Surprise Party

First Time

Surprise Party

A drive home from a friend's house always held that kind of bittersweet ending, didn't it? From the high energy of a get-together, sleepovers, movies, junk food to gorge on, laughter, and night outs, to the once quieter solitude of your own home. That was what Jessie was focusing on now as she drove the ever-familiar streets back towards her own little sanctuary to be back with her parents. Being the only daughter of a fairly well known interior decorator as well as an accountant had its ups and downs. She got to be the one her parents focused all of their attention on at home, as well as the only other voice in making decisions. She didn't have to worry about other siblings trying to compete, argue, or fight with. She didn't have to play the "Yeah, well I'm the oldest." card to point out her seniority as the oldest child. However, it also came with the consequences of the house almost always feeling quiet and lonely when both of her parents were off at work, no one to play with inside if she couldn't have friends over when she was little, and things like that. And yeah, maybe it did get kind of boring being the only other person to be worried about in the family, who also had a voice and whatnot. However, she wouldn't trade her life for anyone else's life.

Blue eyes flicked up towards the rear-view mirror, as well as the right-side mirror of her car before casually switching lanes. The roads sometimes felt like they stretched on for miles that never ended, with buildings that slowly blended all together in the background while she drove. Now and again another car passes from the left side, usually going about seven miles per hour faster than her, and maybe a car or two behind her. Quietly, music played from her iPhone hooked up to the auxiliary port. Jessie took to singing a few of the words, and the chorus off and on as she drove, momentarily thinking of being on her own concert tour before rechecking herself into reality. Hell, as much as she enjoyed her own voice, there may not be as many fans out there for her as she sometimes liked to imagine. Uh, concert for two, anyone?

Oh! She slows down and flicks on her right turn signal, praying no one decided to follow her too closely, like some assholes on the street. Then she turns in to her neighborhood, driving down the expanse of the road before her. All of the houses here were spaced out enough that most of the time, you really had no idea what your neighbors were actually up to half of the time. That had always been nice to her Dad who typically preferred more privacy for the family affairs. Not to mention the marshes that happened to grow more naturally around her own house, the large fence around their pool and backyard provided a lot of added privacy and coverage. The family home was all the way in the back, one of the much bigger houses and land lots, a bit of a winding driveway and two car garages meant plenty of space for cars for a large gathering. She remembered the birthday parties her parents planned and allowed her to throw, and even the parties for Wrestlemania when the season came around. If she was honest, the party they let her throw with a lot of her friends and family who were as big of fans of wrestling as they were during Wrestlemania was probably her favorite. If they got everyone together, they could easily fill up the driveway as well as keep a few cars parked along the curb near her house.

Speaking of a lot of cars in her driveway... As Jessie turned and headed towards the back of her neighborhood, towards her house, she noticed something out of place immediately. Her eyes scanned the area slowly to be sure she was actually seeing what she thought she was... But it looked like there was a good number of cars in the driveway right now. Like... Close to ten? Were her parents throwing a party that she wasn't aware of? That's pretty weird, considering they usually let her come to them, or at the very least they tell her about it. As a close little family unit, they've always been really honest with each other with just about everything. So, the idea of her family actually keeping something secret from her was a little odd.