"What the fuck!" Emily shouted.
The deafening silence weighed on me so hard I felt like it was constricting my lungs. Words eluded me. I continued to sit there on my knees, mouth agape, with my hand caught in the cookie jar.
I never bothered to come up with a good excuse for why I was currently rummaging through their fridge; as if there was a good excuse for breaking into someone's apartment. So after sitting there like a deer in the headlights for long enough, I decided I needed to come clean.
"I'm sorry Emily. There was an extra key on the counter when we swung by earlier and I kept it because I wanted to try some alcohol." Goddamn, that was painful to admit.
Emily just stood there staring at me with those piercing eyes of hers. Almost as if she was a mother deciding what punishment she was going to cook up for her unruly child. Then, out of nowhere, here demeanor changed. Emily burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Her laugh was so loud and shrill it didn't even sound like it could come out of a person that small.
I had no idea if I should be laughing along with her or if I should still be scared for my life. With Emily, you never knew. Figuring her out was like trying to solve a puzzle you lost pieces to. Right when you think you've figured her out, you realize you never had the full picture to begin with.
Wasn't she just pissed a second ago? Her volatile mood shifted faster than I could even understand it sometimes. I was never able to get a read on her ever-changing demands even when we used to play together as children. She loved staying one step ahead of people.
"You're really trying to steal wine from our fridge," She said between spurts of wild screeches.
"You realize we would've just given you some right? Did you have to be a creep about it?"
I avoided her gaze as shame and stupidity made their way back to the forefront of my mind. I really should've just asked, but to be fair I never really been in a situation where an adult would give it to me. Especially with my mom around.
"Can I give it a try then?"
She noticed me getting up and slammed the door behind her. Her face is still bright red even though her laughter was finally starting to subside.
"Of course you can dumbass," She said while still chuckling slightly. Frantically trying to control her breath. "Look I didn't mean to laugh at you. Sit down and I'll pour you a glass."
"Alright. I honestly can't tell the difference between these anyways," I sighed.
Emily pushed past me and bent down to inspect the contents of the fridge like I just was a minute ago. I sat down on the edge of the bed. Which offered me a nice view of Emily on her knees.
Emily grabbed the bottle of wine I was looking at, inspected it, then gave a nod of approval.
"For a guy whose never drank, you did pick a good Merlot," she said in a way that sounded sarcastic and complimentary at the same time. She set the bottle on the counter and began to peel off the junk at the top. The way she effortlessly pulled it off gave me the impression she's done this hundreds of times before.
"Have you ever drank?" She asked, waking me from yet another daydream.
"No. My mom would never let me. Plus my friends at school have similar parents so we never really have a chance too."
"It must suck to have a mom who won't let you do anything. Mine was always encouraging me to try new things."
She let out another laugh. "You're lucky I'm here. I bet you wouldn't have a clue how to use this," she joked as she turned around and dangled a weird metal instrument in front of my face.
"Looks like a surgical instrument more than a bottle opener," I quipped. Emily chuckled as she turned back around and placed the instrument at the top of the bottle. At least I got her to laugh at something other than my embarrassment.
It is a shame we never got to see each other as much during high school. When we used to play together we had a very similar sense of humor. We would joke around about action figures, Pokémon cards, and whatever other nerdy interests we shared. Once she hit puberty, all that changed. Her interest in boys and parties superseded any interest she used to have in my action figures. Since I'm younger I know I wouldn't have been able to keep up with her. Maybe it was for the best.
"To the untrained eye I can see how it would look that way," the cork stuck inside the bottle was expertly released and she began pouring the blood-red liquid into some fancy glasses she found in the cabinet. I have no clue how much wine you're supposed to pour into a glass like that, but Emily seemed to be pouring quite liberally. Especially for a girl of her size. With her tolerance, I'm sure she could drink me under the table.
"Let me know how it tastes," She said as she handed me the catalyst of my undoing.
"I don't think I would've poured this much for myself," I mentioned hesitantly.
She rolled her eyes and took a large gulp from her glass. Peacocking like a frat boy at a tailgate.
"Promise me you'll use this time to cut loose a little alright. College is going to smack you right in the fucking face if you're not ready for it."
"What do you mean? I'm the valedictorian of my class! Of course I'll be ready!"
"Not like that idiot. Everyone knows you're going to do well in school. I'm talking about going to parties, making friends, maybe if you're lucky talking to some girls." She shot me an inquisitive look while saying the last part. Doing her best to examine my reactions like she was a scientist and I was her latest subject of interest.
"Well, I've never partied the way you've partied for sure. I've seen your snapchat stories."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, back on the defensive.
I took a sip and let it dance around on my tongue for a second. I imagined that it would be sweeter, to be honest. It's going to be something that grows on me though.
"It's not bad. To be honest, I thought it would taste more like grape juice," I hoped this didn't make me sound stupid.
