The New Normal

Chapter Forty Seven

Winter flew by quickly and everyone was feeling more and more anxious for graduation. Kimberly got accepted to a program in New York as well, something to do with fashion design, which, I wasn't too surprised about seeing as she was always coming up with her own unique designs. Despite being happy about her acceptance, she still felt reluctant to go because Seth and Colson have decided to hit the road for a year before committing to a career path.

"I'm not one of those girls who gets pouty because her boyfriend is not going to be by her side 24/7. I'm pissed because he and Colson think they are going to be the next twenty-one pilots. First of all, neither of them can sing, second of all neither of them knows how to play an instrument, and third, it is just plain stupid!" Kim huffed as she flung herself onto my bed.

Looking up from my acceptance package from NYU, I cocked an eyebrow. "ABBA didn't know how to speak English so they decided to learn through song, maybe they could get somewhere."

Kim narrowed her eyes through her new bright red cat-eye glasses. "Did you just compare those two idiots to ABBA?"

"I did," I said with caution, feeling the upset through my friend's gaze. "But I take it back?"

"Good girl."

Startling both me and Kim, my dad knocked on my doorframe. "Who is like ABBA?"

I laughed at my dad's question and waved him off. "No one, apparently. What's up?"

"Well, it's your birthday soon, I was wondering what you want to do. If you want to throw a party, I'm all for it, but if someone vomits on the carpet in the living room, I am not cleaning it," he finished with a chuckle.

My smile that was on my face dropped instantly. "I don't want a party, but thanks for the offer."

Kimberly shot me a sympathetic smile and said, "I should get going. See you tomorrow?"

I nodded my head and Kim darted out of the room. My father peered at me over his glasses. "There's nothing wrong with celebrating your birthday, JuJube."

"But it's not just my birthday." I stated. "I don't want a party and I don't want to celebrate, okay?"

"Juli-"

I held up my hand. "Please, can we not talk about this? I need to finish reading this."

Dad nodded his head and walked out of the room silently, leaving a pit in my stomach.

* * *

The next morning, I sat in art, sketching my idea for the mural that we have to complete for our final. Tyler hunched over his sketchpad, not letting me see a thing. Whatever he was drawing, it must have been difficult because his eyebrows were scrunched in concentration and his mouth with slightly open.

Taking a brief break from his work, he smirked. "Like watching me work?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure."

"So," Tyler drawled out.

I arched a brow. "So...?"

Tyler cocked his head to the side. "What are we doing for your birthday?"

"Nothing." I replied, turning back to my work.

"What do you mean nothing?" Tyler asked, concern laced in his voice.

I shook my head. "I mean nothing. I do not want to do anything for my birthday."

Tyler let out a little bit of a chuckle. "C'mon Sweetness, you always go big for your birthday. Remember that time we went to Laser Tag and Tristan ate too much pizza and he threw up on Chad?"

"We were ten." I said.

"Okay..." Tyler said slowly. "What about your fifteenth birthday? You and Tristan threw that huge bash, almost everyone in the school came and someone dropped a bunch of your bath bombs in the pool and your dad was so pissed because it was neon pink-"

I snapped my notebook shut. "Yeah, I remember, Tyler. Blake and I got into a fight so I went to go up to my room but some weirdos were hooking up in my room so I went to Tristan's room. Somehow, you crashed the party despite the fact Tris told you not to come and as a big F-you to my brother, you had sex with some girl in his bed and I was the one who caught you."

Tyler looked down at the desk silently. The bell rang and I quickly got up from my desk and disappeared into the hallway, leaving Tyler behind.

As I was rushing out of the class, I smacked into Chad. He stepped back and gripped my shoulders. "Woah, you okay J?"

A tear escaped and I nodded my head. "Just tired and m-"

"Missing Tris?" Chad finished for me, taking my silence as an answer, he continued. "Yeah, me too. Probably doesn't help it's close to your birthday."

I sighed, annoyed at the fact that yet another person mentioned my birthday. "Can everyone just shut up about my damn birthday already?"

The crowded hall went silent and I felt all eyes on me. Tyler was standing by our art class doorway, his face mixed with concern and something I couldn't quite place. Shaking my head, I pushed past Chad and exited the school.

I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be around anybody. I just wanted to forget about my stupid, stupid birthday and I wished everyone would too.