Abnormalities

(Mason's POV) Chapter Seven

About a month has passed since school started. Mom and Dad all have adjusted pretty easily; their new jobs seemed to be working out for them the past few weeks. Everyone at school is the same, however, and I'm still being pushed around and picked on. It's not all too bad, I've been able to manage worse.
I've considered being more open about who, or what, I really am, but I don't yet feel prepared enough to expose myself in that way. I don't know how anyone would react...
This morning, as I headed out the door, Mom handed me a hefty little white box wrapped in a neat, light pink bow.
"What's this?" I ask her.
"Honey, did you forget again? I swear, it's like every year you don't remember."
"What do you...?" I start to ask again, watching as Dad walks out from the hallway in his tight business suit and briefcase.
"Mornin' sport. Got any ideas on where to go to celebrate tonight?"
"Celebrate?"
"Mason, honey, it's your birthday, isn't it?" Mom says, shaking her head. "You're just as bad as your father with dates."
My birthday..? I check my phone. 7:06 AM, October 19th. "Oh. Right." I glance down at the box and notice some unfamiliar handwriting on the tag.
"Hurry, you'll be late for school. Let us know what you want to do tonight, okay sweetheart?"
"Got it. Thanks, mom." I rush out the door, sliding my phone back into my pocket and holding onto the box tight.
"Love you, sweetie! Have fun at school today!" I hear her call out. I wave at her as I wander out into the parking lot, where Cam had been waiting for a couple minutes.
"Hey dude," he says, greeting me with his fist out. We do our secret handshake (one he decided we needed back two weeks ago) and hop into the front two seats of his car.
"What's in the box?" He asks, buckling his seat belt.
"Dunno, lemme open it."
I pull the ribbon off and pull the tag up to my face, reading a small little message:
"Happy birthday Mason! We hope you enjoy this homemade breakfast sandwich; your father told us how much you liked them. With love, the Santez's."
I pull off the lid of the box; the pungent smell of bacon, cheese, egg, and ham permeated the air. A giant sandwich sat in the middle of the box. "Woah..."
"You got a whole breakfast from the Santez's? Lucky!" Cam complains jokingly, leaning in to take a whiff. "They make such good food... I'll have to show you their bakery sometime!"
"As long as there's more of these, I'd be down." I pick up the sandwich and take a bite; the butteriness of the cheese, the fluffy eggs, and the crispy meats all melted into one single bite of heaven. "Oh my gosh..."
"Hey, hey, I've got something for you too. I remembered it being your birthday, so..." Cam reaches in the back and pulls out a big box, wrapped in a colorful wrapping paper and a thick white ribbon. He shoves it in my direction, forcing me to put down my sandwich and take it from him.
"Dude, you didn't have to get me such a big gift... I would've been fine with a Starbucks gift card, honestly," I say, unwrapping the box. Pushing the paper aside, the "naked" box's label reads in clear, bold letters "ALIENWARE AURORA R7" with a picture of a widescreen computer monitor above them. I gasp in shock.
"I know how horrible your last computer was before it broke down, so I got you this one."
I remember back to my last personal computer; I had used it for gaming, but all the aggressive button mashing lagged the internal system and fried the circuits. Dad said the company had bad quality hardware, but Mom always blamed it on how hard I was on the computer itself.
"Cam, you really didn't have to get this. Aren't these over a thousand dollars??"
"Eh, my dad's rich. He doesn't care if I blow a little bit of his money on a friend."
"I- dude, I don't know what to say," I say, stroking the box gently. "Thank you, so much..."
"Hey, no problem. Anything for a fellow gamer," Cam says, smirking. "We can hide this in the trunk during school, so just shove it in the back for now."
I nod. For the rest of the ride, we talk about birthday plans as I finish eating my breakfast sandwich. We decide that, after school, us and the girls should head out to see a movie together and meet up with my parents for dinner.

"You're in a good mood," Abigale says to me, walking to meet us as Cam and I reach the front gates.
I shrug. "I mean, if you got a bomb breakfast sandwich and a super computer for your birthday, would you feel like garbage afterwards?"
"Oh, it's your birthday! How old are you, Mason sweetie?" Abigale asks kindly, tilting her head in curiosity.
"Eighteen, I think." I count the years on my fingers and nod to confirm.
"Ooo, now you're an adult... what are you gonna do now that you're eighteen?"
"Well, I'm gonna do what any sane adult male does in this day and age..."
"We're going to watch that cartoon pony movie that came out two weeks ago!!" Cam continues for me, smiling like an idiot.
"Makes sense," Abigale says. We follow behind her as we walk on campus; right as the bell rings, she blows Cam a kiss goodbye and waves as she trots her way towards her homeroom.