January 7
Calum dialed Luke's number as quickly as he could, giddy from excitement.
He was going to Winnie's birthday party.
Winnie invited him to her birthday party.
Calum knew that she did invite a lot of people each year.
Calum also knew that some people that came weren't exactly the type of people he wanted to mingle with, but it was fine, because Winnie had recognized him and put thought into making her invitation for him. His name was in baby blue ink on the front of the envelope.
Luke picked up the phone on the third ring. "Hello?"
Calum suddenly remembered that he hadn't called or even texted Luke for days now, and he felt awkward and out of place. "Um, hey."
"Hey," Luke said. "What's up?"
"Do you have time tomorrow?"
"Uh, let me check my calendar." Luke said.
Calum heard footsteps in the background, as Luke was checking his calendar.
"Yeah, Ashton is heading out to some party, and Michael will probably just be playing video games."
Ashton. Ashton was mentioned. If Ashton wasn't going to some stupid party, Luke would've declined. Calum felt so disrespected and uncared for.
It really was stupid why he thought about it this way, Luke answered his phone call, he didn't make fun of Calum, he wasn't really doing anything wrong. Maybe Calum was just making this a big deal. He wasn't used to this. It had always been the three of them together, and they stayed loyal to each other. He never had to deal with the pain of growing distant from his best friends.
"Okay, well, Winnie Parkers invited me to her birthday party, and she said I could bring you and Michael along. I'll call Michael after this and let him know. It starts at five tomorrow at her place." He didn't need to tell Luke the address. Everyone knew where Winnie lived.
Luke literally squealed through the phone. "Oh my God, Calum, Winnie Parkers invited you?"
Calum nodded, even though he knew Luke couldn't see. "Yeah, man. You wanna come?"
"Dude, yes! Of course I'd come. Hey, I'll tell Michael for you, I know he will say yes. Winnie has some really hot friends."
Calum thought that Winnie was the hottest of their friend group, but he said nothing about that. "Okay, thanks bro. I'm going to go out and find a gift for her."
"Bye." Luke said, and Calum hung up.
He was really happy and excited. Luke took acknowledgment that Calum was invited by the most popular girl in school.
When the three of them entered college, they didn't think that there was any nonsense about popular people or not, but they were proven wrong.
Everyone knew Winnie, and everyone loved Winnie.
Calum rushed out of his house and got in his car, driving to the store.
He entered the fancy department store.
Calum was going to have to break his wallet for this girl, but he had a good feeling about it.
As Calum scanned his eyes over every piece of jewelry, he sighed.
It was much too expensive for him to afford, but maybe he didn't have to get her jewelry.
So Calum headed towards the back of the store, where their clearance was.
He felt a bit embarrassed about shopping at the clearance section for Winnie's 20th birthday, but she'll never know.
Then he found it.
His eyes found the prettiest little teddy bear, holding a beautiful bracelet.
Calum didn't know much about bracelets, but it looked like it'd be great on Winnie.
And the teddy bear was a good bonus.
He grabbed the teddy bear, quickly checking the price.
It was 75 dollars. On clearance.
Calum shrugged. Over all these years, all he's been doing is saving.
Not only that, but he applied for a part-time job at an ice cream shop, and he was accepted, so he'll have a bit of money from that.
He was waiting for another internship for journalism.
He had gotten one last summer, but his grandpa was horribly ill.
Calum took too many breaks, and was found unimpressive by the company, so he didn't do that anymore.
He scanned the teddy bear, and handed over his credit card.
Just as he finished paying, someone else entered the store.
Ashton.
Ashton and Luke.
Ashton and Luke and Michael.
The three of them together.
Here to look for Winnie's birthday present.
Calum frowned. Did Winnie invite Ashton? Or did Luke and Michael do that?
He took a deep breath and approached them.
"Calum!" Michael exclaimed. "You got invited by the coolest girl in school!"
Calum nodded enthusiastically. "What is Ashton doing here? Helping you guys with the present?"
Luke shook his head. "Actually, Ashton is also picking out a present. He was also invited. So we're all going together!"
Calum felt his heart drop. Ashton was invited before him. And he was new.
"Oh, cool. See you guys tomorrow." He pushed past the group and rushed out of the store.
Calum sat in his car, burying his head in his hands, throwing Winnie's present on the passenger seat.
Calum trembled, biting his lip.
Ashton was the cool one.
Ashton was the better one.
He would always be on a level higher than Calum.
**
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