Vacation Blues

Bonus Chapter- My Love/Hate Relationship With Surprises

I groaned in dismay as I checked my phone for probably the millionth time today. My phone was hyperventilating with all the notifications attacking it. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and every other damned social media app had a bubble with numerous unread notifications.

I was grateful for all of them, really. So many people remembered that it was my birthday (or had Facebook remind them, but that didn't matter) and had taken the time out to wish me. Skye had gone berserk. That lady hated Instagram, but had just posted 17 pictures of the two of us to commemorate my 17th birthday. She'd tweeted a Happy Birthday greeting 17 times at midnight, each tweet in a different language.

Jay, Maria, Cedric, Laila, Brandon, Cameron, Cheryl, Casey, Jenny, Luke, everyone had wished me. All my relatives had called or sent a text. Freshmen and sophomores from my school who I didn't even know knew me had wished.

Everyone, except Sean Alexander Hill.

Okay, I didn't expect him to wish me at midnight, that craziness was reserved only for people like Skye and Jay. But now that half the world had wished me, his absence kind of pinched.

I stumbled out of my chair, checking all the notifications, thanking everyone as I walked downstairs. Then I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and hoped that Sean would call soon. I wouldn't mind if he had forgotten my birthday, I wasn't one to make a big deal out of remembering dates and stuff, what hurt was how he'd been ignoring me for the past ten days.

No replies to any of my texts, no call backs, no acknowledgment to all those voicemails I'd left him. He could have been busy, but I don't think taking 5 seconds out to text "I'm busy these days" was going to cost him much.

The silence was killing me.

"You hungry, honey?" My mom asked.

I looked up to see her, with her honey blonde hair tied up in a cute bun, and her favourite dark green apron tied over her jeans and top. She hadn't stopped smiling since she had woken me up, peppering mycheeks with kisses, this morning.

"No, I'm good, thanks." I told her truthfully, her bright contagious smile catching on to my face as well.

"Cath, is the marinade ready?" My dad called from the backyard.

He was setting up the BBQ for tonight's little party. I preferred celebrating my birthday with my family first, and then my friends. That's why every year on my birthday, we had a little family get-together at our place first, and then a crazy party with everyone from school the next day. My parents would give us all the space, and wouldn't care what we did as long as none of us got arrested.

I watched mom walk back to the backyard with the marinade. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Alice were going to be here in another half hour to help my parents out. My mom had two siblings, and dad had three, and all our families were very close, so for every family gathering, the entire gang would round up. Since we were closest to my dad's brother, Jeffrey's, family, we always helped each other out when it was either of our family's turn to organise a party.

My phone rang and I did not waste any time ingetting it, hoping that Sean had finally remembered me.

I tried to not sound too disappointed as I greeted Skye.

"How's my seventeen year old bestie??!!" She screamed in my ear.

And then she said I was the more hyper and random one.

"Good?" I replied, wondering how true that answer was.

"So how does it feel to be 17 now?"

"It's the same, I guess. I mean I don't feel any different from yesterday."