Named after the aunt who burned down her high school, Olivia Peterson never had a chance at a normal life. But when an innocent birthday tradition results in a new set of curtains-and an unforgiving hole scorched into her carpet-Olivia realises that...
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"Don't pout, Olivia. I know you said no gifts, but you say that every year."
Liam tugged on my arm until I sat cross-legged beside him and rested against the weather-worn oak tree behind me. The rough bark scratched against my school blazer, but Goliath wasn't known for his comfort. Rather, the tree was named after its ability to obscure the CCTV camera's that covered the walls of Oak Park Secondary School.
If his branches could talk, no student's secret would be safe; every illicit activity took place behind Goliath's trunk. The air smelled faintly of tobacco from the students who smoked in secret, and a rust-coloured stain marked a protruding root from an after-school beating the teachers hadn't heard about. Mine and Liam's reason for being there was not nearly as exciting.
As Liam fumbled around inside his backpack, I leaned against the tree trunk and watched the other students filter out from the main entrance. I longed to be among them. When the end-of-school-bell rang, Liam had dragged me to our traditional birthday hangout. He found it hilarious for me to open my birthday present in the exact place where I was born. Hilarious wasn't the word I'd have chosen. Creepy. Morbid, maybe.
Liam thrust a sparkly pink box into my eyeline.
"Before you make any comments, the only wrapping paper Mum had was from my sister's birthday last month. She's going through that Disney princess stage you had in year six. Now, shut up and open it. You'll like it."
I took the present from his outstretched hands and shook it gently. "What is it?"
"That would ruin the surprise now, wouldn't it?"
I rolled my eyes and ripped apart the wrapping paper. Inside, nestled on blue velvet, lay a simple silver bracelet. A flame-shaped charm dangled from the chain and caught the sunlight as it broke through the leaves above our heads. It was beautiful, but not what caught my attention; beside the jewellery sat a set of stripy birthday candles, comically spelling out the words I've lost count.
I laughed lightly. "Will you help me put it on?"
I dropped the box into Liam's waiting hand and extended my right arm. With the concentration of someone completing Sunday's crossword puzzle, he wrapped the bracelet around my wrist and closed the clasp.
"So, what do you think?" he asked. "I think it matches your temper. You know, because you're so damn bossy."
"Matches my temper amongst other things. Thank you, though. I love it."
Liam's expression relaxed at my words, and he leaned back onto his hands, basking in the autumn sun. The wind ran through his black hair, ruffling it, and no-doubt ruining the thirty minutes he spent trying to tame it with hair gel that morning.
"It's like you're trying to get me grounded," I said, smiling wryly at my lap.
Liam's smug grin was audible. "You can't break tradition. Every year, I give you your present in the place that you first opened your eyes to the world and do my best to get you grounded. Honestly, you're lucky to have a best friend like me."
