The days blended together and ushered in the chilly, fall weather. Chad and I had been studying together almost every day after school, in between increasingly heated makeout sessions. Things between us were the best they'd ever been and while I was having the time of my life, I was silently waiting for the other shoe to drop, a skeptical part of my brain believing that any kind of healthy relationship for us was too good to be true.
September was turning into October and the leaves began to change, burnt orage and yellows scattering the ground as Chad and I walked into school one Wednesday.
"So, what are your plans for the weekend?" He asked me, taking his arm from my shoulders so he could shrug off his jacket, and throw it over his arm.
"Well, I don't know," I told him. "Friday is my birthday, but I haven't really decided what I'm doing yet."
"It's your birthday? Why didn't you tell me?"
I shrugged. Truthfully, I'd meant to, but it's a pretty random thing to bring up and easily forgotten.
"Well, whatever you decide to do, count me in."
I smiled and veered left, promising to see him at lunch.
As I walked to class I tried to decide what I wanted to do. Friday would be here before I knew it, and my mind was dry.
Thankfully, Zac was my bio partner, so I had a little one on one time with the king of celebrations.
"Zac, what should I for my birthday?" I asked, setting down my books and sliding out the metal stool.
He thought a moment, looking into the distance as if it were a crystal ball, holding all the answers. "Why don't you have a party?"
"Yeah, I can see it now: my mom passes out Jell-O shots, while all my friends do kegstands in the backyard," I snorted.
"Okay, so your mom isn't the ideal co-host." I laughed. It was an understatement. "We could always go out and do something. Classy dinner? Clubbing? Bowling?"
As fun as the underage clubs in our area could be, they were usually filled with skeezy older guys and don't even get me started on the foam pit.
"Why don't we just go to Dave and Buster's?" I suggested.
Zac rolled his eyes, clearly hoping for the clubbing option, but didn't protest. "D and B it is," he said.
***
When I got home after school, my mom was rushing around the living room, shoving papers into her briefcase.
"What are you doing home so early?" I asked, tossing my backpack on the floor.
"Oh, honey!" She said, a mixture of stress and exhaustion radiating off her. "Sit down, I want to talk about your birthday."
I furrowed my brow but followed her instructions. "What about it?" I asked, as she set down the case and took a seat across from me.
She hesitated as if she didn't really want to talk about it, which made me worry.
"As you know, work has been incredibly busy lately," she started. "I'm in line for a promotion and these cases I've been working on have been more involved than usual. So, I seem to have forgotten about the conference in Santa Monica this weekend. I completely spaced on the date and only realized when the organizer sent my itinerary today. Honey, I'm so sorry. But it's too late to back out on this conference. If I would have put the two together, I never would have scheduled something the weekend of your birthday. I want to take you out tonight to celebrate, okay? Anywhere you want. I'm so sorry," she repeated.
