked by and shot spit balls at the back of your head during class, and I would still think that you are an amazing girl that anyone would be lucky to be friends with.”

I took a deep breath and responded, “Thank you… Thank you for talking to me and for being such an amazing friend…”

“Well, what are friends for?” he smiled, extending his arms to give me a hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and I could feel his arms tighten around mine. Immediately, I felt a sudden rush of pure comfort and safety right there in his arms. I mean, Tanner and I have hugged before, but this time felt different. Maybe it was the conversation that led to the hug, or maybe it was the fact that the hug was longer than usual, or… hell, maybe it was because I was clearly in a vulnerable and emotional state, but whatever the case, it was nice. It was all the reassurance that I needed to know that I really did have a bond with Tanner and Joel. In that moment, I also realized how much they meant to me as well. They were more to me than just some people that I saw once a year for a week or two; they were two people that I loved and cared about and that I knew loved and cared about me too. They were two people that I knew that I could count on, and that didn’t happen often… not for me.