The school day was fascinating leading up to recess; we had our first reports today, I did mine on Astronomy and it went over fairly well with at least half the class, particularly with Kyle and Blondie. Most of the class had normal reports, however when Eric presented his, it wasn't articulate at all. It was hateful, spiteful even and most of it was about Jewish culture, however the information was ridiculously off. He referenced Kyle in it many times as well, in a negative light; this surprised me because they seemed like pals. Before he was even half way completed, Mr. Garrison requested that he take his seat, to which he fussed. However, after the class nodded in agreement with Garrison, he became deflated and returned to his seat for the rest of the kids to present their reports. We made it through two thirds of the reports before the bell for recess rang. As per usual, I was the last out of the room since I took my belongings and politely strolled out instead of participating in the ambush to the door. Our recess was a half hour, anyways, who really wanted those extra precious seconds?
I went to my locker before going outside and stuffed my messenger bag inside of it; my classes didn't consist of nearly as many materials as back in New York, so I didn't need a huge backpack anymore. My back thanked me for that however my mind didn't; the learning scale in Colorado was most definitely different than NY; or at least, in South Park, anyways. It seemed as if only a few kids really grasped the concept of being a decent human here.
I opened a different door to exit outdoors today, since it was closer to the girl's bathroom that I had just exited from. Upon leaving the building, I was greeted by the Goth kids, who didn't seem too happy about my sudden accidental arrival into their territory.
"Who are you, conformist?" The female of the group asked; I liked her makeup; I felt insecure about doing my makeup since seldom girls did here in Colorado; everyone did back in NY. Hers was done heavily, however that was to fit in with the culture. I always somewhat enjoyed Goth culture, though never wished to participate in it, so I'd always admired the punks from afar. Their music was nice, though.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt; this door was just the closest to me."
"Don't do it again, conformist," A Goth with red bangs said and he clearly meant it.
"I won't," I overheard their music playing from what I assumed to be the Kindergartener's boom box. It recognized the guitar riff from it; heavy, but smooth. Before I left, I said, "I like your music."
I kept wandering until I was stopped by the boys from yesterday again.
"Wait, Em, come hang out with us," Blondie said. I felt bad, so I joined them.
I don't think the rest of the group was fully in par with what Blondie requested, but I didn't care.
"So, like, whe-where did y-you cuh-come from?" A kid in a yellow shirt with crutches asked.
"New York," I stated.
He smiled, "Tha-that's pretty cuh-cool."
"What's New York like?" Kyle asked.
"Loud," I said. "Busy."
"Do you like loud and busy?" He inquired.
I shook my head, "It's nice being somewhere laidback for once; it gives me time to focus on the things that matter. Although, it also makes me think about the past more, so I guess there's negatives to every positive to balance it out, y'know?"
Eric chimed in, "Damn, that was deep, dude; why don't you go hang out with the Goth kids or something? I saw you talking to them anyways."
I ignored that comment; so did the rest of the group; I couldn't help but assume that this was a reoccurring theme in his life and a small part of me felt bad.
"Mmmmprmh," One of the kids, who I had not seen yet, murmured, walking up to us. His coat covered his mouth and half his head, revealing his eyes. I mean, I knew it was cold but it wasn't catastrophically freezing, he didn't have to bundle so tightly. He looked at me upon engaging with the group, "Mmmph!"
"What?" I asked, taken aback. I couldn't hardly understand what he was saying with the damned coat covering his mouth.
"He said hello," The kid in the brown coat said. "That's Kenny."
I nodded, "Okay, hello, Kenny. Can you guys tell me your names so I don't get confused?"
After going through the cycle of the group, I learned the names of Eric, who everyone calls Cartman, but I think Eric suits him better, Kyle, Kenny, Stan, Jimmy, and Clyde. I was told that their group was usually larger but the rest of the kids in their group were either busy or had detention ie: Tweek, Craig, Timmy, Token, and several others whom I lost track of their names in the mix. I was surprised their group was so large; I started to think maybe they weren't losers; maybe the only loser in the group was Eric.
"Well, it's nice to meet you guys," I said.
The bell rang which indicated for us to go back inside. I started shuffling away as I did yesterday, however this time Kyle caught up to me.
"Hey, wait, Em! If you want to hang out with us, we'll be at my house tonight at seven," He said. "My mom is ordering us all pizza. I got the new Gamesphere so we're all just going to play games. If you're available, bring your sleeping bag; it'll be fun. Well, see ya."
Without giving me a chance to reply, he caught up with Stan and Kenny. They seemed really nice; all of them except Eric, but even he seemed to have a few amusing qualities. I didn't think I'd go though; I wasn't much for sleepovers. And I had to take care of Van and that in itself was going to take up most of my night.
The school day ended and I walked with Van home again. He told me about the finger painting they did and I told him about my project on the stars. When we arrived home, the same happened as the night before; I helped him with his homework and went to play guitar. When Father got home, I helped him make dinner. As I was washing the dishes, my Father got a call on the home phone; that's the second one we've received since we've been here; the first was from the school on my first week.
"Hello?" I heard him say from the living room. Van was in there with him, coloring on the floor as they watched Terrance and Phillip – that was my favorite show. "Oh, yes, she's here…. Oh, you didn't know she – yes, I see. Boys will be boys….. Yes, I'll let her know…. Bye." He hung up the phone. "Emma!"
I stopped doing dishes and walked into the living room.
"Your friend Kyle's mom just called and told me that you were invited to a sleepover tonight. Are you going to go?"
I shrugged.
"You should go make some new friends, hun; we've been here for three weeks already," He pleaded. I felt bad. I knew he only wanted what was best for me and I knew that he knew my life surrounded around making sure Van was happy. I had to cave in, even if it was just once. And, at least I enjoyed hanging out with the group thus far.
I sighed, "I'll go."
He smiled, "Okay, go get your things. I'll walk you over. Their house is only a few houses down from ours."
I packed my bag with a baggy shirt and shorts as well as a pair of fuzzy socks and of course my toothbrush. As I packed my bag, I fantasized over eating pizza and hoped that they would have normal, meatless pizzas. Although, I'm sure they'd have to have at least one for Kyle since I assumed he was Jewish and therefore kosher; doesn't that mean they don't eat certain meats? Oh well, I'd find out.
After packing my bag, I pulled over my long black coat and my combat boots and walked downstairs to let my Father know I was ready to go. He put Van to bed and we walked over to Kyle's house. When we reached the door, we were greeted by Kyle's mother who was very loud, however very kind. She had a Jersey accent; I'd been to Jersey once, it wasn't a bad place – at least, the south wasn't.
Father left and I walked inside; Kyle's mom brought me into the living room where the rest of the group was slowly forming. Thus far, there was Kyle, Kenny, and a boy in all blue who I assumed was one of the others they mentioned today.
"Hey, Em!" Kyle said. "Here, I'll show you where you can put your bag."
I followed him up the stairs and into his room. As we exited his room, he said, "That over there is my brother, Ike's room. He said that your brother is in his class, right?"
I nodded, "Probably, my brother Van is in Kindergarten."
"I think they're friends already; he said your brother is kind of shy though."
I chuckled, "Yeah, yeah he is."
We joined the others downstairs to find that Eric had just arrived.
"Hey, who's the new chick?" The kid in all blue said. "And, since when are we letting chicks into our group?"
"He's not a chick, Craig. This is Em," Stan said in my… defense? I mean, I was female. But, if they wanted to pretend I wasn't so I could hang out with them, whatever. They were probably nicer than the girls anyways, at least, I assumed so from experience.
"Who want's pizza?" Kyle's mom entered the room with trays of pizza freshly delivered and set them all on the coffee table. Kyle's dad walked in behind with a bottle of soda and cups. They both left after Kyle thanked them.
As Kyle set up his new gaming system, I talked to Jimmy and Tweek who had just arrived.
"Your parents own the coffee shop in town?" I asked, actually excited. "I've been to that place a few times already and it's my favorite."
"Yeah! It's- it's great!" Tweek exclaimed.
"I-I've nuh-never had cuh-coffee," Jimmy said.
"Well, maybe one day after school we can go there and you can try some," I said. "It's kind of strong, well at least the good stuff is, but you could start by trying a latte; they're awesome."
"A-awesome!" Jimmy grinned.
"Okay, there, it's ready to play!" Kyle smiled and everyone huddled around the television.
We played video games well into the night; I was even able to have pizza because all of them were cheese. The night went on well. Eventually, we all ended up in Kyle's room talking and playing with his remote control robot. As the night drew, Kyle's parents came in to tell us to start settling down for bed. Most of them all changed in the same room, but I had to go to the bathroom, so I brought my clothes with me to change in there. As I was changing my shirt, I heard the door opening, but before I could say anything it fully opened to reveal a very baffled and embarrassed Stan.
"Holy shit!" He closed the door as soon as he opened it.
I felt so embarrassed.
