I was lead to a pretty ragged looking tree house a top a hill. I could see how this would be a nice hang out though. You wouldn't be bothered there.
Chris pushed me ahead and motioned for me to knock.
I did, but my heart was pounding. I knocked twice.
"That's not the secret knock!" I heard a boy cry.
"That's ok Gord-o. It's me." Chris shouted.
"Chris? You never forget the secret knock." I heard the kid who was Gordie mumble.
"That's because it's not me knocking. I brought someone."
"What?!" another voice screeched out. And then I heard footsteps shuffling above me.
The latch above my head was opened and I saw a moppy haired kid with huge glasses.
He stared at me for an awkwardly long time until Chris came up behind me.
"Well, who's this?" The kid asked.
"Questions later." Chris replied, leading me up the ladder.
When I entered, I saw a dark haired kid with a magazine, lying on a small couch-like thing. Then I saw a chubby kid next to him. There wasn't much I could say about him besides that.
"These are Gordie, Teddy, and Vern," Chris introduced me to each of the guys and gestured at them.
I smiled at each awkwardly. They didn't return the gesture. Gordie was too caught up in what he was reading and Vern looked too nervous. The moppy haired kid was just being rude.
Teddy sat down and got out a deck of cards.
"Do you play?" he asked me while shuffling them.
I shook my head a little shyly and kept it tilted downwards. I wasn't good with new people. Chris had just been an exception.
Apparently that set something loose in Teddy's brain and he gave me a look of utter disbelief.
He slapped the cards down and looked at Chris, "She doesn't play? Does she smoke?" He was grinning slightly, the type of grin a lunatic gave you.
"Shut up Teddy. Leave her alone."
"I don't believe this." Teddy smacked the cards down on the table from frustration.
His first impression wasn't going so well for him. I already disliked him with all my heart.
"But what are you playing? I bet I can learn." I said, a little angrily now.
Teddy laughed. It was a disgusting, super annoying laugh that made me want to slap him.
"Alright," Teddy said. "It's called gin rummy. Ever heard of it?" He said it rudely.
"Yes, I've heard of it," I replied as politely as possible but inside, I was boiling.
So Teddy dealed once he picked the cards back up. He was still shaking his head as if I were the crazy one, instead of him. Chris played along as well and since Teddy didn't have the patience to explain the rules to me, Chris did.
I caught on pretty quickly and in the end, I beat both the guys.
I was grinning inside while Teddy stared at me with a crazy look in his eye. He couldn't believe it.
