Emma: Seventh Grade

Chapter 51: Lizzie's Party

Emma stood at Lizzie's doorstep as the bitter winter wind blew against her body, chilling her to the bone. She was wearing only a blue zip-up sweatshirt with a white spaghetti strap tank top underneath. She was going commando in black leggings and her top rose up just enough so that her bony hips were visible. In her hand she was carrying a gift bag; Emma had gotten Lizzie a blanket with cats all over it. She had bought it with her own money, so she hoped that Lizzie would like it. She also had her overnight bag slung over her shoulder as she waited for her friend to answer the door.

It was Lizzie's birthday today and she was turning thirteen years old. Lizzie had a slumber party planned at her house for weeks now, and Emma had been anticipating it all day. Her mom and Craig had plans to spend the night at Emma's house, while Emma and Lizzie stayed overnight at Lizzie's house.

Just then, the front door opened and there stood Lizzie. She was wearing a pale pink tank top and Emma could clearly tell she wasn't wearing a bra. Lizzie also had on gray sweatpants that had a white drawstring at the waist. Her dyed blue hair was unkempt and messy, as if she hadn't combed it all day. "Heyyy!!!" Lizzie cried excitedly, giving Emma a hug. "Come in!"

"Happy birthday Lizzie!" Emma greeted her friend as she walked into the house as Lizzie closed the door behind her. The TV was playing loudly in the background, and the whole house reeked of cigarette smoke. The two big, black dogs, who were snoozing on the floor together, looked up sleepily as Emma entered. Lizzy's gray tabby cat Bison was seated on the old, stained couch, while her orange tabby Sue wrestled a piece of string on the floor. There were dirty clothes all over the floor and papers stacked everywhere. In fact, the whole house was a mess.

"My dad is gone tonight, so we have the whole house to ourselves!" Lizzie exclaimed. "I'm so excited. I have so much planned for us to do. We are going to do our nails, watch movies, play games, and I'll even show you my Amazon account that my dad finally let me get. It took him long enough," she rolled her eyes. "But I'll show it to you and we can buy some cool stuff on there. This is gonna be fun!"

"Yes!" Emma agreed, setting her overnight bag down on the floor by the front door. For once, she was excited to spend time with Lizzie. It sounded like she had a lot of fun things planned for the night.

"Oh, and my dad bought me a birthday cake, so that will be our snack tonight," Lizzie added.

"Cool," Emma replied. "So who else is coming tonight?" she wanted to know.

"Well actually sweetie," Lizzie explained. "It's just you and me. You see, I was planning for us to drink tonight, and I didn't think that Maggie and Ashlyn would approve. You see, they're too conservative for me. But you are my bestie, Emma. And we like the same things. So if I like to drink, you'll like it too. You know what I mean?"

Emma nodded. She felt nervous; she had never tasted alcohol in her life and wasn't sure if she was supposed to drink it or not. Her parents never discussed the topic with her, but she learned at school that she shouldn't touch alcohol or drugs. But a little bit shouldn't hurt, right?

"Plus, a little booze will help us both with our anxiety," Lizzie continued.

"It will?" Emma asked, perking up. She had been taking her Ativan every night to help her sleep, but she still had some anxiety during the day.

"Sweetie. Trust me," Lizzie stated. "I've been using it to help me for months now."

"Okay," Emma agreed, twisting a lock of her blonde hair around he finger. Handing the gift in her hand to Lizzie, she added, "Here. I got this for you."

Taking the gift from Emma, Lizzie dumped its contents out of the bag and the blanket with the cats on it fell to the floor. Picking it up, Lizzie studied it, as a smile grew across her face. "Aww, I love it!" she cried, giving Emma a big hug. "Thank you!"