snowed in

1

It's Christmas break. I have no responsibilities, no plans, and there is no snow. It is Christmas Eve and as always we have guests. Not your usual extended family whom you haven't seen since last Christmas and still don't remember who they are, no, we have family friends who bring their kids too. It's going to be a full house and everything will be at full volume. 

"Icelyn, come down people are here!" my mom shouts. I shut my laptop and trudge down the stairs sighing as I prepare myself for the "party". As soon as I hit the last step I am already being recruited to the kitchen to say hello to the Wenners and their two sons Albus and Alster, and the Lennings and their two sons Jack and Colden. My twin brother, Collin, joins us and the guys do their cliche bro-fist-hug and begin talking with the dads about sports. I turn to the mothers who are complaining about the boys always talking about sports, while silently complain to myself about how I'm the only girl. 

I am so bored. We aren't eating soon so maybe I can... "mom, when is dinner?" I ask coming up with an idea. 

"In about an hour or so",  she brushes me off and continues talking with the moms. 

Perfect. I rush quickly and quietly towards the backdoor grab my jacket, hat and gloves, and my skates, and as quietly as possible sneak out the door without being noticed. I run down the street to the neighbourhood park which has a large ice rink that no one is currently using. I sigh in relief as I sit on a nearby bench and tie on my skates. I hop on the ice and start skating circles while listening to my headphones. 

In the middle of my Christmas playlist, I hear a line that I'm not quite familiar with and I soon realize that it is not Mariah Carey and its not part of All I Want For Christmas Is You. Its Collin and the boys laughing and calling me in for dinner. 

"Icelyn, c'mon moms waiting for you so we can start!" Collin says

"What? I just left." 

"No, actually, you have been out here for almost an hour and a half," he states, "now hurry up I'm starving." 

Has it really been that long? Felt like minutes. I step off the ice and attempt to untie my skates but my hands are so cold I can barely move them, and the boys start to walk back home. It's dark outside and the rink is only lit by a couple of street lamps, so I didn't notice Colden was still here until he says, "Here, let me help you."  I let him undo them knowing there would be no point in arguing because I'm pretty sure my fingers might fall off if I keep trying. Last time I saw Colden we were at a dinner party with our parents and he and I were the only non-40-something-year-olds. We talked all night and even though we've always known each other, I got to know what he was like without the other boys around. That night I had fun, but people act differently around different people. 

"Alright, ready to go" he stands up and brushes snow off his jacket. 

"Thanks" I mutter picking up my skates and walking home. We walk in a silence that's almost awkward. When we reach the house he's about to say something but Albus slams open the front door and drags us in. "Finally! I'm dying to eat come, sit down!" 

Albus and I are close friends, we talk more than he talks to my brother. He's the joker who always cracks us up and can make anyone laugh. He immediately raises my spirits and I decided that if I'm going to be the only girl in the bunch and basically be alone all night, I'm going to make the most of it and have so much fun that everyone would want to join in. 

---

Dinner was amazing. I am stuffed, but in about an hour I will obviously have room for dessert. While everyone is slumped in their chairs loosening another notch in their belts, looking a bit like old Saint Nick, I decided to head over to the living room with a sly grin. 

I tiptoe to the big flatscreen T.V, turn on our PS4 and plug in guitar hero. 

The intro to the first song has the boys slowly lured into the living room. 

"WHOA! Is that Guitar Hero?!" Alster exclaims. I continue playing nodding my head. 

"I've gotta play next!" Jack called

"Me next!" Albus and Alster say at the same time. I just laugh and shake my head. When my song ends I hand the plastic guitar to Jack and he starts off missing every note,  towards the end of the song he starts to get the hang of it. All the while, Albus is complaining that he sucks and his grandmother could do better. Which I could agree with- his grandmother rocks.

Albus steps up and with confidence and swagger says, "step aside and let the one and only Albus Wenner show you how its done."  He picks up the guitar and misses every single note. By the end of the song he shrugs and says, "This is obviously put on extreme-difficulty even Dave Grohl wouldn't be able to do this." 

We laugh then all of a sudden Alster goes up, "Here watch and learn",  he picks up the guitar, plays the same song, and hits about 90% of the notes. We are all awestruck watching with our jaws hanging open. 

"Dude. Where did u learn how to play so well" Colden asks.

"Eh, I play from time to time. Anyone want to try and beat the new highscore?", he challenges.

Everyone shakes their head knowing whoever goes up next will not be nearly as good as Alster was. When we were kids everyone used to call him All-star because he was good at everything. "I'll try." I pipe up. Eh, what do I have to lose? He looks at me surprised says ok and hands me the guitar. 

I choose a different song and begin as if I'm a performer and they are the audience. I dance, sing, whip my hair around. It's a lot of fun and it's even more fun because I beat Alster. When I turn to look at them their jaws are almost touching the ground, even Alster is shocked. 

I look at them smirk and wink, "Don't hate the player, hate the game."  A line they use on me all the time.

Suddenly guitar hero shuts off and all the lights go out.