The One Where Emma Turns 18

1

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Emma! Happy birthday to you!" My mum and dad burst into my room.
I squinted my eyes as they forced themselves open.
"What time is it?" I yawned.
"Birthday time!" My mum squealed. "I can't believe I have an eighteen year old!"
My dad held out a gift bag and smiled. "Open it, Emma."
"Thanks." I muttered, still frantically rubbing my eyes.

I pulled out the presents and unwrapped them.
My parents had got me a professional camera that must've cost a fortune along with a tripod stand to set it up on and a bag of designer clothes.
"Happy birthday, baby girl." My mum smiled as I hugged her.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart." I hugged my dad too.
"Oh my God! You guys! These are the best gifts. Thank you so much." I beamed.
"Oh, it's nothing." My mum brushed off. "You can use your camera for your Instagram blog. It'll be amazing."
"I'll help you set it up soon." My dad assured.
"But go and shower first!" My mum ordered. "Everyone will be here soon."

I took a shower, got dried, and put on my new short denim dress with a controversially matched denim jacket with some white trainers before emerging out from my bedroom.

There was a knock at the door.
"Are we expecting anyone this early?" My mum questioned my dad.
"I don't think so." He replied.
My mum headed to the door and swung it open to reveal two squealing blondes.
"Rachel!" Their cheery voice exclaimed in unison.
"Jill! Amy!" I smirked as I watched my mum put on the fakest smile she could manage.
"We're only stopping in quickly. Daddy said it was your little girls birthday so we're just dropping in something Gucci." Amy winked, passing my mum a small Gucci bag.
"Yeah, and now we've got shopping to do. You know the drill. We'll see you soon, yeah?" Jill smiled.
"Yeah. Soon. Yeah." My mum still put on her fake act and I found it amusing.

My mum shut the door as they skipped off together.
"I guarantee I'll never hear from my sisters for the next three years." She shrugged.

My mum pulled a stylish Gucci belt from the bag handed to her by Amy.
"Oh, wow. It's gorgeous. This was nice of them, actually." My mum commented.
"Oh, please." I scoffed. "Amy has only just stopped calling me 'Ella'."
My dad laughed from the other side of the room and my mum rolled her eyes.
"Rach, do you remember when she pierced Emma's ears?" Dad chuckled.
"Wait! What?" I shouted. This was a story I hadn't heard.
"Yeah, it was bad." Mum agreed. "You weren't even out of a pram. You were a tiny baby."
"And your mum forces me to let your Aunt Amy babysit you."
"Anyway, she came back from what looked like a surprisingly successful day of babysitting, and there was my tiny little baby, with earrings."
I gasped and then laughed. "I can't believe you left me with Amy."
"Trust me, it never happened again." My dad assured.

Just then, I got a text from my boyfriend wishing me a happy birthday and I gleamed at my phone.
We'd been together so long, but I still felt happy just to see his name pop up on my screen.

My happy thoughts were interrupted by the door being burst through, without a knock this time.
Chandler, Monica and Jack and Erica piled into our apartment.
"Emma! Happy birthday!" Erica threw herself at me.
Monica and Chandler took turns in wishing me a happy birthday and giving me a hug next.
"Happy birthday." Jack grinned from a distance.

"Presents! Presents!" Monica called, handing me a wrapped box. "Here you go."
I shook it slightly before ripping the paper off.
Inside was a pair of shiny, black boots with a perfectly sized heel.
"These are gorgeous. They'll  go so well with some of my new outfits." I stared at them. They really were gorgeous.
"I'm glad you like them, sweetie." Monica smiled.
"They look just like those boots you had. Do you remember?" Chandler asked Monica and Monica giggled as she seemed to remember.
"Oh, yeah."
"The ones that you paid a jazillion dollars for that crushed your feet and then you ended up leaving them on the street anyway?" Chandler confirmed with a joking tone.
"Yeah, they're the ones." Monica grinned, still remembering.
"Hopefully these ones don't leave you with the same fate." Chandler grinned at me and pushed the box slightly towards me.

Erica pulled me aside after a few minutes.
"Here you go. From me, to you." Erica smiled before handing me a large bag full to the brim with chocolate.
I laughed. "This is a bit over the top, isn't it?" I stared at the sickly amount of chocolate in the bag.
"Well, it's all of your favourites." Erica told me. "And I know you want to be - and you will be - this amazing, famous fashion designer who models on the side and has a following of a hundred thousand, but you're far too skinny and perfect looking, and it'd benefit me greatly if you were just slightly frumpier when we walk next to each other."
I laughed at her words and put my hand on her shoulder. "You look great, Erica."
"I guess I'll have to, because honestly, I don't think you'd ever be frumpy if you are that bag and then three more."
We both giggled.

"And the big reveal." Monica said as she pulled a piece of satin off of a cake stand.
The cake was gorgeous. Pink and white with laced icing and strawberry-shaped chocolate sporadically placed around the outside. It was two tiers and it could pass for a wedding cake.
"Jesus, Mon." Rachel looked in awe.
"Good job." Ross congratulated.
"It better be. It only took eight hours of no one else being allowed in the kitchen for her to make it." Chandler told us.
"Oh my God! Eight hours? You shouldn't have. It's so pretty!" I awed at the cake as well, astounded by the detail Monica had put into the decoration.
"Oh, it's fine, hun." Monica smiled. "I do all the baking in the coffee shop anyway, and you know I enjoy that. This was really fun to do."

The door opened again as we spoke.
"Holy crap, that's one hell of a cake!" Phoebe exclaimed loudly.