Episode 45: Angelina’s Birthday 2
Angelina always had a very cheerful party on her birthday. Her parents didn’t live in the city so she had the habit of inviting all of her friends and extras to her house to enjoy a nice day. The people weren’t random and there were just enough people there to make the room feel cozy. I never used to give her anything special on her birthdays and even though my instinct told me not to, I still got her a very special present that year.
Tuesday 15th March 2011, chasing down mistakes.
I woke up and quickly felt for the box that had Angelina’s present. I was worried that I would lose it or that it was all part of a dream that seemed to real. I opened up the box to have one more look. I squinted in the darkness of the early morning but could still manage to make out the silhouette of a beautiful present. I quickly checked my phone and saw that I had a message waiting for me from Angelina.
‘So, you’re sure you’re not going to school today for me?’ the message read. I smiled wide at this.
‘Definitely. I want to spend some time with you today. You don’t mind do you?’ I replied. It seemed as if only half a second had passed until my phone vibrated again.
‘That’s really sweet. See you then :P’ she concluded. I wondered what her reaction to the present would be. I wondered whether she would be excited and not take it for anything else. I kept that thought ringing in my head for a while. It brought an air of nervousness everywhere I went, disturbing the peace my mind was trying to settle in. As a normal teenager would, I rehearsed in my head the way the day would go, trying to plan every detail. I learned though, you cannot rehearse someone else’s lines. The unpredictable nature of everyone I knew was certainly limiting the chances of my day going as planned. I decided to start my day and hoped that the hours would fly by.
After a painfully ordinary morning, I went to meet up with Erika at her house; her new house. I knew that her mother was a very open person at the idea of me dating her daughter and always treated me as a member of the family. As the gateman opened the gate for me I gave a fake smile just to seem friendly. Ahead of me was a cobbled path that led to two large pillars that stretched high, three floors actually, to the head of the house. The garden was mirrored on both sides. Hedges grew on either side stretching far in parallel to the wall at the back of the area. The white gleaming house was large and felt as if it had belonged to a president. I walked down the path and from a window to my left I saw her mother peering at me. The sun was bright and hot, a little more west than it was east and I struggled to withhold the urge to sprint down the path into shade. As I reached for the door handle, the door flung open to show an amazingly beautiful girl. My heart was beating faster as if I hadn’t seen her in years.
‘Lee! Finally! You took your time.’ Erika screamed. I was still in awe at her appearance. Her curvy body that was almost vase like was covered by a huge white baggy shirt that made me quite worried as to who gave her that shirt. It was so baggy that I couldn’t tell whether or not she was wearing anything underneath.
‘Staring at my legs? I’m yours, why are you being a perve?’ she joked. Her smile was warm and comforting.
‘Sorry.’ I said. My voice was dry and it came out it a squeak. I was sure that if my skin had been a few shades lighter, my ears would be scarlet. She chuckled though as she never seemed surprised at anything I did.
‘Well come in then’ she bellowed in a sort of game show host-esque voice.
‘So, what did you get for Angie?’ she immediately said as she guided me through the entrance upstairs.
‘I knew you would ask that.’ I said trying to avoid answering the question. I didn’t want Erika to believe that something was still going on between Angelina and I. On one hand, telling her would show that I did not see much in giving her that present, on the other, it was spitting into her face. She chuckled but never let her thoughts wander off.
‘So what is it?’ she repeated. I tried to evade her eyes but she swung in front of me in one movement and it was impossible.
‘It’s something you’re afraid of telling me isn’t it?’
‘Wha- No…’ I lied unconvincingly.
‘Lee. The present is a bit intimate isn’t it?’
‘Yes it is, but only because she’s a really close friend of mine. We’ve been through a lot. She’s helped me alo-’
‘Lee its okay…’ she begun as she pushed her door open. I walked in before she closed and locked the door behind me. She stared into my chest for a moment and hugged me.
‘Aww… you’re so fragile. You have trust issues.’ She looked up into my eyes. ‘Who hurt you Lee?’ she joked with a pout on her face. I smiled and pecked her on the lips.
‘I love you.’ I said. She softly kissed me back before saying ‘I love you too.’
I arrived at Angelina’s party holding hands with Erika. The bulge in my right pocket was of Angelina’s present. My mind went through the idea of giving her the gift. It was driven to give it to her but I also had a very strong feeling that I was doing something wrong. That friends didn’t usually give each other presents like this. Though there was a strong lingering feeling that even though things between me and her were finished, we were never just friends.
It was 6pm and it was just starting to get dark outside. The music playing inside her house was loud; booming in everyone’s ears. I felt entranced by the music and was swayed into the rhythm of the party. The colours were contrasting. The slowly increasing darkness was accompanied by bright lights surrounding her house and the vibrant colours of the party decorations.
‘When you told me a lot of people went to her parties, you weren’t joking were you?’ Erika said beside me. I had begun to forget she was even there. I looked around for a second and noticed that a lot of people, more than usual at least, were at her party. Girls were dancing all over the place and boys staring from within their small cliques.
‘There’s a lot more here than usual babe.’ I replied as I looked down at Erika. She was dressed amazingly. A black dress that stopped at her knees covered her body. A belt around her waist pronounced her curves more than usual. I forgot how beautiful she was. She smiled at my gaze.
‘I look great don’t I?’ she teased as she twirled around in one spot.
‘I’m used to it.’ I countered. My gaze left her figure and rose up to a scene. Someone was drunk.
‘Hey, hey, how are you babe?’ He said to a random girl who looked at him with disgust. He fell onto her with a weak hug and pushed her out of the way.
‘Lee!!!’ the guy shouted, staring straight at me. I was shocked to see who it was.
‘Corey… is that you?’ I replied with utter shock.
‘Hey, hey, you look amazing man. Did I ever tell you that?’ he said. His gaze was moving left to right. His eyes were getting weaker by the second and his balance was off, he could barely stand up.
‘You should sit down man. You look awful’ I shouted above the music. He nodded before sitting on the ground and closing his eyes. Erika burst out in laughter and we walked away before bumping into a pair. The girl in the pair was a beautiful, slim and short girl. She had brown hair that reached her shoulders and a beauty spot above her upper lip. She wore a bright white dress with a black belt.
‘Sorry!’ I said as we bumped into them.
‘It’s alright Lee.’ I heard a familiar voice say. I looked up in utter shock. Tamim was with one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen.
‘Tamim! How are you man?’ I bellowed. He smiled awkwardly.
‘You know me, just chilling.’ He replied.
‘Good man. See you in the party.’ I shouted as Erika and I were moving away from the main house to the swimming pool.
‘Hey, Erika... Let me get Angie’s present to her quick yeah. I’ll be back.’ I said, trying to avoid Erika’s eyes so that I didn’t bare any guilt. She nodded slowly, removed her shoes and sat down next to the pool with her feet dipped in the water. I rushed into the house and the smell was fantastic. A mixture of food and regret pursed through the air. The mood was electric. I ran upstairs, somehow guessing that she’d be there and more than a dozen thoughts flipped through my mind.
‘How would Angie view this?’ I thought to myself. Would she take it as a come on? Was I trying something deep down? It was confusing that I couldn’t answer questions that only I could know the answer to and yet I pushed on till I reached her white door. I hesitated for a second before lightly knocking on the door and pressing my ear against the door to hear for a reply. A few seconds passed before I knocked again much louder.
‘Come in!’ I heard a voice shout from inside. I opened the door slowly and there she was. She was sitting by a window right in front of me. She was staring deep outside. Her gaze seemed so powerful that it seemed as if she was looking past the horizon. Angelina had an amazing white dress on with decorations running across it that I couldn’t recognize.
‘Hey, howcomes you’re staying in?’ I asked. She turned around and I could tell that she had just been crying. Her makeup was running.
‘Whoa! Angie. It’s weird seeing you like this.’ I said as I pushed the door behind me, trying to close the door. She chuckled and looked back out the window. Her room was a bright. The walls were painted pink and a four poster bed was on the right of the room.
‘Life’s a bitch Lee.’ She said in a soft tone while she shook slightly.
‘Why do you say that?’ I asked while I reached halfway between the door and her.
‘Just ‘coz….’ She replied and she shook again.
‘Stand up.’ I said. She turned around and looked at me for a second before standing up and approaching me. She stood only a foot away from me.
‘Close your eyes Angie.’ I said with a very soft voice and she followed. Her eyes slowly shut elegantly. I turned her around and pulled out the small black box from my pocket. I flipped it open and a necklace slept on a cushion. I picked it up slowly, trying to not make any sound while I placed it around her neck and hooked it behind her neck.
I then guided her, while she patiently kept her eyes closed to a large mirror to the left of the room.
‘Open your eyes Angie.’ I said softly. Her eyes opened much like how they closed and she gasped. She turned around me and threw her arms around my shoulders in a hug.
‘It’s beautiful!’ she exclaimed.
‘It fucking is, isn’t it?’ we heard a voice call to our left. My head snapped around to see Erika, with a single tear running down her left cheek.
‘I always knew… I always fucking knew!’ she shouted before storming out of the room. In my mind I tried to justify that I hadn’t even cheated on her but she could tell that there was still a bit of passion between Angie and I.