It was Maddy's birthday!
She jumped out of bed with glee - which quickly subsided when she remembered the night before...
Not one, not two, but three fights... One with Mother, one with Casey, and another with Josh...
Maddy sighed and brushed her teeth. They couldn't still be mad, could they? Mother, perhaps - Maddy was out of line with that one. She did promise to take out the garbage, but she was so flustered from the previous disagreements that she forgot. Then, when Mother insisted she fulfills her promise, Maddy gave her a tongue-lashing mother didn't deserve. Maddy sighed again, toothpaste spewing from her lips.
Always thinking about yourself! You are not the center of the world!
The other disagreements? Well, Josh was being a total jerk, making fun of her growing belly. She knew she needed to lose weight, but he didn't need to be so mean. As for Caset... she'll get over it.
Maddy prepared for school and went downstairs to say good morning. She felt like she was entering a morgue. Nobody responded to her greeting - Dad was watching TV and Mother was washing dishes. None of them batted an eye as Maddy grabbed her lunch box and left from the back door.
So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Dad usually took Maddy's side, but Mother must've been especially angry to turn him against her. On Maddy's birthday moreover! She huffed. Whatever! It's not like she cared anyway.
The bus was crowded and loud and hot. Maddy felt like she did every day - invisible. On most days this soothed her, but today it infuriated her. Didn't these people know that -
Stop thinking that everyone should care about you!
Maddy's and Casey's eyes met in the schoolyard. Casey stuck out her tongue and turned. Bitch! Maddy kept going. If that harlot thought Maddy would care about her antics today she had another thing coming. The nerve! Why Maddy should strut on back and show her how -
"Oops!" Maddy said as she bumped into someone - it was Josh!
"Oh, hi Maddy." He said, blushing.
She liked that response. "Hey, Josh. About yesterday..."
"Yeah..." He scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too." Maddy smiled. Alright, at least Josh is -
"Gotta go." Josh waved as he moved past her.
What? Only last week he was talking about how he would buy her whatever she wanted on her birthday. He forgot already? Sure, he apologized, but it seemed to Maddy it was more out of protocol than principle. That jerk!
It's not his job to think about you 24/7! Calm -
No! They were all going on Maddy's shitlist. From today onwards she's not talking with anyone. Her parents included!
Maddy ran to the bathroom, washing her face and breathing heavily. She looked in the mirror and saw that she had begun crying. When was that? She didn't feel the tears...
For the rest of the day, Maddy kept her head down. Nobody seemed to notice as this was her normal behavior. But underneath, Maddy hurt. No one, not a single soul, congratulated her or said happy birthday.
This is what she wanted all along, right? To disappear? To be left alone by the world and just be herself? Why was she so upset then? Not just upset but furious. And as the hours passed her rage increased. After a while she tried to recover by talking to some classmates, but none of them would even meet her eye.
It was like she didn't exist...
You're being overdramatic!
Was she? Or was she just having the worst day of her life? On her birthday no less...
After school Maddy just walked. She didn't want to go home, what was the point? She thought about life, about Josh, about her feelings. Nothing made sense. When she noticed the sky turning pink she decided enough time had passed. it was time to go home...
She saw from the driveway that the lights in her house were turned off. Great. Her parents had gone off to some fancy dinner without her. Just great. Well, she had the whole house to herself at least, time to get some ice cream and watch some anime until she passes out.
Why did they turn off all the lights of the house, however? Usually, they leave the living room on just in case -
"Surprise!"
Maddy jumped as she flicked on the lights, and saw everyone in the living room - surrounded by balloons and encircling a huge cake on the dining room table.
"Waaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" Maddy fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "I... I thought nobody loved me!" She cried. Casey ran over to hug her. "C-Casey! I-I'm sorry!"
"Shhhhhh, my girl. Come on! Happy birthday!"
"Yeah..." Josh said. "I told them they might've gone overboard.
Maddy could hear her father laughing somewhere in the background and she smiled. She got up, let go of Maddy, turned, and received another hug from her mother.
"You really think I'd be so mad over some garbage that I'd forget your birthday?"
"I didn't knoooowwww!"
They love you! They love you! They love you!
"Thank you..."
The tears soon vanished as the sounds of revelry echoed throughout the suburbs.
This is the first draft of the story. Written by Jovan Gjorgjiev, ©️ 2023.
Obligatory shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
Yeah, so I had this idea from a #ZapFic I wrote a couple of weeks back. The idea stuck with me and I decided to expand it into a fully-fledged short story. 😁 Hope you all enjoyed Maddy's turmoil. 😂
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Cover image source.
Have a great start to your week! 🙌
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