Chapter #1Prologue: Happy Birthday by: rugal b.   It's Saturday afternoon and you're bored out of your mind. Not just bored but dreading things.
For a start, it's your younger sister Joanna's birthday today. She's out with friends which has left things quiet but you already know that her and those friends plan to be there tonight for a sleepover. You're dreading the idea of the house being taken over by a gaggle of giggling freshman girls. There's also the problem of your friends. They're at work or they're with family or they're doing this or they're doing that. The only one who's probably free is Matt Isaacs but, well, you try and avoid hanging out with him solo.
Then there's Dana Pak; the prototypical girl next door. She lives a couple of blocks over and who you've known since late elementary school. She's nice, she's pretty, she's a girl that you're in regular communication with and someone you'd consider a friend and oh lord do you fantasize endlessly about her. But unfortunately for you, she fantasizes about Shawn Gregory, one of the stars of the basketball team. Yet in spite of that you're feeling bold. Beth Larter, a member of the girl's basketball team who you share a few classes with, had asked you a few days ago if you were coming out to her teammate Amanda's party on Saturday. Ostensibly it's to celebrate the start of the upcoming season and the team's quest for back-to-back championships but a party is a party so you said you'd be there.
You'd then asked Dana if she'd be willing to go and to your surprise she had agreed.
So you're anxious knowing that you just have to make it until tonight and maybe at the party you'll be loosened up enough that you can actually summon up the nerve to ask Dana out on a real date. And maybe she'll be loosened up enough to agree.
* * * * *
You're laying in your bed messing with your phone when you hear a knock on the door and tell them to come in. "David, honey," says your mom as she opens the door, "can you go next door to Mark's?"
"Why?" you ask with a bit of annoyance.
"Because," your mom says flinging it right back at you, "you're not doing anything. Your dad's out picking up some food and I'm finishing up with the cake."
"You can't just wait until Mary's here and have her do it?" you reply. "She and her friends are the ones who all care about animals and all that other stuff."
But your mother simply thrusts a key towards you and looks at you expectantly. You know you can't actually argue with her but you do grumble as you snatch it and trudge out of your room and eventually out of the house. The house next door belongs to Mark Taylor, a young man who you've always gotten along with and who's recently offered you a job where he works as a chemical engineer... one your dad has been insisting you take as a way of getting a foot in the door for a good career. But you've been mulling it over and noncommital since, as Mark's described it, it's basic janitorial and gofer work and you can't help but feel put off by doin that.
As it is Mark and his girlfriend had decided to take a small vacation for an extended weekend. As such he'd entrusted your family to house sit for him and to feed and take care of his cat while he was gone, a task that was left to you... which is why you approach the front door with trepidation.
You'd been over here yesterday as well and Mark's cat is, frankly, kid of an asshole having scratched at you when you'd tried to pet him. You really don't want to risk another encounter so you quickly head into the kitchen to pour some food into a bowl. The cat seems to appear from seemingly nowhere and true to form takes a swipe at you as you try to walk by him.
"Dick," you mutter to yourself after he does.
You're ready to get out but to do what, go back home and wait around? You're not in any real kind of rush and so, out of boredom, you decide to snoop and see what Mark keeps lying around. But you don't really know what you'd be looking for and you don't really see much of anything that interests you outside of the admittedly nice gaming set up he has in one of the rooms. You're about to leave when you pass the door to the basement and curiosity gets the better of you.
You open it and head down where you see what looks like a lab set up. Not like some kind of mad scientist's lair but Mark's definitely doing something down here. Your eye is drawn to a large glass bottle with what looks like blue Jell-O inside. Curious, you pick it up to take a look and against your better judgment even remove the cap to take a peek... just as you're startled by a large crash from upstairs. You jump and nearly drop the bottle when some of that blue goop splashes out but you're able to avoid dropping it and, after getting the cap back on, run back upstairs.
You look in the kitchen to see that a plate that hadn't been put away had been knocked off the counter and was now in pieces on the floor. "Goddamn cat," you say to yourself as you look for a broom and dust pan to sweep it up. When that's done you head to the bathroom to clean up the other mess but you're surprised when you look in the mirror. You're pretty sure some of that gunk had splashed into your face when you almost dropped it but there's nothing at all to be seen.
Maybe you were imagining it.
* * * * *
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday Joanna! Happy birthday to you!"
Your sister, now officially fifteen, blows the candles out on her cake as everyone claps.
"So, what'd you wish for?" asks Sarah.
"I know," Carrie Carmichael says teasingly, "I'd bet it was for a date with Russ Edmonds."
"I'd wish for you to shut up," growls Belinda Harrison.
"And I'd wish for you to go somewhere else, like Antarctica," you think to yourself in response to Belinda. You're not even sure how your sister is friends with a girl who seemingly can't go a minute without talking down to others. She even does it to you although you're quick to fire back at her when she does.
But nobody else seems to pick up on that little exchange or if they do they ignore it and instead the cake is cut and pieces are passed around. Everyone talks and eats and it's nothing more than a standard birthday. With no real additional family there today it would otherwise be a small gathering. But Joanna is pretty and popular so the girls she was out with earlier—Belinda and Carrie and Sarah White and others—are there. Some of them, you're not sure who, are staying for a sleepover.
Well you know that Sarah Pak is for sure staying and since she's here that means Dana is here as well and you eventually get her to break off with you to go hang out up in your room. "So, you ready to go out to Amanda's later?" you ask her.
"Sure, sounds like it'll be fun. But are you ready?" she asks.
"Am I? What's that mean?"
"Well, you're sweating pretty bad."
Sweating? Well, yeah you are. You've been feeling pretty hot the last few minutes but so what? You're not going to let that stop you. "Yeah, I guess I'm just... just nervous," you tell her. "You know since, like, I'd bet that Jenny and Kyle and Alyssa and all of those types are gonna be there. The real popular people."
"You're sure you're fine?" Dana asks.
"Yeah, it's no—" You're cut off as you suddenly feel lightheaded and begin to swoon, losing your train of thought.
"David!?" she exclaims.
But as suddenly as it comes on, it passes. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," you respond as you wave her off.
Dana looks at you skeptically. "I don't know, you seem like might have come down with something," she says. "Maybe it'd be better for you to stay home tonight. There'll be other parties."  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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