e·bul·lient
/iˈbo͝olyənt,iˈbəlyənt/

adjective
Cheerful and full of energy

Example: I'm in an ebullient mood as I walk towards my door room, a skip in my step, and happiness brewing in my chest.

~

I enter my dorm room, my friends already there with drinks. Norman, who I've had my eyes on in particular already has the cheap wine open, pouring it into a red solo cup. My best friend, Alexis, playfully scrunches her face up in disgust. She still doesn't like him, but because I do, in more ways than one, she puts up with him.

"Really? You like him? Your sweet self could totally do better than that," she commented when I'd confessed my feelings to her in the past.

"He's such a sweetheart!" I said dreamily. "Don't worry, you'll see it soon." She chewed on her bottom lip and squinted her eyes. "You sure?" I nodded eagerly and she relented.

At least she's still trying.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask, placing the champagne and two six packs of beer on the ground, adding to the array of drinks already in my room.

"Mike and Nat are on there way, Susie and Alma went to get some food, and ugh... who else is coming?" she asks, her brain clearly jumbled.

"That's it," I say.

"You got Mike's hard lemonade? I'm sure the actual Mike will find some humor in that," Norman says as he sips down his wine.

"I thought so," I say cheekily. He gives me a flirtatious smile as Mike and Nat walk in.

"Sup everybody?" Mike asks, throwing himself onto my bed. I give him a playful glare. "Take off your shoes first."

"Oh right, I forgot, you're a clean fanatic," he teases, kicking his boots off.

"You should take some pointers, your room is a mess," Norman says. Mike mumbles, "Shut up" as he grabs a hard lemonade. Alexis looks between me and Norman, who doesn't seem to notice, and cringes. I give her small smile, which she shakes her head in response to.

"Are we just drinking, or do we plan on actually like... playing some games or something?" Norman asks.

"Well, we can go all typical and play spin the bottle," Alexis says, rolling her eyes. "I also brought Exploding Kittens so we can play that, too."

"I love Exploding Kittens!" I say.

"Of course you do," Nat says while grabbing a beer. Nat is always such a sweet person, even when life seems to bring him down to his lowest. While a smile doesn't always decorate his face, he still stays upbeat and focused, and I admire him for that. He also relies heavily on Mike, which I think is sweet.

Mike and Nat are so close, that I sometimes call Nat "Ike", like the candy "Mike and Ike." He doesn't approve.

"I want to play spin the bottle first," Norman pushes. Alexis meets my eyes again and mouths slowly, "You better sit next to him." I laugh slightly and nod.

"Dude, no, I don't want to play that dumb game," Nat says rolling his eyes. "I'm sick and tired of potentially getting mono. Can we just play a game without underlying sexual tension all the time? Jeez."

"Yeah, let's just play Exploding Kittens," I say. "We all have a good time when we do."

"Fine," Norman says under his breath. We sit in a cramped circle on the ground, getting out the card game. For a while, besides Norman's disinterested and tantrum-y nature, we all have a good time. I win several rounds, and Norman teases that I'm cheating. I roll my eyes.

"I hope it doesn't bother anybody, but I invited my friend over," is the first thing Alma says when walking through the door with Susie.

"Who?" Alexis asks.

"My friend Eli," Alma says. "He's a bit standoffish—"

"Then why did you invite him?" Mike asks critically.

"Because he's new here and needs more friends than the wrong crowd of people he's drawn to so," she takes an exaggerated breath, "let's be nice, please?"

"You're letting a freshman hang out with us?" Alexis says, her tone on the brink of being scolding.

"No," Alma says, rolling her eyes. "He's a senior."

"A late transfer then," Norman says.

"Let's just be nice," she stresses.

"We will," Nat says. "Want to join our game? We've got Exploding Kittens. It's the expansion pack."

"Lame," Susie says, finally speaking. "Grown adults playing a card game? I thought you guys had more dignity."

"And we thought you'd keep your legs closed when on the first date with Bryan, didn't we?" Alexis retorts teasingly.

"Shut up!" Susie exclaims, a blush coloring her cheeks. Right as she says that, a knock sounds on the door.

"At least he's polite," Alexis jokes. Alma turns and opens the door, saying, "Eli! Hey!"

Alexis sucks in a breath as she takes in the sight in front of us. A tall guy with dyed silver hair, piercing silver-blue eyes, and slim toned body walks in. His eyes are harsh and calculating as he examines everyone in the room. I take in his attire; he's wearing an all black flannel, with a red t-shirt underneath, and plain black jeans. For some reason I pictured him to look more intimidating.

Something about him is familiar, but I'm sure I've never met him before. His eyes finally land on me, and for a second they soften. I give him happy smile and he frowns in... confusion?

Nat clears his throat and says, "Hi, I'm Nat." Eli's eyes snap to him and he gruffly replies, "Eli." His voice is deep, but also has a familiar ring to it. I'm honestly sure I've never met him before, though.

"Alexis," she practically breathes.

We go around introducing ourselves, and he takes in a deep breath when I finally say my name. I look around to see if anybody caught it, and surprisingly I see Norman glaring at him.

"We were just about to continue playing Exploding Kittens," I say, redirecting my attention to Eli. "Would you like to join us?"

"Not into card games," he says, hardly glancing over in my direction. "Can I have a drink?"

"Sure," Alma says. He picks up a Bud Light and takes a long swig. I realize we're all watching him so I clear my throat and press, "the game?"

"Right," Mike says. "It's your turn, Norman."

***

After a while, we all decide to talk, mainly to get to know Eli more and make him comfortable. He refuses to drink more than his beer, so he's not as in a feel good mood as the rest of us. He stares at us guardedly and his eyebrows remain furrowed.

"So what high school did you go to?" Alexis asks Eli. "And what college are you coming from?"

He hesitates before saying, "Pittsford-Mendon High School."

"I went there!" I interrupt. "I can't believe I never saw you."

"You did," he says coolly. Confusion flits across my face. "Well, the grades were fairly large, so maybe that's why I don't remember you."

"You still saw me. A lot." The room seems to be drinking up every word of the conversation between us. I glance around nervously and then look back at him. "I never met an Eli..." Amusement flashes across his eyes and he nods.

"True, you didn't." His phone starts vibrating and he picks it up to view it. "I gotta go." He gets off the floor and exits the room without another word.