Tessa's Home

Twenty

Tessa

"Happy birthday!" I scream as soon as I see Hazel, and I tackle her with a hug.

She laughs and hugs me tight, both our smiles endless.

When we let go of each other, I dig into my bag and pull out a small present.

"Awe, what's this?" Hazel asks, smiling widely. She shakes the small wrapped box gently.

"Your first present! And don't worry, there's many more than that! But I'll give them to you tomorrow at your party!" I squeal, happily, and watch her open her present.

She pulls out a heart necklace. Or half a heart, anyway.

I show her my necklace, which completes the heart, and she squeals happily.

"I've always wanted to get one of these with a friend!" She yells, and I put it on for her. We click the heart edges together and then hug again. "Thank you! It's perfect."

I nod, smiling, and we head to class, talking non-stop.

~~~

Today is Hazel's birthday party! Me, Tyler and Killian are heading over to her house right now!

"Don't forget your blinker," Dad says, holding onto his seat for dear life.

Tyler's driving today. He got his Learners liscense ages ago, last year, actually, but dad's still terrified when he's in the drivers seat.

Poor him, because he's not done. I haven't even gone for the Learners test yet.

He's still got another 120 hours worth of driving with me, and somehow, I think I'll be worse than Tyler at it.

Finally we get to Hazel's house, and we all get out with relieved sighs.

"Okay, I'm not that bad at driving," Tyler whines, crossing his arms. I laugh and knock on Hazel's front door.

It opens almost immediately and I hug Hazel as soon as I see her.

"Hey! Happy birthday again!" I giggle. We all wished her a happy birthday yesterday, on her actual birthday, but we might as well say it again.

It is her birthday party, after all.

"Thank you again." She laughs. Her eyes widen at the amount of presents dad's holding.

"Where should I put these?" He asks, smiling.

"Just, uh, anywhere in the lounge-room is fine." She smiles, pointing in the direction of her living room. As soon as dad leaves, she whispers, "How many presents did you get me?"

I laugh and shrug. "A lot. I'm sorry but everything I saw screamed you!"

She laughs and hugs me again. "Come look at my room! Be warned, it's very pink."

And she's right. It is very pink. Everything from her bed sheets to her carpet is a shade of pink or white. But it's beautiful. Adorable, really.

I love it. "Hey, here's another present. I thought it'd be better if you opened it up privately."

She smiles happily and rips it open. As soon as she sees the pink silk nightgown, she gasps and hugs me.

"It's gorgeous! Oh my gosh, thank you!"

"I have one just like it, too, but in green!" She gasps again and squeals, and after obsessing over her new gown for a few minutes and then hiding it, we head downstairs.

There are already a few people here I've never met before, and a few girls I've seen in our class, too.

Aside from Hazel, I haven't made any other close friends. I've had a few conversations with a few girls when I could, but none of them could be considered friends.