Be a Man

Stretched out in the vast space between my home and the Preston home was a huge banner, and there were several tables and people milling about under it. But my attention was caught on the banner. It boldly proclaimed: HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY ANNA! I sat in my truck just staring at it for a moment, not noticing a small car pulling in beside my truck until the voice of Hailey said by my ear, “Get out of the truck, birthday girl!” which caused me to jump and look at her almost as if I was seeing a ghost.

“You knew?” I finally said in a weak accusatory tone.

“Duh,” she grinned as Sara climbed out of the driver’s seat of her car with Brandon and Josh climbing out of the back.

So I climbed out with a sigh, and Brandon and Hailey looped arms with me, with Josh and Sara just watching, Sara shaking her head in amusement. I was feeling really guilty now about my argument with Mom, but then it occurred to me that this could’ve been a last-minute plan to get back on my good side. I shook the thought away, a bit angry at myself, and let Brandon and Hailey drag me towards my party without much of a fight.

“Your Mom is giving me a funny look,” Brandon whispered.

“She’s probably wondering if you’re going out with one of us,” Hailey teased. The three of us laughed.

“So…when did she call you and tell you about this?” I asked.

“Last weekend,” they chimed in unison. I know they could see the shock written clearly on my features.

“What, you thought it might have been because of…the really, really infuriating incident two days ago?” Hailey asked, editing out ‘argument’. “She’s not that bad, Anna.”

“I’m not so sure, Hails,” I said, and my eyes caught the familiar dark brown hair of Austin. “After all, she still invited Austin.”

“Oh my gosh,” Brandon groaned, spotting him, “She really did!”

Hailey shook her head, whether at my insistence that I hated Austin or the fact that Mom actually let him be there, I didn’t know.

“Happy birthday Anna!” I heard suddenly, and I noticed all the people had gathered in a group, and most of them were family, and friends of the family, and the families of my friends as well.

I stood flustered for a minute, then they started singing and I quickly ducked out of the hold that Hailey and Brandon had on me only to hide behind them, my cheeks a deep scarlet in color.

And that was that. I was forced to a table that was stacked to nose-height with presents from my large family. My twenty-nine year old brother, who I hadn’t seen since Christmas, was there with his wife, five year old son, and his two year old daughter, which surprised me.

“Ant Annnnn…” was as close as Renee could get to saying my name, being only two years old like she was. But she said it, coming over to me while I was sitting with a bowl of ice cream, and I couldn’t help but pick her up onto my lap and share some of the chocolatey goodness with my niece. She giggled when we somehow managed to get some on her nose and I laughed, wiped it off with my finger, and let her lick it off because she was just too cute.

“Aunt Anna!” I heard then, “Have you seen - there she is!” Nicholas turned after spotting Renee and hollered, “Mom! She’s over here with Auntie Anna!”

Then I patted the chair next to me, and with his goofy missing-a-tooth five year old grin, he climbed up and I shared some of my ice cream with him, too.

“Anna!” Ian, my older brother, laughed. “Do you honestly think that they need more sugar?”

“It can’t hurt,” I replied with a grin, taking a bite for myself.

He just laughed, with Christy coming up beside him and shaking her head with a small smile at the three of us.

“Come here, you two,” she held out her hands. “We’ll get you some so you don’t keep eating all of Auntie Anna’s.”

“Really?” Nicky asked, his face splitting once more into his goofy grin.

“Really,” Ian replied, a hand on his wife’s shoulder. I could see at a glance that Ian and Christy were every bit as in love now as they were when they got married six years ago. Being eleven at the time, I just was excited my brother was getting married, but looking at the pictures a few years ago I realized the way they looked at each other, and I was touched.

“Have fun,” I smirked at Ian, who rolled his eyes at me playfully. He took his little girl by the hand when she got to him from my lap, and Christy did the same with Nicky. I waved and called, “See you later!” after them.

“They’re so adorable,” Hailey said from across from me, watching them go. “But I just wish your brother had been closer to our age…”

“Hails!” I cried, scandalized. “He’s my brother!”

“And if he wasn’t you’d totally be agreeing with us,” Brandon said from Hailey’s left, and he was watching Ian leave too.

“Oh my gosh, don’t even!” I laughed, Sara on my right patting Josh’s back, and Josh, on
Sara’s right, who was choking on cake because he was laughing so hard.

“Breathe, man,” Brandon said conversationally. “We have breathe to live.”

“Yeah, it’s more essential than food.” Hailey said, but Brandon and Josh both froze to look at her like she was crazy.

Okay, I must admit, I joined them.

“Nothing,” Josh gasped.

“Nothing is more essential,” Brandon added.

“Than food!” I said, still staring at her. “Food is…awesome.”

“And you can say that because you have a fast metabolism and can stay skinny no matter how much you eat!” Sara teased, nudging me. I pretended to pout.

“Don’t be like that,” I said, my pretend-pout still in place. “It hurts right here.” I patted my chest and Brandon and Hailey had silent fits of laughter while Josh shook his head with a smile on his face and Sara laughed.

After that, my friends started trickling home one by one, their parents insisting that they needed to get to sleep because we had school tomorrow, and soon all the people left were my family and the Prestons. Which obviously meant Austin was still present as well, to my immense dislike.

“Hey, Anna,” I heard at that moment, and I didn’t even hide my groan.

“What?” I asked exasperatedly, turning to face him.

“Happy birthday!” he grinned, holding out a small gift-wrapped package. I stared at it until he nudged my hand with it and said, “It’s your gift from me. You’re supposed to take it.” in a teasing voice.

“And if I don’t?” I replied, almost icily, but the little box had me intrigued. He was giving me a birthday present, when he hadn’t even given me one for Christmas?

“I’ll find some way of getting it to you,” he shrugged. “After all, I haven’t given up on you, have I? So why would I give up on giving you a present?”

Now I stared, utterly perplexed and slightly flattered. Did that mean he really, genuinely, wanted me to go out with him?

“Just take it,” he laughed, unabashed. “If you don’t like it…keep it anyway, okay? Please? Don’t just…throw it away, or something. I’ll see you at school, Anna.”

“Er…thanks?” I said, unsure, as he walked away. I heard him chuckle and he waved as he walked towards his house. Glancing around, I stuffed the small red package with a black ribbon in my pocket and watched as even my family came to give me quick hugs, wish me a happy birthday for sometimes the twelfth and thirteenth times, and leave. Finally, it was just me, Mom, Dad, and my brother and his family, who were staying the night because Nicky didn’t start school for another few days.

“Go take a shower and go to bed now, dear,” Mom said with a quick hug. “You must be tired, and it’s school as usual tomorrow. I didn’t have time to wrap your presents from us, so they’re laying on your bed. We’ll get everything cleaned up tomorrow, so don’t even think about that. Now, good night!” she kissed my forehead, smiled at me, and went to get the remaining cake, as she had already taken in the ice cream. I knew then that she didn’t hold any hard feelings towards me for what I’d said or done, which made me feel even guiltier about it all. But I did as she said and went inside.

It wasn’t until I was in my bathroom getting ready to take my shower when I felt the lump in my pocket and pulled out the little package Austin had given me. I’d completely forgotten it until that moment, and, feeling almost reluctant, I pulled on the ribbon and it fell open into the palm of my hand.

I slowly pulled the gift wrap off, and found a little white box. Curiosity seized me again and I opened it.

It was a necklace, and I couldn’t help but love it despite the person who picked it out. It’s chain was sterling silver, and so was the heart outline hanging from it. But inside the heart, there was another, smaller heart, and I realized that it was a peridot, the birthstone for the month of August.

I lay the necklace gingerly on my bathroom counter, admiring it and deciding that, even though it was Austin who gave it to me, that I would wear it…I just wouldn’t let him see. With that thought, I turned on the shower and got in.

Hailey noticed immediately when I stopped by to pick her up that I was more my usual self.

Then she spotted the necklace that I, being the ditz I am, hadn’t yet tucked into my t-shirt.

“Oh my gosh! Who did you get that one from? It totally suits you!” she squealed gleefully.

“Sssh!” I said, tucking it in quickly. “Don’t tell him, please?” I started.

“Who…?”

“Austin!” I cried. “Please don’t tell him I’m wearing it! It’s what he got me!”

“Oh my gosh, he’s got good taste!”

“Gee, thanks,” I said dryly.

She just grinned at me in an ‘oops-you-caught-me’ way and we just talked and laughed like usual on the way to school.

We did the same parking space arrangement as normal - we get in the parking spot and we shut up long enough to find a spot, then start talking again. And, amazingly, Austin and his group weren’t waiting near the door this time. Hailey and I walked into the school building in peace and straight to the table with everyone already there.

“Hey, girls!” Brandon greeted us, in the same bubbly way he usually did.

“Knock it off,” Sara laughed. Josh just slugged him lightly in the arm with a grin.

“Hey, guys,” I said, dropping my bag on the table and sitting down between Brandon and Josh (weird!) with Haley on the other side of Brandon.

“Yeah, hey,” Hailey said lazily. We all laughed.

“Sorry we had to split so soon,” Josh said. “Mom said we had to get Tyler to bed. Little brat.”

Tyler was the youngest of Josh’s siblings, at nine. His sister, Elise, was twelve and his brother Anthony was fifteen and had started as a freshman this year.

“It’s alright,” I said with a grin. “I get to spend time with you guys here, so I shouldn’t take up all of your weekend!”

Catching the eyes of Sara and Hailey, we burst into laughter.

Then we decided to help each other on homework, since I realized I hadn’t had the time or the will to finish all of my algebra. Brandon, who was a mathematical genius, helped me out, since the assignment was due today. After I’d managed to finish with his help, I glanced at the clock on the commons wall.

“I’m gonna go to my locker,” I said with a smile as I got up. “Throw a few books that I don’t need ‘til after lunch in and get the ones I need before out. See you all in class!”

“See ya,” Brandon said, waving.

“Later!” Josh called.

“Until second,” Sara said, poring over her essay for history.

“Lunch then, dearie!” Hailey acknowledged, and I left the table.

It took me a while to weave through the people and get to the hall that our lockers were located down. I wasn’t paying attention to the hall since I was looking through my bag, so I didn’t hear the shouting around the corner over the din behind me. I kept walking, pulling out my own essay to look over it, as Sara had done. I paused, putting my paper against the nearest locker so I could make a correction. Good thing it was just the rough draft, I decided. Then I clicked the pen and kept walking, scanning over it to make sure the correction fit better than what I’d already had, and then I continued on to the next paragraph.

After the same thing about five times, I was done with correcting my essay and I stopped to shove it back into my bag. The din from the commons was less so now than it had been, and my head shot up.

“Leave her the hell alone!” a familiar voice shouted.

“You’re the one who won’t stop following her everywhere like a lost puppy, asshole!” another voice shouted, and I started to get a sickening feeling in my gut. “So why can’t I have a shot at her if I want it?”

With that line I placed the voice as the one from Monday of last week who had asked the same thing at the doors.

“She’s not a target, you idiot!” I heard, and I crept closer to the corner.

“I’m not a damned idiot!” and then…thwump!

I walked around the corner, and did not like what I saw.