It was Selena's thirteenth birthday and they had a little barbecue party in their backyard. Family and close friend were invited, including the family of her best friend, Justin. She wasn't that thrilled for her birthday. Her dad didn't make it because his new wife just got in labor.
Yes, a lot had happened in a year. Both her parents remarried other people, but Selena started to understand it slowly. She was happy for both of them. Although Brian, her stepdad, was very nice to her, she still missed her dad on her birthday.
"Justin? Have you seen Selena?" Mandy asked thirteen year-old Justin as she passed by him.
"I haven't seen her since I got here. Do you want me to check her room?" Justin said as he got up from his seat.
"Yes please. The people are starting to look for her." Mandy said worriedly.
"Hey Pattie, do you mind if I borrow Justin for a moment?" she asked Justin's mom.
"No, it's okay, go on." Pattie arrived from Canada a few hours ago. She wanted to visit her son and it just so happened that it was Selena's birthday too. She had met Selena a several times before and thought she was a sweetheart. She also thought Selena was a good influence to her son.
Justin made his way to Selena's room. He opened the door and peeked inside. Selena was laying on the bed, playing with her new puppy, Baylor. It was a pre birthday gift from her dad who gave it to her yesterday.
"What are you doing here?" Selena asked as she sat up from her bed, carrying Baylor in her arms.
"I'm here to bring you back downstairs. Everyone's waiting for you."
"Did mom send you here?"
"Kinda." Justin sat on the bed beside her and reached out to touch Baylor's fur.
"So why do you want to hide here?"
"I just want to be alone." Selena said with a sigh.
"You need to spend time with your loved ones as much as you can, Lena." Justin nudged her arm with his elbow, trying to remind her to savor the moment.
"What do you mean?" Selena asked as she kept running her hand on Baylor's head.
"Some of them even came from Texas just to see you," Justin explained further
"And my mom is here to see you," he added.
"Pattie?" Selena's face lit up. She loved Justin's mom because she was always sweet to her.
"Yeah." Justin smiled at her.
"But I don't want to go out. I like it here," Selena whined.
"Well, if you won't get your butt down there, you won't get to see my gift to you," Justin dared.
"You have a gift for me? Gimmie!!!" Selena said excitedly, bouncing up and down on her bed.
"I have something to cheer you up." Justin laughed as he reached down for something on the floor. He handed the pink box to Selena.
"What's this?" Selena as she took the pink box. She didn't even notice that Justin came in her room holding a box.
"It's my present for you. Duh! Open it," Justin told her excitedly.
Selena opened the pink box and it revealed a snow globe with a merry-go-round inside it, she got so excited and she squealed when she pulled it out of the box.
"Do you like it?" Justin asked anxiously, hoping a "Yes" for an answer. He found it at the mall when he was shopping with his grandpa. He thought that Selena would love it because she loved the carnival and she loved riding the horse on the merry-go-round. His money wasn't enough to buy her the gift, but his grandfather covered for the money he still needed to buy it.
