Thanksgiving Eve

            It was the day before Thanksgiving. School had finally ended after ninth period, and it seemed as if every other student was talking about their plans over Thanksgiving Break. Usually the topic never caught my attention, feeling dull since our family never celebrated it. But not this year. Few days ago, my mom unexpectedly ordered a full-course Thanksgiving meal she saw from a Dominick’s catalogue. Although I’m the only one in my house that likes turkey, my mom decided to make it special for once and offered to have my friends over. The thought of spending the holiday with my high school friends along with an actual Thanksgiving dinner thrilled me. I couldn’t wait until six o’ clock, which was when we were suppose to meet.

            My house is a three-floor condominium; the first floor is basically the entrance; it is a small space for a guest table and a piano, with a closet for shoes and coats. The second floor leads up to the kitchen combined with the dining room. The living room is next to the kitchen, separated by a wall. The third floor includes two bathrooms, my own bedroom, and the master room for my mom.

            The time slowly rolled by, and few minutes after six, the twins had arrived. Melanie and Rose Valdez each possess completely different characteristics that extremely contrast one another. Melanie, the older one, has an energetic, enthusiastic, animated personality that will brighten up your day – or at least, my day. She is someone that you can never get mad at, and her hidden wildness can get you nowhere. Despite her cheerful aspect, she sometimes goes through severe mood swings staying depressed, as well as getting stressed out easily. Having the nickname of a ‘worry-wart’, she carries her own deep thoughts underneath her happy side. However, her usual ecstatic, either innocent-or-really-clueless character often creates a positive atmosphere.

Rose, on the other hand, is a cool, laid-back, down-to-earth friend with a bit more mature personality. She stays care-free and clearly knows her likes and dislikes. Often she is mistaken of her ethnicity by others. “I’m not Mexican!” she frequently claims. Her conservative, stubborn, but thoughtful spirit will be someone that will always laugh at your jokes. She is the one that will balance out the craziness when all of us are together. Even until now, it surprises me of the fact of how different these twins are. I can never get sick of one or the other.

          Quickly, we climbed upstairs and began to prepare for the upcoming feast. A huge, black, oriental-patterned table was set up in the middle of my cozy, white-and-pink room. Then plastic cups, spoons, forks, and plates were placed on the sides of the table. A little more than half an hour later, my cellphone vibrated out loud, a call from Justin. He and Dansen were almost here.        

        Justin Honra and Dansen Mayhay are also blood-related, as cousins. They also share different minds and personalities. First of all, Justin tends to have everything neat and clean, unlike other average teenage boys. He will never eat anything that someone else, even his own friend, ate. (But interestingly enough I later found out his own room was dirty as a pig pen.) Every day during lunch Justin and I are always fighting over the twin’s desserts. Calling each other with vindictive words, we try to win the last piece of cookie or brownie left.  Having been grown up surrounded by many women in his family, Justin is used to hanging out with a lot of girls. Our whole group doesn’t treat him like a man either.

         In comparison, Dansen Mayhay possesses a more manly, outgoing personality that makes her extremely social and likely to develop many friendships. She is not embarrassed to make fun of herself in front of others. Her exotic, wild and funny character is a quality that I myself, often envy. She always tries to create the opportunity to hang out and have fun with her friends on no-school days or weekends.

         All five of us finally gathered together at my house for the big Thanksgiving event. With starved stomachs, we huddled over to the kitchen, and found a petite, lavishing buffet set up on the counter to our surprise. Trays of scrumptious food from Hawaiian rolls to pumpkin pie were laid out ahead of us. The fully cooked turkey, warm mashed potatoes, fresh chicken salad, hot crispy dumplings, and rich cranberry sauce and even sushi were all prepared by my mother! Not knowing which food to take first, we all placed as much as possible on one plate. Carrying napkins and soda on the other hand, we happily carried the filled, heavy plastic plates up to my room. We all know what happened next -- the food was devoured in less than 10 minutes, having the best Thanksgiving feast I’ve ever had in my life.