Fire & Water

A Bad Feeling For A Birthday Present

My name is Azalea Dion. Let me tell you about my life.

My life is (not) just like any other teenager's.

A regular teenage life:

Wakes up, goes to school, comes back, goes to sleep, and repeats.

Every once in a while, you'll get in a relationship.

You hang out with your buddies, sometimes have Girl's Night Out.

Gossip, text, work, eat.

That's a day in the normal life of a teen.

But mine? It's more complicated than that.

My teenage life:

Wake up, go to school, fail test, get detention, go home late, and stay up until one.

I usually stay in one relationship for a long time. I was dating Michael English, one of the many burly jocks of the school. But I'll get to that in a minute.

As for Girl's Night Out? Yeah, I still had those. But I wasn't the center of the party. My so-called best friend, Milah, was. Milah was a social butterfly with jet black hair, light skin, and mantis green eyes. She liked to party with all the girly girls. I just sat around in my oversized Yankees jersey, jeans that were ripped at the knees, red Converse, and a technicolor cap to go with my rainbow hair. My whole head is a pastel orange color, while I have huge streaks of blue, pink, red, and green. I usually keep it in a loose braid.

Anyway, let's get back on track.

Michael English.

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"Azalea, honey! Time to wake up," mom shouted. I woke up with a start. "Coming!" I yelled toward the kitchen, where I figured she would be. As I propped myself up on my shoulders, I recalled that I had a date with Michael today. My face lit up. A date with Michael the day before my 16th birthday. I didn't love Michael, but I was glad I had someone. I wondered what he had planned. "Meet me at Long Island," he had said. I felt a bit uneasy about the beach part. I had a deathly fear of the ocean.

I slid out of bed and admired the clothing in my closet. A light grey shirt with silver sequins. Like fish fins. That should do nicely. We might be going for a jog, so I decided to put on my athletic jacket and my stretchy leggings, just in case. It may have been the start of June, but trust me, it wasnt eighty degrees. I suspected that Michael would like my outfit. He was all about sports. A jock himself, he was on the football team. I didn't ask him out, he asked me out. I wasn't thrilled, to be honest. But I didn't want to disappoint him. I was stumped on what shoes to wear; my red, white and black Converse or my black Converse with the flame decals. Slightly regretting my decision, I slipped on my flame Converse.

I took one look at my room before closing the door. An unpleasant feeling was rising in my stomach. I felt like something was going to go wrong on our date. Terribly wrong. I'd felt this before, earlier in the week. Trying to shake off the feeling, I closed the door, walked to the kitchen, and asked mom what was for breakfast. She answered, "Well, we're not eating here. As a birthday celebration meal, we're going to Burgers & Cupcakes!" That got me excited. Burgers & Cupcakes was my favorite fast food restaurant in Manhattan. Back when we lived in Washington D.C., there was a restaurant similar to it called The Bagel Burger with desserts and fast food. I clapped my hands and then said, "What are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!" I opened our apartment door and held it for her.

As we got outside, mom said quietly, "Azalea, you've been acting a little odd the past few days...why is that?" I squirmed a bit as she opened the door to our black Maserati. "Well....I feel like something's gonna happen while I'm on my date," I muttered in a small voice, looking down at my shoes. I hopped into the passenger's seat of the car. "Something bad," I added as she got into the driver's seat. Her expression changed as she started the car. It became an obvious look of worry. "I doubt it, honey," she said. But her tone sounded untruthful, like she was hiding something. "I was afraid this would happen," she whispered to herself.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing."

Now I knew something was up. But what? I shuffled my feet as we drove down 40th Street. "Mom, are you.....hiding something from me?" I asked uncomfortably. She turned pale. This is very uncommon for my mom, because she is super tan. Her great-grandparents were immigrants from Mexico, but they came to America to have better lives and to get jobs. I thought about my dad. When I was young, mom used to tell me stories about how wonderful he was. But I didn't think he was wonderful at all. He was mean and rude to us. Mom told me he had to 'leave'. I don't believe that. I think he was just a cruel father and husband who abandoned his family just because. I never got to meet him. He left a few days before I was born. It has always felt like he never loved us.

"Azalea, honey. N-nothing is going to happen. We're all - fine," she stammered at the red light on 36th and 9th. "Right," I murmured sarcastically. Mom sighed and said, "Here we are! Burgers & Cupcakes!" while getting out of the car. I slumped out of the car and opened the door to the restaurant. As soon as I did, my mood changed completely. Scents of crescent rolls and juicy burgers wafted into my nose as I let out a huge heave of relief. I'm in heaven, I thought. Paradise.

"Hello, and welcome to our restaurant! What can I get you ladies today?" the man at the counter asked cheerfully. "I'll have the Chicken Salad Wrap please," mom stated. "And I'll just have a Cronut," I added. The man chuckled. "Alright, one Chicken Salad Wrap and a Cronut, coming right up!" And with that he exited the dining room and skipped into the kitchen. "Enthusiastic," mom said. I rolled my eyes. Too enthusiastic, I thought. The man returned and said, "Table three, ladies. Follow me."