Seven Minutes in Hell

            Scrunching my nose, I tilted my head towards my best friend, Sarah Reid, who was flipping through one of her various fashion magazines. Her light brown hair fell in soft curls to her broad shoulders as she looked up at me in frustration.

            “Come on, Laura,” she drawled, rolling onto her stomach. “It’ll be fun! Just think of all the boys.” Sarah had been spending the last hour and a half trying to convince me to throw a huge bash for my sixteenth birthday this upcoming Saturday. But, I wanted to keep it simple. No boys, no alcohol, and definitely no sex.

            “How about we keep the tradition?” I asked slowly, choosing my words very carefully. “I always have a sleepover. Isn’t that fun?” Sarah raised her eyebrows and began giggling, holding tearfully onto her stomach.

            My facial expression remained serious and I raised my eyebrows in question. “Oh,” she started. “You weren’t kidding?” I rolled my eyes teasingly and shook my head.

            “I’m serious,” I retorted, grapping the magazine out of her hands. “I don’t want anything too special.”

            “Laura,” she answered, taking her time on my name. “You deserve something special.”

            I knew that I should be flattered by her words, but I knew Sarah Reid too well. She was able to sweet talk nearly everybody, she would choose her words wisely and present them in a straight forward fashion, expecting people to awe in amazement. Her tricks didn’t exactly work their magic on me anymore. “Thanks,” I laughed. “But I think I’ll stick with the sleepover.”

            “But you’re turning sixteen,” she said, not dropping the topic. “I think you’re missing the whole point of a sweet sixteen.”

            “Isn’t this cute?” I asked, motioning towards a glossy page, trying to avert the attention away from me and my birthday.

            “Yeah,” Sarah snorted. “Those tampons are adorable!” I blushed and looked at the tampon add I had just pointed enthusiastically at. She rolled her blue eyes at me and yanked the magazine from my hands, sitting up straighter and crossing her tanned legs over one another.

            “Why don’t you want to have a big party?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

            “I don’t know,” I lied. “I just don’t like a large crowd is all.”

            “That’s not true,” Sarah whined, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You’re surrounded by people every day at school and I’ve never heard a complaint.”

            Sarah was right on that part. There wasn’t a single day that went by when I was alone at school. Girls flocked around me most of the time, wanting to speak to me. Boys lingered behind, knowing better than to make a move to me. I was conceded enough to admit that I was good looking. Sure, I worked hard to maintain my slim figure, and my face wasn’t always as clear as it should be. But I was always well groomed and had a specific scent that hugged my skin. People liked the aura I gave out, happiness. That was something I was proud of, my overall achievement of happiness had already been reached.

            But one goal of mine hadn’t been reached. On the verge of adulthood, I still hadn’t had my first kiss. That was another reason why Sarah was pushing me to have this party. Boys would come and she would obviously think that I would get along with some of them. I had many friends who were guys but never did they show interest in me. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I tried to do everything right, wear my hair a certain way, eat the right foods, say the right things. The opportunity just hadn’t come up yet.