Welcome to Neverland (Short Story)

Prelude

*Wednesday, 27th March, 1991*

Mariah's PoV

"Hey, Mariah!"

I turned to see Tommy waving his hands like a mad man. Shaking my head, I giggled.

"Mariah! Come on, have a drink!" Tommy yelled again.

If I were still a teenager, he wouldn't have been trying to convince me to down a few shots. It's my 21st birthday today, although I like to think of myself as eternally twelve. Apparently my friend, Brenda, has invited two people I've loved for years, so I'm really excited for that.

I walked over to the bar, taking a seat next to Tommy. I felt weird looking at the assorted collection of drinks I could have and knowing I was finally allowed to have it. It was like I'd gone back ten years and was walking into a candy-shop. I didn't know anything about alcohol except that red wine was posh and stained everything, WKD's were fifty percent pure alcohol and that apparently beer tasted like pee - though I think whoever told me that was lying.

Loud music thrashed in my ears, as I sat perched on the bar-stool. Ahead, I could see everyone dancing wildly to the biggest hits of the eighties and even a couple of my songs were thrown in there. I always dreamed of hearing my songs on the radio and, now, I was hearing songs like 'Emotions' and 'Someday' blasting through the ginormous speakers stood by the DJ booth. My songs were mixed in with great artists like Janet and Michael Jackson, Whitney, Prince and even Stevie Wonder!

Bright lights flickered in every direction. Those damned things nearly made me blind! As you can probably tell, I'm not really a 'party-girl'; my friends, back at high-school, would always plead and beg me to go to every lame house-party with them, but I was too busy working on my music. That was fine though, since I didn't really like the atmosphere of a party, but it was fine if it was a special occasion.

I felt a nudge. Tommy had bought me a shot of tequila and pushed it towards me. I looked to him, and then back at the drink.

"Oh, thanks, Tommy." I rasped, with a teeny smile.

"No need to thank me; you're a woman now." Tommy insisted, smiling back.

I wrapped my fingers around the miniature glass. I lightly shook it, peeking inside, as the beverage swished around. Once I convinced that it wasn't poison, I opened my mouth and chucked my very first shot of tequila down my throat. The strong taste scratched the back of my throat and it lingered on my tongue.

"That's a girl!" Tommy cheered, thumping my back, "What do you think?"

"Uh...it was strong, I guess..." I admitted, unsure of the taste.

"Well, you'll get used to it, eh?" The shorter man assured.

I nodded, looking back to the dance-floor. Just then, I heard the door, open. The music stopped. Everyone stopped in their tracks. I suspected someone was coming in, so I stood up and walked down to the entrance. As I made my way towards the door, I spotted two tall figures standing before me. When I got closer, my whole body came to a halt. I couldn't believe my eyes!

"Hey, Mariah! Happy Birthday!"

The two figures were Whitney Houston and Michael motherfreaking Jackson! And Michael had, in his hands, probably the biggest cake I had ever seen!

No words could form. I was so surprised that I could not move. My jaw had dropped to the floor in amazement, and my feet were bolted to the floor, as Whitney flung her around me. Michael walked away, and I watched as he placed the cake down on the buffet table. I couldn't feel my body react to the sudden embrace I was receiving.