Young and Beautiful

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAYLA!”

A sharp pain ran up and down my spine as my younger brother’s knee rammed into my back. He rolled over, giggling. I swatted my arm at him, trying to make him leave.

“It’s your birthday!” my brother, Michael, exclaimed. He started to bounce on the bed.

“Goooo,” I groaned into the hotel’s pillow.

“You’re seventeen!”

“And you’re five. Now leave.”

Michael jumped off the bed, a thump echoing across my room. I could hear his feet slap against the carpeted floor as he ran off laughing down the hotel hallway.

Reluctantly, I forced myself to sit up. I rubbed my eyes and then looked at myself in the mirror that hung on the wall across from me.

I was seventeen.

Mom had a party planned for my today. Friends, family, and most likely people I’ve never met before were invited. It started at noon and when I looked at the clock, I saw I only had three hours to get ready. My sapphire-colored dress already hung over a chair for when it was time to put it on.

Still in my pajamas, I walked downstairs to the dining room. Michael and Mom were already at a table in the midst of other people eating breakfast, all of whom were dressed in much nicer clothes than me. There were pancakes at the seat that was empty. All six were stacked high with whipped clean, M&M’s, chocolate chips, and possibly a Paula Dean amount of butter. A scoop of vanilla ice cream was on the side of the plate. My drink for the morning was chocolate milk.

“Happy birthday, sweetie,” Mom said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. She gestured at my breakfast. “I told the hotel service about your birthday and they insisted on giving this to you.”

I sat down, groaning. “I really do feel appreciative, but I feel fat just looking at this.”

“You’re already skinny,” Michael said.

“You don’t have to eat all of it if you don’t want to,” Mom said. “Share with your brother.” She took a sip of coffee and then went back to her magazine.

I took one pancake off the plate and gave the rest to Michael along with most of the toppings. We were at the Drake in our hometown Chicago since we reserved a party room here. This wasn’t my ideal birthday place. I wanted the party at our house. But Mom said it was easier for everyone coming to the party to get here and they could stay in a room if they were from out of town.

After I finished my breakfast, I headed to my room to start getting ready. The party was now less than two hours away. I needed an hour for my shower and who knew how long it would take Katrina to do my hair.

I was in the middle of blow-drying my hair when someone knocked on the door. After making sure it was safe to answer with nothing but a towel covering me, I let Katrina in. Her straight, white hair sashayed as she walked in the room, already dressed in a hot-pink summer dress. The curling iron was in her hand.

I looked into the hall before closing the door. “Hey, bitch."

“Whaddup? My friend’s roaming the halls if you don’t mind. He wants to check the place out,” Katrina said, her voice echoing in the bathroom. I could hear her plugging the curling iron into an outlet.

“He’s? What, did you come here with a date?" I asked jokingly.

Katrina came out of the bathroom and shrugged. “He’s actually not my date.”

I blinked in surprise. “If he’s not yours, then who does he belong to?”

Katrina giggled. She ignored my question and said, “Get your ass in here!”

For the next hour, I sat on the toilet as Katrina turned my hair from straight to big curls. She cooed about its length (even though her hair was to her waist as well) and then continued to state how jealous she was that it was light brown and not white like hers. But my hair didn’t bring out my brown eyes like Katrina’s white hair brought out her red ones. Then she continued to tell me about the tan she needed even though we both knew it wouldn’t happen because of how translucent her skin was. Typical bathroom gossip between two friends.

“I saw Michael when walking in. He told me about your pancakes,” Katrina said while zipping up my dress.

“Yeah. He ate most of them.”

“What? Why?”

I rolled my eyes and turned my head to face her. “Girl, do you know how much sugar was on those? I’m on a diet.”

It was Katrina’s turn to roll her eyes. “You’re so skinny.” She proceeded to pat my stomach. “Nothing like my curves.”

“Aw, shush. You look good as fuck,” I said.

After the two of us laughed, Katrina put on my makeup and then we headed downstairs so we could help Mom with the party.

The party room could be described by grandiose. About ten tables were set up and so was a dancefloor. Mom’s iPhone and iHome were already plugged in. One wall had a window that led to the Lake. It was a dark blue today and rippled in the summer wind. I saw a crowd of people at Oak Park beach. They were with playing volleyball, swimming, or tanning.

When it came to birthday decorations, the party room was covered in blue. Different hues of blue streamers stretched across the ceiling. A chandelier hung where they met, but that was courtesy of the Drake. Each table had a dark blue tablecloth draping over it and on top were sky blue napkins. Mom set up a table for presents. In the corner sat a cake and cake pops. Both were covered in blue frosting, each tier or pop a different shade.

“Guests are coming soon. Katrina, do you mind helping me setting up the silverware?” Mom asked.

“I gotchu, Eileen.”

“Layla, make sure your brother stays out of trouble.”

“Got it.”

As Mom and Katrina set up the silverware, I kept Michael busy with some Legos he brought along. He made what he believed to be towers but were really just one Lego stacked on another. We did this for half an hour – fighting and Michael crying because I accidentally crushed his airplane included – before the first guest walked in. Grandma put a giant present on the table, proceeded to kiss both Michael and me, and began a conversation with Mom. It only took a few minutes for the other guests to start piling in. It didn’t take long for the window behind the present table to be blocked by gifts and people standing around. Michael was off playing with some of our cousins and I went to join all my friends. Mom turned on the music. “Brown-Eyed Girl” was the first song to blast from the speakers. My heart shook, and a smile formed on my face.

“Hey, girl.” Cassie came over to me first. She kissed both my cheeks, her strawberry blonde hair tickling them. “Great party. Glad I can finally wear this red dress.”

“How’d you convince your mom to let it be here?” Marrin asked.

I shrugged. “Actually, it was her idea. My question is, how’d you convince your parents to let you come? Isn’t it far from some of you? And CTA can be expensive.”

“Marrin helped me,” Neveah said.

“Glad you could all make it though. Where are the guys?” I asked.

Neveah’s milk chocolate colored hand pointed towards where the drinks were being served. Josh, Blake, Chad, and Chase all had drinks in their hands. Three of them were laughing because it seemed that Chad spilled his red whatever all over his beige suit.

“So, Katrina. Where’s this friend of yours that’s apparently not your date?” I asked.

All the girls began snickering.

“What? Is he your date?” I looked at Marrin, picking her out randomly from the group.

“He’s coming. In fact, there he is now.” Katrina turned towards the entrance and disappeared in the crowd.

“What’s going on?” I asked the lingering three who were still giggling.

Marrin shook her head, her red hair shaking along. “We all know you’re single. Katrina’s trying to set you up with this guy.”

“She’s what?”

“Layla!”

I jumped, facing Katrina. Next to her stood a tall – at least six feet – man it seemed like. He was young, but he looked years older than the guys. Both his shorts and converse were black. I saw a blue anchor tattoo wrap around his left calf. His white T-shirt was spotless and was a striking contrast against his olive-tone skin. His black hair seemed long but it was kept back with gel. The front curled over his forehead and hair stuck out near his neck. His black eyelashes were long and full despite his brown eyes being so small. They sparkled when he smiled.

“Nickels.” He stuck out his hand and I shook it. “Jack Nickels.”

“Harrison. Layla Harrison,” I said, mocking his James Bond introduction.

A soft, rumbling chuckle escaped his lips. “I’m sorry about my attire. Katrina didn’t tell me we had to dress up.”

“Um. That’s… That’s fine.” He had a deep voice that reminded me of thunder and I thought I heard a small New York accent. “How do you know each other anyway?”

“Neighbors. He just moved in. Let’s go. Your mom is putting food out.” Katrina turned away.

I let the girls and Jack get ahead before I grabbed Katrina’s shoulder. I pulled her back so hard that she had to muffle her scream. “Why?”

She shrugged. “Why not? He’s single. You’re single. It’s perfect.” She nudged my shoulder. “And he’s a college boy. Or… Well… Would be if he wasn’t in a band.”

I raised my eyebrows, not amused. “A band?”

Katrina nodded happily. “Indie and alternative. They’re called Midnight Rain and their heaviness is between the XX and Arctic Monkeys, both of whom are influences.”

I scrunched up my face, unable to imagine anything. “I don’t listen to music like that.” Which was true. All I had on my iPod was pop, dance, electronica, and even some hip-hop. I had no idea who the XX and Arctic Monkeys were.

“How old is he exactly?” I asked.

“Twenty.”

If I was drinking something I would’ve spit it out.

“Get that look off your face. It’s all good.” Katrina laughed.

“Katrina, I just turned seventeen. Wouldn't dating this guy be illegal? In fact, why are you trying to get me to date?” I asked.

Katrina giggled and said, “Because this is what friends do. He’s the only attractive single man I know and I don’t want him.” Then she practically skipped to her seat.

To my unfortunate dismay, the seat in between Katrina and Jack was the only empty chair at the table. As soon as I sat down, my arm brushed against Jack’s. It was warm, and I could feel muscle.

As we ate, Jack started talking to me. “Katrina tells me you’ve travel a lot. Where have you been?”

“Yeah, Layla. Tell us.” Katrina leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands and smiling.

After I slapped her forehead, I reluctantly began to tell Jack about my adventures. There was the Italy trip from four years ago in which Mom and I visited Milan, Rome, Siena, and Florence. We saw religious grounds along with the ancient monuments and some flea markets. We visited Paris, Berlin, Moscow, and two cities in China (Beijing and Hong Kong. This was for one of Mom’s business trips). I saw Niagara Falls, toured Auschwitz, visited Mayan temples in South America, and –

“Alright, girl,” Neveah said.

Josh turned to Jack “The girl’s mom is in real estate and owns a few businesses as well. She’s filthy rich.”

Jack’s eyebrows bobbed up, and then he chuckled. Its rumble was almost inaudible. He reached into his pocket and took out what was probably a cell phone. He hid his text and his cell phone was back in his pocket in a matter of seconds.

After dinner, everyone started singing happy birthday. The only voice I heard was Jack’s. Its bass was audible over all the wannabe sopranos, altos, and tenors. I could almost feel it rumbling in my heart since it was so deep. Jack was the only person who was on key. As he sang, the right side of his mouth was curled up as if he was smirking.

Everyone was standing around while they ate the cake that I gave up my diet for. I was talking to Neveah and Cassie when Jack walked up to me. The girls giggled, walking away.

Jack put his hands in his pockets and bopped his head up.

“Uh…” I stabbed my fork in my tiny slice of cake. “So. Katrina tells me you’re in a band?”

Jack chuckled and nodded once. “Yup. Midnight Rain.”

Midnight Rain. What kind of name was that?”

“Singer?” I asked.

Jack nodded.

Everyone was a singer nowadays.

“I play the drums as well,” Jack added. I could see his throat rumble. How did he get such a deep voice? Who needed drums or even a bass when you had a voice as deep as Jack’s?

“Any albums yet?”

Jack shrugged. “We’re trying. We have a few EPs. We travel around Illinois to get ourselves heard. Our goal is to become one of the most popular Indie/Alternative bands out there.”

“Huh.” It was a fantastic goal, and I hoped he succeeded. I guess these kind of bands never get popular, otherwise I would’ve heard of bands like the BB and Cold Apes or whatever Katrina called them. “Katrina said you would’ve been a college boy.”

Once again, Jacks shrugged. All he did was shrug, chuckle, and smirk.

“Well, I’m gonna be a senior in high school starting this fall. No idea what I want to do with my life.” I took another bite of the cake and turned away.

I didn’t know how long we stood in silence. Every time I inched away, Jack inched closer. I turned so he faced my shoulder. I didn’t want him there, standing in awkward silence. I should have said something to end the awkwardness, but I couldn’t think of anything. It was clear Jack wasn’t going to make the first move of conversation either. Why Katrina thought it was a good idea to introduce us today, I have no idea.

The party room was glowing with life. I could hear the guys screaming as Blake did some kind of trick. Cassie’s wind chime laugh somehow got itself to me from the other side of the room. Adults went from table to table to talk to each other. The little ones, my brother included, ran around. They tripped every so often but the smiles on their faces remained. I could hear their screams and the gun noises they created with their mouths. I caught sight of Michael wiping his messy black hair out of his eyes. My stomach dropped. Dad used to do that. His hair was always messy no matter what he did with it so he was constantly wiping hair out of his eyes. Michael looked like him quite a bit. Messy black hair, boyish brown eyes, tan skin, and lanky. As cliché as it was, I always saw Dad’s face whenever I looked at Michael.

Somehow “Brown Eyed Girl” came on through shuffle again. Sighing, I said, “I wish my dad were here.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Jack looking at me. “Why isn’t he?”

I bit my lip. Jack probably assumed my parents were divorced. That was what all strangers did whenever something like this came up. But that wasn’t the case. In truth, there was no way for my father, Jeffrey Harrison, to make it to anymore social events unless he unhooked the nails from his coffin and dug his way through six feet of ground.

I didn’t tell Jack this. Instead, I just shrugged and said nonchalantly, “He just isn’t.”

He opened his mouth to say something but once I shot him a glare, he closed it.

It wasn’t until nine o’clock when people began leaving. The last two were Katina and Jack. I walked them out, seeing Jack’s motorcycle along the way. I scratched my neck. It wasn’t anything special. The black coat only shined in certain areas. The other spots were covered in muck. Rust covered part of the handlebars and even the wheels. Jack didn’t have any special decorations like some motorcyclists did. In fact, he didn’t have any at all.

The more I stared at the motorcycle, the more I scratched my neck. I could feel blood soak underneath my fingers.

Katrina pulled my hand away, aware of my habit. Then she smiled. “This was such a fun party. Thanks for inviting me!”

Jack took my hand and gave it a small shake. The right side of his mouth curled up, sparkling his eyes. When he swung himself into his motorcycle without a word, I knew I wasn’t going to get a better thank you.

“Text me when you get home,” Katrina said as she climbed on behind Jack. “I’ll come over and Jack will too.”

My eyes widened. Jack chuckled and shook his head slightly. Then he turned on the motorcycle and its roar echoed all throughout Michigan Avenue.

“Um. Alright. See you soon!” I yelled.

The two waved. Jack drove away, his motorcycle ripping through the streets and deafening anybody that came near it. When Katrina’s white hair finally disappeared, I walked back inside the hotel, sighing and dreading what I knew Katrina was setting up as a second date, assuming this was the first.