If there was one thing Monty was looking forward to in his life, it was turning sixteen. There was so much you could do at sixteen, such as get your drivers license or start thinking about colleges. For Monty's entire life, he had been planning what his sixteenth birthday would be like. He would have this huge party, and all of his friends would be invited. There would be a kegger, one that would be gone in about an hour because the main goal of Monty's party was to get as drunk as possible with no regrets at all. To top it all off, there would be two birthday cakes. Yeah, you heard that right, two cakes. One chocolate and one vanilla. It seemed extremely unrealistic, but Monty had came up with all of this when he was nine years old, so dreaming big wasn't too out of the ordinary at the time.
But Monty wasn't getting any of that now, for he had gotten himself grounded and his birthday party cancelled. And despite telling Georgia he didn't give a damn about his birthday, he actually did care, and he actually pretty upset that all of his birthday plans were cancelled. To top it all off, Abby was apparently back together with Press. It was all over the schools so called "tea page". In conclusion, Monty was a depressed mess. For the first time, his birthday was just seen as an ordinary day.
The morning of Monty's birthday, he didn't wake up with a grin on his face, nor did he roll over and immediately check his phone to see all of the birthday messages he received. Instead, he simply got himself ready and made his way downstairs to eat breakfast. On his way there however he froze, noticing how Ginny's hair was now straight.
"What's with your hair?" He questioned, his brows furrowed in confusion.
Ginny shrugged. "Wanted to do something new for a change. Happy birthday by the way."
"Nothing to be happy about, but thanks. Happy birthday." Monty replied, a soft smile on his face soon afterwords. Together the twins walked inside the kitchen, noticing how Georgia was observing two cakes.
"Your hair!" She exclaimed once Ginny sat down at the table. "It's straight."
"It's like I told Monty. I wanted to try something new for a change. New, older me." Ginny replied.
"But I love your natural hair."
"Aww. Then you wear it."
Georgia rolled her eyes before lighting the candle to the cakes, both twins rolling their eyes and looking disinterested. Monty knew he should've just texted Ricky the night before to pick him up so he would have to sit through this torture. Georgia began to sing the birthday song, Monty holding his head in his hands and counting down the moments until this was all over. When the song ended, Monty aggressively stabbed his fork into his cake and took a bite.
"This came from Zions parents." Georgia announced, handing both of the twins an envelope. Monty looked inside, his eyes widening once he found multiple hundred dollar bills. The smile fell off his face however when he noticed that the envelope was already open.
"You opened my gift?" He questioned with a sigh.
"It was five hundred dollars."
"Whatever. Wouldn't be the first time you went through my stuff." Monty mumbled causing Ginny to snicker under her breath. Georgia ignored Monty, instructed paying attention to Austin who had ran over to the twins, holding out two birthday cards.
"Aw, thanks Austin." Ginny grinned, hugging Austin tightly, Monty doing the same a few seconds later.
"Cake!" Austin cheered, grinning.
"Cake!" Georgia repeated, grinning right back. "Go brush your teeth."
Austin did as he was told, leaving Georgia and the twins alone once more. Monty began to pack up his stuff and walk out of the house but Georgia grabbed his arm, basically telling him to stay or else. So he sat back down, rolling his eyes and resting his head on his chin.
"Sixteen. An adult. A little woman and man. My little woman and man."
"Louisa May Alcott's all atingle." Ginny commented.
"You really are growing up."
"That mean you'll treat Monty and I like grown-ups? Trust us with important factors in your life? Like, I don't know, off the cuff, the fact that you have a sister and your real name is Mary." Georgia just smiled warmly at Ginny before taking her cake and smearing it all over her face. Monty had finally had enough, grabbing his cake and backpack before making his way out the door.
*********
At school, Monty was still miserable as ever. If it wasn't for him storming out to try and look dramatic he would've just skipped and stayed home. It was his birthday after all, so technically he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. But he didn't do that, which is how he got stuck walking through the halls of his stupid and annoying school. The only thing keeping him going was all of the birthday messages he was receiving. His father had sent him a new pair of shoes he had been asking for months so that was keeping him going as well.
"I think it's someone's birthday today, but I can't remember who." Elijah joked, making his way over to Monty who had opened his locker.
Monty shrugged. "Maybe it's Ginny's birthday. You should go check with her."
"Wait, just remembered. Happy birthday man. Got you something." Elijah reached inside his bag, pulling out a nicely wrapped box. Monty grinned, ripping off the wrapping paper and opening the box.
"You got me the new madden game?" He questioned. "How'd you know that I've been wanting this game since forever?"
"I asked Ginny what you may what for your birthday. Got her something too."
That's the thing Monty liked about Elijah. Instead of treating his sister like some stranger or someone he could hook up with, he respected Ginny and started conversations with her whenever he came over. Most of the guys on Montys old football team all saw Ginny as a piece of meat that they could hook up with.
"Thank you, this means so much to me." Monty hugged Elijah before pulling away and opening his locker. He grabbed his books, placing his books in his bag. Monty furrowed his brows however when he saw a letter, one that was written in pink pen. Elijah peeked inside his locker to see what he was looking at, and he raised a brow as well.
"You got a secret admirer?" He questioned, snorting soon afterwards. Monty didn't respond at first, instead pulling out the letter. Attached to it was a pack of skittles, specifically the sour ones.
Happy birthday Monty! Enjoy the candy.
Abby :)
The grin on Montys face grew wider and wider as he continued to read the letter. The fact that even after everything that happened Abby still ent out and got him a gift, it meant the world to him. And suddenly the feeling that Monty had been feeling returned, such as the butterflies in his stomach and the constant smiling and blushing.
Elijah smiled, already knowing how the letter got in his locker in the first place. A few days ago, Abby had approached Elijah and told him she had a plan for Monty's birthday. Of course, he wanted to decline, for his best friends heart just got broken and the last thing he wanted was to help out the girl who was behind it all. But when she began whining and whining about how sorry she was for everything that happened, Elijah knew he couldn't refuse. So he took it upon himself to memorize Monty's locker code, standing by his locker each day and intensely watching the way his fingers worked. Elijah had finally remembered the code this morning and texted it to Abby.
"So what're you doing for your birthday? Anything fun?" Elijah questioned, leaning against the wall.
The smile was wiped away from Monty's face in seconds, instead replaced with a scowl. "I'm grounded. The only thing I'll be doing is watching my sister celebrate."
"You're joking, right? Dude, your mom is the chillest person on earth. What did you do to make her that mad?"
Monty knew he couldn't tell Elijah the true reason why he was grounded, for that would just be putting his mothers business out in the air and no matter how angry he was he could never do that to her.
"Skipped curfew. We got into a fight about it and she cancelled my birthday plans." Monty explained, lying through his teeth.
"Well that sounds boring. Too bad we can't like, hypothetically sneak you out and go to a party at Lucas' place because his parents are out for the weekend. So tragic." Elijah let out a mock sigh, Montys eyes widening.
"Why can't you?"
"Wait, you want us to sneak you out?"
"You think I'd rather spend my birthday weekend locked up in my room? Hell yeah I want you to sneak me out. And if my mom has anything to say I'll just pull out the "you've always favorited ginny more than me card". Works everytime." Monty rambled.
Elijah snorted, raising a brow soon afterwards. "Damn Miller, you're getting cold. But I kinda like it. Come on birthday boy, lets get to English."
"Y—" Monty was cut off by the sound of piano music playing, and when he turned his head he was met with the sight of Hunter tap dancing down the hallway to the birthday song. Pure horror was written all over Montys face while Ginny looked like the happiest girl on earth. He couldn't understand why, for if he dated anyone who decided to tap dance in front of a bunch of people, he would've dumped them in the spot. Eventually the music finally came to an end and Monty leaned against the lockers, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to erase the memory from his mind as best as he could.
**********
Later on that evening Monty sat beside his siblings as they were having breakfast for dinner. No one was in a talking mood (not even Austin, which surprised Monty like no other) and it was honestly starting to get a little awkward and annoying. Monty picked at his waffle, occasionally stealing glances at his mother who was desperate for any of her kids to make a noise or begin to talk.
"You guys love breakfast for dinner." Georgia mentioned, breaking the silence between the group.
"I'm not hungry." Austin replied, taking Monty by surprise once more.
"Me either." Ginny added. That part really didn't surprise him too much.
Georgia sighed, turning towards the twins. "How was the big birthday in school? Anybody do anything fun?"
"Yeah, Elijah got me this video game I had been wanting." Monty mumbled, looking down at his food and continuing to pick at his waffle. Despite being mad at his mother, Monty was kind of excited to tell someone else about his birthday gift.
"Not really." Ginny replied.
"Really? Not even Hunter?"
Ginny remained silent, so Georgia took a bite out of her waffle, Monty doing the same.
"Mom, Monty, you know I hate it when you chew loudly!" Austin exclaimed before standing up and storming off.
"Austin!" Georgia called before turning towards Ginny and Monty. "He's nervous about school Monday. It's his first day since the incident."
"By incident, you mean when he violently stabbed another student?" Ginny questioned.
"Y'all excited for tomorrow? Big birthday surprise."
"Thought my birthday was cancelled," Monty mentioned, leaning forward. "Or was that just another lie too?"
"I had a change of heart. I hate it when we fight."
Right before Monty could open his mouth and respond Ginny decided to jump in with her snarky comment once more.
"You know what? Why, mom? Why can't you have a single real conversation? You act like nothing happened. You know what we want for our birthday? I want you to start treating us like adults." Ginny shot up, storming away from the table like Austin did a few moments ago. Now Monty and Georgia remained, staring at each other and waiting for someone to speak.
"You don't wanna catch a tantrum and leave too?" Georgia questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.
Monty shook his head. "Acting like a toddler isn't going to prove me point. Thanks for giving me back my birthday, by the way."
Georgias eyes widened, not expecting this from Monty at all. Just a few days ago he was yelling at her and giving her hell, and now here he was apologizing and smiling once more.
"Aw, you're welcome baby," Georgia leaned forward to kiss his forehead before pulling away once more. "You know, I don't keep secrets from you because you're not old enough. Because you are. I just don't want my secrets to plague you, make you take pity on me. I want you to be a happy kid. Focus on football and that Abby girl."
Monty understood exactly where his mother was coming from. She had always mentioned how she never had a happy childhood, and how she came from nothing. Finally, Monty had come to a realization. Secrets were made to protect people, to shield them for what could be a potentially harsh truth. It was true Monty had also came from nothing, having to sneak into movie theaters with his friends because his mother was too poor to give him money for a ticket. But what he had went through was probably nothing compared to what Georgia had went through. And here he was, whining about how he never got insight on her life.
"I'm sorry mama," Monty whispered, his voice cracking. "I should've never/-"
"Oh baby," Georgia sighed, pulling his son in for a hug. "It's ok. You don't have to apologize to me, ok? It's ok now."
Monty had only cried in his mothers arms once, and that was when he got kicked off his old football team. But now, he's never felt so relieved in his life, getting all of his emotions out of his body. Georgia continued to hold Monty, occasionally kissing his forehead and rubbing his back.
Word count:2,382