TWELFTH BIRTHDAY

Who would have thought that Alicia Cooper could fall in love? Not only did she fall in love, but she fell so hard for someone that nobody would have imagined her with. It all started few months ago after that particular business meeting.

I've always felt neglected by both parents who favor my twin sister Felicia. I grew accustomed to that behavior after we turned twelve years old.

TWELFTH BIRTHDAY PARTY

On every birthday, we receive presents equal to the age we turn. As we will be turning twelve this year, we will get twelve presents each. Additionally, we have planned to celebrate our birthday with a party, and the party hall has been decorated with Felicia's favourite colour. I didn't care; all I wanted was to see the promised cloth present. My mother walked in wearing matching pajamas with Felicia, a tradition I was never a part of.

"Good morning, Princess," she greeted Felicia with a smile. I didn't bother to smile back.

"I'm here to give you your presents and your party gown," she said as she sat on the sofa. We both joined her.

At that moment, our father arrived with a trolley loaded with gifts. Felicia's presents were always wrapped in pink, while mine were wrapped in black. At least this was one thing they paid attention to. They would always unwrap Felicia's gift together, leaving me to struggle with mine. On our tenth birthday, I made a decision to always unwrap my gifts two days after our birthday. This way, I would be less heartbroken to see Felicia getting the most expensive gifts. We opened Felicia's twelve-box of gifts and, as usual, Felicia received everything on her wishlist. She was beaming with happiness seeing that she got everything she wished for.

"Would you like to open your gifts?" My father asked in his usual angry tone, as he often did when speaking to me.

"I will do it later," I replied calmly.

"It doesn't matter anyway," he responded dismissively, before opening the box of gowns they had bought for us.

It was a costume themed party, Felicia dressed up as Princess Sofia in a pink gown, while I wore a Wednesday Addams costume. Although I wasn't happy with my outfit, I hoped to find a snow-white gown as I had wished.

"You look magnificent, Felicia," my mother complimented her with love in her voice.

"My daughter is beautiful," my father said, but he looked at me with discontent. As I gazed at my reflection in the mirror, tears welled up in my eyes.

"Let's go, the guests are waiting," my mother said as she walked out. My father held his favorite daughter's hand and followed, while I trailed behind them.

The music from the party hall was audible even from the hallway. I couldn't wait to see my best friend Emily Wang, who is the only person that makes me feel alive. I had forgotten all about my outfit in my excitement. However, my uncle, who tries to be nice to me, announced our arrival at the party.

"Let's give a warm welcome to the celebrants of the day - Felicia dressed as Sofia the First and Alicia dressed as Wednesday Addams," he announced, and the guests cheered. The guests included Felicia's group of friends, my best friend, our schoolmates, and parents. We walked in side by side, as expected, and I could feel the parents' eyes on me. I'm sure they were wondering why one of us was dressed as a princess and the other as the princess of weird people.

"Alicia is a big fan of Wednesday Addams," my uncle said, perhaps noticing the stares too.

We made our way to the chairs reserved for us, but once again, I got the short end of the stick. Felicia got to sit on a grand Princess Sofia throne, while I was stuck with a plain Wednesday Addams-decorated chair. Our parents walked in, holding hands, and the guests cheered as they made their way up to my beaming uncle.

My father collected the microphone and addressed the guests, thanking them for attending our joint birthday party. Our mother joined in, expressing her gratitude for everyone's presence. I knew they had sent out invitations, but I never got to see them, and neither did my best friend.

The servers had already begun serving food and drinks to the guests, and the party was in full swing. Kids were running around, playing games and having fun. But I was more interested in spending time with Emily my best friend, who was all dressed up in their birthday party finery.

"Go on, you two - go play with your friends," my mother said, smiling brightly. I jumped down from my chair and made my way over to Emily, who was sitting by herself at one end of the party hall.

"How are you, Emily?" I asked as I sat down next to her. She was dressed up as Princess Eleanor.

"I'm fine, Alicia," she replied, but her voice held a hint of sadness.

"What's wrong, Emily?" I asked, sensing that something was bothering her.

"Why did you dress up as Wednesday Addams instead of Snow White, as we planned?" she asked, looking at me with pity in her eyes. I hated being pitied, and I didn't know how to respond.

"I think they got it wrong," I said in response to Emily's comment about being ditched again. I didn't want to portray my parents as bad people in front of her.

"I'm sorry you're going through this," Emily said, looking at me with pity.

"Forget about it. Where are your parents?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"They didn't receive the invitation that was shared, so they decided to stay back. Nanny brought me here," Emily replied with a forced smile.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't receive the invite either," I apologized, and she nodded with a smile.

"I brought something for you," she said, taking out a black-wrapped box. Emily's gifts always give me hope that I am destined for expensive gifts too. I look forward to her gifts every year, and she has never disappointed me. After my tenth birthday, when she gave me a rose-gold Cartier bracelet, and my mother collected it, saying that I didn't deserve something that expensive, I kept every gift bought for me from Emily, and I will be keeping this one too.

I collected the wrapped box from Emily, saying, "Thank you, Emily."

"Anything for you," she replied with a beautiful smile. The party was still going on, with the children playing games. I could see Felicia and her friends laughing at me, but I didn't care. I just wanted the party to end as soon as possible.

Suddenly, I heard a voice say, "Hi Wednesday." I didn't need anyone to tell me that it was Charlotte Othon, Felicia's best friend and my biggest bully. My twin sister was standing next to her, smiling mischievously. I knew that bully smile anywhere.

"Felicia, let's enjoy our birthday party," I said, not wanting her to cause a scene.

"My party, you mean," Felicia said with a wicked grin.

"It's your party. Everyone can see that," I replied, pointing to the guests.

"Wait till you see the birthday cake," Felicia said with another wicked grin, and Charlotte laughed.

"Nothing can surprise me anymore, Felicia. I just want to get done with the party," I replied, not letting her defeat me. She walked away angrily, and Charlotte followed. I was so grateful Emily had gone to the restroom, because she wouldn't have let the threat slide without a fight.

A few minutes later, the birthday cake was brought in. I was staring at the magnificent castle cake made for Felicia and the ugly Wednesday Addams-themed cake I received. I saw Felicia grinning at me. I felt defeated, as I was truly surprised by the stark contrast between our cakes.

"Do you still think they are your parents?" Emily asked me sadly.

"I guess the baker made a mistake," I said, not wanting to think about how awful my parents were treating me.

"Whatever," Emily said, and left angrily. I wanted to follow her, but I needed to go and cut my horrible cake. The cake was cut, and the guests preferred Felicia's cake to mine. I ate a little of it and packed some for Emily who left angrily.

"Nanny, please give Emily," I said, giving her the cake.

"Happy Birthday Alicia," Emily's Nanny said and left to meet Emily in the car.

The party was finally coming to an end, and the guests were leaving one by one. My parents were seeing them off to their respective cars. I walked to our room and realized everything had changed. It was not the usual two-bed, it was now a single bed with plain wall paint. All the designs that were in Felicia's favorite color weren't there anymore, and her clothes were no longer in the room.

"Is Felicia traveling?" I asked myself, still looking at the room. After the question, I realized how stupid it was. She wouldn't be traveling with all the room decor. I was still lost in thought when I heard my mother telling Felicia that she had a surprise for her. I eavesdropped, wanting to know what the surprise could be.

"My room!" I heard Felicia scream after the door was opened. Then I heard the sounds of someone jumping on the bed, and I knew it was Felicia.

"This is my best birthday yet," Felicia said with clear happiness in her voice. I stopped eavesdropping because it wasn't worth it. I felt good I had a personal room, but the decorations were not giving me the vibe of a kid's room. I unwrapped the gift I was given by my best friend and was so glad to find room decorations in my favorite color. She was a blessing indeed.

I added decorations to the dull-looking room, making it more beautiful and presentable. I could still hear Felicia's scream of happiness; I was happy for myself too. After taking a shower, I settled on the bed to relax my tired body when I noticed a wrapped box different from the one my parents gave me. I picked it up and unwrapped it; it was an Apple tablet, and it was from my uncle. I know the man to be everywhere, always trying to please everyone. It's safe to say he sits on the fence.

"Uncle got me an Apple tablet," Felicia screamed with joy. That was the sound of her opening the birthday gift they brought for the two of us. It was after her scream that I realized that the tablet with me was truly an Apple product.

"Do you know if Uncle got the same for Alicia?" Felicia asked, and my heart skipped a beat. They were about to come to my room to take away the gadget they refused to get me. The Apple tablet was part of my wishlist, and I wasn't sure if they got it for me. I hid the tablet under my wardrobe, kept the wrappings, turned off the light, left the bedside lamp on, and slept on the bed. I heard my door open, and my parents came in. I could feel their stares and my father's anger.

"I don't think Matthew gave her a gift," my mother said softly but loud enough for me to hear.

"Why would he give her? He knows how much I detest her," my father said, and I could hear the hatred in his voice. Why does he hate me? That was all that was in my head.

"Let's go back to Felicia and help her settle in her new room," my mother said softly, and they left my room. The whole birthday revealed my position in the family and what they see me as. After hearing it directly from my biological father, or so I thought, that he detested me, I cried myself to sleep. Since then, I put myself in the position they've put me in.