Trouble in Tiltown

Birthday Party

I was awaken by mother bursting into my bedroom with confetti and a birthday cake in another hand. Sitting up, I rub my eyes before I place my glasses back onto my face.
"Wow, my birthday has barely started." I tiredly spoke as I look at my alarm clock, reading 7:45 am. She places the cake down on my nightstand before cupping my cheeks in her hands.
"Happy birthday sweetie. Now, get dressed and come out to the kitchen. I have a few surprises waiting for you." She smiles excitedly before grabbing the cake and leaving me alone in my room. I sigh with a smile and pick out a decent outfit for today. A white button down shirt, slacks and some decent dress shoes. Through the black, you could visibly see a few scuff marks. Though, I put them on anyway. As I walk down the long hallway, I spot all of my friends gathered around in the kitchen. West, Amber, Scott, Jerrick, Kat and Elouise. As they see me, They all smile in unison.
"Good morning and happy birthday!" Kat smiles at me. Her bright red lipstick brightening her teeth's appearance.
"Happy birthday bro!" Jerrick gets up from his seat and brings me into a close hug. Closing my eyes with happiness, I patted his back.
"Thank you all so much. You guys are the best." I shake my head with a smile before taking a seat at the table. My mother took the empty seat by me and began fixing my hair.
"Mom!" I exclaimed as my cheeks turned to pink. My group of friends giggled at the embarrassing moment before she stopped.
"I'm sorry. I know, you're an adult now. You can fix your hair yourself!" My mother giggles. Amber suddenly stands as she pulls West's hand up along with her. He held an embarrassed expression on his face but smiled through it.
"Okay, so today is Laurence's eighteenth birthday! So, why don't we all start making his birthday good by naming some reasons why he's a great kid-oop, I mean, man!" She corrects herself with a grin.
Elouise suddenly stands with a prideful smile, "Laurence is a good man, because when you're feeling a bit lonely, he's always right there. You don't even have to ask, he's just there for you when you feel all alone." She says, finally sitting down again. I mouthed a thank you. She nodded with closed eyes.
Kat stands up as she plays with her long red locks, "Laurence is a good man in that of he always knows the right things to say. He knows how to make someone feel good about themselves when they feel like nothing. Thanks." She grins at me as she stumbles to sit back down. Smooth. I laughed on the inside at the awkwardness of her.
Jerrick hops up, "My man! You're a good man because you're my best friend! You've understood me when no else has and been there for me even if I had bad ideas." He snorts. My mother glared at him and he quickly takes a seat back down.
Scott rises up, "Uh, well, I don't know you that well but my mom and dad says you're a real good guy so I trust them!" He giggles childishly. Now, everyone's attention is on West and Amber who have been standing this entire time.
West clears his throat, "We both agree when I say that, you are truly a good kid. Intelligent, kind and strong. Yeah, there were times when things got rough, but you didn't allow it to change you. It only bettered you. You're a good man, Laurence." West finished his small speech. As my eyes began stinging with tears, I rubbed them away with my hand.
"You guys are too kind." I sniffled.
My mother stands quickly as she pats my shoulder, "Now now, No tears. We have a picnic to have." She smiles at me.
"Really? Where at?" I asked. My mother glances at my friends as they all kept straight faces. Though, Elouise tries her hardest to contain a smile as her cheeks become pinker.
"Yeah, no, that's a surprise." Amber says with a giggle before putting a blindfold over my eyes.

"Sooo, Are we there yet?" I say with a mischievous smile. I hear Jerrick and Kat groan loudly from beside me as I heard laughter from the others.
"No no no, You're not gonna pull that." Kat says with a laugh.
"No need to, We're here." Jerrick replies. As I'm led out of the vehicle by a hand, one of them take the blindfold, allowing me to see the secret view. It was the lake, full of people and food.
"Surprise!" They all yelled in unison. From smile to smile, I spot my mother.
"These are all my coworkers and their kids. I wanted you to have an unforgettable birthday, now, go have fun!" She squeals as she hands me swimming trunks.

Sooner or later, I was found messing around in the water with a bunch of people my age along with my friends. All except for Elouise who was sitting on the sand, drawing in it with her finger. I swim to the sand to take a spot next to her.
"You're not gonna join in on the fun?" I inquired her.
She continued drawing things in the sand as she spoke to me.
"I don't have a swimming suit. Besides, I'm a bit insecure anyway." She admitted to me. My eyes glance over all the people in the cool water until I saw even West with his family in the water. My eyes took notice of a scar on his bicep.
I looked back to Elouise, "What do you have to be insecure about?"
She stopped drawing and looked at me with widen eyes, "Uhm.. well, my legs." She states as I glanced down. She was wearing short denim shorts, revealing her tanned beige skin.
"There's nothing wrong with how you look." I reassured her with a friendly smile.
"You really think so? I mean, what if-
"Ah, ah, ah! There won't be any self hate talk here, or, anywhere really. Who cares what anyone thinks about you? What you think about yourself is what matters the most." I say before standing up and leaving my hand in the air. She takes ahold of it and we start swimming around. Once she started feeling comfortable, She began speaking to another guy. I smiled before I took notice of West behind the restrooms. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to leave the water.