Buzzed Hearts

83: christmas dinner

"HAVE YOU EVER eaten so much you couldn't stand up?" Jeremy asks.

"Yeah, my dad used to do that at buffets," Roma says as she pours herself another glass of orange juice.

They're basking in the drowsy state of affairs that comes after stuffing themselves full of hearty, slightly-burned-but-still-edible-if-the-burned-parts-are-scraped food.

Elle busies herself by lighting a few candles and toying with the remnants of her plate as she listens to the slow conversation between Jeremy and Roma. They laughed and drank most of the night, a little playlist in the background to get them in the mood. They also took turns calling back to their families—Camila's in the hall video-calling with her entire family.

"Do you guys still want dessert?" Laurent asks.

"We had dessert already. Did you eat yourself stupid?" Jeremy asks.

"You crust," Laurent says. "We bought two kinds, one hot one cold. Do you guys want ice cream? I definitely can't finish it myself."

"Right," Elle says. "You're leaving in two days."

For once, her sharp teeth have been whittled down by how much she's consumed within the past three hours. Unlike Jeremy, there will be no witty remarks coming from her.

Camila returns and sits down at her seat, picking up her fork to finish her slice of pie. Unlike the rest of them, she strategically planned her consumption instead of heavily indulging like the rest of her friends. Hearing that there's ice cream, she heats up her pie and scoops a spoonful of vanilla ice cream on top of that. Everyone looks at her incredulously.

"What?" she asks.

"Do you....Do they not feed you at Juilliard?" Elle asks.

"I get really busy," Camila says.

It's true—most days she forgets to eat because her mind is so preoccupied. That's not necessarily the case here; they all fasted since yesterday to prepare for Christmas dinner.

"In a few days it's going to be the new years," Jeremy remarks. "Nothing's really changed, has it?"

"Yeah," Elle says. "Nothing will. You're still going to be ugly."

"Ouch," Laurent says and laughs.

Jeremy shrugs. "Whatever."

Laurent then gets up and starts clearing the plates around Camila. They used paper plates but it got the job done. Roma goes to join him while Elle and Jeremy engage in a mini eating competition where they scarf down the last of their dessert.

Camila yawns. "I'm getting ready for bed."

"You're not cleaning up?" Jeremy asks. "So you come here, eat food, then go to bed?"

"Shut the fuck up Sheep," Elle defends Camila.

"Yeah, she's the one that did most of the cooking," Roma adds.

He rolls his eyes and gets up to help Laurent and Roma. The candles are flickering down and the cityscape below them is starting to light up. Then, Camila spots it.

"Snow!"

Clattering comes from the table as Elle scoots over to the window to see it. "Liar, Cam. You're such a liar, I can't—"

"Are you blind?" Jeremy asks.

"No but I'll make sure you are," Elle says. "I don't see it."

"It's literally right there," Camila says. "Guys, it's a Christmas miracle."

"Don't be so dramatic." Jeremy laughs and joins her at the window, seeing the soft snow drift by, spiralling in the wind. "It snows every year. Just early this year, I guess."

"I'm going down," she says.

Camila finds her coat and sees that Elle is pulling hers on too. Though it might not be a big deal to Jeremy or Roma, she's never seen snow in her entire life, and Elle has only seen it once or twice, few enough to get giddy.

"I'll have to supervise, won't I?" Jeremy grumbles and goes to retrieve something warmer.

But Camila's already out the door, arm in arm with Elle.