October 8, 2021

Over the next three weeks, my friendship with Nova and particularly Eloise grew much to my surprise. We would text regularly and have lunch together when our days overlapped. I also learned a little more about Eloise and Nova.

Eloise was very energetic, was a sucker for romance movies, and would share recommendations with Nova and me. She likes going to the beach since she likes to go snorkeling. Eloise was also an only child and lives with her dad, who is usually away on business trips, so she is usually left to her own devices. In addition to being skilled in Math, Eloise was also skilled in languages. Besides English, she knew Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. I was impressed. She was also in the process of learning sign language. I was impressed since I never knew anybody who was multilingual. Since Eloise plans to work in the hospitality industry would be beneficial. 

Nova was a fellow introvert, as I expected. But after spending more time with us, she opened up to Eloise and me. Nova is the youngest in her family and has four older brothers. She told us that she is of Filipino descent but wasn’t fluent in Tagalog. She told us it was something she always struggled with: I decided to share that I have the same issue with Spanish, and we connected over that. We also bonded over the fact that we are the only lefties in our families. She also told us that she often goes to cosplay conventions with her boyfriend and her high school friends, and based on the photos she showed us, they are indeed very skilled.

I have gotten somewhat comfortable with the two of them. But I surprised myself when I asked them if they would like to come over when Eloise said she would spend the rest of the day doing nothing, and Nova had her last class of the day canceled.

“Really?” Eloise said while slurping her smoothie.

“Are you sure?” Nova said with a concerned look on her face.

I think about it again for a moment. Entertaining someone is emotionally exhausting; two people are even more tiresome. But I would like to hang around Eloise and Nova outside of our college grounds.

“Yeah, we could binge-watch something if you like.”

Eloise immediately agreed, and after some quick deliberation, Nova agreed too. We then threw away our trash and went to our last classes. Before my final class started, I texted my parents to see if it was okay for Eloise and Nova to come over. They said it was okay but to ask beforehand next time. After class finished, I met up with Eloise and Nova on the first floor, and we made our way to the train station.

After an hour and a half, we made it to my neighborhood. An additional ten minutes later, we made it to my house. When I was about to put the key in the door, my dad opened it for us.

“Hey, dad”

“Are these your friends?” My dad said as Eloise, Nova, and I entered the house. 

“Nice to meet you, girls.” My dad said to them.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Ramirez.” They said in response. I also catch Eloise’s eyes darting back and forth between my dad and me. Most likely due to how much I resemble him.

I then looked at my dad and saw that he was putting his coat on. “Dad, are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, one of the light bulbs in the bathroom went out. Their pizza is in the oven. Do you mind giving it to them?”

“No problem, see you in a little while,” I said as I closed the door.

I then turned to where Eloise and Nova were standing to see that Eloise was staring intently at my face.

“What is it?”

“You really look like your dad," Eloise said.

“Yep, what about you guys?

“I look like my mother more,” Nova said while looking around

“Well, I am a dead ringer for my dad, too,” Eloise said

“You guys could put your bags near the closet and take a seat.”

As I was about to enter the kitchen, Eloise squealed. “What’s the matter?’ I asked.

“Omg, you have a dog?”

I then realized that she was looking at Roxy’s water bowl next to the closet. “Yeah, her name is Roxy; she is a Yorkshire Terrier and technically my sister’s dog.”

“Omg, where is she?”

“She is with my sister at the park.”

“Ah man,” Eloise pouts.

“I have pictures of her on my phone if you want to look.”

“Yes!!!” Eloise shouted.

I passed my phone to Eloise, went to the kitchen, and saw that the timer still had five minutes left. I then looked through the fridge to see what we had. “Eloise, Nova, do you guys want anything to drink? We have sprite, iced tea, water, cola, and juice.”

“Iced Tea, please,” Nova said

“Water for me, please,” Eloise said                     

As I hand them their drinks, I hear the oven ding. I then walked towards the bottom of the stairs and yelled for Isaac and Lucas to come to get their pizza.

Your brothers are twins, right? Eloise asked

“Yep, identical,” I said as I was putting their plates on the table.

I then hear footsteps barreling down the stairs. When Issac and Lucas got down the stairs and saw Eloise and Nova sitting on the couch, their eyes went big like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Who are these people?” Lucas staged whispered.

 “Isaac, Lucas, these are my friends Eloise and Nova.”

 “Eloise, Nova, these are my brothers Isaac and Lucas.”

 “Hi,” Eloise said

 “Hello,” Nova said

Isaac and Lucas then gave a quick hello and went to sit at the table. I went back to the kitchen to get them something to drink when I realized that Lucas and Isaac had followed me.

After checking that Eloise and Nova were not looking at the kitchen, Lucas whispered, “Since when did you have friends.”

“Okay, rude, and can’t that be said about the two of you,” I said

“True, but I think he means since when you had friends, you were okay with having over?” Isaac said

I think for a moment, “Well, I've only known them for about two months, but I feel comfortable enough to let them come over. Also, don’t worry, we’re going to my room, so you guys don’t have to feel uncomfortable eating.” I said as I passed them two cans of soda.

My brothers then went to sit at the table, and I directed Eloise and Nova to follow me upstairs to my room.

“Well, this is my sister and I’s room. If you are wondering, most of the left side of the room and the mess belong to my sister. You can take a seat at my desk or my bed,” I said as I pointed around the room.

“How old is your sister? You really do read a lot,” Eloise asked as she was looking at the multitude of books on my shelf.

 “Julianne is 25; I am the middle child,” I said in response.

 “You know, I was kinda surprised when I saw your brothers; you look their little sister not their older sister,” Nova said as she took a seat on my bed.

“I know; it’s funny, considering that I am six years older than them.”

“True, but you are short and look really young for your age. When I first saw you in person, I thought you were a middle schooler.”

“Haha. Anyway, what season of Miller’s Grove should we watch?

“The current one, I haven’t seen the last three episodes,” Nova said.

 As the second episode beings. Eloise asked, “Minerva, you really weren't kidding when you told me you like origami."

I turned my face away from the tv and saw that Eloise was looking at the jars on top of my desk that were filled with origami . “Yeah, I am still a beginner though it took me a while to fill them up.

“That's still amazing though,” Eloise said.

“She's right, do you have any others?” Nova inquired.

“Yeah, I have a box filled with them give me a second.” I then grabbed the box I keep all my origami from under my bed. 

"Wow." Nova and Eloise said as they began to examine them.

"I am not great at it but I enjoy doing it."

"Minerva, these are good and much better than anything I can do. Don't sell yourself short," Eloise said.

"Yeah, besides these show your progress and you know what they say practice makes perfect," Nova then said.

“Thanks, shall we continue watching the show?”

We continued watching the show for the next hour when Nova and Eloise said they had to head home. My dad said he would give them a ride to the train, and I tagged along. As we drop them off at the station, my dad turns to me and smiles.

“What is it?” I said

“I am just happy to know you talk to people.” My dad said while looking ahead at the road.

“Dad, I do talk to people.”

“I mean, you having friends over.”

“Isaac said the same thing. Well, they are nice people, so I wouldn’t mind hanging around them for the rest of the semester.”

“Why wouldn’t you still be friends with them for the rest of the semester?”

“Not all friendships last forever.”

“Well, yours with those two could be the exception.”

 “Who knows, let’s get home before Isaac and Lucas start a fire,” I said before we returned home.