Your Time To Shine

Part 12

The days passed quickly towards Sara’s birthday- she eventually went back to school with Luke and everything was how it should be with your tutor on the surface, he showed, taught and improved her dancing very well. They even slipped in some partner-dancing at the end of each session which the both of them always looked forward to, even if they wouldn’t admit it to each other’s faces.

She hadn’t even realized it was her birthday until her iPhone had gladly reminded her when she’d clambered up to switch the alarm off ringing in her ears. There was a text of Luke- he’d got her number from Ashley, she remembered, and decided to save it to her phone this time. School’s off, something about the electric or heating or boiler or something has broke:S happy birthday! Might come and see you later, love luke :]xoxo

“Mu-um!” Sara shouted down the stairs. “The schools closed, something’s broke. Luke has just text me.”

“Okay!” She called from downstairs, but her footsteps came closer into Sara’s room. “Sit up, I’ve made you breakfast.” Breakfast in bed- just what the doctor had ordered! When Chloe stepped into her daughter’s room, she carried a tray in her right hand and a Primark bag in her left- that didn’t contain a load of clothes by the odd shapes sticking out of it, like it was going to burst.

“Oh Mother, you shouldn’t have.” Sara slowly said it for effect, shuffling on her bed so that as she leant up against the frame at the back, her mother could sit next to her. For breakfast her mother had made a warm cup of tea, a fresh-smelling sausage sandwich and a crumpet to the side of her plate. “I won’t be able to eat all of this, share the crumpet with me?” So she broke it in half, passing one half to her mother gently.

“Happy birthday, Sara,” She greeted when her daughter had finished all but her cup of tea- she still had half left, so Sara placed it into her window while she dipped her head in the direction of the full, almost bursting Primark bag. “Oh! Of course!” Chloe reached down to sweep the bag up into her arms, taking out a small pile of cards and ditching them to one side, and then tipping the presents carefully out onto Sara’s bed, around her feet and body. “Open your cards first.”

“Okay.” It didn’t take her long to open all of her cards- being there wasn’t that many. There was one from her mother, two from her neighbours with some money in, one from Luke’s father- Luke must of dropped it off sometime, probably when he came here to home-tutor her for that one day and had sneaked it in, a few other friends of Chloe’s, Sara’s counsellor when they thought she was being bullied when she was little- when she wasn’t afraid of saying she was being bullied. Eventually she denied it when she was older so there was less fuss. Yet there wasn’t one at all from Luke. That was just plain weird. “Which presents do I need to open first?”

“That one, this one, then that one, and then choose which order yourself.” Chloe pointed out the separate presents, the ones that she wanted to open first were closer to Sara so that she wouldn’t have to reach halfway over the bed to get them.

Turns out Chloe had raided the stores for Sara’s birthday; she’d bought a Pandora bracelet with many, many charms that she’d immedietly got insured because it was worth so much money- more than you’d expect; she’d also brought her daughter some new clothes, a new pair of boots, some new All-Star converse, some CD’s, some new dancing shoes, and another leotard. The last thing she’d bought her was a new laptop, which was bright pink! “Thank you mother, really! You’re ever so nice to me and you know exactly what to buy me, you know me so well.” She tried to hide the disappointment of no card from Luke that was clear in her voice, even though he was meant to be coming round for her birthday, and leant to give her mother a big, hearty hug.

“It’s...” Sara glanced down at her iPhone. “Holy! It’s already nearly nine o’ clock! I didn’t realize it had taken that long. I need to get dressed swiftly.”