Slumber Party at CJ's House
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"Kiss! Kiss!" Everyone waited for two people to kiss: one of them was my crush and the other, my friend. It seemed like I was the only one not enjoying this moment. We were playing our own version of Spin the Bottle with an empty bottle. I tried to hide my feelings because I knew that my friend had a crush on the same guy. Just as my friend tried to kiss his left cheek, he put a hand up to avoid direct contact with her lips and his cheeks.
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"Hi!" He waved both of his hands high up in the air with a twinkle in his soft, blue eyes. His hair shined brightly with a tint of orange in the Californian sun. What I liked most was his childlike smile; very pure and innocent. The only fault I saw on his face were his freckles, but I personally saw them as a charm. It was Friday night, and we were heading with five or six members of our usual group to CJ's house. I liked walking beside him and seeing him smile.
I was too busy looking at him that I didn't notice we'd already arrived in front of the house. It was a big, white house with small doors. The doors seemed to welcome all of us in, giving off a warm, yellowish color. It was a single-story house with three separate compartments. The garage was visible from the outside, and a small yacht was parked beside a big, gray van. Inside, there was some space for a table tennis court and a miniature pool table, my favorite things to play with. To the left of the pool table was a swimming pool big enough to fit all twenty of us in. Behind the pool was a room in which we played all kinds of video games: DDR (a dancing game), Super Smash Brothers, a karaoke game, and so on. Next to the video game room was a room with enough space for us to sit around in circles. I hung out at this house very often, but what was special about this day was that we were about to have the craziest slumber party of our lives.
The smell of grilled sausages made my mouth water. It filled the air, mixing in with the delicious smell of Chinese noodles and pizza. CJ's mom had made great portions of everything and set them up on a long table like a buffet. There were potato chips and drinks as well. Since the house had a lot of empty space in between compartments, we could eat, dance, and enjoy ourselves all at the same time. This place was an absolute paradise for teenagers with an all-you-can-eat buffet, time to spend with your crush, and games to enjoy with friends.
"Spin it!" A guy in glasses with curly hair yelled at the guy next to him. And guess what? The bottle pointed right at me.
"So…do you have a crush on anyone in this room?" I answered it with the straightest face possible. "No, not really. I mean, there's no one to like." I regretted adding the offensive comment. I just said it to make it clear to everyone I wasn't interested in anyone, although I actually was, deep down inside my heart. I was lying to everyone. I did not want my friend to find out that I liked the same person she liked because it would make things awkward between us. Everyone seemed to believe me, and no one asked any more questions.
Then the bottle pointed at Sci-fi (this was my friend's nickname).
"Do you like anyone?" a guy with bangs that covered just the upper part of his eyes asked.
My friend said nothing. The crowd looked at her with interested eyes. She had to do something for not answering the question.
"I dare you to kiss the guy this bottle points at," one girl said. Well, at this point, you won't have trouble guessing who the bottle pointed at. My friend blushed, and she was smiling. Thankfully, my crush did not seem to be happy about it. He just wanted this moment to be over fast. Just as she was about to give him a kiss on his left cheek, he put his hand up, making her kiss his hand instead. I laughed inside. It was pretty funny, and I was glad he did not allow her to kiss something other than his hand. I liked him even more.
It was pretty dark, and we turned on some loud music to enjoy the fun. I danced like a crazy person, having all the fun I could at the moment. CJ's parents were very cool so they did not nag or hover. Although I was in middle school, I felt like a partying college girl every time I came to CJ's house. No one could stop me, even my parents, because I could spend the night there in the house without anyone telling me what to do. Not only could I hang out with my crush longer, but I could also have all the fun. I mean, who'd think middle schoolers would play Spin the Bottle with parents around? The place was good enough for us to forget homework and run around freely like wild horses. If we wanted to play video games, we could. If we wanted to dance, we could. If we wanted to eat like a pig, we could. You get the point. It was like we were in heaven, if there's such a place.
I looked at the clock on the wall in the living room. It was past two, and we were all still fully awake, not wanting to miss out on the fun. We went into a room with a big television inside. CJ turned off all the lights, creating a spooky mood. Without saying anything, she inserted a DVD, and we all stared at the screen, ready to enjoy the last hours of the party.
"Ahhh!!!" We all screamed as the face of a woman in a white gown suddenly popped out at us as if she was going to come out of the screen. Her face was extremely distorted, and blood ran down her bloodshot eyes. It scared the hell out of me. But it was fun because we all cuddled together closely in the big room.
Before we went to sleep after the movie, we had pillow fights, the last event of a slumber party. It was fun hitting the guys because they wouldn't hit us girls back. We all had used up all our energy, and I slept peacefully.
CJ's house was one of the most special places of my life because I still never had as much fun as I had there. College life in Korea is nothing like it. Having fun in college means drinking to death. I had more fun in middle school without having any alcohol in my system. I miss the place very much because I don't know if I'll ever be as happy as I was back in middle school with all the happy memories left behind in a friend's house. If I could ever go back to a place of the past, it would be CJ's place, the paradise for teenagers.
1.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the opening part. Looking at the person you are crushed with (almost) kissing with another one... Wow... Just with talking about the situation, I would relate to the feeling thoroughly through.
Besides, for me, it was a interesting indirect experience while reading as I don't have any experience like slumber party in such a nice house, friends and parents.
2.
In the third paragraph, the writer described the house of her friend. It really looked like a perfect place to play with. Maybe the writer had another reason to consider the place as a paradise but even without that reason, I would like to live in those kind of house for some day. And her description about the place was clear enough to make me get everything the writer showed and explained.
3.
Yes, I think she used all of the five senses we have. However, this part caught my eyes. "The only fault I saw on his face were his freckles, but I personally saw them as a charm." While imagining about a kind of a cute or pretty guy, this sentence made his image in my thought changed a lot and it was interesting.
"The smell of grilled sausages made my mouth water. It filled the air, mixing in with the delicious smell of Chinese noodles and pizza." This part also made me stop for a while and try to feel the smell. I don't know why but while reading the peer's writings, I always tend to concentrate on the senses of smell and taste. I stopped there for a while and inhaled the empty air and felt sad.
4.
The place is filled with everything that makes people excited; foods, music, game, swimming pool, a lot of friends and so on. To describe the place in a short phrase, I would say, the best place for party.
5.
Because the writer is still keeping the memory of joyful lifetime in the place as a teenage girl. Moreover, she could spend more time there with the boy she had been crushed with. I know that people, including me, tend to remember everything about he or she when they fall in love.
6.
This was quite long compared to other writings in the blog, but I didn't feel boring while reading. It was a page turner and I read it being curious about the next part. This really was a small thing but I couldn't get who "she" was in this part:"Without saying anything, she inserted a DVD, and we all stared at the screen, ready to enjoy the last hours of the party." Isn't it "he" for indicating CJ in the former sentence?
201203589 Choi, Won-joon