2 1: Birthday Gift

My alarm blared, stirring me awake at seven in the morning. I cursed and stumbled to turn it off. I had previously set multiple alarms before this one but I was still tired. My annoyance grew when I peeked at the date on my phone.

September twelfth. My birthday. The exact date from a year ago, the day my world fell apart. Today, I was turning eighteen. I would officially be a full-fledged adult. Yay.

I lay in my bed, dreading the thought of getting up. Today was going to be hell no matter what, so what was the point in doing anything? It didn't matter anyway. The only one that cared, Ms. Widdle, moved out.

I thought about her for a moment. Her niece was supposed to be moving in today. Should I greet her at some point? I remembered that she was supposed to be somewhere around my age. I shrugged and sat up, stretching.

𝘜𝘨𝘩. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

I groggily stepped out of bed and went to the bathroom. After doing my business, I looked at myself in the mirror. I examined my features as I began brushing my teeth. I wasn't necessarily ugly or pretty. I was quite average-looking. I had a chubby, heart-shaped face with round eyes. They were mahogany in color. My eyelashes were rather long. I rubbed my eye in an attempt to remove one. It poked at my cornea, causing my eyes to water. I quickly washed my face, removing the eyelash.

I patted my face with a towel and caught another glimpse at myself in the mirror. Atop my eyes were my thick eyebrows. I wiggled them in the mirror, cracking a small smile. My nose was small and refined, resting softly above my lips. My lips were full and large, slightly pinkish in color. My skin was tawny, slightly darker in some spots due to pimples. I also had a small mole beneath my left eye, a signature thing my family had. It was just like my mom's. My curly and unruly cinnamon hair was down to my collarbone. I brushed my hair a bit, throwing it into a ponytail. Then I looked at my body.

I wasn't skinny, but I wasn't curvy. I was in the weird in-between. I poked at my love handles, frowning.

I quickly got dressed, throwing on my light blue pinafore dress and a white shirt. I also tied a light blue scarf around my head in a bow. It looked cute enough. It's my birthday. I could try to look a bit better than I felt, right? Who knows? It might bring up my mood a bit.

I slipped on a pair of converse. They were my uncle's old ones. They were a bit bigger than my feet and a bit beat up but I couldn't care less. It felt okay, at least.

Lastly, I put on my glasses. They were the nerdy Harry Potter type. I thought they looked weird, but then again it didn't matter. They worked at least.

I grabbed my keys and backpack and left the small apartment, locking the door behind me. Today started differently from the other days. Normally, I wouldn't see anyone as I left my home. Today must've been my unlucky day.

Standing before me was the very person I had not wished to see.

"Ethan."

He stood taller than me, his almond-shaped, caramel eyes dripping with sweetness. His dark brown hair was styled with a side part, some falling into his eyes. He smiled with his lopsided mouth, one corner turning up further. Though it was funny looking, his smile added to his charm.

I noticed what Ethan wore. It was a simple blue jacket. I didn't recognize it at all. It was something that he and his mother wouldn't buy. They both loved patterns, a complete contrast to the jacket. Someone else must have bought it for him.

I felt a deep pain in my chest as memories from last year flooded my thoughts.

I tried to walk past Ethan but he grabbed my arm before I could. "Momo, wait!" He pleaded.

I shrugged him off and turned, crossing my arms over my chest. "What?" I asked him. Ethan shrugged. "I know you don't wanna talk to me, but we were friends awhile back."

"Were. We were friends. But not anymore. It's best if you just... don't speak to me at all, okay?"

I stomped off quickly. As I left, I could overhear him say the words I hoped wouldn't leave his lips. "Happy birthday, Momo."

Happy my ass.

Even though it had been a year, I still felt horrible after our break-up. I knew I still had feelings for him. I couldn't even hear his name without feeling emotional, without missing him. At some point, I needed to find a way to get over him, but how? It's not like I had any other people that I felt connected to. It was times like these that I felt the most alone in the world.

Before I knew it, I arrived at the school building. I walked inside, keeping my head held down. Pushing through the crowds, I ran to my locker. As I grabbed my belongings, the halls bustled with noise. The chatter was all random, not about anything I cared much about.

Suddenly, I turned to see a girl staring at me. I gasped slightly, startled by her sudden appearance. When did she even get there?

I had never seen this student before. I guessed she was new, which was normal at the beginning of the school year. She was rather short with wild crimson hair. Her droopy eyes were a dull violet color. I assumed they were contact lenses. She wore a simple, white dress. She was rather pale in color, enough to be worrisome. She looked at me and squinted slightly. The girl spoke in a high-pitched tone.

"Are you Momo?"

I blinked. The question was off-putting. "Yeah but... who are you?" I answered.

The girl's eyes seemed to light up. She smiled, revealing teeth straightened with rainbow braces. "Oh! It really is you! Ma'am said that you would look like this!" She pulled her phone out and showed me a picture of myself. At this point, I was ten times more concerned than I already was.

The girl must've noticed how I felt. "I'm sorry. I should've introduced myself. I'm Madeline. Your new neighbor and the niece of Ms. Widdle. You must be startled, Momo. For that, I am sorry."

This girl was a lot to think of. She was a bit loud in general, not to mention how off she seemed. Though, she was Ms. Widdle's niece. It couldn't hurt too much to talk to her.

"Hi there, Madeline. You're new, I assume?"

"Yes, sirree bob! Ma'am told me that I had to move and come to this school specifically. So, here I am!"

"Well, it's... Nice to meet you..?"

"Yes indeed! By the way, I know it's your birthday. Ma'am sent me to give this to you as soon as possible! She said it's her present to you!" Madeline held out a large book. The cover had a small symbol of a goat, the eyes containing a red glisten. I slowly took it, confused and curious. I slipped it into my bag, Madeline grinning as she watched.

Before I could ask any questions, the school bell rang. Without another word, Madeline rushed off. I shrugged. She probably went to class. It was her first day. I wondered if she even knew how to get there.

Rather than waste any more time in the halls, I ran to my first class of the day. The day went by slowly. I didn't care enough to pay much attention to anything happening. I spent most of that day distracting myself with anything I could get my hands on. I just wanted the day to end already.

I just wanted to go home as quickly as I could. Escape the world.