How To Hate Your Best Friend

nine

Today was November 6th.

And officially the worst day of my entire life. 

If I had to remember the day correctly, it went something similar like this:

Woke up. Checked my phone, saw I (weirdly) had 20+ burner accounts trying to request my spam. That was the first hint I should've listened to. The first hint that should've told me not to go to school, and to run for the fucking hills. 

Went downstairs, and saw my mom left a note on the counter. 'Happy Birthday sweetheart! There's waffles in the fridge.'

I checked the fridge. Saw the waffles were Eggos. Closed the fridge. Then headed out the door. 

My bike was my main method of transport ever since the fight with Colton. Usually, he'd pick me up but I figured he'd be too busy with Brooke and well whatever the hell else he was doing that I had no idea about because we hadn't talked in weeks now. 

It kind of hurt, not seeing him outside my driveway this morning since we always had traditions for each other's birthdays. Each year, at 5pm, I'd get a 'mystery text' from a 'mystery person' telling me to meet at a coordinate. I would tell Colton about this, and he'd play along, and offer me a ride to those coordinates to find out just what this 'mystery person' wanted.

Little did he know I'd had already smelt the freshly baked cupcakes in the back of his Jeep that he had specially prepared just for me. 

We'd get out of his car at the coordinates, which always led to the abandoned Target rooftop, and there'd be a small picnic set up with fairy lights outlining the blanket. 

Then, he'd start singing. Terrible, dreadful singing, at which I'd immediately tell him to shut the fuck up, but he'd keep going. And as he did so, would pull the cupcakes out from behind his back, wishing me a happy birthday. 

No matter how old I was, there would always be only one candle on the cake, cupcake, whatever he brought each year, because we had an on going joke that I had the mental capacity of a one year old. 

I'd blow out the candle. We'd watch the stars. He'd make me promise to never stop being me. I made him promise to never stop being him. 

We were always us to each other. 

Until the past couple weeks, where we weren't. 

And I had to accept that fact. So, I hopped on my bike and when I arrived at school, I quickly found the second hint. 

The JV girls. 

Underclassmen. You see, whenever there was a birthday on our girls volleyball team, if you were popular, the first thing that happened when you entered that goddamn building is you would get bombarded with hugs, kisses, candies, balloons-- all of the above. Volleyball girls were aggressive like that. 

Now see, obviously, I wasn't expecting that. I was a loner and mostly everyone on my team forgot I existed.

But there would always be at least one JV girl. At least one who would wish me a happy birthday, or something of the sort.

Today? There was none. 

It was like I had the imaginary flu no one would tell me about. Usually, I wouldn't care, but today was my birthday. And they knew that. 

But either way, I went about my day.  As each period went by, not one person said a word to me. But it was okay -- not being acknowledged was something I was used to.

I was in my 6th period when the next hint showed itself. Physics. This was the period I had with Hana and some of her other meaner friends.

I got to class early and was in the back of the room, as always, as I watched them walk in, singing some Britney Spears song very, very obnoxiously.