Sincerely, Emily ✓

03 • One Stupid Dinner

I WAS STANDING in front of the Grants' house.

Don't you dare laugh at me.

"Hello!" Mrs. Grant greeted from the other side of the door. "So glad you could make it! I thought Oliver said you two weren't coming?"

Mom flashed her a brilliant smile. "It was just a misunderstanding. We would love to get to know you and your family better! It's what neighbours do, right?"

The other woman grinned. "I absolutely agree. Well, don't just stand there! Come in, come in!"

Right then I became aware of what she was wearing. She had on a neat blouse with casual jeans. As we walked further inside, we got to see the rest of the Grants, including Mr. Grant, which I hadn't seen until now. They were all wearing one or the other: button-up shirts, some jeans and blouses. Whereas Mom and I were wearing dresses.

She was also surprised over the Grants' casual attires, and when she looked at me, I gave her an I-told-you-so look. Lucky for me, I convinced Mom not to make me wear high heels. I ran a hand over my blonde hair, trying to mess up the bun so it wouldn't look too fancy.

Damn hairspray.

"Everyone's here!" Mrs. Grant announced. "The food's going to be cold, so it's best to dig in now!"

I couldn't believe how everything was going. It was going fine. Like, no accidents or slip-ups or glares. I was actually having a nice time in this dinner, even though I didn't talk much. There was this feeling you got when you were around the Grants. . . a never-ending, energetic vibe that never seemed to fade away.

And then It happened.

My upper body started to twitch, and it wasn't those little normal ones. It was the disturbing type. It was like the shiver you felt after being poured a bucket full of ice, and because it was so sudden, it made your whole body shiver and your heart race.

Strike 1.

"Emily?" Jessie asked, her eyebrows furrowed. "Everything alright?"

All eyes turned to me. Jessie was the only one who was looking at me weirdly, and Mom was giving me the look, which meant that only the two of them saw what happened. The other Grants, however, were just mildly curious as to why Jessie, who rarely acknowledged me, now spoke to me directly.

"Yeah," I replied. "Everything's excellent. Splendid. Outstanding. First-class." Emily, shut up! I cleared my throat. "I just thought of this thing, when you guys were talking. It reminded me of something that grossed me out. So, yeah."

Jessie didn't seem convinced, but the others did and went back to their previous conversations. Oliver did look at me longer than anybody else, but he finally looked away and got back to his food.

After the main course was finished, we moved on to dessert. I was eating this gorgeous-looking chocolate cake, but when I grabbed a drink, I felt It again.

Strike 2.

The sudden twitch (or spasm, I honestly didn't know which) made me spit out my drink, the water bursting out of my mouth. I coughed and coughed until I was on the verge of choking, but Mom — who was sitting beside me — patted my back. 

But underneath that gesture, there was a message: Keep it together.

"I'm alright," I choked out to the others who were ogling at me. "I just thought of something really funny. And you know, I couldn't handle it. It was, uh, just too funny. Heh."