Seventeen and Invincible

“Breakfast?” Garrett asked changing his clothes as I stared blankly at the ceiling, “or is that hangover too bad for food?” I shot him a glare and he laughed. “In all honesty Ani, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that wasted before.”

“I wasn’t that drunk,” I sighed. I knew that I had been, but I had definitely seen him in worse shape.

“You didn’t remember kissing me, or trying to rape me.” I laughed and mumbled a quiet sorry. “You were wasted.” I sighed and swung my legs off of his bed, touching my bare feet to his dusty floor.

“Okay, so I was wasted. It’s not like I’ve never seen you drunk.” He laughed a little and smiled. “Last year—sophomore year—you got so drunk that night that I had to get Trey to help me get you in the house without your parents noticing. That was bad.”

“You only needed Trey’s help because you couldn’t lift me to carry me up the stairs. I had to carry you—you couldn’t stand.”

“You were so drunk that night, Garrett, that you kept babbling on and on about a feather that you found on the floor. You were slurring everything too. That was bad.” He sighed and I walked across his floor to open his top dresser drawer where he put everything of mine that had not-so-mysteriously wound up here.

“Alright—I admit, that was worse.” I smiled and pulled a pair of shorts and a lavender tank top out of the drawer.

“Ha,” I laughed triumphantly. “So can I go shower? I kind of smell like stale liquor. It isn’t pleasant.” He laughed loudly.

“How do you think I felt being forced to share a bed with you? And yeah, you should know where everything is by now.” I turned to him and rolled my eyes.

“You didn’t have to share a bed with me. You could’ve slept on the floor.”

“It’s my bed!” he whisper yelled as I shut his bedroom door quietly.

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I climbed out of the steaming hot shower and pulled my hair back into a high ponytail, squeezing out the excess water. I wiped the fog from the mirror and opened the window, which didn’t help much since it was Arizona after all. I dried myself and slid on my clothes, opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out the pink toothbrush left there for yours truly. After brushing the taste of alcohol from my mouth I skipped back to Garrett’s room to find it empty. “Gar?” I called curiously. “Oh Mein Gutt,” I yelled, being tackled to the floor. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Arschloch!” He laughed hysterically and stood up reaching a hand out to help me up. I ignored his hand and stood up on my own. “Dummkopf. Saukerl.”

“Let’s go,” he instructed while gesturing for me to follow him as he began to descend the stairs.

“Where are we going? Saftsack.”

“Breakfast.” He continued down the stairs.

“Don’t let me get my bag or my shoes or anything Scheißtyp.”

“Fine, hurry up,” he sighed as he reached the first floor. I sighed and muttered another string of German profanity as I walked back to his room.

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“Are you mad at me?” he asked as I slid into the booth at the diner. This time I had taken a sweater of mine that had been in the back of his car. This time it wasn’t actually that cold.

“Arschloch,” I said quickly.

“What does that mean? You never bother to translate. Are you mad?”

“Nein,” I sighed. “No, I’m not mad at you. And it means Asshole.”

“If you aren’t mad then why do you keep calling me that?” I rolled my eyes and smiled as the same waitress from yesterday came over to us.

“Because it’s fun to say,” I shrugged as she approached the table. “Hi,” I greeted her.

“Same orders as yesterday?” she asked with a bright smile on her overly made up face. I nodded in response and waited for her to leave before speaking again.

“She gives me the creeps,” I said quietly to Garrett. “She’s a little scary.” He laughed and sat back in his seat. I kicked off my sandals under the table and stretched my feet across to rest in his lap. “You make a good footrest,” I sighed contently.

“Good,” he said sarcastically, “I’m glad your feet approve.” I giggled and thanked the waitress as she brought out our coffee.

“So,” I mumbled pouring a sugar packet into my coffee. The silence resumed and it was comfortable. The only noise came from the moving of people around us and the clinking of silverware on plates and the overwhelming sound of one hundred quiet conversations going on in the restaurant. The silence between us was a hundred silent conversations we should have, but I couldn’t mention—like the fact that in one year from now, if all went as planned, I would be in another country. If all went as planned, Molly was taking us back to Germany.

“You okay?” he asked snapping me out of my thoughts. I smiled and nodded. I had been happy again, only to think of leaving—the last thing I had ever wanted to do.

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Chocolate chip pancakes, I’m convinced, were the best creation ever. It was pancakes and tiny bits of chocolate, and as far as I’m concerned, you can’t get much better than that.

“Where are you applying for college next year?” I asked just as a way to converse with him.

“Uhm,” he sighed, “I’m not applying.” I choked a little bit on my pancake and took a sip of coffee.

“What do you mean you aren’t applying?”

“I mean, things are going really well with the band and we’re thinking that we’re going to get signed. If we’re touring, there isn’t much sense in me wasting money on application fees, now is there?”

“And,” I began, “what if you don’t get signed?” He gave me a very unpleasant look and I continued. “I mean, don’t take that the wrong way—I’m sure you guys will get signed, but you just started out. I mean, it’s John’s first band. Remember, he couldn’t even face the crowd at the show two weeks ago.”

“But he’s gotten better. It was our first show, Ani.”

“And you guys were amazing. I’m just saying. I didn’t mean anything bad by it, and I didn’t mean to offend anyone. It was just stating facts.”

“And while I appreciate that, I still will not be applying to or attending college—at least not at this point in my life.” I sighed and nodded. “That doesn’t mean I won’t visit colleges with you, if that’s why you’re pouting.” I forced a weak smile and took a bite out of my second to last pancake, then pushed the plate away. Why bother looking for a college when I wouldn’t be here, in the United States to attend it anyway?