Madison's Journey

Chapter 7

The following night, as the light of the moon shown down through the skylight above them, Madison, Kelly and Christy sat on stools in Christy’s kitchen creating their pizza masterpieces. Pizza sauce and toppings covered every inch of the kitchen island. Music was blaring from Christy’s phone and every once in a while, one of them would burst into song and dance wildly in their seat.

“So, Mads, what’s going on next weekend?” Kelly was eating a piece of pepperoni and sprinkling cheese all over her meat covered pizza as she spoke. 

“What? Oh, I’m not sure, why?”

“December first? Ring a bell?”

Madison gasped, “Oh my god. I totally forgot.”

Christy, who had just taken a sip of her pop, spit it all over the counter. “Mads, seriously? You forgot your own birthday?” Madison shook her head in disbelief, not sure what to say. 

“Mads, you’re so funny. Who does that?” Kelly laughed, and pretty soon all three girls were giggling.

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been so busy. I have to work all weekend, but maybe I can trade or find someone to cover for me, and we can do a sleepover on Saturday.”

“That would be fun.” Kelly finished her pizza and popped it in the oven.

“We can do it at my house if you want, Mads. My parents won’t mind, and we’ll have the whole basement.”

“That’s a great idea, Christy. If it’s okay with you, Mad?”

Madison grinned. “Sure. That sounds awesome. What should I bring?”

“Um, duh. You’re the birthday girl. You don’t bring anything. We’ve got it covered.” Kelly looked towards Christy, tilting her head in question and she nodded in agreement.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Kelly smiled at her friend. “What kind of cake do you want? Ice cream, like usual?”

Madison nodded and the kitchen was filled with laughter again. The rest of the evening was spent talking, laughing and eating, and it was almost midnight when Madison made it home. It was late and she knew she’d regret it in the morning, but she had a great time with her friends and was excited for her birthday sleepover.

The following Saturday, Madison walked the twenty minutes to Christy’s house. She was excited; today was her sixteenth birthday, and she was celebrating with her three closest friends. She knocked on Christy’s front door and heard whispering as the door flew open.

“Surprise!” Madison looked up in shock and saw an entire room full of people. 

“What the?”

“Surprise!”

Madison walked further into the living room and was surrounded by at least fifteen people. Her face flushed and her words caught in her chest as her friends slyly smiled at her. Multiple sets of arms reached out to her, pulling her in every direction for hugs and ‘happy birthdays.’

“Amy! What did you guys do?” She asked as Amy wrapped her in a great big hug.

“Are you surprised?”

“Uh, yeah!”

“Good. We thought it’d be fun. And I know I’ve been distracted lately, so I wanted to make sure you had the best birthday ever.”

“May I cut in and give the birthday girl a hug?” Derrick appeared beside Madison, looking particularly cute, and she was glad she had chosen to wear her best pair of jeans.

Amy smirked, “Of course.” She stepped away allowing Derrick to grab Madison in a tight hug.

“Happy birthday,” he whispered in her ear, sending goose bumps all along her skin.

“Thanks,” she whispered back. Then he was pulled away and she was surrounded by more people. 

Once the dust settled, the party got started. The girls had planned games and karaoke, and everyone spent the evening chatting and laughing. After cake, Madison had a mound of birthday presents to open. She had thought that she wouldn’t get a single present, and now she was getting more than she could have ever imagined. There was make up, books, money, gift cards and clothes. Everyone had been extremely generous, and she was over the moon.

As the party started to die down, Derrick approached her. “Hey, can you come outside with me for a minute?” He grabbed her hand without waiting for a response and lead her out to the back patio. “So, I just wanted to give you this in private before I left.” He had a small gift box in his hand and the corners of Madison’s mouth turned upwards as she took the box from him.

“Thanks,” she unwrapped it, butterflies in her stomach, to find a beautiful pair of elephant earrings inside. “What? Wow! How did you know?”

His eyes twinkled as he pointed to the elephant around her neck. She touched it gently and he smiled. “I took a guess. I mean, I’ve never seen you without that necklace on, so I thought you must like elephants and I wanted to get you something special.” And then, before she had time to respond, he put his arm around her waist and bent down so that his lips could meet hers. He pulled away and looked at her gently. “I hope that was okay.”

She could barely breath. Her stomach fluttered and she felt tingling throughout her whole body as she nodded, “Yes,” was all she managed before he pulled her in for another kiss. They stayed out on the porch for a few minutes, until Derrick had to leave. Madison floated back into the house holding his hand. She walked him to the door, and when she got back into the living room, everyone but her three friends were gone. She flopped down on the couch in a daze and everyone started talking at once. They had all seen Madison and Derrick kissing, and they were ecstatic for her. The girls spent the rest of the night talking about boys and Madison’s new relationship status. She put her earrings on right away and couldn’t believe what an incredible birthday she’d had. They stayed up late watching movies, eating and talking, and Madison was glad that she had found someone to cover her shift the next day. She wanted to live in this moment and not let her responsibilities ruin this amazing day. 

Madison woke up the following morning and it took her a few seconds to remember where she was. She looked around and grinned at the sight of her friends sleeping around her. Laying back on her pillow, she replayed the events of the night, specifically the kissing part. She reached over for her phone and saw that she had three new text messages. All from Derrick.

She squealed and then put her hand over her mouth.

‘Good morning, birthday girl!

‘I had a great time last night. I wonder why? Lol.’

‘I hope you did.’

She exhaled, trying to heel her excitement. ‘I had the most amazing night. I love my earrings.’

‘Glad 2 hear. So, been thinking. We should go on a date. R u free next weekend?’

“Oh my god!” The words came out louder than she expected, and her three friends opened their eyes.

“What’s wrong, Mads?” Amy was closest to her and sat up when she saw the look on her friend’s face.

Madison looked around and noticed that they were all staring at her with concern in their eyes. A giggle escaped her throat. “Sorry, nothing’s wrong. It’s just…Derrick just asked me out on a date next weekend.”

Everyone cheered, excitement in their voices. They giggled and talked about boys as they made themselves chocolate chip pancakes. Madison went home that afternoon with her arms full of presents and a smile that lit up her whole face, but when she opened the door to her empty home, she was struck by sadness. 

“Mom, did you forget my birthday?” She glanced at her phone, there was nothing. “It’s been five weeks. Maybe it’s time to call the police. What if something happened?” She was talking to the empty room, hoping it would give her some sort of sign. Peering at her phone again, she decided to try calling her mom one more time. She punched in her mom’s number and held the phone to her ear.

“Yello?”

“Mom! Mom, you answered. It’s me, Madison.”

“Madison? What? Why are you calling me? I have to go.” And just like that, the line went dead. 

Madison stood in the middle of her living room staring at her phone, not sure if she should be happy or sad. She was relieved to know her mom was alive. “Alive, but she didn’t even wish me a happy birthday.” A tear slipped down her cheek, and she plopped down on the couch. She sat there for several moments, staring at nothing. Her mom was alive but didn’t want to talk to her. A sob escaped her throat, and then the tears began to flow freely. After a while, she collected herself enough to try calling her mom back, but it went straight to voicemail. She wasn’t surprised. She picked herself up from the couch, took her presents to her room and tried to focus on the good things that had happened that weekend instead of the sadness over her mom.