Hope's Special Day

When Hope woke up, she was feeling very excited, because it was her birthday. She jumped out of bed, got dressed as quickly as she could, and ran downstairs to the kitchen. Her Mom always made her waffles with whipped cream for breakfast on her birthday.

But when she got to kitchen, her mother was nowhere to be found. Only her older sister, Ava, was there. Ava was eating a bowl of cereal and listening to music through her headphones, and didn't look up when Hope came in.

Hope bounded over to Ava and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.
"What?" She said, pulling out an ear bud.
"Where's Mom?" Hope asked excitedly.
"She went to work. Eat some cereal and I'll make sure you get on the bus." Ava got up and went upstairs. She was fifteen years old, much older than Hope, and often took care of Hope when their parents weren't around.

Hope poured herself a bowl of cereal, disappointed. She knew her mother had important things to do at work, but she had been looking towards to her special breakfast. Ava never showed her much attention, but it was her birthday, and even Ava normally didn't ignore that.

Ava took Hope to the bus stop, and as Hope rode to school she began to feel excited again. She got off the bus at school, and ran into her second grade class grinning. She saw her friends on the other side of the room and went to them.

They didn't seem to notice she was there. "Hi!" She said.
"Hi." Isabella said. Mia and Zoe kept coloring and didn't say anything.
Hope got a piece of paper, picked out some markers, and pulled up a chair. She waited for one of them to say Happy Birthday, but they never did. ‘Has everyone forgotten it's my birthday?’ Hope wondered.

Hope realized she had forgotten a pink marker, and got up to go get one, still wondering if everyone had forgotten about her birthday. It made her feel very sad. When she came back to the table, Isabella, Mia, and Zoe were whispering about something together. They stopped when Hope sat down.

"What were you talking about?" Hope asked.
"Nothing," Isabella mumbled. Zoe giggled.
They all went back to their coloring. ‘Were they talking about me?’ Hope wondered, ‘What did they say?’ This made Hope feel even more sad.

Nobody said happy birthday to Hope all day, and all her friends were acting very strangely around her. At recess Mia, Lily, Hannah, Owen, and Zoe all went under the slide, without inviting Hope to come with them. Hope swung on the swings by herself, feeling very lonely.

School ended, and Hope had a soccer game on the field behind the school. She had been talking about it all week, and was feeling very nervous. The coach divided the team in two, set up the nets, and the game started. Parents and friends gathered around to cheer on their kids. Hope looked through the small crowd over and over, searching for someone. But by the end of the game none of her friends had come, even though they said they would. Even her parents hadn't come. It seemed like everyone had forgotten her and as though her friends didn't like her any more. Hope had never felt so miserable.

"Hello Hope," George's Dad said, walking up to her. "Your Mother couldn't make it on time, and asked me to drive you home."

Hope nodded sullenly and followed George and his Dad to their car. Her mother and George's Dad we're on the PTA together, and were friends. On the ride home he tried to ask her how school was and how she liked soccer, but Hope didn't feel much like talking, and he soon gave up.

The car pulled into Hope's driveway. "Good job today, Hope," George's Dad said as she climbed out of the car. "You played well."
"Thanks." Hope mumbled. "Bye."
"George?" His Dad prompted.
George obediently turned to Hope. "Bye," he said in a bored voice.

Hope walked slowly up to the house, looking at her shoes. She opened the door and turned on the lights. The house was quiet, her footsteps echoed on the wood floor. Hope was surprised, both her Mom's and her Dad's cars had been in the driveway, and Ava was usually home from school in the afternoons.

She walked down the hall towards the kitchen, and came around the corner-

"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted. Hope jumped in surprise. The kitchen was full of brightly colored balloons, and the ceiling was covered in streamers. Isabella and Dylan leapt out from behind the cupboard and showered Hope with fistfuls of confetti. Mia, Zoe, Lily, Nick, Andrew, and Ava all crawled out from under the table. Ella and Hannah wriggled out from the crack between the fridge and the oven, and her parents stepped out from behind the curtain. All her friends from school ran to her, screaming "Happy birthday!" Her parents each gave her big hugs. Hope was so happy she smiled wider than she ever had before.

They had pizza and chocolate cupcakes with lemon frosting, Hope's favorite. They played games and opened presents. Hope got jump ropes, roller blades, a soccer ball, and lots of other cool gifts, but her favorite was the cute puppy her parents got her. Her mom even made a big plate of waffles with whipped cream, and put eight candles on it, something she had never done before. As Hope blew out the candles she wished for every birthday after this one to be just as amazing.