Violet

Chapter 24: Best Birthday Ever

Part 4: Violet's POV

At the ice cream parlor, I stood with my hands spread over the chilled glass. If there had been three choices, I would have picked one a long ago, but the array put my mind into a happy tingle of possibilities. There weren't just all the flavors, but all the possible combinations. At least the choice of the cone was simple enough: a waffle cone dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. It didn't come cheap of course, but then reaching your eleventh birthday was a reason to celebrate. After a few more moments, I turned around to my Mom, "Mom, what should I get?" She smiled; it was hard to choose, even for her.

"Violet, pick something," April whined. "My feet hurt." April had a soccer game that morning, and we watched her lose to the other team. 2-9. Ouch. I hurried and picked out a flavor.

"I'll take the blueberry cotton candy bubblegum flavor," I said. A man wearing an orange and white uniform scooped my ice cream into the cone and handed me this tall mountain of sweetness. I moved out of the way as my mother handed him the money. Zachary and Kellin were in the car. My aunt Denise, who was in fact, the best aunt ever, bought her kids all ice creams in a cup. After she had bought the ice creams, she looked at me and chuckled.

"We should have lit it with candles," Denise said.

My mother laughed. "Violet's backwards from other kids. She hates candles and cake."

"Strange, you are," Denise said, wagging a finger at me.

After we all finished our ice cream in the car, we headed to the Of Men and Monster concert. I had been in love with them for ages. I dressed in a white skirt and a yellow shirt decorated with sunflowers. We pulled into the parking lot and, thank goodness, there weren't a lot of cars. The concert had already begun. The stage was just a spacious square on a vast land of grass. Around fifty people were dancing and singing by the stage. The six band members played their instruments and sung their hearts out for the crowd.

We approached the crowd with our lawn chairs and cooler. Zachary looked at the singers for one minute then broke out into a random sprint around random people. "Zachery!" his mother called out to him.

April took Keller's hand. "We're going to get a closer look, Mom," April said.

"All right, I'll be watching," her mother replied.

I grabbed a Root Beer out of the cooler and shook the coldness off of my hands. The music was so relaxing. I couldn't explain the feeling I had being surrounded by people who loved Of Monsters and Men as much as I did. It made me very, very happy. Unfortunately, my happiness didn't last very long. A heavy soccer ball flew through the air and hit my face. I held my face for the longest time until I heard my mother and Denise asking me if I was all right. I opened my eyes and saw a kid running my way. Did the ball hit me that hard or did I actually know the boy who was approaching me?

"I'm so, so sorry," he said. I remembered that voice. It was Ryan. The boy I danced with. My head ached for me to say anything and before I could say anything, he touched my head. "You'll get a red mark, but no bruises," he said. "I don't think I ever caught your name." Ryan brushed the hairs away from my forehead and examined it like he was some sort of doctor. My mother and Denise were speechless. I was speechless myself. He remembered me.

I placed my hand on my forehead just so he would move his own hand. "It's Violet, and thanks," I said. I heard my mother and Denise ask each other if I knew him.

He held the soccer ball between his arm and his side. "I think I've had enough practice. Want to go watch the concert up close?" He smiled wide and his eyes grew big as he stared at me. How could anyone say no to that smile?

"Sure," I said, getting up.

Denise and my mother both had their hands on their hips while giving me this awkward smirk. "He is handsome." My mother winked at me.

I shushed her and followed Ryan up to the front. I felt each drum beat beneath my feet. The music wasn't too loud, but we still ended up talking loud.

"I didn't think I'd run into you again. You live around here?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I moved to Clarkston last year."

"Wow, I live in Clarkston, too. In the suburbs," he said.

I accidently smiled a bit too wide. "That's where I live, too! Why don't I see you around?"

He shrugged. "I'm in the house most of the time playing guitar. I love music." Then I noticed his shirt. It was an Of Monsters and Men shirt. He knew how to dance and play guitar. I was impressed. The two of us clapped when the song was over. A little girl who had climbed on stage was given a basket of flowers by one of the band members. She began handing them out to only a few people, including Ryan. To my surprise, he handed me the flower. I couldn't help but blush. This was turning out to be the best birthday ever!