di's birthday party

I just got back from Di's birthday party. Earlier today Pat and I walked to Hallmark and I bought her a card, and then we swung by Caribou and I wrapped her gift and decorated the card while sipping a mocha. Pat drank his smoothie and studied a map on the wall where all of the countries and cities were named after coffees. Nick came to pick me up around six to bring me to Saji-Ya, a pricey Japanese restaurant where Di's birthday party was to be held. Twelve of us were seated where ten were intended to fit snugly. Di sat next to me on her boyfriend Anthony's lap. He conversed loudly across the table to Ben (whose nickname is apparently "Jesus") about the movie Clockwork Orange. Anyone who has seen that movie knows that it isn't an appropriate conversation piece in a crowded restaurant. When he wasn't talking about Clockwork Orange, he was volleying insults at Di, saying that she was stupid and fat. I insisted that she was smart, but Anthony's only response was stifled laughter. Di's good sense of humor is evidence of her intelligence, and even as a heterosexual it's obvious to me how sexy she is. Regardless, they had their hands all over each other. Anthony snapped her bra multiple times and even groped her boobs until she swatted him away a minute or two later.

Anyway. The cook prepared our food in front of us, and music that was popular in America during WWII could be heard in the background. The food was delicious. Eventually a boy exited the kitchen and started bussing our dishes. Katie asked what school he went to, and when he responded with the name of the high school that Resa attends, I asked him what his name was. He hesitated, and then: "Luke Larson." My eyes lit up and I shrilled excitedly, "I punched you once!" I had to explain to him that I was a friend of Resa's before he remembered me. He might have even pretended to remember me. When Resa had a crush on him a few years ago he came to the roller rink with us, and towards the end of the night he kept flicking me off and making fun of me. I had intended just to lightly knock my knuckles against his cheek to put him in his place, but instead I ended up punching him in the eye. He had to hold a cup of ice on his eye for the rest of the night to slow the swelling.

After dinner everyone met back at Di's. For awhile I eyed Nick and Matt's game of Magic: The Gathering and listened to the various music channels on television that some of Di's friends were flipping through. Later I ventured downstairs, where Jackie and Kelly were playing video games. Di and Anthony laid on the floor near my feet under a blanket. Jackie whined in disapproval and said that she didn't want to have to wash the blanket the next morning. When Jackie and Kelly popped in Tetris Attack I asked if I could play. It was fun - I won five times against Jackie, even though it was my first time playing and it was an old favorite of hers. I was proud of my humble victory, even though I lost several times. Ben sat on the couch behind me and petted my head and poked my shoulders and snapped my tank top strap. I didn't think about it much at the time because I was so engrossed in mastering the game. It wasn't until Nick was driving me home that I realized what he had done. And I'm pissed. I was innocently playing a video game and some fuck that I had just met an hour before and had not yet spoken to sat behind me and touched me and was audacious enough to snap my tank top! I wasn't even wearing a bra underneath - the tank top had a makeshift bra sewn in.

I played Tetris Attack until everyone had retreated upstairs. Anthony had left the party by then and gone to get drunk. Apparently a headache tomorrow morning takes priority over his girlfriend's birthday party, a celebration that occurs only once a year.

I made balloon animals upstairs, dined on a slice of strawberry cheesecake, and watched a little of Saturday Night Live before I asked Nick to take me home.