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Day Two
The second day of Open House parties dawned just as hot as the previous day. Thunderstorms were a possibility and brought very high humidity, although the sun kept beating down. We only had 4 parties on the schedule this day, which I was profoundly grateful for! My outfit for this day was a pink and white seersucker sundress – you guessed it! The exact same dress I’d sweated my brains out in the day before, only different color. They had been on sale buy-one-get-one, and it seemed to make sense at the time. Doh! It was all I had brought with me to wear on this day, so I had no choice but to apply extra deodorant and hope for the best.
The day started with Cersei. There was some sort of delay, so we had to stand outside about 15 minutes past the scheduled start date. I could feel my long, thick hair getting positively WET at the nape of my neck, and I hoped they would let us in soon! Finally, we heard a tremendously loud SLAM!! and the Cersei ladies started their welcome chants. I thought the Sansa house was loud, but this was truly awe-inspiring. Their house was incredibly beautiful and impressive – and we had a lot of time to stand and admire it in the wilting heat, because their songs and chants just went on and on.
Finally, they let us in and we filed in, greeted one-by-one by a member girl. I was thinking how nice and friendly this was until I felt a hand slide into my ARMPIT!! The tall, lovely blonde who I was assigned to had taken my by the upper arm to lead me to the drink table and left her hand in my sweaty armpit the whole time! I knew this house was supposed to be a top house but omigosh-she-has-her-hand-in-my-armpit-and-I’m-dripping-sweat-all-over-her-hand!!
I couldn’t speak. Anyone who knows me will tell you how rare this is. I was A) embarrassed because I was sweating and B) appalled, because on a day when it’s over 100 in the shade, any fool knows not to even go near armpits, let alone leave your hand there for long periods of time! Seriously, she left her hand there the whole time we talked. I finally just looked down at it, then looked up at her, then back down at her hand and she still left it there. She kept her hand in my armpit wayyy longer than could have been considered normal, even in non-sweaty conditions.
I honestly don’t remember a thing we talked about (MY ARMPIT!). The girls were all like supermodels and the house was incredible inside (OMG I’M SWEATING ALL OVER YOUR PERFECTLY MANICURED HAND!) and I knew I was supposed to be impressed and fall in love because they were a top house (HOLY COW, HER HAND IS STILL IN MY SWEATY ARMPIT!) but I was so freaked out that I have no idea what I said. I wanted to like Cersei, I really did. But that was one of the weirdest experiences in my life, even to this day. I think I’m still scarred, nearly 30 years later.
Next was Tyrion. I still had the cocktail napkin from Cersei, and held it in reserve as we walked so I could surreptitiously mop my armpits in the event that the next hostess also felt the need to slide her hand in there. I was pretty unsettled and don’t remember much about Tyrion. They had a rep as a bit of a party house, but the girls I talked to seemed really nice. I’m sure I wasn’t at my best, as I was worried about being sweaty the whole time. Their house was a big and traditional and attractive. I felt fine in the event that I’d be invited back, but was too shell-shocked that I’d sweated all over a Cersei’s hand to take any notes.
We then went to Jaime Lannister. I felt excited again because I knew tons of girls from my high school at Jaime Lannister. Their house was pretty, their chants and singing were cute and catchy, rather than thunderously terrifying, and nobody tried to put their hands anywhere embarrassing. I was immediately greeted by one of my closest friends on our H.S. cheer squad, ‘Gwendolyn’, and she stayed with me the entire time. ‘Gwen’ would walk me around, introducing me to many girls, and our conversation was normal and fun and pleasant, just like we were talking in a regular environment.
So many girls that I knew made it a point to come up to me and tell me they were glad to see me. I started to feel better. I started fantasizing that ‘Gwen’ would be my Big Sis, and that I’d be reunited with all my friends. I felt happier than I’d felt so far during recruitment, and actually started to get excited that I’d found my college sisters. It was that good. ‘Gwen’ had always been a close, calm and laid-back friend. We’d clicked right away when we first met, and talking with her felt just like old times. I left feeling SO happy and knew Jaime Lannister was where I wanted to be AND where I felt wanted!
The last house of the day was Catelyn. I knew it could never compare to Jaime Lannister, but I was excited to see the older sisters of one of my best friends from high school. I knew that my friend ‘Suzanne’ was also going through recruitment and that she would almost certainly be a Catelyn. Their house was pretty, maybe not as stylish as Sansa or Daenerys, but definitely somewhere I’d be proud to live. I felt very comfortable at Catelyn, and ‘Suzanne’s older sister immediately picked me up and we laughed the whole time. I’d always gotten along great with her, and felt like I could definitely see myself as her sister. I was still riding on a complete high from my great time at Jaime Lannister, and was almost giddy with relief to be met with such welcome at Catelyn, especially after the traumatic Cersei armpit incident. I could definitely see myself being a Catelyn. I could tell that all the girls really felt affection for one another, and they were very ‘real.’ I was so tired at this point but I knew I would have some hard decisions to make because I didn’t want to “let any of my friends down.” Ha ha – like it was really up to me, right?
When we got back to the dorms, we had to write all the houses in order of favorites. I ranked them:
1. Jaime Lannister
2. Daenerys
3. Catelyn
4. Sansa
5. Jon Snow
6. Arya
7. Ygritte
8. Tyrion
9. Cersei
10. Bran
11. Shae
The next day we would be going to 7 of the houses – I was excited but nervous, hoping that I would get to go back to Jaime Lannister and Daenerys and see my friends again!
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