Chapter One - Before 

It all started March 15th, 2020. By then we’d all heard of the “raging pandemic” COIVD-19. This won’t be such a big deal, I thought. Just an extra week off of school, any middle schooler’s dream. We’d just have to survive that day. I had curled my hair and put on a swipe of mascara. After I tied on my Air Forces, I wiped each white shoe down with a cloth to keep them looking like they were fresh out of the box. I remember making sure they were extra clean that day. I wanted to leave a good impression on everyone since they wouldn’t be seeing me for two whole weeks. While we were at school we all joked about “Corona”, which would surely leave our country alone for the most part. Some of the band kids even made a COVID-touch game, similar to cheese touch, in order to not get the cheese touch you have to cross your fingers, but instead you had to have a bottle of hand sanitizer with you, and then you couldn’t get COVID. It was hilarious to me then. Now, not so much. After living for 4 months in lockdown, I just want to get out. I still hate myself for laughing about it when I feel extra lonely. This pandemic is not a joke and the COVID-touch isn’t even the least bit funny anymore. The me that had once laughed at the band kids’ silly antics was now cringing at our school for thinking it wasn’t a problem. It really is. 

 

Chapter Two - Boring Birthday Week

Now it’s July and it’s my birthday week. Birthdays used to be the best day of the year. This year, yeah right. At least I can have a few friends over in the backyard… with masks on… social distancing. . . and no food or drinks… without using our pool because masks can’t get wet… Yeah, that’s not so great. Plus masks are annoying and unstylish (although I have worn them before when I took a trip to China so I am more used to it than some).  

“Sydney, breakfast!” my mom called up the stairs, snapping me out of my thoughts.

A smile spread across my face as I realized some birthday traditions wouldn’t be ruined by the Queen of Ruining, Coronavirus. Every year we got to pick the entire week’s menu, including breakfast. Corona did take my dad’s job away, taking us from rich to less than mediocre. With Dad jobless, no more birthday traditions such as a new outfit each day of the birth week. No fancy, expensive gifts. Sigh.

“Changing! Be right down!” I responded. I slid my jean shorts on and pulled my ribbed, pink shirt over my head. After I tucked my shirt in, I tied my shorts belt in a bow and rushed to my bathroom to put my straight, blond hair in a high ponytail. I put a jean scrunchie in my hair and added some mascara to my eyelashes. Then I slid on my slippers and ran down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, I slammed into my sister, Ashley. 

“OUCH!” She screeched. “Sydney, you huwt me!” she cried. 

“Ash, I’m sorry. Come on, let’s go get breakie,” I said, using Ashley’s word for breakfast. 

“Bweakie! Wet’s go! It’s youw favowite, confetti panpakes,” she said in her adorable voice. 

She grabbed my hand with her pudgy fingers and pulled me to the kitchen, where Mom was finishing the scrambled eggs, Dad was making breakfast cocoa, and Sebastian, my 17-year-old brother, was sitting at the table on his phone. 

“We heah!” Ashley called. 

“You mean, ‘here.’” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes and putting his phone in his pocket. While I found Ashley adorable he found her little kid’s voice annoying. 

“That’s what I said, heah.” Ashley’s eyes filled with tears. 

“Ashley, he’s just teasing,” I said as I scooped her up and carried her to the island where food was spread across the counter waiting for us to take. I set her down, scooped a large portion of eggs, and moved on to the pancakes. I took three, feeling extra hungry. I had my plate in one hand and a steaming mug of cocoa in the other and I walked to the table where I gobbled up my breakfast. 

When I was done, I asked, “May I be excused?”

Dad smiled at me and said, “Sure. Now I’ve got to go fill out job applications. For someone who used to be so successful, I don’t understand why people aren’t hiring me.” He smiled sadly and walked off into his office. 

“I’m gonna go call Alicia,” I said. 

Chapter Three - On and On 

I pulled out my phone and walked up the stairs to my room, leaving my dishes on the table. Once in my room, I shut the door and launched myself onto my nicely made bed. The neat pile of comforters and blankets padded my fall. I pressed call and moved to be sitting up, resting my back against the white headboard. 

“Hey, sistah!” Alicia’s falsetto voice rang out through my phone’s speakers. “How’s it going?” 

“Totally awesome sauce,” I said sarcastically. 

“Syd, what’s wrong?” Alicia questioned. 

“COVID stinks, that’s all. Ever since my Dad lost his job, he’s been so sad, and to be honest, I miss being rich,” I sighed. “I sound so pathetic right now.” 

“Sydney, it’s not pathetic. You’re going through a really tough time. Of course, it’s going to be hard to adjust.” Alicia was so understanding. She’s the best friend ever. 

“Thanks, Alicia. It’s just especially tough right now because our birthdays used to be a huge deal with a weeklong celebration and a massive party. Now I still get special meals and stuff but the ingredients aren’t as high end so we can save money and I only get one birthday outfit on the day of. Not to mention that it’s going to be from Target or something. There’s nothing wrong with those stores, but it’s not American Eagle, Brandy Melville, Old Navy, Aerie, or Nordstrom’s. A big party is a totally far-off daydream for two reasons. One, COVID stops us from hanging out in person, and two, my parents couldn’t afford as good of stuff and wouldn’t want to try to afford that kind of party. Everything’s about saving money even when we could afford to keep some things the same,” I paused. “Sorry to bother you with my problems.” 

“No, your problems are my problems. We’re best friends forever. Syd, seriously. It’s okay to vent. You need someone to hear it and I’m here for you.” 

“Alicia, you’re the best.”

“I know,” she joked. “But in all seriousness, you can go on and on about your problems. It’s my job to support you.” 

“Thanks-” I paused, hearing a voice call my name. 

“SYDNEY!” 

“Hey, look, Alicia, I gotta go. My mom’s calling me…” I said regretfully. 

“Yo, it’s cool. You go help your family. I got you if you need anything,” she paused to catch her breath. “I’m only one call away!” she sang. 

I laughed. “See ya, Alicia.” 

I pressed end call and jumped off my bed.

Chapter Four - No Disrespect 

I rushed across my large room, feeling the fluffy white rug beneath my feet. I aggressively threw open the door and stomped down the hall. Once on the stairs, I walked down as slow as possible, just to annoy my mom. At the bottom of the stairs, I saw her waiting with her arms crossed. 

“Ney-Ney, I called you down 5 minutes ago,” she said. 

She changed from her ‘angry mom' pose to her ‘I’m so nervous’ pose which consisted of her nervously twirling a strand of her hair and an anxious facial expression. I noticed my dad standing next to her.

“Sorry, I had to hang up with Alicia,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You knew I was on a call.” Then I realized she called me Ney-Ney. She only calls me that when she is nervous.

“I did, but this is more important than your phone call. And please start showing some respect.” 

“Well-” she cut me off.

“Well, nothing. I called you down to tell you something important,” she paused and glanced over at my dad for support. He gave a kind nod and she inhaled deeply. “Well… you see…” she paused briefly before spitting it out. “We’re moving.”

“WHAT?” I screeched. 

“You heard me. We’re moving,” she said. “With your Dad out of work… I’m sorry.” 

“If you were sorry then we wouldn’t be moving. Will I even be in the same school? Or are we too poor to afford it? I was always the one with new shoes, the trendiest clothes. Now I’m going to move to a tiny house and be poor? I’m disgusted, Mom. No hate to poor people but it’s a massive adjustment. I hate you guys!” I cried and turned on my heel to walk up the stairs but Dad grabbed my shoulder. 

“Sydney, don’t talk to her like that again. We’ve spoiled you rotten and you treat us like dirt. It’s our fault for allowing it to go on for this long. If you’d let her explain, this is a precaution. When I find a job again, then maybe we can move to a larger house again. We’ve been very fortunate to have such a big house. But we don’t need this whole thing. And we’re not poor, not even close. We aren’t superduper rich anymore, that’s true. But we are still, honestly, rich. We are saving our money because we don’t know how long I will be out of a job. You’ll still have some of the things you like - new clothes, trendy shoes - but you won’t get everything you want.” 

“No disrespect Mom and Dad, I’m sorry. I’m really mad right now. My whole world is changing. It’s flipping upside down. There should be a balance between rich and poor, not just a sudden switch.” I glared at the marble floors. 

“Are you even listening?” my dad said. “We’re NOT poor. We are still wealthy but it won’t last forever so we are being careful. You should not have your identity in our wealth. You are excused.” He turned and walked into his office. 

“I’d rather be in my room ALONE than with you,” I muttered. 

“What?” my mom questioned.

“Nothing…” I turned around and ran up the stairs, barely holding my tears until the top of the staircase, where I slammed into Sebastian.

“Watch it,” I snarled and sprinted to my room.

“What’d I ever do to you?” he asked. 

I ignored him, worried I’d say something that I'd regret.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Five - Silence

Throwing myself on my light pink window seat I yanked my phone out of my pocket and opened messages. Finding Alicia’s name first, I clicked our conversation and angrily told her I’m moving. 

Then I quickly opened Spotify on my phone and searched in my playlists for my Pop Music playlist, flipping to Silence by Marshmello. It was the perfect song for my mood. I’m just trying to find peace in the violence (of moving). 

Oh, I realized. I should stay silent when they make me so mad. Even if they’re the ones being completely unfair. 

I instantly was hit with an intense wave of regret and considered apologizing to my parents and my brother. Then I selfishly realized I would never apologize to Sebastian. He never apologized to me, why should I be the one to start the trend? I wiped off my smudged mascara and quietly opened my door. Creeping down the stairs, I prepared myself for the embarrassment of admitting I was wrong. 

 

Chapter Six - I Was Wrong 

“Hey Mom, hey Dad,” I said quietly. 

“Oh, hey Syd,” said Mom, eyeing me warily. 

“I thought we told you to go to your room,” my dad questioned. 

“You did. You did. I just - I wanted to say I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have erupted like that. I don’t hate you, you guys are amazing parents. This situation is beyond your control and I get that we should be saving money so we can still have some nice things and if things go drastically wrong, we’ll be okay. I’ll go to my room now,” I said and turned away. 

“Sydney, come here, sweetheart. We can go have a grown-up discussion in the smaller living room. There are some cupcakes in the kitchen, I’ll grab those. And some lemonade?” Mom asked. 

“Sure, that’d be great!” I sniffed, sucking the snot from crying up back into my nose. 

“Nichole, after her outburst…” my dad said with a raised eyebrow. 

“You never said she couldn’t have a treat, David.” 

Mom spun around and walked to the kitchen. I could tell that while Dad was a little fed up with spoiling us, Mom was just fine with it. 

“Hewwo?” Ashley called down the stairs cautiously. “Is da yewwing all done?” she asked.

“Yeah, Ash. Sorry,” I said smiling at her. 

“Good, I didn’t wike it.”

“Ashley, why don’t you go have a tea party with your Barbies,” my Dad suggested. “We are having a big kid talk.” 

She pouted but walked to her room sadly. “Bye,” she said. 

“Bye!” Dad and I waved. 

Mom walked out of the kitchen with a tray loaded with goodies. 

“Shall we?” she asked. 

“Let’s go,” Dad said as he led us into the smaller living room. 

Chapter Seven - When Life Gives You Lemons, Drink Lemonade. 

We walked into the smaller living room and I took it all in, knowing that this might be my last time in the room since we seldom used it. The small, white sectional looked unused but comfortable. The 80” TV was on with a fake fireplace scene playing. A tall, green plant sat in the corner and a white rug sat on the floor with a small white ottoman sitting on it. My mom set the tray on the ottoman and sat down on the couch. My dad joined her and I sat on the long part of the couch, sinking in and memorizing the feeling. 

“Sydney, do you have any questions about the move? Or anything you’d like to calmly discuss?” Dad asked, emphasizing calmly. 

Just then my phone buzzed and I checked my apple watch to see what the notification was. I quickly grabbed my phone out of my pocket, responded, and then put my phone back. 

“Sorry,” I said, turning to my parents. “Alicia texted asking if I’d still go to the same school?” I silently begged my parents to say yes. 

“Thankfully, we prepaid for your schooling, which I’m not sure if you knew. In other words, yes. You can still go to your school,” my Dad said smiling. 

I nodded and whipped out my phone to text Alicia. “I’m texting Alicia that I can go and then I have some more questions,” I said with my eyes focused on the screen. 

I read her final text and slipped my phone right back into my pocket, beaming from ear to ear. I picked up a glass of lemonade and gulped some of it down. 

“Ahh!” I said. When life gives you lemons, drink lemonade, I thought to myself. It’s like a cure for sadness. It’s so bright and happy, it’ll lift even the lowest of moods. 

“Any more questions?” my dad asked, prompting me to talk.

“Yeah, a couple. First of all, how much “downsizing” are we talking about?” I asked.
“Your father and I found a very cute house we would rent nearby. It’s 3,900 square feet. It’s about half of our current house but we do have a lot of unused rooms here. It’s a great house. Do you want me to show you the listing?”

“Yeah, maybe later. For now, could you give me the quick details?” I countered. 

“Sure,” my mom said. “It’s a 4 bedroom house with 3.5 bathrooms. You and Ashley will have to share a bathroom. Compared to our house it has a smaller living room, dining room, and also an eat-in kitchen. There is no pool but a nice, grassy yard. There is an office for your dad and me to share and finally, there is a bonus room and a laundry room. It’s a great house, not small at all. It might feel small because our house is 7,100 square feet, including the pool house, but really, it’s a great home.” 

“It sounds great,” I lied. It did sound pretty nice, for a smaller family. We wouldn’t have room for guests unless we had a sleeper sofa in the bonus room. Here, we have 2 guest rooms and 2 bonus rooms plus a movie room. We have 6 bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms (including the pool house one). We have 2 living rooms, a family room, a breakfast nook, a dining room, a butler’s pantry, and a gourmet kitchen for Pete’s sake. We have a POOL! And we’re giving it all up. 

I shook off my disappointment and opened my mouth. “Do either Ashley or Sebastian know?” I asked.

“No…” my mom blushed. “We were going to call them down after you got all the information you needed to not be so angry at us. Have a cupcake.” She motioned to the chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. 

“I don’t have any more questions,” I said as I took a massive bite of the cupcake. I chewed and swallowed and then added, “Just one more. Will we be in this house on my birthday?” 

Chapter Eight - Breaking the News

“Er, no.” my dad looked away, clearly embarrassed. 

“What!” I shrieked. “It’s Sunday! When are we moving?” 

“Wednesday.”

“Wednesday after breakfast. We’ll for sure be all settled in by Thursday evening. Friday will be all about you, I promise,” my mom said. 

I sighed and said, “Could you please call them down now so I can have as much time to enjoy the house as possible?”

I grabbed my glass of lemonade and chugged the remainder. Then I grabbed another cupcake and took a bite, savoring the sweet, rich, chocolatey taste. 

“Great idea,” Dad replied. “Sebastian! Ashley!” he called.

“Yo, Pops! What up?” shouted Sebastian. 

“Get Ashley and come down to the smaller living room!” Dad yelled. 

“Cool, coming!” 

As I waited, I pulled out my phone and told Alicia the terrible news.

Soon, he and Ashley were seated on the couch next to us each munching on a cupcake, leaning over their napkins to make sure not to spill. I was extra careful with my third cupcake, knowing that our other couch would be too big for a house that is nearly half the size of ours. 

“What’s the occasion?” asked Sebastian with his mouth full. 

“Gross,” I said. “Mom and Dad were just going to tell you-” Dad cut me off. 

“We’re moving. On Wednesday. It was very last minute and we’re renting. It’s a downsize but it’s a great house. I really like it.”

“How small?” Sebastian asked. 

“3,900 square feet,” Dad said. 

“Wooooah. That’s a half-size, not a downsize!” Sebastian laughed.
“Otay,” said Ashley.
I don’t think that she understood, but Dad adjourned the meeting and I rushed upstairs to get my swimsuit. 

After a nice swim, I rushed through the house, dripping little beads of water everywhere I went. Normally, I used the pool house bathroom but I decided to savor every experience in my own, big, beautiful bathroom. 

Chapter Nine - My Oasis

Stepping into the marble bathroom, I glanced around. The marble surrounded, massive bathtub looked inviting and luxurious. I knew I wouldn’t have a makeup counter 4 feet long like I do here. And I for sure wouldn’t have double sinks with lots of counter space all for myself. I most likely would not have a stand-up shower big enough for 3 people and the new place wouldn’t have Tier 4 selections. I’m sure the new place won’t have views of the ocean from every room. 

I sighed and turned on the water in the shower. When I stepped in, the warm water showered me with comfort and relief. 

Once I was done, I stepped out of the marble shower and onto my fluffy bath mat, wiggling my toes to dry them. After I got dressed, I looked at myself in the large mirror. I looked myself up and down, starting at the silver Adidas Superstars, up to my wrist-length jean shorts all the way up to my white crop-top with a gray pocket, collar, and ends of the sleeves. Grinning at myself in the mirror, I sat down at my makeup table to do my makeup. Feeling like taking an extra long time because I wanted to enjoy my makeup table, I put on more than just the standard mascara and lip gloss. I added some silver eyeshadow. Then I put in my big silver hoop earrings in my 1st piercings and small diamond studs in the 2nd piercings. Next, I blow-dried my soaking wet hair. Then I put the top half up in a bun and used my curling iron on the bottom half. Once I was satisfied with my curls I glanced at myself in the mirror once more. Shocked with the beautiful girl staring at me, I smiled wide, revealing my pearly white teeth. I grabbed my iPhone 12 off of the far counter and walked into my bedroom. I sat on my window seat and snapped a picture to show my future self how I looked. And to remember this terrible time of my life. 

Taking a picture of myself put a wonderful idea into my head- I should take pictures of the whole house! Who knows if I’ll ever get to live in it again? I decided to start with my bathroom. Grabbing my Canon EOS R5, I walked into my bathroom and snapped pictures of the whole room from every angle. The only thing I didn’t take multiple pictures of was the toilet, gross. 

Then I walked into my room and started with my bed. I perfectly arranged my gray comforter and light pink blanket to be straight and propped the decorative gray and pink pillows up just so. After taking a picture, I moved on to the window seat. I organized the gray pillows to be symmetrical and then took a picture. I then took a picture of my desk, bookcase, pink hanging chair, and my pink rug. I finished with a picture of my pink corkboard filled with gray pins holding pictures, bible verses, and song lyrics. This room had been my oasis for all my life. It had gone through many re-decorating stages, but it had served me well. I’d miss it. 

Brushing back tears, I walked through the rest of the house to take pictures. I took pictures of the theater room, the bonus rooms, each and every bedroom - including Ashley’s adorable pink and princessy room and Sebastian’s not so cute, black and gray room - the living rooms, the breakfast nook, the dining room, the kitchen, each bathroom, butler’s pantry, and the pool and pool house as well as the fire pit, patio, deck, and large grass area. 

When I came back inside, I noticed a pile of pink boxes with my name on them waiting to be filled. I sighed and turned off my camera. Grabbing an arm full of boxes, I walked up to my room sadly. I could hear Ashley packing up her room and I was glad I got a picture of each room before it was being packed. 

Chapter Ten - Packing My Life Up

After putting my camera on my desk, I pulled up Spotify on my phone and turned on my Vibing playlist. While rocking out to some Colton Dixon, I walked through my bathroom to my walk-in closet and picked outfits for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then I packed up the remainder of my clothes into the boxes. I put all my shirts in 3 boxes, my pants in 2 other boxes, dresses and skirts in 2 more boxes, and my undergarments and socks in 1 other box.  Then I unloaded my desk and packed it all up, only leaving my diary, some colored pencils, pens, and a sketchbook. It took 4 boxes to load all my desk supplies up! After I finished my desk, my clock read 3:30 and I realized that it took me about 2 hours to pack half my room. I decided I had enough time to pack my many books up so I began to do that. At 4:30, I was finished and had a total of 18 boxes. My life fits in 18 boxes. 

Looking around, there was nothing more for me to do to pack so I jumped onto my window seat and started to text Alicia. I asked her if she wanted to hang out tomorrow and she said yes. We planned to meet up at 2:30. 

Then I laid down on my bed and took a pre-dinner nap. 

 

Chapter Eleven - Dad Made Dinner?  

When I awoke, it was dinner time. Sitting up in bed, I rubbed my eyes carefully, as to not smear my mascara. Carefully hopping off of my bed, I adjusted the laces on my shoes and smoothed out my slightly wrinkled shirt.
I walked into my bathroom, checking my hair which somehow still looked fantastic. I wanted to look my best because I knew it’d be an awkward dinner. If I was confident looking then I would feel more confident. Confidence is key when something might be awkward or if you’re uncertain. 

Walking downstairs, I heard the water running in the half bathroom. That meant I wasn’t late for dinner. When I got to the bathroom, I saw Sebastian helping Ashley dry her hands. 

“Sorry water, you cannot stay. You have to get dried away,” he said to her as he dried her hands.

“Aww!” I said as I smiled at the pair. 

Sebastian rolled his eyes and said, “Come on, Sydney.” He must have noticed I looked a little extra put together because he then said, “What’s the occasion?” 

I rolled my eyes right back but secretly felt happy someone had noticed. I took a breath and said, “The occasion is I wanted to look nice. Just because you wear basketball shorts every day doesn’t mean I have to.” 

Grinning, I took their spot at the sink and quickly washed my hands. Then I rushed to the dining room. The large, smooth, light wooden table had a pile of tasty-looking food on it. Sitting down on the white,fabric-covered chair next to my mom, I loaded my plate with a large serving of meatloaf, macaroni, and some corn. 

“This looks great, I’ll have to thank Christa,” I said. Christa is our chef. Or rather, was as I was about to find out. 

“We had to let Christa go?” my mom said but it sounded more like a question. 

“So who made this?” I asked, calmly. I should have known by now that anything I used to have, I couldn’t expect to still have. 

“I did,” said my dad, oozing with pride. 

“Uh-oh!” Sebastian laughed. 

I could tell he was joking because he had already eaten half of his massive portion. Digging in, I was pleasantly surprised that the macaroni and cheese tasted exactly like Chista’s usually did. 

“MMMH!” I licked my lips. “This is amazing, Dad. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn a crop top, I might have a food baby today.” 

“Well if you like that, you should try my homemade mashed potatoes. They are across from Ashley. Also my soft carrots.” 

“Okay, I guess I should try that!” 

Normally I would have been scared to try my Dad’s cooking but after my yummy macaroni and meatloaf, I was ready to give him a chance. Reaching over to the mashed potatoes and soft carrots, I scooped large portions. After sliding back to my spot, I took a huge bite of the mashed potatoes only to spit it out. 

Sebastian let out a loud laugh. Catching his breath, he stuttered, “I can’t believe you went for that. Did you not see me spit it out?”

“Obviously not, you... fishcake!” I glared at Sebastian, blurting out what first came to mind. 

“Fishcake? Says you, princess,” he snickered. 

“You say it like it’s an insult,” I said, tossing my curled hair over my shoulder. 

As I took a big bite of macaroni Dad said, “Kids. Please cut it out.” 

We nodded and Ashley said, “Yeah, cut it owt. I don’t wike it when you fight.”

Looking down, I said, “Sorry, Ash.” I felt bad for scaring Ashley and I could tell Sebastian did too. 

Dad looked at Sebastian. “Seb?” he asked. 

“Yeah, whatever. Sorry.” He acted all cool but I could see his eyes were sorry. 

Dad and Mom glanced at each other but they left the issue alone, not wanting to ruin one of the last evenings in our house. 

The rest of dinner was spent in silence, everybody stuffing themselves with the macaroni and meatloaf (but leaving the mashed potatoes and soft carrots alone). 

When I was done with my dinner, I pushed my chair away and walked to wash my hands. I tried to face away from them because I was sure I had a food baby poking out of my shirt. I know family is supposed to be judgment-free but I wasn’t willing to take a chance. Thankfully, I was okay. 

Chapter Twelve - Reality-TV

“Let’s play some games together,” Mom suggested after we all washed up. 

“What?” I asked, coughing. 

“I said let’s play some games together.”

“We never play games together!” I said, shocked. 

“Well, let’s change that,” Mom said adamantly. 

I shrugged and said, “Okay. I’ll go get some games.”

“Thanks, Sweetie.” Mom smiled at me and I noticed tears in her eyes. 

Running away from the dining room and toward the game bonus room, I thought to myself. What games should we play? Well, I love Scattergories. And we all like Apples to Apples, Telestrations, and Pictionary. I’ll get those. I got into the game bonus room and opened the closet. I grabbed the games and rushed back downstairs to find the dining room table cleared off and my family was missing. 

“We’re in here!” Mom called from the big living room. 

“Okay, coming!” I called back. 

I walked into the living room and saw my family sitting on the couch waiting for me. There was a plate of cookies on the table and glasses of iced tea next to the cookies. It looked like the set for a reality TV show, not like my house. We never played games together. We all were usually too busy to hang out together. We’d hang out in pairs but it was a rare occasion when all 5 of us were hanging out together. I set Scattergories on the table and put the rest of the games next to it. 

Once we had started playing the games, it even felt like a reality TV show. We felt like a perfect family, eating delicious food (even though we were stuffed still) and playing games. Sebastian and I were getting along better than ever. The only drama was fun smack talk, no serious name-calling or quarrels. It was great, but it felt fake. Something felt off about it and I couldn’t figure out what it was. Maybe Mom and Dad are only doing this to get use out of the games before we sell them, I laughed to myself. “We just need to take some precautions,” they’ll say. Yeah right, I doubt we’re that far gone. Maybe- 

“Sydney?” Mom asked.

“Huh?” I asked.

“Do you want to share your telestration?” 

“Oh, yeah. Sure!” Embarrassed, I shared my telestration. “I had car. So Dad drew this,” I showed them Dad’s picture. 

“THAT’S a car?” Sebastian asked. 

“Yes,” Dad said defensively. 

“If you say so,” Sebastian said, punching Dad playfully. 

“Moving on,” I said. “Mom thankfully guessed car. Ashley drew um, a car. And Sebastian guessed pig.” Everyone glared at Sebastian. “Just kidding, sorry! Sebastian guessed a car. Woo hoo, we did it!” 

“Good job everyone, let’s pack up and go to bed now,” Mom said. 

“Okay,” we chorused. 

After we put the games away we all went to our rooms and read in bed. 

Chapter Thirteen - We All Scream For Ice Cream

The next morning after I sat up in bed, I stretched my arms up over my head. Once I was all stretched out, I jumped out of bed and walked over to my closet. Then I remembered I only had a choice of three outfits. Grumbling, I opened the closet and stared at my options. I was going to DQ with Alicia and then to the park. We might be running or walking a bit so I wanted something athletic. 

After a couple of minutes, I selected my black, Nike shorts and a cropped, black tank top with a sort of v-shaped, wrapped bottom. 

Once I was dressed I rushed to my bathroom and did my hair. It was still curly from the bun and curling iron yesterday so I put it up into a high ponytail which looked great with the curly hair. After mascara and lip gloss I texted Alicia to make sure I had the right time and then I ran downstairs for breakfast. 

Finally, it was 2:20 so I slid on my black AF1’s and I jogged over to DQ. Seeing Alicia standing by the entrance, I slid on my black mask. 

“Hey, Alicia! I‘ve missed seeing your face! Not that I can see much,” I laughed.  

“Same, girl! How are ya?” she asked.

“Don’t ask...” I paused. “I guess it’s going okay. Last night felt so weird now that we all know it’s our last few days. We played games like a reality TV family,” I explained. 

“That’s great that you guys actually hung out! I think hanging out together and using all the rooms in that massive house of yours is a great idea.” she paused and then added, “On a different note, do you like my outfit?” She gestured to her outfit which consisted of a button-down, ribbed, white shirt with green and blue flowers with white-washed overalls over it. 

“Wait,” I said, recognizing the overalls. “Weren’t those Allison’s overalls?” Alicia had always wanted to have the overalls her older sister, Allison, always wore. It looked like she finally got to have them, or at least wear them.

“Yep! And I painted these flowers on my Air Forces to match the shirt. It’s washable paint but I put a coating over it because I have a few shirts that have this pattern or these colors. Plus I have four pairs of Air Forces.” She stopped talking, seeing my face. “Oh, sorry. I guess now you can’t get another pair of shoes to do something like that too.”

Sighing, I replied, “No, I guess not. But you're fine. I almost forgot about my troubles while we were talking about clothes like the old times, before COVID. And your shoes are super cute, I love what you did.” 

“So we’re good?” she bit her lip in anticipation. 

“Yeah, we’re good. Alicia, I know you’d never say something mean on purpose. That wasn’t even mean, you’re totally fine.” 

I couldn’t quite understand why she was so worked up about it, I wasn’t worked up about it. It wasn’t a big deal. 

“Okay,” she said. “So let's get some ice cream?” 

“Yeah!” I responded. 

We walked into Dairy Queen and got in line. The family in front of us had three kids, all identically dressed in pink JoJo bows, studded jean shorts, and pink tank tops that read “Princess.” Instantly, I could tell they were rich and spoiled. That’s probably what I looked like when I was a kid… Wow. I guess my dad was right, I am pretty spoiled. Rather, I was. 

“Mommy! Mommy!” the girls yelled. “I scream for ice cream! We scream for ice cream!”

The mom rolled her eyes and said, “Keep it down a notch. What’s your order?” 

“I want a large oreo blizzard,” whined one girl.

“Okay, Courtney,” their mom replied. 

“I need a medium chocolate sundae,” smirked the second girl. 

“Alright,” the mom said.

“And I want a large fry and large mint shake,” the last girl said triumphantly.  

“Okay, so Courtney wants a large oreo blizzard, Alexia wants-”

The second girl, Alexia, cut her off, “Need. I need a medium chocolate sundae.”

“Sorry, need. Alexia needs a medium chocolate sundae and Harper wants a large fry and large mint shake.”

The girls nodded their heads like angels. “Yes, Mommy,” they chorused.

As their mom ordered, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted and wonder if I was ever that bad. I felt Alicia nudge me and I snapped back to reality. 

“What’s your order?” she asked.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll, uh, have a… um… a,” I paused to consider my options quickly. “A small fry and a small cookie dough blizzard, please.” 

“Got it,” said the teenager behind the counter. “And you?” he asked, motioning to Alicia.
“I’ll have a caramel sundae. Medium, please.” She smiled at him and added, “It’s on me.” 

“Thanks, Alicia,” I said gratefully.  

After our food was made, we walked across the street to the park. I noticed a group of cute boys from our grade and was glad I had worn my athletic clothes. This way if they invited us to play a game of basketball or soccer, I’d be ready. And it didn’t hurt that I looked fabulous. 

Alicia must have noticed me looking in their direction because she said, “Did you see Nolan is over there?” 

“Yeah, I did. Did you see Brandon was over there?” I grinned.

“I did, but it doesn’t matter, I don’t like him. Let's eat this ice cream before it melts,” she said. 

What did she mean she didn’t like him? I thought she always had. 

Picking a spot in the shade that was sort of close to the boys, we sat down and enjoyed our ice cream. When we were almost done, Nolan and Brandon came over.

“Hey guys,” I said, trying to ooze confidence. 

“‘Sup, Syd? Alicia,” Nolan said, nodding. 

“Hey Alicia, Sydney.” Brandon echoed.

“Hi, Brandon. Hi, Nolan,” Alicia grinned. 

“How are you doing?” Nolan asked me. 

“Alright, well….. My parents decided we’re moving. I’ll still go to our school but the new place… it’s a half-size, not a downsize. Ever since my dad lost his job, they’ve been paranoid,” I admitted. 

“That’s terrible, I’m so sorry,” he said authentically. 

“It’s not that bad.” I fiddled with a piece of hair. 

“Sure,” he said. “Whenever you lie you play with your hair.” 

I was shocked that he even noticed I had a habit when I lied. “Oh, ha. Yeah, I am upset about it. But it’s just going to be a big adjustment, that’s all.” 

He brushed his sandy brown hair out of his eyes. “Okay, Syd. Whatever you say. Well, look. We’ve gotta go,” he said. 

“No problem. It was nice to see you!”

“Back at you!” He waved and he and Brandon walked away.
Alicia and I finished up our treats and then we talked for an hour. At 4:00, my phone buzzed. It was my mom telling me to come home. 

“Hey Alicia, I gotta go. My mom wants me back home now,” I said regretfully.

“That’s okay. I bet my mom wants me back soon anyway.”

We air hugged and I jogged home. 

Once at home, we had dinner and a movie night. We watched Moana. Then I read and went to bed feeling happy and tired. 

 

Chapter Fourteen - Moving Day

Tuesday passed quickly and when I woke up the next morning, I realized it was Wednesday. In other words, moving day. Yawning, I sat up in bed and stretched my arms up and to the side. Then I jumped out of bed and put on the final outfit sitting on the floor of my closet - shorts with vertical black and white stripes and a self-tie belt paired with a white, off the shoulder, ribbed shirt. I tied the belt on my shorts into a bow, put on my apple watch, and went into my bathroom to do my makeup for the last time. The last time in that bathroom, not the last time in my lifetime, of course.
Yesterday I had packed up all the stuff in my bathroom except a black scrunchie, jewelry and makeup for today, and my hairbrush. Seeing all of that on my counter, I sat down on the chair and started with my hair. I decided on a simple but chic messy bun. Then I got to work on makeup which was just mascara and lip gloss. Deciding to swap out both my 1st and 2nd piercings, I chose white circles for the 1st piercings and I picked black hoop earrings for the 2nd piercings. After putting the earrings I took out of my ears back into my jewelry box, I shut it and slid it along with my brush and makeup into a black backpack. I set it on my bed and ran downstairs, dodging the movers, to eat breakfast. 

After a yummy breakfast of eggs and toast, I grabbed my cell phone, phone charger, and backpack. Then I jumped in the car and my family and I drove to the new place with the moving van full of our stuff behind us. 

Chapter Fifteen - The New Crib

As we pulled up to what I presumed was the new house, I looked outside and took it all in. It was underwhelmingly small looking and mostly beige. 2 of the rooms on the second floor had balconies and I hoped one of them would be mine. I hopped out of the car and went around to the back of the house to check out the yard. If the house’s exterior was underwhelming, the backyard was the disappointment of the century. The only excitement was a dinky fire pit. The rest of the yard consisted of some depressed, dead-looking grass and a covered patio. 

Feeling like the house couldn’t possibly get any worse, I trudged back to the front where my Dad was unlocking the front door. After he opened the door, I stepped inside and was pleasantly surprised with the blue, light, white, and bright interior. As soon as you opened the door, you were greeted with a gray tile floor and white wainscoting. A blue and white rug sat in the middle of the floor and a blue table sat against the wall to the right whereas a blue bench sat against the wall on the left. 

Walking forward, I took in the sights. After you exited the foyer and turned left,  there was a hallway that led to an office with three big windows and big, blue built-ins on both sides of the window. The cabinets below the desktop, which was a beautiful marble, were blue as well. It looked small but there was room for three chairs, one in front of the window, one on the left wall, and one on the right wall. 

“Not too bad,” I said. 

Then I turned and walked back into the hallway. I went straight which led me to double doors leading into the dining room. The dining room was an impressive size for a smaller house. The dark wood table had 8 blue chairs but could easily fit 10 if you added a chair on each end. On the opposite side of the room, two french doors led to the front porch. 

Suddenly, I realized that this house was furnished. This led me to realize the moving truck never pulled into our driveway.
“Where is our stuff!?” I shrieked. 

“Honey, calm down. The movers moved our stuff into a storage unit. We’ll get it out of there when we purchase another house. This is a rental, remember? They rent the furniture too,” she calmly explained. 

“Well, at least the furniture matches the vibe of the house. Ours would look pretty silly,” I commented. 

Then I turned and walked out of the dining room. Turning right, I saw the garage door and the half bath. The half bath was very aesthetically pleasing. Looking around the small room, I noticed the blue and gray floral wallpaper matched the blue cabinets and the gray fixtures. The counter was white, simple but it looked great with the wallpaper because the background of the wallpaper was white. 

Once I was done admiring the wallpaper I went back into the hallway and this time went straight. If you went straight from the foyer, it led you to the main space. First, on the left were the stairs. They were wood, the same light color as the rest of the main floor, and had a blue carpet runner the same color as the blue throughout the rest of the house. After you passed the stairs, you walked into the living room (on the left) and the kitchen (on the right). I decided to start with the living room. 

I was again surprised by the nice aesthetic of the living room. Why was this house making it so hard for me to be angry at my parents about the move? At least it’s small… I thought. Then I focused on the living room, taking it all in. There was a gray window seat on the back wall with some blue pillows. A matching gray couch was facing the TV, which was on the left wall. It looked like it was only a 65 inch TV, boo. The TV wall was a wall of built-ins. Nice storage, I thought. On the wall against the stairs, there was a white chair and in the middle of the room, there was a matching ottoman. 

Feeling satisfied with the living room, other than the small size, I noticed that in the transition space between the living room and kitchen there was a set of french doors leading to the tiny backyard. 

Not wanting to waste any time looking at the hideous yard, I turned to the kitchen and found myself drooling over it. Not literally, of course, but it was pretty nice. A large, blue-cabineted island had four neat wood stools and storage on the ends. The hardware matched the half bath’s and gray pendants hung over the island. The countertops that ran across the wall opposite the TV were gray whereas the island’s countertop was white with gray streaks. It looked very professional. The hood and cabinets not on the island were white. One wall had floating shelves and the hood had a wood border that matched those. The kitchen didn’t run the full length of its half of the house because there was a pop-out. The pop-out had blue cabinets on the same wall as the kitchen. A blue banquet seat with cushions that matched the half bath’s wallpaper wrapped around the white table. 

Nodding my approval, I turned around and raced up the stairs. I found Mom waiting at the top. 

“So?” she asked. “What did you think?” 

Trying to hide my awe, I shrugged. “It was alright... I guess,” I lied, twisting my hair. 

“Just okay?” Smiling, she said, “I liked it.” 

“It’s pretty small, however, it has a lot of potential. I think if it was bigger, much bigger, I would be in love. But it’s a huge downsize which takes the fabulousness down a notch, you know?” 

“Yeah, it’s a big adjustment. But the design is really nice, don’t you think?” I could tell she was pleased that I didn’t absolutely hate it. 

“For sure,” I nodded in agreement and gave in, admitting my true feelings. “The blue is nice and Florida-y. Is that a word?” I laughed. “Anyway, I thought it was nice. The kitchen was super cool. I love the driftwood-looking floating shelves. It is homey and beachy. I love it, Mom. You guys picked out a great house.” Not wanting to seem too eager, I added, “It’s small, though.”  

“I’m so glad you like it!” She beamed and added, “So, do you want to see your room?” 

Chapter Sixteen - Door 1, 2, or 3 (or 5, 6, 7, 8)

“YES! I do.” 

“Well then, pick door 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8,” she said in her best ‘game show host’ voice. 

“I pick door number 1,” I said. 

“You won… Sebastian’s room!” she said as she opened the door directly to the left of the stairs. 

I was hit by a wave of beachy, teenage boy vibes. There was a bunk bed on one side of the wall. It was white with blue comforters. On the ceiling, there were 2 blue surfboards and one green boogie board. In one corner there was a white desk and in the other, there was a closet. I noticed there was a door next to the entrance to his bedroom which led to a cute, beachy bathroom of his own. 

“Nice.” I turned and said, “Door 2.” 

“Alright, Miss,” Mom said, continuing the goofy voice. She walked out of Sebastian’s room and opened the next door. “You won… the laundry room!” 

I stepped inside and took a peek. The washer and dryer were on the far side of the room. There were blue upper and lower cabinets and a white counter (the same as the half bath’s counter) ran over the lower cabinets and the appliances. A sink sat next to the dryer and there was a white subway tile backsplash. It was simple and beachy. 

“Well designed,” I said. “I’ll take door 3 now.” 

She nodded and opened door 3 which was their bedroom. It was pretty and beachy, just like the rest of the house. Their bathroom was also pretty nice. It followed the same trend as the other bathrooms - coastal and blue. 

“Let me guess, you pick door 4,” Mom guessed. 

“Yup!” 

She opened the door and it was a fairly large hall closet. Then without asking, she opened door 5. It was Ashley’s room. She had a blue window seat. The wallpaper was a type of herringbone but if you looked at it a different way, it was cubed. The lines were blue and the base color was white. Ashley was sitting on her bed which had white sheets and a straw-looking headboard that matched the light in the center of the room. There were bookshelves on either side of the window seat and a desk across the room from her bed. 

“Adorbs! Ashley, I love your room!” I said.  

“Thanks!” she said, beaming. 

“Anytime,” I said. Turning to my mom, I added, “Can I see door 6?” 

“Yep!” 

We walked out of Ashley’s room and into the mystery room, a bonus room. It had the large french doors I had seen from outside. The walls were all white except for the wall the french doors were on, which was dark blue. There were a table and chairs in one corner and a couch in another with a TV in front of it. 

“Nice. I think we’ll have fun in here,” I said optimistically. Secretly, I was disappointed in the size. It was nice but it was no bonus room and movie theater. 

“Only 2 more rooms!” Mom announced. Then we walked out of the room and stopped in front of door number 7. “Ready?” she asked.

I nodded, closed my eyes, and she opened the door. 

Chapter Seventeen - Scream Off

“Open your eyes,” Mom said. 

I did as she said and was pleasantly surprised at the sight my eyes took in. I did, in fact, have a balcony. The room was white with a feature wall which was deep blue, the color of the cabinets throughout the rest of the house. The feature wall was the wall I was facing and on the same wall, there were the french doors leading to my VERY OWN BALCONY. A full-sized bed was against the wall on my right. The comforter was dark blue with white polka dots. My mom told me the other side was dark blue so I could flip it over if I wanted to. A dark blue rug lay on the floor. A white desk was against the left wall with a blue chair and a blue bean bag sat in the corner of the room. The closet was on the right side of the door and there were blue bookshelves on the left side. 

“Wow!” I exclaimed. 

“You like it?” Mom asked. 

“Yes! I do. It’s cute, coastal, beachy, and adult all at once. It’s perfect,” I said. Then, feeling the need to say something negative I said, “I liked my old room better but this one’s okay. I miss pink.” Putting on my pouty face, I looked at my mom. This is a Emmy-worthy performance, I thought. 

“Oh, sweetheart. It’s an adjustment for us all. But I think you like it more than you’re letting on.” She hesitated as if she were contemplating whether or not to say something. “And- and get that pouty face off your face,” she stammered. 

Changing my facial expression to a half-smile, I said, “Let’s go see door number 8.” 

I linked my arm in hers and we walked to the room next door. I threw open the door and was, unfortunately, loving what I saw. 

“Dang,” I commented. 

What I saw was a large double vanity with blue cabinetry and a gray veined, white quartz slab. The backsplash was the counter continued. A blue mirror hung over each sink along with a white light. Over the toilet, there was a tiled shelf with hexagon marble tiles (the same as the flooring). Lastly, I saw the shower which was covered with white subway tiles. It was a tub shower combo but the tub part had subway tiles too. 

“I have to admit, this house was well done. It’s stylish and beachy - but it’s so itty bitty. Where’s my makeup table?” I asked. 

“Well, there’s lots of storage in here and I would be okay with you doing your makeup on your desk in your room if you want since the floors are wood, not carpet.” 

“In my room? I need that space for my stuff,” I said, disgusted. 

“The movers just got here with our boxes of stuff, why don’t you see if your junk will fit in the cabinets in here.” 

“My junk? My JUNK? My makeup is not junk! You know it!” I yelled. 

“Maybe I wouldn’t feel like calling your stuff junk if you were respectful!” she cried. 

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t feel like being disrespectful if we hadn’t moved to a-a-a DOLLHOUSE!” I shouted. 

“This is not a dollhouse, it’s a very nice sized home! You’ve been spoiled your whole life and I’m ashamed that this is how you act when you see a very nice home. Can’t you just be grateful? It’s a wonderful house! Surely it’s hard to act like you’re so much better than someone who would live here.” 

“You know what? I am so much better than someone who would live here. I’m an overachiever. I’m going to do great things in life. I’ll have a bigger house than the one we just moved out of!” I screamed. “If I was old enough to leave you guys and make my own life, I would! Do you think I want to live in this dump? The answer is NO!” I paused to catch my breath and then muttered, “You guys are the absolute worst.” 

“Excuse me, young lady? Have some respect, would you? Your father was right, we spoil you too much and you have no self-control or respect. I was always the soft one, but now I’ll be the hard one. No treats tonight,” she snapped. 

I shrugged and said, “Whatever.” She couldn’t be serious about being the hard one. She never punished us. It wasn’t like I was trying to be as rude as she accused me of being, I just wasn’t ever told not to respond like that. Plus being a little rude makes you feel better, getting all your anger out. 

“Whatever? Whatever!? Fine, if it’s just ‘whatever’ to you, hand me your phone.”

She crossed a line and I realized how mad she really was. Treats taken away, we were pretty bad but it was never for long and she always felt bad afterward. Now she was taking away my phone with no sense of regret in her voice? Pissed off, I tried to slide past her and go to my room to calm down.
She put out her arm and blocked me, saying, “Phone.” 

“Mom,” I begged. “You’ve never reacted like this when I yell at you. How am I supposed to know you’re serious, that I’m actually being a terrible kid? I shouldn’t. This is totally unfair. Can we both calm down and then talk about this?” I pleaded with all my heart but she still was glaring at me. 

“Hand. Me. Your. Phone. I don’t want to have to say it again.” 

“Mooom!” I thought for a second and realized she was very serious. I decided that if she was really this serious then it would be better to hand it over. This way, I might get it back on Friday. She couldn’t possibly take it for longer than a day and a half for the first time she ever punished me, could she? I sniffed and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I held the power button until it shut down and then reluctantly put it in her outstretched hand. “Here,” I spat. 

“Thank you. You can have it back on your birthday. It will be on your desk when you wake up Friday morning.” With that, she spun on her heel and stalked off.

Full of hurt and frustration, I stormed out of the bathroom and into my new room. I launched myself on my bed and cried myself to sleep. 

 

Chapter Eighteen - She’s In A MOOD. 

When I awoke, my stomach was rumbling. I glanced at the clock and saw I had slept through the rest of Wednesday, it was 6:30 a.m. Normally, I wasn’t supposed to get up until around 7:00 but I could not fall back to sleep. I was already in enough trouble, my mom wouldn’t get mad. Plus, she’s never cared. Deciding I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I have done this many times before if I sleep this much, I got up. I got dressed in my pleated, black and white, uniform-style skirt and a white t-shirt. Then I looked around my room. 

Discovering one of my parents had put my pile of boxes in the center of my room, I decided to unpack. 

First, I unpacked all of my books and alphabetized them on my bookshelf. Then I decided to unload all of my clothes. I just hoped they would all fit in the closet. 

After much thought and struggle, I was able to get all of my clothes into my closet without wrinkling anything. Then I unpacked my desk supplies. 

When I was done, all that was left was my bathroom stuff. I peeked at the clock and it said 7:05. I decided that I would be okay if I left my room and unpacked that stuff, so I did. As I left my bedroom, I heard the banging of the garbage truck. 

Five minutes into unpacking my bathroom supplies, Mom burst into the bathroom. 

“What do you think you are DOING?” She hissed. “Couldn’t you wait until the whole house was up? You woke your dad and me up!” 

“I, I wasn’t even making that much noise,” I answered truthfully. “I haven’t even thunked once!” She’s in a MOOD, I thought. 

My dad walked in and asked, “What’s going on?” 

“Mom’s accusing me of waking you two up when I have been as quiet as a mouse,” I told him. 

“Nichole, is this true?” he asked.

“Well, yes.” She stiffened and said, “I heard a lot of loud bangs which woke me up. When I saw you were already awake somewhat, I naturally assumed you woke up to that awful ruckus she was making.” 

“That was the garbage truck,” I insisted. 

“She’s right, you woke up after the beeping of it moving. All you heard was the banging, which I guess could sound like a child unpacking, but that’s beside the point. The point is that you accused Sydney of doing something she didn’t do AND brought me into this,” Dad said. 

“You’re just mad about yesterday,” I commented quietly. “I’m sorry about that. But you have to understand that part of what I said is right, you changed your expectations so quickly on me.” I paused and then added, “I’m sorry. Part of yesterday was my fault, I was overreacting-” 

“Yes, you were,” my mom cut in. “I understand my expectations for you changed quickly. BUT you said some very hurtful and just plain disrespectful things. Let’s start today over, I shouldn’t have taken my anger from yesterday out on you today.” 

“Thanks, Mom.” We hugged and then I asked, “Does this mean I get my phone back today?”

“Don’t push it,” Mom warned. 

I giggled. “Okay.” 

Then we went and had breakfast (yogurt, granola, cantaloupe, and bacon). 

 

Chapter Nineteen - Yellow Hearts

After breakfast, I decided to text Alicia about our new house. Then I realized I didn’t have my phone. Thankfully, my computer had our chats saved. First, I sprinted upstairs and got dressed in my ripped jean shorts, slightly cropped, gray t-shirt, and a red, gray, and black flannel which I tied around my waist. Then I rushed to my bathroom and put on some makeup. Once I looked effortlessly fabulous (even though it was a lot of work), I jogged back to my room. 

Opening my MacBook, I clicked on Alicia’s name and texted her, telling her the new place was great and an 8 out of 10. 

I felt bad for lying to Alicia but I couldn’t just let her come over and see the dump my house was for herself. I was playing the house up, too. The selections were a 10/10 for me, a total home run. The size and the fact that I had to SHARE a bathroom with Ashley after having my own, massive bathroom. Plus, Ashley leaves toothpaste all over the bathroom. It’s not her fault she’s five but I wish I had a cleaner bathroom mate. Alicia responded so I quickly shot a text back. Again, I lied, this time saying I had to go. I wanted to avoid the subject of the house from now on, knowing she was curious. 

Guilt was weighing me down but I brushed it off like a fly on my arm. As I tried to convince myself I did the right thing, Sebastian bust into my room. 

“Excuse me,” I fumed. “You’re supposed to knock, you know.”

“So-rry but your friend just texted me. What’s up with this,” he motioned to his phone. On the screen was a conversation between him and Alicia. 

Alicia < Hey Seb. Sydney said the new place was great, 8/10! Sounds like u guys will b ok? 

Sebastian < IDK what ur talking abt, she hates it. She and Mom got into a screaming match abt it yesterday. 

Alicia < What? Y would she lie to me? She was acting weird… I thought I had misinterpreted the texts. 

Sebastian < Naw, you probably didn’t. She’s a terrible liar. I’ll go ask her what’s going on... 

“Um… Nothing?” I asked. 

“Syd, lying to your best friend isn’t nothing,” he vocalized. 

“I thought what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.”

“Sydney, of course, it would hurt her because you’re okay with lying to her. I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way, you’re just embarrassed. Maybe you should apologize to her, that’d help a lot.”

I wrapped my arms around him and asked, “When did you get so good at giving advice?” 

“I’ve always been. You just never asked,” he teased. 

Just then his phone, which was still on and in his hand, buzzed with an incoming text. We both glanced down and read it. 

Alicia < Thanks, Sebastian 💛 Ur the best.

I know a yellow heart, like yellow roses, is the symbol of friendship but it also could mean ‘I have a crush on you but don’t want to admit it to anyone so I hope you notice the clues and ask me out.’ I only hoped it didn’t mean the second option. That’d be too weird - my brother and best friend dating? Someone pass the barf bag. I’m not a girl who hates boys, romance, crushes, and love. Actually, I like romance novels and have had quite a few crushes myself, but my best friend and my brother it’s just so weird. 

I saw his fingers were flying across the keyboard so I stealthily looked down to see what he was typing. 

Sebastian < Aw, no prob Ali 💛

Okay, this was a major code red. They both used yellow hearts. They may as well have used red hearts! They were so obviously crushing on each other. The thought disgusted me but I decided I had to support them both the best I could. 

“So, Sebastian,” I said casually. “Do you like Alicia? I mean you used her nickname that only her closest friends call her and you both added a yellow heart. Of course, it’s totally okay if the heart was meant as a friend.” 

“Well, yeah I guess I do like her,” he paused and put me in a headlock. “But if you tell Mom and Dad you’ll never hear the end of it. They’d go on and on and make me feel uncomfortable-” 

I cut him off, “I know. I made the mistake of telling them that stuff before. Trust me, your secret is safe with me.” 

He released me from his grip and asked, “Would she say yes if I asked her out?” 

He seemed so shy all of a sudden, I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. 

“I think so. She’s the one that started with the heart anyway,” I added. 

“Okay, I’m going to be ‘that’ guy and do it over text.” 

He opened up his messages and clicked Alicia’s name.

A couple of minutes later, he shut his phone off and said, “I’m not single anymore!”

“Wow, Sebastian! Good for you.” I high-fived him. 

“Thanks, lil’ sis. Well anyway, I have to go now.” He pointed to the door, turned around, and walked out. 

My insides bubbled with a rush of happiness for my brother and my best friend but the bubbles quickly turned into a flood of anxiety, guilt, and nausea. 

Chapter Twenty - I’m Sorry

Overwhelmed with the emotions I was feeling, I opened my Mac and quickly opened the chat between Alicia and me. 

Sydney < Hey Alicia. Heard abt u and Seb, congrats. Anyway, the point of me texting was 2 say sorry 4 lying. I felt like you’d judge me for hating it. I wanted to seem cool still. 

Alicia < Lying is never cool. 

Sydney < IK that and I’m sorry. I should have been honest instead of playing it up. 

Alicia < Would you have told me if Sebastian hadn’t given you away? 

Sydney < I dunno, not right away? 

Yikes, I realized. She must be pretty mad at me if she’s not accepting my apology right away and is instead questioning me. I felt even worse about lying to her now that I knew she was really upset. My fingers flew across the keyboard, trying to make things right. 

Sydney < I’m so sorry, Alicia. I should have never lied. Plz forgive me. 

Alicia < It hurts that you wouldn’t have told me and that you feel like you can’t be honest with me. 

Sydney < I get it, I’m sorry. 

Alicia < I know you’re sorry but I still feel mad and need some time. 

Filled with rage, my fingers slammed the keys on the keyboard. I hoped she read it in an angry, annoyed tone because that’s how I meant it. 

Sydney < I’ve done my part, I’ve apologized. This isn’t a huge deal. Ali, it’s about a HOUSE. I’m clearly sorry so if u can’t get over it, that’s on u. I’m sorry, ok? But that’s all I can do or say. 

Alicia < If you were really sorry, you wouldn’t be texting THAT *motions to message above* Really, Syd? 

Sydney < Maybe if you weren’t so stubborn then I wouldn’t feel like texting “THAT”. U could at least say thank u. I don’t expect u to automatically forgive me but I expect a nice response from u. 

Alicia < Thank you. 

Sydney < ...Thanks...

Angrily, I leaped onto my bed and cried into my pillow. Once I was done crying, I touched up my makeup, adjusted my pleated skirt, and rushed down the stairs with a fake smile on my face. 

“Hello, family,” I chirped with fake enthusiasm. 

“Hey, Syd,” Sebastian replied. 

“Sydney!” Ashley cheered. 

“Ashley!” I cheered in response. 

“Hello, darling,” said my mom. “Kids, would you like some lunch?” 

“Yes please,” Sebastian, Ashley, and I chorused.

We sat down at the banquet and waited patiently for our lunches. 

Soon enough, my dad walked over with two plates, one in each hand. Ashley looked at each plate, going from one and then the other, one and then the other, over and over again. She couldn’t wait to see which one was hers. Dad set a plate in front of me and a plate in front of Sebastian. Ashley eyed our plates hungrily like she wouldn’t be getting a lunch of her own. 

“Patience, Ash,” Dad said as he walked back into the kitchen. 

He grabbed the third and final plate on the table and then set it in front of Ashley. She licked her lips and dug into her lunch. We all had the same thing, a bowl of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Dad had set the bowl on the plate to be fancy but I took it off and set it next to the plate. I dug into my food and was in awe that his food was so tasty. I thought the macaroni and cheese was a one-hit-wonder, a single meal that he could make well. Apparently, I was wrong because this was delicious. 

After I was done eating, which was pretty quick as I couldn’t get enough of that yummy food, I stood up and walked to the half bath. 

Once I was finished using the bathroom, I told my parents I was going to scout out the neighborhood.

“Be back by 4:00,” they called.

“Okay,” I answered. 

I grabbed a mask, slid on my platform black Air Force One’s, and walked out the front door. 

Chapter Twenty One - Checking Out The Neighborhood

The hot, humid air hit me and I immediately felt sweaty (which is not a good feeling). Shaking off the classic Florida weather, I walked down the block and looked at all the houses. They all appeared to have been built by the same builder who built our house, they were all beachy and new looking with a similar style. 

A teenage girl was sitting on a chair in front of one house (the only one with a dead lawn), sipping a cool drink. She looked nice so I kept walking down the street toward her house. 

I looked at her and said, “Hello!” 

“Oh, hi. You don’t look like you’re from around here,” she mentioned as she noticed my designer clothes. 

“I just moved here,” I responded. 

The girl looked down at her outfit, looking embarrassed. I looked at her outfit too, wondering what she was so embarrassed about. She was wearing jean shorts and an oversized Taylor Swift t-shirt which she tied up. On her feet were a pair of Birkenstocks. Nothing special about it but she didn’t need to be embarrassed. She was just chilling at her house, it’s not like she was going on a date.

“Do you like it here?” she asked cautiously. 

“Not really,” I admitted. “It’s a lot smaller than my old place.”

“These are really nice houses,” she justified. 

“I didn’t say they weren’t,” I countered. “It’s just not what I’m used to. I’m used to bigger houses, better houses.”

“So you’re calling this place a dump?” she rolled her eyes. “This is a nice neighborhood. The people here aren’t rich by your standards, but we are wealthy. We’re not losers. So if you’re going to be all prissy about it, go home, Princess.”

“I-I-I wasn’t trying to be prissy. I was trying to be honest. I was being vulnerable. If you can’t respect that, it’s your loss, not mine.” 

She snorted. “I don’t want a friend like you. Now please get your platform shoes off my lawn,” she snarled. 

“You’re just jealous,” I quipped. 

I spun around, flipped my hair, and sashayed off her dead lawn, feeling angry. 

As I walked down the street, I saw a cute boy around my age playing basketball. Instantly my heart started racing. I adjusted my hair and kept walking. 

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Swish. Swish. Swish. It sounded like he was draining baskets. All of a sudden, the basketball sounds stopped and a voice spoke from behind me. 

“Hey,” the voice said.
I whipped around and saw the boy who had been playing basketball. He had blond hair which was super short on the side but free and curly on the top. His t-shirt was Hollister, the style all the popular boys at school wore, and he was wearing casual khaki pants, which the popular boys at school also wore. He was cute, though not as cute as Nolan, and my stomach was churning nervously. 

“Hi!” I smiled as I put on my mask.

The boy put on his mask and said, “I’m Noah. Are you new here?” His blue eyes sparkled with excitement. 

“Yeah, I just moved in yesterday. I’m Sydney by the way.” 

“Sydney,” he repeated. “Where did you move from?”

“I just moved from Coral Gables,” I responded nonchalantly, trying to hide my anxiety about his response.
“Cool!” 

“You’re not saying I don’t belong here, you don't think that’s a big deal?” I asked, relieved he wasn’t reacting the same way the girl on her porch had. 

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed, however, I’m not going to assume you are a spoiled brat just because you come from a rich neighborhood. Rich people can be nice too.” 

“Thanks!” I grinned, flashing my pearly white teeth. “The girl on her front porch over there didn’t seem to agree…” my voice trailed off.

  “That’s Aubrey, she’s always like that around richer kids. Don’t take it personally.” He smiled kindly. 

I blushed and said, “Thanks.”

We talked about sports, school, and the latest technology for a while. I decided to check my watch and realized it was 3:55.

“Well it’s been nice talking but I gotta go home now; my parents wanted me back at 4:00,” I said.  

“No problem. Honoring your parents is the way to go,” he commented. “I live in that house,” he pointed to the house in front of us, “So if you want to hang out, feel free to knock on the door.” 

“Okay, sounds good!” I agreed. 

“Later,” he said and waved goodbye.

“Later,” I echoed. 

We both turned and walked away. I couldn’t be sure, but I think we were both feeling the butterflies that were happily swimming in my stomach. These butterflies, however, were nowhere near as large as the ones I felt around Nolan. 

Chapter Twenty-Two - Not So Bad

The next morning, I woke up at 7:15 to the birds singing happily outside. I sat up in bed and realized that it was my birthday! I looked around my room and saw golden balloons in the shape of a 16 tied on my desk chair. On my desk were a gift bag, a box covered with pink wrapping paper, and my precious iPhone 12. I hopped out of bed and slipped on my pink UGG Coquette slippers. Then I rushed over to my desk and turned on my phone. Instantly I saw over 20 different notifications, most of which were people messaging me on various social media apps telling me happy birthday. I replied to them, set down my phone, and then circled the day, June 19th, on my calendar. 

At that point, I realized I hadn’t opened the birthday gifts on my desk so I spun around, grabbed the bag, and opened it. Inside was a cold shoulder, smocked, lavender shirt and a high-waisted, utility belt, jean skirt. At the bottom of the bag was a lavender scrunchie and a note that read:

Dear Sydney, 

We bought this outfit before Daddy lost his job and were saving them for your birthday.  Lavender looks great on you! We hope that even though we can’t do as much this year as we did other years, you feel loved and special. You are a wonderful kid and you deserve much more than this. However, we hope this birthday helps you realize how lucky you were (and still are). We hope you love the outfit, I’m sure it will look great on you. Love you lots, baby girl.

XOXO 

Mommy and Daddy

I brushed away tears that had begun to form in my eyes. Then I realized the box on my desk was a pair of shoes and was eager to open them. I tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box to find a pair of lavender Converse All-Stars. Squealing with delight, I changed out of my PJ’s and into my new clothes. After sliding on the Converse, I ran to my bathroom and put on some makeup. I put in my lavender, studded earrings in my first set of piercings, and in the second, I put in lavender hoops. Lavender was one of my favorite colors and I had a couple of lavender shirts so naturally, I had the perfect colored earrings (and now the perfect colored shoes!). I was feeling really great about this birthday but little did I know it was going to go 

way

way 

way

downhill. 

 

Chapter Twenty-Three - Family Feud Alicia Feud

When I was done doing my hair in a single, elaborate dutch braid, I heard clanging downstairs so I walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs to find my parents cooking breakfast and Sebastian and Ashley setting up the gifts. My face fell when I saw only 3 presents on the table. 3 presents and a card, that is. 

“Hello, beautiful!” Mom smiled at me, nodding at my outfit. “You like it?” 

“Yeah, it’s great,” I replied with a bit of ice in my voice.

“Sydney,” Sebastian grinned. “Happy sweet sixteen!” 

“Thanks!”

“Open your gifts,” Ashley urged. 

“Okay, okay,” I gave in. 

First, I opened the card. I was expecting a certificate for a car from my super-rich grandparents or even my parents themselves but it was a card from Alicia with 2 gift cards inside and a note that read: 

Dear Sydney,

Happy birthday. I know this is a hard time for you but I hope you can manage to have a great day anyhow. I thought you might like a $150 Nordstrom gift card because you can’t shop there much now and I also put in a $50 Target gift card so you would have a reason to go inside and check out their selection of clothing. I looked online and their stuff is surprisingly super cute and trendy. Hope this lifts your spirits! Once COVID ends (if it ever does 🙁) we’ll have to have a party to make up for missing it this year! 🧡 

Your BFF

Alicia

I wondered if she still meant this after the fight we had yesterday. That led me to wonder if she would be coming over this afternoon as she had planned. Just then my phone buzzed with a message from Alicia saying she won’t be able to make it to hang out today. 

Naturally, I couldn’t believe it. She was ruining my SWEET 16 because she was mad about a silly thing. Okay, I lied. That was messed up and I’ve acknowledged it many, many times. I can’t believe she won’t listen to me and understand that I’m sorry. And to go as far as to ruin my birthday because of it? Girl, bye. Tears welled up in my eyes and I brushed them away furiously. Then my phone buzzed me again, signaling Alicia had responded to my latest angry text. 

I typed yet another angry, sarcastic response and then shut my phone off. If Alicia was going to respond, I didn’t want to see it. 

         “Everything okay?” Sebastian questioned. I appreciated his concern. We had grown a lot closer during quarantine. 

“Yes, fine,” I said as I drew in a shaky breath. “Let’s get on with the gifts.” 

He gave me a look but went along with it. He handed me the biggest bag which was about 2 feet wide and 2 feet tall. I wondered what was inside. 

I tore out the tissue paper and saw a couple of boxes inside the bag. I grabbed the smallest one first and opened it. Inside was a note. 

Dearest Sydney,

Hello, oldest granddaughter. We are deeply saddened that we cannot be with you on your special day, especially since it is your sweet sixteen. We hope you have a very special day. It is your sweet sixteen, after all. Tell the rest of the family we say hello. 

Miss you lots and love you lots,

Grandma Beatrice & Grandpa Theodore

Ps. I picked out the car. 

The car?!?! I lifted the note up and underneath was a set of car keys! A set of keys to a Jaguar 2021 F-TYPE. The F-TYPE was my dream car and I was shocked to find keys to the 2021 version, which was currently only available to employees, as my birthday gift. Then I remembered Grandpa Theodore was the CEO of Jaguar but that didn’t make me any less impressed with the amazing gift. And there was more! 

Grinning, I pulled out the remaining boxes. Inside the largest one was an outfit from Gucci: a white top (with green, red, and then green again stripes on the bottom of the sleeves) and a belt. The medium-sized box contained some jewelry; 2 cute chokers, 2 necklaces, and 2 rings. The remaining box had a super cute purse. My grandparents sure knew me. I made a mental note to thank them. 

Then Sebastian handed me the smaller bag which had a tag that read: To Sydney; From Ashley and Sebastian. I opened up the bag and peeked in. Inside were 2 sets of “do it yourself acrylic nails” and 5 pairs of hair clips. 

“Thanks, guys!” I said. 

I loved the gifts but I had been expecting a little more. We usually got more than this on our birthdays. A tiny voice inside my head whispered, Be thankful. It could have been worse. You love that stuff and your Grandparents went big. Smile big. Say thank you. You’re being just as bad as the triplets from DQ. 

I snapped out of my ungrateful mood and opened the gift my parents got me. Inside was a gold airpod case protector, a tube of mascara, and a few cute masks. I forgot about being grateful and instead felt very disappointed in my parents. Just because we had to downsize didn’t mean we had to buy a few, cheap gifts. Especially for a sweet 16, come on. Deep in the back of my head, I heard warning bells ringing, telling me to quit being a brat but I didn’t care. Alicia was mad at me and my parents got me cheap gifts.

“Thanks,” I said and turned to the kitchen where breakfast was still in the oven. “Is breakfast almost ready?” I asked with a slight whine in my voice. 

“Yes, I am going to take it out right now,” Dad said. He got up and took the cinnamon rolls out of the oven.

Meanwhile, my mom whipped up some frosting and hot cocoa, got out the whipped cream, berries, and sausage.

While they were busy, Sebastian leaned over and asked, “What’s up?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” I plastered a smile on my face. “See, I look happy!” 

“No, you look like you’re trying to poop. That’s not a real smile.” 

“Fine,” I sighed. “I’m a liiiittle disappointed in the gifts Mom and Dad got me.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed. “But think about it: you like all of the things they got you, they’re just not as expensive as you might have wanted them to be. They might not be as many things as you wanted but if you got other stuff AND those gifts, you would have been over the moon. So why don’t you just be happy?” he reasoned. 

“Alright,” I gave in. “I guess they will be throwing me an awesome late sweet 16 party if COVID ever ends,” I chuckled. “Alicia is mad at me but I want to tell her I got a car for my birthday. It was our childhood dream to get cars for our 16th birthdays. She got one for her birthday, it was just up to me to fulfill my half of the deal. Speaking of which, where is it?” 

“In the garage,” he answered. 

“Thanks,” I said as I turned on my phone and nervously started to text Alicia. 

Sydney < I’m sorry, Alicia. You’re allowed to need as much time as u want. I do trust u, BTW. I’m sorry. It’s ok if u don’t want 2 talk but I wanted 2 let u know Gma Bea and Gpa Theo got me a car, our childhood wish came true (we both got 1 on our sweet 16’s). 

Alicia < Cool.

Sydney < Bye. 

I was frustrated that she didn’t even care that I got a car, my dream car to be exact. How could she be so heartless? How could she overreact like this? I said I was sorry, that’s all I can do. Although I could send her flowers and chocolates with a personalized card… I’m not sure if that would work. 

Coming to my senses, I realized I wasn’t in the wrong anymore. While I had lied, I apologized and that’s all I could do. 

Chapter Twenty-Four - Dream Breakfast

Shoving aside my anger, I looked over at the kitchen and saw that breakfast was ready. I could not wait to eat the delicious, frosting-covered cinnamon rolls and the yummy, steamy hot chocolate. I also was excited to eat the tasty berries and the savory sausage. 

Licking my lips, I grabbed Ashley’s hand and we went to wash our hands in the beautiful half bath. 

When we were done washing our hands, Sebastian came in and did his. Then we walked to the dining room. Five spots had large plates of food in front of them and one of the chairs had pink streamers attached to it. Naturally, I sat down in that seat. I looked at the heaping pile of berries, sausages, and 2 large cinnamon rolls and felt delighted. 

I took a sip of hot chocolate and said, “This looks super tasty! Thank you, Mom and Dad!” 

“Of course, sweetness,” Dad replied as he stuffed a large bite of his cinnamon roll and stuffed it into his mouth. 

Focusing again on my food, I shoveled down my berries and sausage. Then I took a large bite of frosting. It was delicious, as usual. After I ate the extra frosting from the top, I took a massive bite out of a cinnamon roll. The warm, sugary, sweet frosting as smooth as can be and melted in my mouth, leaving the cinnamon roll. I chewed and instantly tasted something that was NOT right. It was very wrong! 

I spit out the disgusting bite and looked up, embarrassed. Then I noticed the look on everyone else’s faces. Their faces had the same expression as I presumed mine was - disgusted and annoyed.  

“What happened,” I cried. “This is disgusting!”

“She’s right,” Sebastian commented. 

“So much for a dream breakfast,” I muttered. “Happy birthday to me.” 

“I’m sorry sweetie, I must have switched salt for sugar. I can’t believe I did that. And on your birthday, too.” He shook his head sadly. “Sorry, sweetness.” 

“Thanks,” I hissed. Then I glared at him and said, “I thought you were a good chef. Shocked me once again. I was right the first time, you’re not.” 

“Too far,” Sebastian whispered. 

I glared at him but shut my mouth anyway. I shoved back my chair and ran into the kitchen. I threw open the pantry door and grabbed 2 packages of Chocolate Vanilla Creme Pop-Tarts and 3 Chocolate Marshmallow Oreos. I stalked out of the kitchen and back into the dining room angrily. I shoveled down my food, shoved back my chair, and ran upstairs. 

I slammed the door to my bedroom and cried on my bed. This was the worst birthday ever! First Alicia and I were in a fight and now I had to have POP-TARTS AND OREOS (okay so the Oreo part didn’t bug me as much) for BREAKFAST on my SWEET 16! 

Chapter Twenty-Five - Salty Air For A Salty Attitude

A soft knock on my door startled me. 

I sat up, adjusted my outfit, and said, “Come in.”

My mom’s face appeared in the room. “We’re going to go to the beach,” she said cautiously. “Would you like to get a suit on and pack a beach bag?” 

“I guess,” I moaned, remembering our plan to go to the beach. Then I climbed off of my bed and opened my closet. 

I looked at my swimsuit section and debated which one to choose. I had 6 swimsuits, each with matching shoes, beach bags, cover-ups, and sunglasses, but which one was just right?  

In the end, I choose my midlength (in between a bikini and tankini), palm tree swim top, and matching bikini swim bottoms. I threw on my lace, off-the-shoulder, green cover-up and my matching gold aviator sunglasses with the green-tinted lens. I grabbed my palm leaf printed beach bag and tossed in the book I was currently reading (The Skin I’m In), some suntan lotion, sunscreen, my palm leaf beach towel, and a bag of M and M’s I had in my desk. 

Next, I rushed into the bathroom and shut and locked the door. First, I changed out my earrings, putting gold waterproof hoops in the first holes and green waterproof studs in the second holes. Then I put on a waterproof, gold palm leaf choker. I switched my hairstyle to a more beachy hairstyle. I left a stand of hair down on each side and then put the rest into a high ponytail. Once I was satisfied with my hair, I used the bathroom and then put on sunscreen. 

After the sunscreen was completely rubbed in, I checked my watch. The gold watch strap looked great with my outfit. The watch face said 9:50. I’d better get moving! 

I opened up the door and walked down the hall, down the stairs, and into the foyer. My family was waiting for me. 

Mom was wearing a chic, straw sunhat that had a black bow on it. Her cover-up was black and simple yet cute and stylish. She was wearing matching platform sandals. The base was straw-looking but the straps were black. She had her black beach bag in her hand and a small smile on her face.

Next to her was Dad, wearing his green swim shorts and a white t-shirt. His white tennis shoes matched his t-shirt. 

Sebastian was wearing khaki-looking swim shorts, a light blue t-shirt, and his light blue shoes. 

Ashley was next to Sebastian, holding his hand. She looked adorable, as usual, in her beach outfit. She was wearing a spaghetti-strapped, striped, teal cover-up. The middle around the chest had a little hole with a tie where you could see her teal swimsuit poking through. She had teal sunglasses and teal flip-flops on which matched her outfit perfectly. 

“Ashley, Mom, love your outfits!” I commented. 

“Thanks, I wike yours!” Ashley beamed.

“Thanks, sweetie. Are you feeling better?” Mom asked. 

“Better,” I said. “Still a little upset.” 

“Not to break your mood but we had planned for Alicia to come with us and she canceled a couple of minutes ago. Said something about being mad at you?” Mom looked genuinely concerned and sad for me. 

“It’s okay, it’s only my sweet 16,” I replied sarcastically. 

“I’m sorry. Maybe I should not have told you…” her voice trailed off. 

“On the bright side, we’re going now!” Dad said as he handed out masks. Mine was white which matched my outfit okay. 

I kicked on my white Birkenstocks with gold buckles. Then we opened the door, stepped outside, and walked to the garage. Dad opened it and backed out the car. We all jumped in the Audi and drove to the beach. 

Once we were there, we all got out of the car and walked toward the beach. I paused and inhaled the salty air. The air matched my attitude, salty. 

Next, I quickly caught up to the rest of my family and we set our beach blankets down in a private, isolated spot. There was nobody around so we took off our masks and lounged around. I made sure to spread on some suntan lotion so I would be sure to get a tan. Then I opened my book and started to read while snacking on my M and M’s. 

After about half an hour, I was feeling bored. My book was interesting but I was on the beach. I wanted to tan but I also wanted to do something. I challenged Sebastian and Ashley to a sandcastle building contest. They both agreed so we each began working on our castles. We didn’t have any buckets so we used pieces of driftwood and our hands to make the best sandcastles we could. While I was finishing mine, I heard a voice. 

Chapter Twenty-Six - Mean Girls

“Hello, Sydney.” 

I looked up and saw Victoria, a mean girl from my school. I smiled confidently and then put on my mask, motioning for Ashley and Sebastian to do the same. 

“Hi, Vikky.’’ I used the nickname reserved for her ‘close friends only’ to annoy her. 

“I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.” She smiled a sickly sweet smile.

“Put on your mask,” I ordered. 

“Why should I? This pandemic is a joke.” She rolled her eyes.

“I don’t want to get sick,” I replied. 

“Please,” she groaned. “Then again, you always were a goody two-shoes.” 

“Victoria put on your mask. I don’t want to get sick. I’m already feeling sick from having to look at your face. I don’t want it to get worse.” I smirked, proud of my roast. 

“Sydney, Sydney, Sydney. You think you’re so clever. I just came over here to wish you a happy birthday, that’s all,” she grinned mischievously.

Just then, her friends Penelope, Cameron, and Zoella walked up behind her. 

“Happy birthday, Sandy.” Cameron feigned innocence, knowing she messed up my name.

“Thanks, Cameron,” I replied.

“Yeah, happy birthday,” Penelope and Zoella repeated. 

“Guys, can you please go somewhere else? We’re trying to do something,” I begged. 

“Why should we?” questioned Victoria, tossing her hair over her shoulder. 

“‘Cuz I told you to?” 

“Please, this little girl thinks she can tell us what to do. How naive,” she laughed. 

You might be confused so let me explain. Vikky, Cameron, Zoella, and Penelope used to be my best friends, I used to be part of their group. We were the popular kids - in a bad way. If you’ve ever read ‘Mean Girls’ by Katrina Kahler, it’s kind of like that. I was like a less bad version of Sydney from those books. But just like Sydney from the books had her redemption story in the series ‘Wild Child,’ I had mine. I realized we had been mean and rude to a lot of people and decided to change that. While I was nowhere near as mean as Sydney from the books, my friends were and I had been pretty mean myself. When I decided to leave the group, I posted an ‘I’m Sorry’ Tik Tok video which the entire school saw. Instantly I was accepted into the nice popular group and was happy with them ever since. 

If you are still confused, you should know that everyone at MCD is rich but the popularity is still based on wealth (were you rich, super-rich, or ultra-rich), clothes, cars, and your level of beauty. Vikky and her friends had lots of money, the coolest clothes, at least one nice car, and they had significant outer beauty, but not inner beauty. That’s where I didn’t fit in - I was a genuinely nice person who got misled. I had inner and outer beauty, people just didn’t get to see it much. 

Anyway, the point is they don’t like me because I left them in 6th grade. They’ve been bullying me ever since, calling me teacher’s pet and baby because I was too “childish” and “clearly these kids can take a joke.” They never leave me alone and today was no exception. 

Sebastian glanced my way but I shot him a look. He backed off and let me handle them. Ashley was confused and looked like she was going to cry. Behind me, my parents were wondering if I was okay. They had worried expressions on their faces. 

“The only thing naive is that you think you’re dragging me down and making me upset. The only thing that’s upsetting me is that you’re being unsafe. Please go 6 feet away or put on your masks. Or will that cramp your style? Safety’s always stylish, girls,” I argued. 

“So you think life vests are stylish?” countered Zoella. “Because those things are almost as ugly as your outfit!” 

“Nice one,” Vikky whispered.

“I recall you saying you liked this suit when I showed you the pictures,” I quipped, confidence flowing from my voice. 

“I-I-I,” she spluttered. “It’s so 3 months ago,” she recovered. 

“Swimsuits don’t really go out of style. I mean, the style of the swimsuit might but the pattern won’t. Plus, mid-length swimsuits are always going to be trendy,” I predicted. “Later.” I waved goodbye, signaling for them to leave. 

Then I turned to Sebastian and Ashley. “Are you guys almost done with your sandcastles?” 

Victoria snorted and strutted away with Zoella, Penelope, and Cameron close on her heels.

“You handled that well, Syd,” Sebastian said.

“Thanks.” I grinned and said, “They’ve been nasty to me ever since I left their group.” Rolling my eyes, I added, “I guess it’s a taste of my own medicine. I was mean to other people like they are to me now.” 

“Sis, nobody deserves unkindness. Even if you gave out your share of it, what goes around shouldn’t always come around,” he said wisely. 

“Thanks again, Seb. You’re the best!” I exclaimed. 

“Aw, shucks.” He grinned. “I am pretty cool, aren’t I.” 

“The best,” I agreed.
Just then Ashley tugged my hand and said, “Mommy told me to tell you we awe going home now.” 

“Okay.” I nodded and packed up my beach stuff. Thankfully, I had only got sand on my hands and legs so a rinse-off shower was the only thing necessary once we got home. 

When I was done packing my bag, I slung it over my shoulder and slid on my Birks. I glanced over at Ashley and noticed she was having a hard time getting her Elsa beach towel to fit in her bag. I rushed over, folded her towel, and put it in her bag. 

“Thanks,” she said appreciatively. 

“Of course, Ash,” I replied. 

Then Sebastian, Ashley, and I linked arms and headed toward our car. I enjoyed my time on the beach and was grateful I decided to go instead of moping in my room. Then I remembered Victoria, Zoella, Cameron, and Penelope and felt slightly less grateful. If I had stayed in my room, none of that would have happened. 

With a frown on my face, I hopped in the car and buckled up.

Chapter Twenty-Seven - If By “It Only Can Get Better”, You Mean It Only Can Get Worse, You’re Right. 

As soon as we got home, I grabbed my bag and ran into the house. I was done with this terrible day. Yes, I had been fine until I remembered the mean girls but they really rained on my parade. I only forgot when I was having fun. Now that I’m bored and upset, I just want to go to bed early and eat M and M’s under the covers. Hey, that’s not such a bad idea… 

I rushed into my room, grabbed a change of clothes, and ran into the bathroom before Ashley could try to shower. I turned on the shower and decided not to shampoo my hair again. I showered this morning and no sand had gotten in my hair. Plus this way I could try a new hairstyle that required dry hair. 

Once I was done showering, I got dressed and did my hair. I put it up in a fancy new way - a reverse braid up into a ponytail. Then I looked at myself in the mirror. 

A pretty, sad-eyed girl stared at me. Her pink, button-down denim material dress looked great with her new tan and the belt highlighted her stunning figure. Her hair was excellently done and she looked like a model. But something was missing, her heart wasn’t in it. She didn’t look happy which took away from her beauty. 

I sighed. Yep, I was pretty alright. But I was even prettier when I was happy. I tried to cheer myself up while simultaneously applying pink lip gloss, pink earrings, and a pink ring. I slid my phone into my dress pocket and added two pink hair clips to my hair. Then I opened the door. 

Slapping a fake smile on my face, I jogged down the stairs and entered the living room where my family sat with sad expressions on their faces. Everyone was fully showered and in a new change of clothes. I assumed Ashley used Sebastian’s shower since I took so long and he never takes long at all. 

“Hi,” I said cautiously. 

“Ney-Ney, please sit down,” Mom said, patting the spot next to her. That’s when I knew something was up. She only ever called me Ney-Ney if something was wrong. She called me Ney-Ney when she was telling me we were moving. She called me Ney-Ney when she wanted to tell me Dad lost his job. When I was younger she called me Ney-Ney when my favorite pair of shoes, my Crocs (can you believe Crocs have come into style 2 times in 16 years?!), had been stepped on by Sebastian and broken. 

“Yes, Mom.” 

Nervously, I sat down and awaited the bad news. 

“Honey, Grandma Beatrice got COVID and she’s in the hospital. She’s not able to taste, smell, or breathe very well,” Dad said solemnly. 

“Haha. Today’s not April 1st, Dad,” I laughed.

“It’s not a joke,” he said.

“I HATE COVID!” I screeched. “It’s ruined my DAY, MY LIFE, MY YEAR!” I yelled. 

“Sydney!” 

“What, Mom?” I asked, annoyed. 

“Don’t yell like that!” 

“I’m upset!” I snarled. 

“You can be upset but you don’t need to yell your head off,” she corrected. 

“If I want to yell, I will yell!” I yelled. Then I gulped, realizing I was out of line. “Sorry,” I peeped. “That was too far.” 

“Thanks, lovey. Normally, I’d be upset that you are being so disrespectful but given the circumstances, I think you are okay.”

“Maybe we should have cake?” Sebastian suggested. 

“Cake!” Ashley happily clapped her hands together. 

I wasn’t sure Ashley understood what was going on, she seemed very excited about the cake and not very upset about Grandma. 

“Sure, let me tell Alicia. She’s mad at me,” I explained. “But I think that she’d want to hear about Grandma Bea.” 

I wiped away the tears that formed in my eyes and pulled out my phone from my dress pocket. First, I checked the time. It was 6:00, we must have stayed at the beach for a while! At least I had some M and M’s. Without them, I would have been very hungry. 

Then I opened my texts and clicked Alicia’s name. 

Sydney < Hey again, Alicia. Sorry 2 bother u, I just found out Gma Bea got COVID and is in hospital.

Alicia < Oh no! I’m so sorry. Give your family my condolences. 

Sydney < I will. Miss u. 

Alicia < Bye

Sydney < Bye

Alicia was at least supportive of me but she didn’t seem to miss me or care that I missed her. That just added yet another reason why this birthday sucked. 

When I looked up from my phone, I saw Mom getting the cake out of the fridge and Dad getting the ice cream out of the freezer. While I was having a bad day and was still very sad, I was very excited to eat the cake. I choose a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate bar crunch. The ice cream was triple chocolate and I asked for a glass of milk on the side to break up all the chocolate. It sounded delicious! I could not wait to taste it so I washed up and ran to the kitchen to help carry plates into the dining room. 

Once we were all in the dining room, Dad got ready to cut the cake.

“No!” Mom shouted. “She has to blow out the candles first.” 

“Oops,” said Dad. His face grew red and he looked away. 

Mom lit the candles and they all started to sing. When they were done, I closed my eyes and made a wish. 

Chapter Twenty-Eight - I Wish

I wish COVID didn’t exist. I wish it would go away forever! I wished. 

Then I blew out the candles with extreme force and they all went out with one try. My family clapped and then Dad cut the cake. We all dug into our cake and ice cream. 

By the time I was finished, I felt wonderfully full. I love chocolate, it’s so tasty. I looked around the table and saw everyone had finished their serving of cake except my mom, who had barely touched it. 

“You didn’t like it?” I asked.

“It was okay. A little chocolatey for me, I might say. But I didn’t eat much because it’s so fatty and sugary. I made it, I would know.” 

“Give it to me then,” I instructed.

I ate her serving and felt pleasantly plump. Then I looked at the time and realized it was already 7:00 pm. The cake and ice cream were our dinners. 

“Well,” I started. “I am going to take my car out for a spin and then read for a while. See ya.” I waved and walked off. 

After I kicked on my pink Birkenstocks I walked out of the house and into the garage. There sat my gorgeous, shiny, black, Jaguar 2021 F-TYPE. I hopped into the car and pulled it out of the garage. Then I got out and made sure it was ready to drive. 

While I was checking the car, Noah walked over to me. I put on my mask and he did the same. 

He began to talk once he was 6 feet away from me and said, “Nice ride!” 

“Oh, thanks. My grandparents got it for me. It’s my birthday,” I explained. 

“I noticed the banners on your house,” he pointed to the banners. “Actually, that’s why I came over. Well, that and my mom always gives a welcome gift to new neighbors,” he added. 

Then he handed me a bag which he had been holding behind his back. Once he had given it to me, he backed up and gave me my 6 feet of space which I respected. 

“Thanks,” I gushed. “I can’t wait to see what’s inside. It must be pretty cool if your mom gives every new neighbor something.” 

“We’ll see,” he teased. “You might want to be scared.” He paused and lowered his voice, “Her brownies are dangerously good.” 

“I’m scared, all right!” 

“So, anyhow, um happy birthday,” he said.

“Thanks!” 

“I’ll let you get to your drive, I’m sure you are excited to take your new car for a spin.”

“Oh, no worries. I had a good time talking to you,” I replied. 

“Yeah, me too. See ya,” he said as he waved and began to walk away. 

“See ya,” I echoed.

Subsequently, I jumped into my new car, started it up, and took it for a spin. 

When I got back home, it was 8:30. I usually went to bed around 10:00 so I had an hour and a half to read my book. First, though, I had to change into my pajamas and brush my teeth. 

By the time I was done getting ready, it was 8:45. I threw myself onto my bed, snuggled under the covers, and read my book. At 10:00, I turned out the lights and fell into a deep, restful sleep. 

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Confused Understanding

When I woke up, I looked around the room. It looked like my old room! Feeling confused, I hopped out of bed and looked out the window. It was the view of my old neighborhood, Coral Gables! While it felt great to be back in Coral Gables, I didn’t understand why I was here again.

“Not funny!” I yelled. “I know this is a joke!” 

I heard footsteps and then my door opened with Mom’s face in the doorway. 

“Sweetie, happy birthday!” she stated. 

“My birthday was yesterday. I figured you out, Mom,” I said. I looked down and saw the PJs I had worn to bed the night before. “I’m even wearing the PJ’s I put on at the other house!” 

“Those do look unfamiliar…” She shook her head. “No no no, you must have already owned those. Are you feeling okay?” she asked, feeling my forehead. “It’s June 19th.” 

“Haha, Mom.” 

I was so confused, she seemed clueless but she had to have been in on the prank. She gave me a look and I decided to go along with the joke. 

“Fooled ya! I know it’s my birthday, it’s just so surreal. I’m 16, you know?” I stretched and then added, “Can I open my birthday outfit now?” 

“Of course, honey. Let me go get it!” She seemed relieved that I wasn’t acting strange. Outside, I was trying to seem cool, calm, and collected but inside, I was extremely confused. Why was I in my old home? Why was it my birthday again? Was COVID all a bad dream? 

Suddenly a wave of realization flooded my brain like a river flooding its banks. My birthday wish was, “I wish COVID didn’t exist. I wish it would go away forever!” I made COVID disappear! This was great! I’d never believed something like this could happen but apparently, 13 Going On 30 is accurate! Woo! 

I started to flab (flossing and dabbing combined). This was the best day of my life! 

Just then my mom came into my room with 3 bags. Excitedly, I realized my parents would spoil me more than ever this birthday and they weren’t scared of spending money anymore! Could my day get any better? 

My mom handed me the medium-sized bag first. I tore out the tissue paper and carefully pulled out the outfit. I was expecting a different outfit than I had already received but then I recalled that Mom had said something about having the outfit for a while. 

“Thanks, Mom!” I tried to act surprised. 

“Anytime.” 

She handed me the biggest bag which had a sort of shoebox shape to it. I wondered what it could be… not! I knew it was going to be lavender Converse All-Stars. 

Once I opened it and saw that I was correct, I feigned shock and said, “Wow! This is so cool. I didn’t know these existed! Thanks!” 

Mom waved her hand dismissively and said, “No problem. Now open the last one!” 

The third one hadn’t been included in COVID life so this time I wouldn’t have to rely on my acting skills. I opened the bag and saw a regular length, lavender-colored butterfly necklace with a gold chain, a matching choker, and matching earrings. At the bottom of the bag were two rings: one gold, and one lavender. 

“Thank you so much,” I squealed. “I love it and it’ll match my outfit perfectly.” 

“Glad you like it,” she commented. “Now get dressed, do your hair and makeup, and then come downstairs for breakfast. Christa made your favorite, cinnamon rolls, amongst other things.” 

“What? I thought…” I paused, confused. Hadn’t we fired Christa? Oh, that was in COVID which only I knew about. “Sorry, I’m a bit sleepy. That’s great!” I replied gratefully. 

Once she left the room, I spun around with glee. I was back in my house and I was still rich! Oh, that sounded snobby. But I missed being rich! It was hard to not get whatever I wanted after getting it. Oh, joy. That makes me sound like a terrible person. Does it make me a terrible person? Hmmm… if it makes me sound like a terrible person maybe it means it’s not a good character trait. Enough self-reflection, it’s my birthday! I need to enjoy it!  

I changed into my birthday outfit for the second time and then went into my bathroom (Yes! MY OWN BATHROOM AGAIN!) to do my hair. While my hair had looked great on my COVID birthday, I was ready to try something new. The new style was to upside down dutch braid your hair, like I had yesterday. I was going to do that but with two and make space buns instead of a ponytail. 

Once I had completed my hairstyle, it looked fabulous and very trendy. Then I put on lavender eyeshadow, lip gloss, and mascara. 

After I was beautified, I rushed downstairs. 

I turned into the room I thought was the dining room but I was wrong. 

“Lost in your own house?” Sebastian smirked. 

“Aw, come on. I just wanted to check out the,” I paused and looked to see what room I was in. “The small living room.” Knowing the old me (and sort of still me), I knew Sebastian would buy my lie if I added something about gifts. “I thought my presents might be in here,” I added while fiddling with my hair.

“Yeah, that does sound like you,” he commented. 

Then he turned and left the living room. I followed because I still couldn’t remember exactly where everything was. He led me into the dining room and I saw a seat decorated with lavender and gold streamers. The rest of the dining room was also decorated with lavender and gold streamers as well as matching balloons and confetti. They really decked out! That’s when I realized I was rich again and these decorations must have come from Chic Celebrations, an expensive party store. 

While all the decorations were great, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and spoiled. The simple around the chair decoration during COVID had been a little underwhelming but this was a lot. And Chic Celebrations’ party supplies are NOT cheap. I was lost in my thinking so I was startled when a familiar yet foreign voice spoke. Sebastian must have slipped out because it was just me and the voice. 

Chapter Thirty - The New Me

“Hello, Miss Sydney,” Christa said, snapping me out of my daydream. 

“Christa!” I squealed. 

She gave me a strange look before speaking again. “Your breakfast is almost ready. Shall I remind you of the menu?” she said. 

“Yes please,” I said and nodded eagerly. 

“For your beverage, you have two options: cocoa or orange juice. There will be a mixed melon salad, hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, mini chocolate croissants, mini waffles, mini cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, sausage, and bacon. Is that acceptable, ma’am?”

“Um, yes,” I replied, unsure if I could tell her ‘Yes, that’s great but waaaaay too much food, is it too late to not make all that?’ I knew it was probably late and if I said something they would just throw the food out so I said, “Yes, that’s great. Maybe we can take the leftovers to our neighbors, they love your cooking!” 

I was shocked at my own kindness in my response. Where did that come from? I mean, it’s great but seriously, my neighbors can make their own food, they’re rich too. 

Either way, Christa looked pleased and said, “Sounds great, Miss.” 

Why was she calling me Miss so much? She never did that, not once COVID started, at least. That’s when my parents realized she was also their friend and an important part of our family so she shouldn’t have to call us fancy names… Normally, I would have been excited that someone was treating me with such respect but today it didn’t feel right. I guess I was becoming a “new me”. 

“Call me Sydney,” I urged. “You’re family.” 

“She’s what?” Mom asked, coming into the room from behind me.

“She’s family, isn’t she?” I asked. 

“Would you call your maid your family?” Mom questioned. 

I had forgotten we even had maids, we laid them off at the start of COVID since Mom and Dad were around more, they could clean more. 

“Well, yeah?” I said but it sounded more like a question. 

Mom sighed and shook her head. “Sydney…” 

“What?” I asked. 

Christa backed away slowly, turning around and walking through the butler’s pantry back to the kitchen. 

“Well,” she paused. “It’s just that they’re lower class than us. You know that. They are our acquaintances, our-” she snapped her fingers, trying to come up with the word. “Our workers. They work for us so they aren’t our family, or our friends really.” She looked at me and added, “Get it?”

“Depends if you are asking if I understand what you are saying or if I understand why you’re saying it,” I answered honestly. 

“Don’t use that mouth on me,” Mom spat. 

“What mouth?” I wondered. 

Mom thought I was being rude on purpose, not genuinely curious so she walked out of the room angrily. 

Unsure what to do, I sat down in the decorated chair and looked at Instagram while I waited. I looked up sweet 16 images, chose one, and typed out an Instagram post. My followers were probably wondering if I was alive, I used to always post something in the morning. I assumed I had done the same for the past 4 months. 

Comments instantly came flooding in from all my friends, and enemies. Victoria, known on Instagram as QueenVik, said, “Happy Birthday…” I wanted to say, “Gee thanks.” I know she didn’t mean it by those lovely dot dot dots. As I was scrolling through recent posts made by me, trying to figure out what I had been doing in the past four months, I noticed there were a lot of posts with Nolan in them. He had also commented, “Happy Sweet 16, GF!” on my recent post. GF could mean Great Friend, Good Friend, or Girl Friend. Hmm… It appeared that we might have been dating but no posts ever said anything about our relationship, he was just in lots of pictures. 

Thinking about my relationship status reminded me that during COVID time Alicia and Sebastian had become a couple. Were they together now? I clicked on my original post from this morning and then clicked Alicia’s name on her comment. That led me to her main page where I saw lots of pictures of her with Sebastian and it appeared they were, in fact, together. Good for them. But what about me? Am I single? I’ve always liked Nolan, I could honestly see us getting married one day and I’d be honored if he asked me out but I just don’t know how to interpret this.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry. I overreacted.” My mom’s voice cut into my train of thought. “Christa can call you whatever you want, I don’t care. And if I do, I shouldn’t.” 

“Thanks, Mom. I wasn’t trying to be mouthy, I was just curious.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” She paused and then yelled, “David! Ashley! Sebastian! Breakfast!” 

Chapter Thirty-One - Dream Breakfast (For Real) 

Just then, Sebastian reappeared with Ashley and Dad on his heels. Christa and two of our maids, Alice and Amelia, came out of the butler’s pantry each carrying trays of food. It was way too much but I had done all I could so I decided to enjoy it. 

“Please, sit,” Christa said.

“Alright,” I obliged. 

I sat down and noticed the plate in front of me was lavender and the utensils were gold. 

“Wow, cool eatery!” I commented. 

“We hoped you would like it,” Dad said. “Happy Sweet 16, lovely.” 

“Thanks, Dad!” 

Then I waited for all the food to be on the table. 

Once it was all on the table, I invited Christa, Amelia, and Alice to eat with us. They politely refused and Mom, Dad, and Sebastian gave me strange looks. I didn’t care because I was being kind and that is all that mattered to me. I had treated them terribly for far too long. 

My stomach rumbled with hunger so I decided to serve myself some food. I took a maple doughnut, one of each mini breakfast treat, some fruit, both kinds of eggs, sausage, bacon, and birthday cocoa. Thank goodness those mini breakfast foods were mini, I would have been stuffed. It was helpful that the doughnut was also smaller. That way I could eat some of everything and not be extremely full. I was still full but it was bearable. 

Thankfully, everyone else took a while to eat so I had time to digest. I sat back in my seat, happy and full. Then I realized I had never thanked Christa properly for the meal. I jumped out of my seat and raced into the kitchen. 

“Christa!” I cried. “I forgot to tell you this - thank you so much for breakfast. It was super good.” Then I noticed the leftovers, there were none. “Wow, and you planned it out super well. We ate everything!” 

“Well, you usually don’t eat so much. Since around March, when you got the modeling offer, you’ve been watching your weight very carefully,” she said. “Almost too carefully,” she muttered. “But thank you for your appreciation, I do what I can. It is my job,” Christa laughed. 

“Yeah, well… I gotta go.” I pointed to the door and walked out. 

I was a model? This was too weird. At first, I thought not knowing 4 months of my life would be okay, now I realized I was wrong. I’ve missed so much so I decided to look at my text, call, Snapchat, Instagram, and Tik Tok history to piece as much together as I can. I found a few important things, one of which was the fact that I modeled for Brandy Melville and Nordstroms. 

Then I walked back into the dining room and saw a large tower of presents, all for me. My first reaction was, “Wow! I love all those gifts!” but my second thought was, “Wow, that’s way too many gifts. Donate some?” 

“Please come open your presents,” Mom urged. 

“Okay,” I agreed. 

Chapter Thirty-Two - Too Many Presents 

“Open mine fiwst!” Ashley begged. 

“Okay, Ash,” I agreed. 

She handed me a small box covered with lavender-colored wrapping paper. I tore open the wrapping paper and saw an Apple box. Inside was the newest Apple Watch, the Series 6. 

“Wow. Thanks,” I said. I acted like I was excited but really, I didn’t want the watch. I had the Series 5, why did I need the Series 6? 

“Here,” said Mom, handing me another gift. “This one is from your Dad and me. All of the gold-wrapped ones are,” she added. 

I unwrapped the gift and saw a personal charging hub. It could charge my Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods all at once. Now, this was a gift I was excited about. 

“Thanks so much!” I exclaimed. “This will definitely get some use!” 

I opened all of the presents Mom and Dad got me in a row and found a bubble wrap phone case, pastel-colored tumblers, a stick-on phone pocket (to hold money, gift cards, notes, etc), some new scrunchies, a new pair of all gold AF1’s, a barrette set, and a black mini backpack. While I loved everything they got me, I didn’t need many of the gifts. The charging hub, mini backpack, phone case (if I’m anxious I could pop the bubbles and they re-inflate all by themselves), and stick-on phone pocket were useful and somewhat inexpensive (under 100 dollars for sure). The other gifts were either unnecessary or super expensive. Or both! The Air Forces were cool but really? I already have a few pairs, I don’t need more. I’m not saying I wouldn’t use them, I will. It’s just that I’d be just fine without them. I mean, some kids don’t have any pairs of Air Forces so why should I have so many? I have plenty of barrettes and scrunchies so while I will use them, I don’t need more. Tumblers? The same thing, don’t need them and I already have a lot. Maybe going back to my old life wasn’t such a great thing… 

Sebastian’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Sis?”

“Yeah?” I asked. 

“Here.” He thrust a medium-sized bag at me.

“Oh, thanks.” I blushed, embarrassed. 

I opened the bag and saw a Mini Cinema Lightbox, Hydro Flask stickers, and a wireless karaoke microphone. 

“Thanks,” I said. 

These gifts were okay. The Cinema Lightbox would get lots of use as I could put inspirational messages on it for when I was feeling down. The Hydro Flask stickers would get used and so would the microphone but would I be any happier having them than if I didn’t? The answer is no. A lot of these things are just unnecessary. Why did I wish to come back here? I’m getting spoiled a lot, too much. I think that maybe I could have gotten a few more things during COVID but I didn’t need to get this much stuff in this reality. 

Then there was a knock at the door and my grandparents stepped inside. They came bearing lots of gifts. 

“Hi,” I said, shyly. 

“Hello, darling. Come give me a hug,” Grandma said. 

“Okay,” I replied. 

I rushed over and hugged her. I drank in her scent, realizing in this reality she didn’t have COVID. That was fantastic news! After I hugged Grandpa, Mom cut in. 

“Honey, shall you open your gifts?” Mom asked. 

I sighed and said, “Yeah, sure.” I knew they would have gone above and beyond what I needed or even wanted. 

Mom didn’t seem to catch the sigh (or she chose to ignore it) because she said, “Great! I’ll help bring them over.”

She brought over 6 presents which were all different sizes, I opened each of the larger ones first and saw a Roku stick, a set of 20 trendy earrings, wireless headphones, an Alexandrite necklace, and a Virtual Reality headset. 

“Um, wow! Thanks,” I said with not much emotion. 

“You don’t seem excited,” Grandma Beatrice questioned.

“Oh, well I am… It’s just that,” I stopped. Why should I tell them I was feeling overwhelmed with the crazy, expensive, unneeded gifts? They’d only judge me. After all, they don’t know that I’ve seen a global pandemic, they don’t know I don’t have 4 months of memories. 

“It’s just what, dear?” she prodded.

“It’s just that it’s a lot of gifts,” I started, deciding I would tell them how I felt (subtly). “And while I like them, I don’t need them?” 

“Oh pish,” Grandma said, waving her hand dismissively. “When have you ever needed this large of a house, so many clothes, such nice stuff? Honey, nobody ever needs that, well hardly ever, but you have it so enjoy it!” 

“Never,” I realized. “I’ve never needed all of that stuff. Why did I ever want it? I should be happy with a house half this size!” 

“Well, I guess so. Don’t feel bad for how hard your Daddy worked to give you this life. Don’t feel bad for how hard your Mommy worked to give you this life. Embrace it! You can do good things with the extra wealth as well as treating yourself to nice things.” 

“I suppose so…” I said to avoid more questioning looks. 

“What she meant to say is, ‘You are absolutely right, and thank you for the nice gifts. I love them and I’m sorry for being rude.’ Isn’t that right, Syd?” 

“Yeah?” I said.

“Is that a question or an answer?” 

Chapter Thirty-Three - Tell Me How You REALLY Feel

“It’s neither. I think that Grandma has a point but I don’t have to embrace this life. I’d like to donate some of the gifts, take them to a neighborhood where the folks aren’t filthy rich. I don’t need half of these presents. I like some of them but do I need them? No. For example, I’m lucky enough to have AirPods, I don’t need wireless headphones too! I really appreciate the thought but it’s too much. Too much stuff. It’s a lot that I don’t need,” I finished. 

“Well, tell me how you REALLY feel,” Mom said, sternly. “What was that outburst? You said some really rude things and I’m sure your grandparents are upset as are Ashley, Sebastian, and your father and I.” 

“Actually, she had a good point,” Grandpa Theodore said under his breath.

“What?” Mom said. 

“I said she had a good point. She doesn’t need all of this, we went overboard. All of us. Now I’m not saying she said it in the best way but she is right,” he said. 

Dad nodded slowly and said, “I agree.”

“What?!?!” hissed Grandma and Mom. 

“No way!” Mom yelped.

“I can’t even,” said Grandma. 

“You didn’t wike it?” asked Ashley, who must have been super confused. 

I sighed, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “No, I-I did, I just don’t need it,” I explained. 

“Sis… I spent a lot of money on your presents and you only liked one of them? Bruh, I seriously spent some time working to get the cash because I wanted to earn it for you, I wanted you to feel special. I spent time and cold, hard cash on those gifts and now you’re acting like an ungrateful jerk.” 

“Sebastian, language.” Mom glanced at Ashley who seemed confused but not scared. 

“Sorry,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I’m just really offended. Not cool, sis.” 

I lowered my head, feeling relieved to have cleared my head from the emotions but sad because people weren’t taking it well. I cleared my throat and spoke again. 

“Look, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings or seem ungrateful. I am so thankful that you all care enough about me to get these nice things. I just wish you cared enough about me to think about what I need or even want.” 

“In our defense, you’ve changed. Just yesterday you were going on and on about how much you wanted a car, new clothes, barrettes, hair ties, new shoes, etcetera, etcetera. Now you expect us to know you’ve changed and only want a few things? Honey, all your life you’ve asked us for gifts galore and we’ve done it. Now, the DAY OF your birthday you want half of it?” Mom asked. “Sweetie, not realistic. Let’s just put this half-hour behind us and pretend you never said any of it, okay?” 

“I’m ready to put it behind us but I don’t want to forget I ever said any of it, I meant all of what I said.” 

“Can you please repeat that?” 

“I’m ready to put it behind us but I don’t want to forget I ever said any of it, I meant all of what I said. You can choose to ignore the facts but that doesn’t make them any less true. You can’t ignore my speech. It happened, you reacted to it, you have some feelings around that area. I’m more than willing to drop it for now but I’d like to discuss this, please.” 

I glanced around the room and saw 2 proud faces, 1 angry face, 2 confused and angry faces, and 1 scared and adorable face. If you said you thought Ashley was the scared and adorable one, Sebastian was the angry one, Dad and Grandpa Theodore were the proud ones, and Grandma Beatrice and Mom were the confused and angry ones, you were correct. 

“Okay,” agreed the family. 

“I’m glad we figured that out because your pool party is going to start in half an hour and you may want to get ready for that,” Mom said. 

“Yes!” I exclaimed. “Could you grownups please clean this mess up while I change?” 

“Sure, love,” said Mom. 

“Oh, wait! You forgot one of the presents.” Grandma Beatrice handed me the last small gift. 

Inside was a set of keys to a Jaguar 2021 F-TYPE, the same car as I had received in COVID life.

“Thank you so much!” I gushed. 

“Of course. Hope you don’t want to give this one away,” said Grandma Beatrice, only half-joking. 

Then I walked out of the room and Dad followed me. Once we were out of earshot, he leaned down and said, “Sweetheart, I’m proud of you. You handled that well, most of the time, and I’m glad you finally realized you have been spoiled silly most of your life. You should have been more respectful but I’m glad you realized it was too much.” He patted my shoulder and added, “Go get ready now. I’m sure you still love to look pretty.” He winked at me and I grinned back. 

“I do, don’t worry. I haven’t changed that much!” 

I turned away and raced up the stairs taking the steps two at a time. 

When I got to my room, I shut the door and went through my bathroom to my walk-in closet. Then I looked around and found my swimsuit section which was even larger than the one I had in COVID life. I must have gone on quite a few shopping sprees. 

After thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided on a two-piece swimsuit set with high-waisted, cheetah print swim bottoms and a long bikini top that had a knot in it like a lot of trendy shirts. 

Then I rushed to do my hair differently. I put it in a high ponytail and wrapped a cheetah print scrunchie around it, creating a cute and trendy VSCO bun. I glanced at myself in the mirror and realized that my makeup didn’t match the swimsuit. While I had a large change in heart, I still love looking fabulous. I decided to put on some copper-colored, waterproof eyeshadow and some waterproof mascara as well as waterproof lipgloss.

I checked my watch and realized I had only taken 10 minutes so far. After debating whether or not to do my nails for a bit, I decided to paint them black with my quick dry polish. 

Once they were dry, I peeked at my watch again and saw I had 2 minutes until party time. I used the restroom, put on a black, off-the-shoulder, romper-style cover-up. Then I ran downstairs. There I found my new backpack. I put my phone in it as well as some breath mints and mint gum. I popped a piece of mint gum in my mouth and glanced at my watch. It read 10:00 which meant party time. 

Instantly, the doorbell started ringing. My mom raced to the door and directed people to go around back. She put a sign on the door that read: 

If you are here for Sydney’s Sweet 16, please go around back. We will be by the pool. If you are not here for Sydney’s Sweet 16, please ring the doorbell and someone will answer it. Thank you! 

Then she urged me to go outside and enjoy my party. I slung my backpack over my shoulders, took a deep breath, and went outside. 

Chapter Thirty-Four - Pool Party

I opened the sliding door and stepped out onto the porch. There I saw a lot of my friends partying and waiting for me. I gave a confident smile and wave before heading over to where Alicia was. 

“Hey, Ali!” I grinned at her.

“Syd! Happy Birthday!” she exclaimed.

“Thanks! I’m so glad you’re here. Love the suit, by the way,” I said, glancing at her swimsuit which was a blue, patterned, long bikini top and matching bikini bottoms.  

“Aww, glad you like it. My mom got it for me, she thought it’d be perfect for the occasion,” she bragged. “I couldn’t get one during the sale because I was over in California for the week visiting my friend Britney. This was back in April,” she continued. “My mom has good taste, huh!”  She smiled but her eyes looked sad. 

What? COVID was raging in April. Oh wait, this reality doesn’t know COVID existed. 

“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s cute. Mine is too but I’m wearing this cover-up right now.” I gestured to my cover-up. 

“I’m sure it’s fabulous. Plus, your cover-up is super cute. Where’d you get it?” she wondered. 

“Ahh… I’m not sure,” I answered. This was the truth, it had been bought during the 4 months I don’t remember because I never lived them. 

“Oh, that’s fine. But you might want to take off the cover-up and get in the pool! Our other friends are already enjoying the crystal blue water!” 

I nodded, slid off my cover-up, and folded it. Then I put it in my backpack. I set my backpack down where I would see it and then raced toward Alicia again. I stopped in front of her and saw a smile on her face.
“What?” I asked. 

“Nothing,” she giggled but it was only half-hearted. 

Just then someone spun me around and kissed me on the cheek. I had no clue who was kissing me. I looked up and saw Nolan’s handsome face. I liked him but I didn’t fully understand why he was kissing me. 

I pulled away and said, “What the heck?”

“What’d I do?” he asked. 

“What was that?” I hissed, wiping my cheek off with the back of my hand. 

“What? I thought you were okay with me kissing you on the cheek - you’re my girlfriend.” He looked confused.

“I’m your girlfriend?” I asked.

“Well, yeah. I asked you in March, remember?” 

“Yeah, sorry,” I lied. “I just forgot for a second, that’s all.” 

“Okay…” he said, looking at me strangely.

I felt bad for Nolan. While I had other crushes previously and have thought many other boys were cute, Nolan had always been my crush and a great friend. It was a dream come true that we were able to date. Deep in my heart I always had thought we would get married but I had never imagined that he’d feel the same way. Now he did and I pushed him away? This was not going according to plan. 

“Sorry, Nolan. Really, I am.” I looked around and saw everyone was still partying and hadn’t seemed to notice our encounter so I continued. “I do like you, a lot. I just had a brain, um, fart.” 

“Fart?” he laughed. “Okay, I believe you.” He hugged me and whispered, “Happy birthday!” 

Then I shoved him into the pool and jumped in after him. We splashed around for a little while and then I jumped out and clapped my hands, trying to get everyone’s attention. I looked around and saw that Alicia and Sebastian were nowhere to be seen, figures. Sebastian and I weren’t close pre-COVID and he was probably mad at me for this morning. I bet he wanted to do anything in his power to piss me off all while spending some time with his girlfriend. 

Pushing thoughts of Sebastian out of my head, I started to talk. “Hi everyone. Thanks for coming to my party. I’m glad I get to celebrate with you. If everyone agrees, I was thinking we could play a game of pool volleyball. If not, keep partying!” 

“Volleyball sounds great!” shouted Griffin. 

“Volleyball!” agreed Dax and Wilson. 

“Whatever the birthday girl wants!” called MacKenzie. 

“Volleyball works for me,” Brie replied. 

“Okay, I’ll go get the net,” I answered.

I walked off toward the shed. Once I got there, I opened the shed door and found Sebastian and Alicia inside. 

“What’s going on?” I questioned.

Chapter Thirty-Five - It’s Not About Me

Alicia was crying hysterically into Sebastian’s shoulder. He has his arms around her lovingly and sympathetically. 

“What’s going on?” I asked again.

“My mom has breast cancer,” Alicia cried. “I didn’t want to tell you on your birthday but I had to tell someone. Sebastian’s been my rock these past couple of months during anything hard so I told him first. I’m sorry,” she wailed

“Alicia! It’s okay,” I responded. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m always here for you, okay. Who cares if it’s my birthday? I’m your best friend.” 

“I c-c-care if it’s yooouur birthday,” she moans. “I don’t want to r-r-ruuuuuuuin iiiit. Iiiiit’s nooooot abouuut meee.” 

“Alicia, I’m at a loss for words. Um, can I get you anything? Water? Iced tea? Cookies?” 

“Are you coming?” Bianca called. 

“Go,” urged Alicia. 

“One second,” I shouted back.

“Alicia, do you want me to cancel the rest of the party?” I questioned.

“No, I’ll be okay in a couple of minutes. And you don’t need your special day ruined because of me.” 

“Alicia, listen. It wouldn’t be ruining my birthday because I needed to be there for you. Okay?”

She sniffed and said, “Okay. But really, I’ll be alright. It’s Stage 1 right now so she should be okay… I think.” 

“At least it’s treatable,” I said, looking on the bright side (if there was one). 

“Yeah, Ali, it’s treatable. Look on the bright side. It’s a terrible thing but she’s gonna be okay,” Sebastian said. 

“Thanks, guys.” Alicia sniffed. “Now go to your party! I’ll be there in a minute.” 

“Are you sure?” I asked. 

“Sydney, are you coming?” Wilson called from outside the shed. 

“Go. It’d make me feel better if you went.” 

“Yes!” I called. “Okay, okay. I’m going. I’ll have my phone turned on and my Apple Watch on my wrist so text me if you need anything.” I grabbed the ball and net, turned around, and exited the shed.

“Sorry that took so long, I’m back!” I smiled at my waiting friends. 

“Finally!” exclaimed Jenni. 

I set up the net and we divided into teams; Wilson, Dax, Zach, Nolan, Patrick, Griffin, Jenni, me, Isa, Christina, Tiffany, and Alexia were on the “red” team and Brandon, Danny, Evan, Andrew, Matt, Sebastian, Alicia, Bianca, MacKenzie, Brie, Marianna, and Lillian were on the “blue” team. 

Chapter Thirty-Six - Volleyball

“Are you ready to lose, Blue Team?” Zach asked once we were all set up. 

“More like are you ready to lose, RED Team,” countered Bianca. 

“In your dreams. Go Red Team,” shot Patrick. 

“Yeah,” I said, smiling. “The Red Team is here to win. We’ve got the birthday magic on our side.” 

“Sure you do but we have Alicia and Brie on our team,” Sebastian argued. “They play volleyball competitively. And Alicia’s really good.” 

“So do I, though,” Isa responded. “And Syd’s really good.” 

“Okay, okay. Let’s all agree on this, both the teams are good BUT the Blue Team is better,” joked Andrew. 

Marianna high-fived him. 

“Naw, I could never agree to a lie!” exclaimed Tiffany. 

“Guys, we’ll never find out who’s better if we keep talking smack! I’m all for the fun smack talk but seriously, if we keep going we’ll waste the whole party,” reasoned Alexia, who has always been the rational one. 

“I agree,” I replied. 

“Same here,” the group echoed. 

“So let’s get this volleyball game started!” I announced. Tossing the ball high in the air, I shouted, “Let the game begin!” 

The game began and it was quick and very back and forth. I was having a blast playing as I really like volleyball. It didn’t hurt that I was, in fact, pretty good at volleyball despite my not playing on a team. 

 About an hour later the game was still going. We were all having too much fun to stop. I was wondering if anybody was starting to get hungry (I sure was) and was about to ask when my Apple Watch buzzed me three times to single three incoming texts. 

It was Alicia who wasn’t feeling too well. She wanted to go inside and chill for a little bit. I assumed trying to act happy was pretty draining. I quickly send a reply using the “quick reply” feature. I selected the option that said, “Sure thing. Feel better soon!” and got back to the game. 

          Alicia seemed to have gotten my text because she hopped out of the pool and said, “Sorry guys, I’m not feeling too well.” 

Then she dried off and went inside with Sebastian close on her heels.

I was surprised Sebastian went with her, he had always been so mean to me during non-COVID life. Why would he be any different with her? Maybe he was finally learning some empathy. That’d be the day! 

I felt worried about Alicia but knew she would want me to keep playing and enjoy my birthday so I pushed aside my thoughts and decided to ask everyone if they were hungry. 

I got an overwhelming response of, “Yes!” so I peeked my head into the house and said, “Dad, Mom, we’re hungry. Could you please bring out lunch? Thanks!” and then rushed back to the game. 

I told everyone lunch would be out soon and we went back to playing. 

A couple of minutes later, Christa, Alice, and Amelia came out with platters full of food which they set on the long, outdoor dining table. 

I yelled, “Game over!” 

Then we tallied up the points. 

In the end, the Red Team had tied the Blue Team, 20 to 20. It was a great game and we all were right, we both had won. 

We all jumped out of the pool and dried off. Those of us that had swimsuit cover-ups put them on and the others wrapped towels around their waists. Then the group walked over to the dining table and everyone grabbed a plate. 

Apparently, I had picked out the meal previously. I had picked Summer Vinaigrette salad and Caesar salad as the “healthy” part of the meal. There was also a fruit salad which looked quite tasty. As for the main dish, there were sliders, mini hot dogs, fries, tots, and onion rings. Beverages were iced tea, lemonade (strawberry and regular), water, and chocolate milk. Dessert was chocolate explosion cupcakes, white chocolate lemon-strawberry cupcakes, and brookies. There were also a few packages of Brookie-O Oreo’s. It all looked so tasty and I was glad I had worked up such an appetite.

I put a small serving of Caesar salad on my plate. Then I added some onion rings onto my plate. I chose one slider and one mini hot dog. Then I grabbed 1 Oreo and one of each cupcake. As for beverages, I chose a glass of chocolate milk to start.

“Sydney,” a voice hissed. “Watch how much you eat. You’re a model now and you ate far too much at breakfast.” 

I realized the voice was my mom’s and it was coming from the door. I moved over toward the door and said, “I’ll swim extra to burn off the calories.”

She sighed and said, “Okay.” 

I decided to listen to her anyway and put back my Oreo and my mini hot dog. 

Once everyone had their food, we sat down with our feet in the pool and our plates on our laps. 

Nolan was across from me. He smiled at me so I smiled back, blushing. 

He pointed to the food and mouthed, “This is GOOD!” 

“Thanks,” I mouthed back. 

We all ate our food and then sat around talking while our food digested. 

Then Tiffany spoke up and said, “Guys, I think we should give Sydney her gifts!” she exclaimed. 

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see her reaction to what I got her,” agreed Nolan. 

“Sure, that works,” I said with false calmness in my voice. 

I didn’t want or need more presents but at the same time, these people were rich and great at giving presents. They all knew me extremely well (the old me, that is), so I am sure they got me great gifts. 

We all headed over to the fire pit where there was a large pile of unopened gifts calling my name. 

“Where do I start?” I asked. 

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Gifts Galore

“Start with mine,” suggested Nolan. 

He handed me a pink bag that was medium heavy. I sat down on a rock and pulled out the tissue paper. Inside were three boxes. First, I opened the top one. There was a gorgeous, silver necklace with a circular, silver pendant. An S, for Sydney, was diamond studded into the pendant. 

“I love it,” I gushed. 

He put it around my neck and said, “I thought you would! Now open the others!” 

“Okay,” I obliged. 

I opened the second box and found 3 pretty gold rings. They each had a different word. One said fearless, one said loved, and one said strong. 

“Aww, I love them!” 

I thanked him and then turned to open the third box. Inside the box was a silver necklace with two intertwined hearts. One had my name in small letters and the other had his in small letters. 

“Nolan, this is so sweet!” I said. 

“You like them?” he asked as he wrapped the necklace around my neck.

“Like it? I love it!” I exclaimed. “Thanks!” 

What I did next surprised him after my outburst earlier. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. 

“Okay, okay!” Alicia said, who had reappeared with Sebastian in time for presents. 

“Yours next?” I asked, pulling away from Nolan. 

“Yass!” she exclaimed, obviously excited for me to see what she got me. She handed me a large box. “Open it, open it!” 

“Okay, I will.” 

I ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box. I pulled out the first item which was a pair of socks with Alicia’s face on them?!? 

“This is crazy, Ali!” I smiled and the rest of the group laughed. 

“I know,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. 

I continued and pulled out a face mask set, palm leaf printed, satin pajamas, a bracelet that said Not Sisters By Blood But Sisters By Heart, earrings with my name on them, and a soft sleeping mask. I knew Alicia would go over the top but I was not expecting all this! And I was not expecting to want to keep all of them, however, they were a lot. I surely didn’t need all of them but at least I liked them.

“Thanks so much, Alicia!” 

“What are friends for? Happy Sweet 16!” she replied.

I opened the rest of the gifts from each of the rest of my friends and found out that Wilson got me an Instax Mini camera and chocolate; Dax got me an at-home spa set; Zach got me a mermaid tail blanket and a gift card to Versailles Restaurant Cuban Cuisine; Patrick got me a Patrick Mahomes Chiefs jersey (my favorite NFL team is the Chiefs); Griffin got me a set of chokers and rings, Jenni and Isa teamed up to get me a Kindle Unlimited subscription; Christina and Tiffany got me 2 tickets to the Miami Dolphins vs Kansas City Chiefs game in September; Alexia got me some makeup; Brandon, Danny, and Evan got me hairbrush, hair tie, scrunchie related things; Andrew and Matt got me tickets to an Ava Max concert, Bianca and MacKenzie got me a subscription to Tula skincare; Brie and Marianna got me a subscription to BirchBox, and Lillian gave me a set of different hoop earrings and a faux nose ring set. 

“Thanks, everyone!” I said, full of joy. 

While I was over spoiled, I loved everything I got. I really could have done without some of those things, like the hair care things, but I appreciated the thought and I knew if I stayed in this new reality, I would love having the subscriptions. 

Nolan’s voice separated me from my thoughts. “Syd, are we going to have cake now? Your mom just asked but I don’t think you heard.” 

“Oh,” I said, thinking about the answer. “No, I don’t think so. We had cupcakes right before this. I thought we were going to do that as a family.” 

“Fair enough,” he said. “I’ll go let her know!” 

Aw, he was such a sweetheart! I waved and then turned to listen to what Bianca and Isa were talking about. 

When there was a break in the conversation, I asked, “What do you guys want to do now?” 

“Well, we could play truth or dare,” suggested Bianca, who had always been the more, how do you say it? Outgoing and rule-breaking one. Not that she was a bad kid, she just was more okay with stretching rules and things like that.

“Naw,” I said. “That always leads to bad things.” 

“Maybe we could play basketball in the pool together,” suggested Isa. “Or anyone who wants to go home could and so could the boys and then the remaining girls could hang out inside?” 

“I like that idea,” I said. “I’ll let the guys know.” 

I turned to go tell the boys and ran smack into Zach who looked embarrassed. 

“Hey, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to run into you,” Zach said.

“No, that was me!” I exclaimed. “I was just going to tell you, boys, that the girls are going to hang out now so the party’s over.” 

“Oh, alright. I was just about to head out anyway. I just wanted to say goodbye to Bianca,” he said while blushing. 

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll let you do that. I’m going to go tell the rest of the guys that the party’s over.” 

I walked over to the group of boys. 

“Hey, guys. Sorry to tell you this but the party's over now,” I said. 

“Too bad,” complained Matt.

“Okay, we’ll head out then,” replied Evan. 

The boys packed up their stuff and headed out. That left the girls. 

“If anyone wants to stay and hang out, y’all can and if you don’t or can’t, you can head home,” I explained. 

“I’ve got to head home, sorry,” apologized MacKenzie. 

“Me too,” echoed Brie, Bianca, Isa, and Lillian.

That just left me, Alicia, Marianna, Tiffany, Christina, Jenni, and Alexia.

“What should we do?” Alicia asked.

“Clean up this mess,” I suggested. 

“I will handle that,” Alice, one of our maids, cut in.

“Oh thank you, Alice!” I said. 

“So we can go inside now but we all need to shower off first, my parents do not want any chlorine in the house. There’s one shower in the pool house and 7 bathrooms inside so there’s enough for each of us. Who wants to use the outside one?” I asked.
“I’ll use it,” Sebastian cut in.

I knew he had been standing behind me, however, I did not know he was listening. 

“Thanks, Sebastian. Can someone use yours then? I don’t want to use Mom and Dad’s and we have 7 girls that need to shower and 8 bathrooms. That means only one won’t get used.”

“Sure,” he said. 

“Wait what?” I asked. I couldn’t believe it.
“But it has to be you,” he finished.

“Oh, I knew there was a catch,” I groaned. “Okay… so Alicia will use mine, nobody will use my parents’ bathroom, and Jenni, you can use Ashley’s. The rest of you, if there’s a bedroom that’s in a guest room or if you see a full bathroom, go ahead and claim it,” I directed. “You all did bring a change of clothes, right?” 

“Yep!” everyone answered. 

“Okay, great! Let’s get to it!” 

We all ran inside and showered. 

When I was done, I changed into a yellow, floral mini skirt with a slight side slit and a pink crop top that matched the color of some of the flowers. I had brought some of my makeup into Sebastian’s bathroom so I applied some pink eyeshadow, some mascara, and lip gloss. I quickly put my hair into a loose braid and then tied a yellow scrunchie around the base. Perfect. 

Then I raced into my bedroom and saw that the bathroom was empty so I put my stuff away and then rushed into the hanging out bonus room where I saw everyone except Jenni waiting for me. Jenni’s hair was curly ringlets so I guessed her hair care process took a while. While we were waiting, I turned Pandora on the TV and made some popcorn. Then Jenni came in, out of breath.

“Sorry!” she exclaimed. “My hair took forever to get all the chlorine out of it.” 

“You’re fine,” we assured her.
“Thanks. What shall we do?” Jenni asked. 

“We were just talking,” I explained. 

“About what?” she wondered. 

“Nothing much, boys, hair, etcetera.” 

“Cool. I have a discussion question,” Jenni paused, letting us wonder what her question was. 

Chapter Thirty-Eight - What’s The Worst Thing That Could Happen To The World (Not War)?

“What’s the worst thing that could happen to the world not counting a war?” Jenni finally asked. “It was a question in my Seventeen magazine and I was wondering what you all would say,” she added.

“A global pandemic,” I responded. I had experienced this and it was terrible. Although it did have its good points like time with family and realizing how spoiled I had been. “The economic and, um, sickness factors of it,” I continued. 

“Social media ban forever,” Tiffany said seriously. 

I rolled my eyes and said, “Tiff, that would not be the end of the world.” 

“It feels like it would be,” Tiffany said, wounded.

“Sorry, Tiffany. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, I just feel like that wouldn’t be as bad as a global pandemic,” I apologized. 

“It’s fine,” she replied. 

“I think that the worst thing that could happen to the world not, including war, would be it all becoming one BIG country with a communist leader,” Alexia said realistically. 

“Woooah, that’d be terrible,” agreed Jenni. “I’ll take that one.” 

“Same here,” replied Alicia.

Marianna said, “I think that the worst thing could be the sun going out. Because then we’d all be dead.” 

“Yeah, that would be the worst thing,” we all agreed. 

“I’ll say the same thing as Mari,” Christina said. 

“Global pandemic would be terrible though,” Jenni added. “I can’t even imagine wearing a mask everywhere or something like that. What about my lip gloss?” 

“It’s not that bad,” I said. 

Everyone looked at me strangely and I realized that I had just said wearing a mask everywhere wasn’t that bad. How would I know? I know because I’ve lived in a global pandemic but they don’t know that. Luckily, I had visited China when I was 14 so I could use that as a cover. 

“In China, I had to wear a mask everywhere,” I covered. “And it wasn’t that bad.” 

“Oh, okay. You had me confused for a second,” laughed Alicia. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to seem strange there.” I munched a piece of popcorn and sipped my sparkling water. 

An hour later, I checked my watch and realized it was already 5:00. 

“You guys probably have to go home,” I realized. 

“Yeah,” they all agreed.

“I have to get home to my Mom,” Alicia commented. 

“I have to make dinner tonight,” groaned Marianna. “I better get going quick or we won’t be eating until 8:00.” 

“My parents are going out and I have to babysit my little sister, Bridget,” Tiffany said.

“I’m free to go whenever, I don’t have any plans!” exclaimed Alexia. 

“My dad just texted and he needs me to come home and help him with a work thing,” Christina said. “He needs my help with some interior design stuff!”

“That’s great,” I cheered. “Well, thank you all for coming over, I had a great time.” 

I hugged them all, thanked them again, and then they all went home. 

Once they were all out the door, I rushed downstairs to have dinner with my family.

Chapter Thirty-Nine - Why Don’t You Understand? 

My family was sitting around the table waiting for me.

“It’s about time,” Grandma Beatrice muttered. 

“Sorry,” I replied, out of breath. “I had to get everyone out of the house.” 

How could she be so rude? Grandma Beatrice used to be my favorite non-immediate family member. I always felt we were so similar. Looking back, I think it was me who was similar to her. She had always been like this - rude and spoiled - but the fact was that I had been too. 

Mom was obviously annoyed with Grandma Beatrice because she said, “Bea, was that necessary? It’s her day, we can wait a few minutes.” Then she hollered, “Christa, she’s here! Dinner should be served now.” 

Who is the impatient one now? I thought to myself. 

I pushed aside my thoughts because dinner had arrived. It was homemade macaroni and cheese and tamales, yum. The kids got to have milkshakes and the grown-ups had iced tea. Christa served us each a generous serving of food, starting with Mom and ending at me. Mom did not like this one bit.

“Christa, you’re so worthless,” she shouted. “Couldn’t you serve the birthday girl first? One more mistake and you’re-” 

I cut her off, mind and heart racing. “STOP!” I yelled. “That’s no way to treat someone that works for you! If you push her off the edge, she won’t climb back up and work for you. She’ll find someone to work for in the valley! Christa’s been too kind to us all these years and we treat her like garbage again and again! Well I, for one, am SICK of it. If you want to fire her, I’ll give her the money in my college account. Then she won’t need to work, because there’s a LOT in there, and she can relax or spend time with her family and make up for how badly we’ve treated her,” I finished. 

“We pay her plenty,” Dad reminded me.

“I know but her conditions aren’t good, Dad. Look at this, Mom is screaming her head off at Christa because she served me last. I didn’t even care! Even if I had, yelling at her was not the option.” 

“Sydney, please don’t do this to yourself,” Christa pleaded. “You don’t want to get in trouble.” 

“Why don’t you understand?” I asked. “This family is stuck up, spoiled, and too rich for our own good! I admit I was a problem before too,” I paused. “I’m sorry if I’ve been stating my opinions too aggressively. I just hope you hear me. I’m going to calm down and hope that I can still have cake,” I added. They didn’t know the real reason why I wanted to have cake tonight, to wish myself back into the COVID world, but I’m sure they understood what I was saying. “Just think about it,” I begged. 

“Whatever you say, darling,” Mom said as she rubbed her temples. 

“Okay,” replied Dad. 

“You are just going to let that disrespectful little girl off the hook like that?” asked Grandma, appalled at such a thought. 

“Well, yes…” Mom said. “It’s her birthday.”

“And she’s right,” muttered Dad. 

“What, David?” asked Grandma and my mom. 

“She’s right?” he said (but it sounded more like a question). 

“Oh, David…” Grandma said. 

“David, honey,” Mom said, shaking her head. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, perfectly fine,” he replied. 

“David, we’re trying to raise our kids properly.” 

“That’s why I decided to stop following your lead,” he quipped. “She’s right, however, she didn’t say it in quite the best way. She apologized for it, though, so she realizes how she said it was wrong.”

“Well, I never!” Mom shoved her seat back, stood up, and ran upstairs. She quickly came back down with a bag in hand and took off toward the garage calling, “I’m spending the night at a hotel to clear my head while you think about what you said.” 

I sat there, shocked. What had I done? My parents had both toned down the spoiling during COVID, they agreed on most things now. Before COVID, they had been having some marriage issues but that all stopped when they worked together and spent more time together. But if I couldn’t get out of this reality, I was stuck in a mess I had made by trying to make the world a better place. 

I shoved my tasty dinner down my throat and then asked for the cake to be served. I wanted it to be served quickly so I could make my wish and then go upstairs. 

Christa served it and lit the candles. Then they all sang Happy Birthday. 

When it was time to blow out the candles, I paused and carefully formed my wish. Then I took a deep breath and wished. I wish to go back to the COVID reality. I want to go home. Then I blew out the candles in one try. Now all I could do is hope it worked. 

After I blew out the candles, Christa cut up the cake. She gave us all generous slices, especially me! The cake was a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, marshmallow frosting, and graham cracker crumble - a s’more cake. The ice cream choices were s’mores ice cream and french vanilla ice cream. I choose a large scoop of each as well as my slice of cake. 

The cake was super tasty and I was glad I had such a generous portion. Sebastian finished his cake around the same time as I had whereas Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, and Ashley were still eating. 

Sebastian locked eye contact with me and mouthed, “Upstairs, now.” 

I gave him a quizzical look and mouthed, “Okay.” I pushed back my seat and said, “I’m going to turn in for the night.” Turning to Christa, I said, “Is it okay if I go upstairs now? Or would you like help with the dishes?” 

“You never volunteer to help with dishes,” she said with a shocked expression on her face. “But let’s not start that today, it’s your birthday. You are more than welcome to help another day but not on your special day.” 

“Alright,” I agreed. “Sleep well. And thanks for the delicious food. It made my birthday special.” 

Christa blushed and then said, “Of course. It’s my job!” 

“Goodnight, everyone!” I said to the rest of my family.

“Nigh nigh, Sissy!” Ashley waved and blew me a kiss.

I blew one back and waved as well. Then I left the dining room with Sebastian following. Noticing my pile of gifts sitting by the stairs, I picked up as many as I could carry and Sebastian picked up the remainder. Together we carried them to my room. 

Once we were in my room, Sebastian opened his mouth and said, “What was that show downstairs?” 

“Show?” I asked, confused. 

“Yeah. You’ve never acted like that in your life. You’ve never been like that nor have you ever wanted to be that person you were downstairs. Honestly, I think that person was a good person but it’s not someone who belongs in this house. We are spoiled, I know. It’s a lot sometimes but that’s how we roll here.” 

“Seb, I don’t know if it was me being hormonal or if that’s the new me,” I lied and twirled my hair nervously. I did know - this was the new me. The kind, reflective, sometimes over the top when fighting for what I believe in, me. “Okay? If you can’t come to terms with what this means, that’s fine.” I paused and then huffed under my breath, “It’s not like I’ll be here tomorrow, anyway.”

“What?” Sebastian questioned. “You won’t be here?” 

“No,” I laughed nervously. “I said, ‘it’s not like you’ll talk to me tomorrow, anyway,’ because you never talk to me.” 

“Haha, sis. Look, Mom and Dad have been having real marital problems since March. They started to pull it together and were doing okay until this ‘New You’,” he mimicked, “Appeared. You know Dad wants us to not be so spoiled and Mom practically adores being spoiled and spoiling. When they’ve just started to work this out you decide to side with Dad, giving him a reason to fight back against Mom? Not cool,” he said as he shook his head.

“Why don’t you understand? You even said it yourself and I quote, ‘We are spoiled, I know. It’s a lot sometimes but that’s how we roll here.’ Sebastian, we don’t have to roll like that. If you can see it then why don’t you fight back too?” 

“Because I have sense,” he said and stalked out of the room. 

“Huh?” I asked myself, shocked and open mouthed. 

Chapter Forty - You Have Been Found… INNOCENT? 

“What was that?” I pondered. “Mom and Dad had been having real marriage problems? I never knew that… That’s why Mom left for the night instead of just sleeping in a different room like she used to. I hope I didn’t just cause a divorce!” 

“Who are you talking to?” Amelia’s voice startled me. 

“Oh, just myself.” I blushed. 

“I do that too,” she said. “It helps you get your thoughts together. If you are thinking then you can’t process as well. How are you feeling about your parents, anyway?” she asked sympathetically. “I couldn’t help but overhear part of your conversation with yourself and I heard the ruckus downstairs. Of course, you don’t have to tell me,” she added. 

It appeared that I usually rejected her olive branches, her attempts to become closer with me. While I wasn’t sure if I would be staying in this reality, I did want to be sure to create peace while I was here. 

“I’m okay about it,” I answered. “I feel bad because I sort of caused them to fight like that… I became a less spoiled person and they couldn’t take tha on top of all of their other problems. Plus I didn’t say some of it in the best way,” I added. 

“It’s not your fault,” reasoned Amelia. “You were pretty disrespectful at times but you trying to be a better human being shouldn’t cause that much of a blow-up,” she continued. “Your mom does have a rather strong personality and has a hard time when people counter her beliefs.” 

“Thanks, Amelia. You’re the best!” I hugged her and then said, “I have to get ready for bed now.” 

“Of course,” she agreed. “I’ll leave you to it.”  

She left the room, leaving me to the silence and guilt of the evening. I felt like I had been at court and the judge, Amelia, had found me innocent but none of the spectators agreed, including myself. 

I checked the time and found that it was 8:45, about an hour and 15 minutes until I had to go to bed. I decided to change into the pajamas Alicia gave me and left on the necklaces I got from Grandma and Grandpa and Nolan. I tied my hair up with one of the new scrunchies and then grabbed a book. 

Settling down into bed, I snuggled my blankets and was quickly engrossed in my book. 

At 10:00, I set my book on the nightstand, turned out the light, and found myself in a deep sleep. 

 

Chapter Forty-One - Good Morning

Sunlight poured through the windows of my bedroom, waking me from my sleep. I sat up in bed and yawned, stretching my arms up toward the ceiling. I looked around my bedroom as I thought about the very crazy dream I’d had last night. 

Clink. Clink. I looked down at my neck which was making clinking sounds. When I realized it was the necklaces I had received in my crazy dream, I was taken aback. 

“What?” I asked myself, confused. “I thought that was a dream. But things can’t come through a dream. That was real!” 

The memories of yesterday came flooding back to me. The party, Sebastian, Alicia’s mom’s cancer, the potential divorce, and Ashley’s confused face during all of the arguments. Sebastian! Alicia’s mom’s cancer! The potential divorce! Ashley! I had so many people I needed to talk to! Which was the most important? Alicia’s mom, I decided. That was the only thing that could still be a problem. COVID stopped Mom and Dad’s marital problems, Sebastian and I grew closer during COVID so our fight wouldn’t matter (I just wanted a hug), and the same for Ashley. Kate’s cancer wouldn’t have been stopped by the pandemic, that didn’t sound physically possible, so therefore that was the more important thing to start with. 

I hurriedly turned on my phone and opened my chat with Alicia. 

Sydney < Ali, is there anything going on that I should know about? U seemed super stressed yesterday. 

Alicia < My mom has breast cancer! I should have told u yesterday but I didn’t want 2 ruin ur b-day… I ruined it by being mad @ u tho...

Alicia < I’m so sorry, Syd. I’ve been so stressed and then I was mad and used it as an excuse to not come and spend every second with my mom. 

Sydney < I forgive u, Alicia. What stage?

Alicia < One, thank goodness. Sorry again, Sydney.

Sydney < It’s okay, Alicia. I get it. 

Alicia seemed embarrassed and upset, I felt so bad for her. Yes, I was a little upset that she was only mad at me because of stress and she blamed not wanting to come over (on my birthday) on our “fight” but I was relieved to hear that she was hanging in there. 

Sydney < Let my family know if u need anything. Luv u like a sister, Alicia.

Alicia < Luv u like a sister 2. I’m sorry and ur the best friend ever! I should have told u the real reason I wasn’t coming instead of lying to u! I’m as bad as I said u were! I’m sorry.

Sydney < ALICIA! I’m not mad so u shouldn’t be either. It’s ok.

Alicia < Thank you, Syd. YOU’RE THE BEST FRIEND EVER! Do u want 2 hang out tomorrow @ Phillips Park to make up for me missing ur bday? At 5? 

Sydney < Sure! See ya!

Alicia < See ya! 

I was feeling relieved that we were not in a fight anymore. Then I quickly got dressed in whitewashed jean shorts, a black tee that says, “School Kills My Vibe,” a black and white flannel, and my black, combat boots. 

After I was dressed, I raced to my bathroom and applied mascara. Then I tossed my hair into a messy bun. A black scrunchie was the perfect touch to this simple and cute outfit. A bonus was my nail polish from my non-COVID birthday had come through with me and it matched my outfit. 

Lastly, I made sure the necklaces Nolan had given me (in non-COVID world) were on but nobody would see the necklace with our hearts intertwined. 

Then I rushed to go wake up Ashley. When I got to her room, I opened the door.

“Wakey wakey. Eggs and bakey!” I called joyfully. 

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” she protested when I tickled her feet in an attempt to wake her up. 

“Okay,” I agreed. “Rocket booster out of bed?” 

“Wocket boostew! Wocket boostew!” she chanted. 

I held her under the armpits and said, “3-2-1 BLAST OFF! Woah! This rocket is out of control!”

“Whee!” she giggled. 

Once we had landed safely on the ground she was able to get ready herself so I gave her a quick hug and left her to get ready. 

On my way back to my room, I noticed Sebastian’s light was on so I knocked on the door softly. I was eager to give him a huge hug and tell him how grateful I was that our relationship was close now. 

“Come in!” he replied. 

“Hey, Seb.” 

“Lil’ sis, how did you sleep?” 

“Amazing, thanks for asking. What about you?”

“Pretty decent, thanks.” 

His kindness made something inside me snap and I could not wait any longer for the much-needed hug. I raced over and hugged him tightly. To my surprise, he hugged me back. 

When I let go, I mustered up the courage to speak. “I’m glad we’re close now,” I said. “Before COVID we kind of hated each other but I’m glad that we are friends now.” 

“Me too. You’re pretty cool for a little sister,” he teased. 

“Thanks,” I replied, grinning ear to ear. “I’m going to go read my book, I think it’s calling my name.” 

I turned around and started to walk out of the room. My necklaces clinked together and I hurried to tuck the Sydney and Nolan necklace back into my shirt. Luckily the writing on the hearts was very small and I thought I had tucked them into my shirt fast enough. 

“Wait, Sydney. What necklaces are those?” he asked suspiciously, startling me. “I’ve never seen them before.” 

“Oh, just ones I found in my jewelry box,” I lied while twisting my hair. “They must have been from 6th grade.” 

There was absolutely no way I could tell him I went out of COVID world and had my birthday all over again. How would I explain that? How could I explain the necklaces, the new PJ’s, any of it? Maybe it would be better if I didn’t wear the necklaces at all? But I loved them. Unsure of what to do, I looked Sebastian in the eye as he began to talk again. 

“Why are you hiding one of them under your shirt then? You love to show off your jewelry.” 

“Oh, it’s just embarrassing but I love the memory.” 

I quickly pulled the necklace out and stealthily flipped it over so the engraved words weren’t visible. 

“See, it’s two hearts intertwined. That’s so little kiddish,” I said.

“Okay,” he said half-heartedly. 

Unsure if he believed me, I dropped it. If I kept going I would seem pushy and like I was lying (which I was). 

“Enjoy your book,” he added. 

“Oh, I will!” I reassured him.

I quickly rushed to my room and shut the door, heart racing and breathing high speed. 

“Whew,” I said, wiping the sweat from my brow. “That was a close one. Maybe I shouldn't wear the necklaces.” 

Mind still racing, I hopped onto my bean bag and opened my book. 

Chapter Forty-Two - Feeling Grateful

Engrossed in my book, I didn’t hear my door open. I hadn’t even noticed someone was in my room until Mom’s hand touched my shoulder.

“Syd?” she asked. 

“Huh? Yes?” I replied, startled. 

“I was calling and calling,” she started. “It’s breakfast time! I’m glad to see that you’re engrossed in your book and not on your phone,” she teased. 

“Yeah,” I responded. “It’s a great book.” 

“Good, I’m glad you like it. I picked it out, you know.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yes. It was a book that dealt with a bit of racism and whatnot and it looked really interesting so I pulled it off the shelf.” 

“Well you were right, it’s super interesting. Thanks!” I said, joyfully. “Can I have a hug?” 

“Oh, sure,” she replied, seeming startled. 

I don’t think she expected that question. 

“Thanks,” I said as I ran over to hug her. 

“Wow,” she said. “That was a tight hug. It was as if you haven’t seen me for at least a day!” 

“Oh, haha,” I laughed nervously. 

Yikes, she caught me! I knew she wasn’t seriously considering the fact that I wasn’t with her for a day but I knew the truth, I hadn’t been with the COVID her for a whole day. The entire time I had been with her yesterday, she was mad at me. The new her, the COVID her, is a great person, a kind person who wants the REAL best for me. Not the rich best for me. I had been bitter the other day when she corrected me but really she wanted the best for me, I thought. 

“I love you, Mom.” 

“I love you.” 

“Thanks for being a great Mom,” I said, feeling grateful. 

“Aww shucks.” She blushed and added, “But I’m not always a great mom and I wasn’t always a great mom. Anyway, let’s go eat breakfast.”

“Yes, let’s!” I agreed. 

Linking my arm in hers, we walked out of my room, down the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Ashley, Sebastian, and Dad were sitting with their breakfast in front of them. Ashley had a bowl full of Sesame Street cereal, Sebastian had a plate of toast, eggs, and bacon, and Dad had a bowl of steaming oatmeal.

“I made confetti pancakes last night that you can have for breakfast today,” Mom began. “Since your birthday breakfast wasn’t everything you had hoped it would be, I thought I could make you a special post-birthday breakfast.”

“Aw, thanks!” I replied. “Oh, and I’m sorry for how I treated you all yesterday. I loved my gifts and I was pretty rude about the quantity. Also, I overreacted about breakfast. While I would have preferred cinnamon rolls, my pop tarts and Oreo cookies were solid. My attitude was pretty bad while you guys were doing all you could to make my special day memorable.”

“Thanks, sister,” Sebastian said. “It takes guts to apologize for all that. Much respect.” 

“Sydney, I can’t believe you just did that,” said Dad who looked impressed. “You have matured as a young lady in the past few months. Love you, kid.” 

“Thanks, Syd!” Mom said. “Love you. Now eat your breakfast. I can hear your tummy rumbling from here!” She paused and added, “I also made whipped cream to go with the pancakes. It’s in the fridge by the jam.” 

“Really? Thanks! How did you know that’s what I had been craving?” I asked, awestruck. 

“Mom’s instinct,” she replied, smiling. 

I got the container of pancakes, syrup, watermelon, and the whipped cream out of the fridge. Then I warmed up three pancakes and some leftover eggs and bacon, which Sebastian had left out for me. Once my food was warm, I poured a large amount of syrup on my pancakes and a bit on my watermelon. Then I put a generous amount of whipped cream on my pancakes and my fruit. To top it off, I added a handful of sprinkles. 

“That looks like a sugar overload,” Sebastian said.

“Yep,” I agreed rather than arguing. “But it looks tasty!” 

I dug into my large breakfast, grateful that my mom hadn’t told me to watch my portion sizes. Yesterday (during my non-COVID birthday) was enough, ‘Watch your weight!’ for me. Being a model sounded fun but not if my mom was going to make me feel bad about eating a little extra on holidays/special days. Or even eating enough on regular days. 

After I had finished my breakfast, I cleaned up my dishes without being told. Mom and Dad gave each other impressed looks and then smiled at me. I smiled back and went to brush my teeth. 

Once I was done with my breakfast, I ran downstairs to hang out with my family. 

“Sydney, we have some good news for you!” my mom chirped. 

“Oh yes?” I asked, excited. 

“You know how we were looking for places for you to be a model for clothes in February?” she began. 

“Yes,” I said, unsure of where this was going.

“Well because of COVID stores didn’t need as many models but Old Navy and Nike both emailed us yesterday and want to sign you as a model!” she squealed. 

“That’s great,” I responded. 

“They told me a girl named Aaralynn really wants the job so you’ll have to act quickly,” Mom added. 

Was this great? I had just been feeling grateful that I wasn’t a model because my mom turned into a watch your weight monster when I had become one. Gritting my teeth, I thought it over in my head. 

“So?” asked my dad.

“So?” repeated my mom. 

“So?” echoed Sebastian, who had been listening from the hallway.

“So,” I replied. “I think I’m going to let someone else who wants to do it more than me have the job.” 

“Okay,” Mom said. “I’ll let both companies know the other girl, Caralynn or whatever her name was, have the job.”

“It was Aaralynn, and yes. Go ahead,” I agreed. “I’ll get a different job, one that doesn’t have so much stress about weight. Maybe I’ll apply to work at Old Navy as a fashion consultant or a clothing stocker.”

“YOU? A job?” Dad laughed quietly. “Sweetie, you’ve grown in these past few days. I’m so proud of you. Just the other day you were screaming about having to get a job and now you want one.” 

“Yeah, I was pretty bratty,” I admitted. “But I realized that even if you guys don’t need my money to afford things, I’ll need my own money eventually. COVID and moving woke me up to the fact that money doesn’t always last and you need to work hard to get it. Plus, even if you work hard to get it, it can crumble like a crunchy cookie.” 

“Wow, so deep,” Sebastian said. 

“It was,” I defended. 

“Seb, please go upstairs,” Dad said. 

“I’m going out with Alicia,” Sebastian said. “Is that okay? We’re going to socially distance and play tennis. Pray for me!” he joked. “Alicia is good.” 

“Sure, see you, Sebastian!” 

I waved goodbye and my parents did the same. 

From her room, Ashley shouted most adorably, “GOOBYE SEBASTIN!” 

Normally Sebastian got mad when Ashley tried to say his name (but said tin instead of tian) but today he just yelled back.

“BYE ASH! LOVE YOU!” he yelled. 

Then he turned around and left the house. 

“I’m going to start job searching next week,” I added. 

“Way to go!” encouraged Mom.

“My little baby is growing up,” teased Dad, mock wiping a tear from his eye.

“Won’t Grandpa and Grandma be so proud,” Mom said.

“Well, no,” I hissed under my breath. 

“What?” Dad asked. 

“No, they always encouraged me not to work. Well, Grandma did.” 

“True. But maybe her trip to the hospital did her some good?” Dad said mischievously. 

“OMG,” I realized. “Grandma Bea is in the hospital!” 

“Yeah…” Mom said. “We told you yesterday. Remember? You had a tantrum about it?” 

“Oh, yeah. I just had a weird dream last night.” I twisted my hair around my pointer finger and added, “She was not sick in my dream so I just forgot, I guess.” This was partly true, she hadn’t been sick, but it wasn’t a dream. It was real life and I had proof - my necklaces and pajamas. “Can I call her?” I asked.

“No, she’s too sick to talk and no visitors - we might get COVID.” 

“Oh, okay.” 

Grandma-wise, which life was better? Non-COVID, where she was a royal pain, or COVID-life, where she was laying in a hospital bed, potentially dying? For her sake, COVID life was the worst option. All we could do is pray that she’ll get better and have a change of heart.

The next morning, I awoke to the bright sunlight flooding my room. I glanced at my clock and realized it was 10:00, I had slept in! I grabbed my phone and texted Alicia. 

Sydney < ACK! SLEPT IN!!

Alicia < LOL, that is sleeping in. Hardcore sleeping in, lucky.

Sydney < What should I wear today? 

I peeked into my closet, hoping for some inspiration. I couldn’t find anything suitable. Everything looked old and boring. Reminding myself I was lucky to have so many clothes, I checked my phone again. There was a text from Alicia.

Alicia < Hmmm... 🤔 I see my white (w/ black shoulder, sleeve, and neckline details) Adidas shirt. U have a similar 1, we could matchish? 

Sydney < Yes! I’ll wear my blue w/ white detail one. 

Alicia < I’ll wear my black jean shorts and black and white superstars? 

Sydney < Sounds gr8! I’ll wear whitewashed jean shorts and light blue superstars. Plus my matching hat. G2G get dressed, see you @ 5. 

Alicia < See you then!

I texted her goodbye and got dressed quickly. Then I ran into my shared bathroom to do my hair and put in earrings. I put light blue hoop earrings in my first piercings and white studs in the second piercings. I put my straight, blond hair into a high ponytail. Then I added a smidge of light blue eyeshadow and some mascara. 

I glanced at the pretty girl in the mirror and smiled. Now it was time to wake up Ashley. 

I woke her up and she asked me for help picking out her outfit. Together we chose jean shorts and a button-up, ribbed t-shirt. Then I tied her hair up with a matching scrunchie. Once she was ready, we went downstairs to eat breakfast together. 

The rest of the day passed slowly but finally, it was 4:50; time to go to Phillips Park to meet Alicia. I slid my phone into my back pocket, grabbed a mask, and went into the garage. I kicked on my Superstars and then jogged to the park. 

Once I was at the park, I checked my watch which read 5 o’clock exactly. Looking around for Alicia, I realized we hadn’t arranged a spot to meet. I put on my mask just as hands wrapped around my face, blocking my vision. 

Chapter Forty-Three - Best Friends Forever

“Guess who?” a deep voice asked.

“A crazy kidnapper?” I guessed.

“It’s me,” squealed Alicia in her regular voice. 

“Oh, thank goodness!” I said gratefully. 

“Ready to hang out?” she asked. “Love the outfit, by the way.” 

“Thanks,” I replied. “My best friend helped me pick it out.” 

Alicia grinned and asked, “What should we do?” 

“Hmm,” I paused to think. “They have a station where you can rent tennis gear here. We could play tennis!” 

“Well, I could text my mom and she could bring my tennis stuff. I have plenty of extra sets. That way we don’t have to touch the gear or anything. I can’t get COVID, it would affect my mom a lot more since she has cancer,” Alicia said solemnly. 

“That makes sense,” I agreed. 

Alicia shot her mom a text and then we sat on a solar charging bench to wait for her. 

10 minutes later Kate pulled up in her red Tesla Model X. She stepped out of the car and looked as fabulous as ever except her face, which looked tired and drained. She walked to the front of the car and opened up the trunk. After pulling out Alicia’s tennis racket and balls, she slid on her mask and walked over to us. Click-clack went her stunning black high heels which matched her stylish black skinny jeans and black coat. Her expensive white shirt gave her outfit some depth. 

“I love your outfit, Ms. Kate,” I said politely (while wondering where my racket to borrow was). Alicia’s mom was a stickler for manners and politeness and I had to be sure I was polite and had good manners. 

“Thank you, Miss Sydney.” Turning to Alicia, she said, “Here is the racket. Have fun and be careful.”

“Mom! Wait!” Alicia cried out. 

“Yes, Alicia?” Kate questioned. 

“May I please have a hug?” 

“Yes, you may,” Kate said as she click-clacked her way over to Alicia. 

They embraced and I could feel the emotion of the moment. I didn’t blame Alicia one bit for wanting a hug. If my mom was diagnosed with cancer I would hug her every second of the day. 

“I have a work zoom now,” Kate said. “I have to go.” 

“Okay,” Alicia sighed. 

“Chin up, love. I’ll be alright. Have fun with your friend and be back by 7:00.” 

“Yes ma’am!” Alicia responded.

“I hope your work zoom goes well, Ms. Kate,” I added respectfully. 

“Thanks, Sydney.” Kate smiled and added, “I’m sorry Alicia wasn’t feeling up to your birthday hang out a couple of days ago. I have something in the car for you to make it up to you.” 

“Oh, it’s okay!” I told her.

“It’s something you’ll like,” Kate said. 

“I got more than enough gifts.” 

“Please, I want to do this.” 

“Okay…” I said, unsure. 

Kate walked back to her car and pulled out a tennis racket and ball set from the car. Then she click-clacked over to me again.

“Here, Sydney. I don’t believe you have one of these?” 

“No, I don’t. Thank you so much! My parents never played tennis and Seb and I only play it with Alicia. Now I can play with Sebastian, too. Thanks, Kate!” I gushed. 

“Of course. Now I really must get going. See you, girls, later.”

“Goodbye!” 

“Bye, Mom!” Alicia yelled. 

We waved as she sped off toward their house. 

“Now we could play tennis,” I offered.

“Sure, sounds great!” replied Alicia. 

We walked over to the tennis courts and began to play. As we played singles we talked about life, Kate’s cancer, my birthday, and Sebastian and Alicia’s relationship. 

“You’re my best friend,” I blurted as Alicia was talking.

I walked over to her and gave her a big, mask-on hug. 

“You’re mine,” she replied with a grin on her face.

“What?” I asked. “I’m so grateful to have a friend like you. You didn’t drop me like a hot potato because I moved to a smaller house, you’re still hanging out with me even though your mom has cancer, you’re always kind, and you’re so fun to talk to and be with.” 

“Thanks, Syd!” Alicia replied. “Back at ya! I love you like a sister,” she adds.

“I love you like a sister too, Ali.” 

“That’s cute,” a male voice said from behind us. 

“What? Who said that?!” we shrieked in unison. 

“OMG kidnapper,” whispered Alicia.

“Oh my gosh is right! I hope not,” I whisper-laughed back. 

We grab hands and turn around fearfully to see Nolan, Noah (from my new neighborhood), and Sebastian, all standing there laughing. 

“Oh, it’s you!” I laughed. “Hey!” 

“Hey, Syd,” Nolan said, looking cute as ever. 

“Nolan, fancy seeing you here,” I said while glancing down to make sure my necklace was hidden. 

“Sydney, how was your birthday?” asked Noah. 

“It was pretty good,” I responded.

“Is anyone else coming?” I ask. 

“Um, no,” Sebastian said. “I met Noah on my way to hang out with Nolan and invited him to come with us. He said you met him yesterday.” 

“Yeah, we met.” I shot a glance at Nolan and noticed he looked jealous so I decided to shoot a text to one of our other friends. “I’ll text one of our other friends, MacKenzie, and see if she can make it. It’s only 5:45 so we have at least an hour and 15 minutes to hang out.” 

“I’m sure Alicia can get her curfew extended,” Sebastian said as he grinned. 

“I can try,” Alicia replied. 

Meanwhile, I decided to text MacKenzie asking if she wanted to come hang out. She said yes.

At 5:50, MacKenzie showed up in front of us wearing jean shorts, a pink floral cardigan, a pink cropped tank top, and a pink mask. Her long, blonde-almost-white hair was tied up in a VSCO bun with a pink scrunchie. She looked great and I could tell Noah agreed. 

“Hey, guys!” MacKenzie said. 

“Hi, Mac!” I responded. 

“Hey, you must be MacKenzie,” Noah said. “I’m Noah, Syd’s neighbor.” 

“Nice to meet you,” she replied. “Shall we get a bite to eat?” 

“Sure!” Sebastian and Alicia said at the same time. 

“Let’s go,” I agreed. “I’m hungry.”  

Chapter Forty-Five - Friends and Family 

We walked to DQ and ordered our food. Then we walked back to the park and spread out to enjoy our dinner. By the time we were done eating, it was 7:00 and Alicia couldn’t convince her mom to lengthen her curfew. Since Alicia was leaving, Sebastian decided to head out. He took Noah with him since Noah didn’t know the area as well (it’s the rich people area). MacKenzie sensed that Nolan and I wanted to be alone so she left and promised to text me later. 

“So, um Syd,” Nolan started. 

“Yeah, Nolan?” I asked.

“Well it’s weird because of COVID but I can see that Sebastian and Alicia made it work so I thought we could give dating a try?” he asked.

“Yes, sure!” I exclaimed. 

“I was worried you would say no,” he said. 

Even though he had a mask on I could tell he was blushing. I’m sure he could see that I was blushing too.

“Of course not,” I replied. “I’ve liked you for as long as I can remember,” I admitted. 

“Really?” his face lit up. “Me too but for you!” 

“Well, sorry to interrupt this moment but I have to get home,” I said regretfully.

“Yeah, me too.” 

“See ya, boyfriend.” 

“See ya, girlfriend.” 

We both waved and then walked off toward our own houses. 

When I got home my family was waiting for me. 

“Come have cake with us,” Mom said.

“It’s the leftovers from yesterday,” added my dad.

“Okay,” I agreed. 

My family all sat at the banquet with large slices of cake and a pile of ice cream in front of them, except Mom who had a small slice of cake and one scoop of ice cream. One seat was empty, mine, with the largest portion of all. I sat down next to them and dug in. 

Once we all had finished eating, Dad told Ashley to go to bed. Then the rest of us watched Jumanji together. I loved hanging out with my family and realized if I had stayed in non-COVID world, I wouldn’t have been this close to them. I would have been eating the leftover cake in secret because my mom wanted me to watch my weight. I would have been watching a movie alone. Sure, some things would have been better like no masks, no social distancing, and no deaths from a global pandemic, but a lot of things would have been worse. This reality wasn’t perfect but all in all, it was better than it would have been without COVID. 

“Love you guys,” I whispered.

“Love you guys,” Sebastian echoed.

“Love you,” added my mom.

“Love you,” repeated Dad. 

Then we snuggled closer on the couch to watch the end of the movie. 

Once the movie was over, we went to our rooms and went to bed. I changed into my comfy pajamas and jumped into my bed. 

After pulling my sheet up, I layed there thinking about how great my family and friends are. Well, except Grandma Beatrice. Just kidding Grandma Bea, you too. 

My family was supportive and loving. They always wanted the best for me, they just had different opinions when it came to what was best for me. Grandma Bea’s opinion of what was best for me was different from my parent’s opinions but that’s what makes us unique, we all have different opinions. 

My friends were so supportive and kind as well. They always had my back and weren’t afraid to kindly re-direct me if I went astray from who I should be. Alicia and I still got along even though I changed into the “New Me” so quickly. Just because she was more similar to the old me didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends. And Nolan, oh Nolan. He’s so sweet and funny. He makes me laugh every day of the week, no matter my mood. I’m so lucky to have him as a friend, let alone a boyfriend. MacKenzie, Noah, and all my other friends were very similar in character to Nolan and Alicia. They were all very special to me. And now that I think about it, Sebastian counts as a friend now. That is very different from what non-COVID life was like. I’m glad to have a slightly older brother who is so funny, kind, supportive, and wise. 

And this house, don’t even get me started. While at first, I had hated it, I realized that it’s a great house. I love the decor and the beach vibes. My room has a balcony, which even my room at my old house didn’t have, for Pete’s sake. This house is great! And I even knew it when I was mad, I just didn’t let anyone else know. COVID brought me a house that is smaller but better. Who needed all those rooms? 2 extra bedrooms plus 2 playrooms plus 8.5 bathrooms, it’s too much! Just enough rooms for our family plus ONE great playroom is perfect. There’s a town/city pool, who needs their own pool? It’s just maintenance. And we have many parks within walking distance, who needs a great backyard? Not me! 

COVID wasn’t so bad after all. It brought my family closer together, it gave me a brother as a friend, it made me less of a spoiled brat. Also, it taught me some important things: 1. You have to work for your money; 2. Even if you work for your money, life happens. It might not last; 3. Money isn’t everything; 4. Contrary to popular belief, bigger isn’t always better; and 5. Nobody likes a spoiled brat, not even the spoiled person themself. 

Smiling happily to myself, I fell asleep dreaming of my wonderful life. 

The End!