It was this year. This month. This week. This day finally came after almost a year of waiting and planning. It is a great day to remember the day you were born. That’s why I treasure the day. And everyone who knows my well knows that my birthday has become the most important event in my whole life. Birthdays mean more to me than graduation, marriages, or Christmas. That’s how I define birthday.
This year was very different than my previous years. Let me tell you what happened. It was my birthday in one week. Everyone knows this. My best friend and I walked straight to our lockers as we entered school. I was surprised when she asked me, “What do your birthday wish be?”
I was a little stumped. It was the first time I thought my best friends would ask me such a question.
Every day I thought of the perfect gift. Then something happened. I knew exactly what I wanted and it was perfect. My best friend came to me and said, “I know exactly what I want.”
She looked at me with curiosity and asked “What’s it?”
I responded, “I want James!”
I was staring at her straight away, wondering if she misunderstood it. She then said, “You want James?”
I said, “Yes!”
She thought of ways to get him to attend my birthday party and be my date. James, as you may have guessed, is the ultimate girl fantasy.
It was my second day of school. There were three days left until my birthday. I ran to my locker and started looking for my bestie. I searched everywhere until I finally found her. James and I were laughing so hard. Although I will admit that I was sad, I also felt glad that my best friend was speaking to the most popular boy in school. I was so confused at that point, I didn’t know what to do and stared at them for a long time. Mariana, my best buddy, looked worried and scared at me. This is a sign that she is trying to hide something from me. She ran away from James and went to the toilet. I knew that I had to enter there to see what was happening.
As soon as I entered, I began searching for her. She was hiding behind the door. I ran to her and shouted at them, “Why aren’t you telling me?” “Is there anything you want to share with me?” She tried to talk but I refused to let her. I asked her, “What kinda best friend are you?” I then went straight to class and didn’t even look back at her. It was that moment that I couldn’t believe my eyes. I tried to ignore my best friend all day after that incident. I was very worried that my best friend would abandon me. She would also date the man I liked. My birthday would be ruinated because of this.
It was my third day of school. There were two days left before my birthday. This time, my best buddy wasn’t my friend anymore. All I could think about was her. I saw my friend at the door and wanted to chat with her. My birthday week was usually when I arrange everything, but this time I was thinking only of Mariana. I returned home to the worst situation possible. My family would walk past me wondering if anything was amiss at school. They called Mariana, but Mariana was so busy with something else that she didn’t answer their phones.
It was the fourth school day. There was still one day until my special day. I felt better, and promised myself that nothing would make me feel down. Not even my best friend. I arrived at school bright-eyed and ready to have the best day of my life. Then I met James, my best friend. Although I was a bit upset, I found myself cheering myself up. I glanced at my best friend, who looked at me back, looked sorry and sad, and then came up and asked me, “We need talk Michelle,” I said. When I passed by the bathroom, she was whispering to other girls while saying my name. I was curious to see what they were saying. But I couldn’t find the answer so I thought she was talking negative things about me. My best friend was walking by me as I returned home. She stopped at a small store and began to talk to me. I wondered what she was doing and went in to see her. She bought a variety of chocolates, candy, and chips. My mom was the first to see me and started ranting about Mariana. She would ruin my birthday party. My mom encouraged me to ignore her, to learn from her instead of focusing on the negative aspects. She said that I was already clear that she wanted James taken away and that she would ruin my birthday party. I ran upstairs and began my homework. I thought maybe my mom was trying to surprise me by throwing a party, but then I realized that my mom doesn’t hide anything. So I started thinking about how my mom forgot my birthday was tomorrow.
It was the moment I waited for. As I got up to go to school, I had the most wonderful day of my entire life. I was ready for everyone to greet me and give me presents. I tried to find everyone in my locker and asked them to give me presents. But no one was there. Although I was feeling really down, I decided it was because it was my first period. As I continued to go to other classes, my depression got worse. It was my fourth period, with two more periods left before school was over, when a girl approached me and smiled brightly. She said, “This is it. This is going to be your first happy birthday.” Mariana came up behind me and began whispering to her. After that, Mariana laughed and said ok back. I felt like Mariana was going to make me lose my mind, but I calmed down.
I couldn’t bear what had happened that day so I went home to finally celebrate my birthday. My mom welcomed me into her home and told me to dress up. I got dressed up immediately and went straight to the kitchen. As I approached the restaurant’s door, I could not see anything. It was dark, and all the lights had been turned off. So I asked my parents and they all laughed and exclaimed, “Happy Birthday Michelle!” My friend ran to me and asked, “What’s the problem?” I even invited James along!” She looked at us and began to tear up.
