Chapter 3. Foreman's Pretty Rad, I Guess.
After my father discovered that I ditched school, he tried to keep me from attending Eric's party, however after much consideration he decided to let me on the account that I told him that I would "never find any friends if they rejected me." I hated manipulating my father, however sometimes it had to be done for me to get what I wanted. And, hey, at least I'm not as malicious as Jackie seemed to be.
I wasn't sure if the party was a casual affair or not, so I went with casual after deciding I didn't care if the other girls were adorned in dresses. A Pink Floyd t-shirt and ripped black leggings with boots and a thin dark jean jacket since it was kind of chilly when I walked outside. I didn't care what people thought about me in Seattle and I didn't care what people thought of me in Wisconsin. Nobody would stop me from acting and looking how I am. Thankfully, it wasn't bright out today so I didn't have to go back inside to grab my sunglasses after already saying goodbye to father – I was extremely light sensitive.
Once I arrived at the Foreman's house – I went through the back way which led straight to the basement – I was greeted by Eric, Donna, and Curly Hair who appeared to be still waiting for Kelso, Jackie, and Fez. Donna and Eric were talking amongst themselves on the couch while Curly Hair stared grouchily at the television and ignored his surroundings; he didn't even seem to notice the noise of the door closing.
"Oh, hey, Saige! How're you?" Donna greeted me with a hug.
"Tired, but good. You?" I responded.
"Tired? Didn't you sleep for like eighteen hours?" She laughed. She turned to the guys. "Oh, Eric, Hyde. This is Saige. She moved here from Seattle last week. She's really cool."
Eric smiled and greeted me. Hyde looked at me intently for a moment, nodded, and pointed his attention back to the television. I couldn't tell his expression through his glasses, but he seemed kind of out of it, I guess…. That was probably it. I haven't done anything to offend anybody yet, so it wouldn't have been my personality that put him off.
"I've heard a lot about you so far, you seem really cool, Saige," Eric seemed to be really sweet; this was a trait in friends I wasn't used to. Usually, I hung around the low-lifes who didn't really do much and were assholes… however, this kid had something going for him, I could tell. He seemed quite intelligent, more so than Kelso or Jackie.
I wasn't sure about Hyde, yet, though, so I decided to test the waters.
"Nice shirt, Hyde. I love Zeppelin. What other bands are you into?" I inquired.
I received a muttered response of, "The good ones."
Cool. I didn't need to get along with him anyways. If he wanted to play asshole, I'd play it back.
That was about the time when Foreman's parents came down to tell Eric something. His mother greeted me kindly, while his father just nodded. After they walked back up the stairs, Jackie paraded in, followed by Kelso.
"Hi, guys!" She bubbled.
We all hung around the television for a while, Fez eventually showed up. Eric's parents seemed to be having their own party upstairs, because Hyde insisted that Eric steal some beers from his parents. Eventually, he and Kelso amped him with courage to do it. While he was upstairs, they were all energetically talking about how they really wanted beer and hoped that he wouldn't forget to make sure it was cold. I for one was definitely pleased that I decided to come, since there would – like I wished – be beer.
Eventually, Eric came back down with four beers. Four? Jackie didn't seem interested in one, but that still left one person out. He threw one to everyone but me.
"Eric…" Donna's voice warned. "What about Saige?"
"What about her…?" Then it clicked. "Oh! Oh, right…. Kelso, give Saige your beer."
"No way, man!" Kelso protested.
I sighed. "It's fine, guys…" Dammit. I sat down and stared at the ground in utter disappointment.
The next thing I knew, I was being nudged in the shoulder. When I looked up, it was Hyde offering me a cup. He had poured half his beer into it. I was baffled.
"It's really not a huge deal, man." I insisted.
He sighed, "Take it."
I took it and offered a quiet, "Thank you." to which I received no response and didn't expect one.
Odd. I thought he didn't like me. He probably still doesn't but it was a kind offer. But, why would I care if he doesn't like me anyways?