It's My Party

IT'S MY PARTY

Jill cried as she climbed the steps. She moved past her mom and slammed the door to her room. With her head buried into her pillows, she heard her door open.

"What's wrong Jill?" her Mom whispered.

"Mom, leave me alone." The door closed. Why does she have to listen to me? Tears filled her blue eyes. In her mirror she lifted her shirt and squeezed her extra belly fat. She clicked on her Facebook page. There was a tag from Valarie. She wrinkled her nose and scrolled down.

Jill didn't want to believe that the most popular girl in school started a hate campaign against her. But there it was.

The scene came back to Jill. It was history class. Valarie passed her a note for the boy next to her, Aiden. Jill liked him and Valarie knew it. She dropped the note. She tried to convince herself that it was an accident. Really Jill? The teacher saw the note and read it in front of the class.

Valarie was so angry and embarrassed when the teacher handed her the note. "I believe your name is on the bottom." The class laughed. Silent treatment was bad enough but now it turned into a personal matter: A Facebook attack. Valarie vowed to destroy Jill. The words popped off the screen like arrows: fat, ugly and brain dead. Jill clicked Valarie's site and scrolled down. WHAT? Her eyes became large and her mouth dropped open.

She fell on her bed and soaked her pillow with tears. She was going to be sixteen tomorrow. Her parents rented a karaoke machine. It was her dream birthday party. She asked her dad for twenty friends. She got half that and a few boys. Boys! That was first time dad ever agreed to that. Thanks Mom. Jill sent out all the invitations. She kissed Aiden's invitation before she sent it.

Jill's phone chimed. She tore her thoughts away from dream land and looked at her text. "Sorry can't make it to your party."

The front door opened and Jill knew her Dad was home. JILL! She heard her name. Her eye shadow was running down her cheek.

"Jill, apologize to your mother and wipe that stuff off your face."

"Dad, you don't even care."

"I care young lady. I care that you treat your Mom in a respectful way."
"Sorry, Mom."

"That's better. Now get ready for supper."
Jill went to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. Her eyebrows narrowed and her mouth tightened as she sat down at the table. The smell of the meat loaf drifted across the table. They ate in silence for a few minutes, while Dad read his newspaper between bites. Mom looked at Jill with soft eyes. Jill refused to look up. She stared at her meatloaf.

"Is everything ok, honey?" Mom asked with concern in her voice.

"She thinks she's fat." Billy piped up.

"Shut up," Jill screamed and ran to her room.

"Billy that was rude," Dad said as closed his newspaper.

Billy was a ten year old boy whose job description, he thought, was to irritate his older sister. He attacked his supper like nothing happened.

"I better go see what is upsetting her." Mom said.

"You might want to let her cool off. She'll tell us when she's ready."

"I suppose you're right. I'll give her space."

Jill sat in her room waiting to hear her mother's footsteps. It didn't come. She looked at her phone. The count was seven girls not coming. She looked at the computer screen and saw the invitation on Valarie's Facebook of a party at the same time as hers. Jill laid her head on her desk.

She woke up to knocking. "Mom says you need to do the dishes," Billy said as he peeked around the door. Jill took off her shoe and threw it at him, hitting the door as he closed it.

"MOM" was all she could hear, then footsteps coming up the stairs. Her Dad, red in the face, entered her room.

"Dad, he came in my room without knocking."

"Just go down and do the dishes."

"I don't feel good."

He rubbed his head and let out a sigh. Turning, he closed her door.

She tossed and turned all night. The sun light assaulted her and reminded her of the dream turned nightmare. Her phone had a few more texts. She reluctantly looked at them. That makes all the girls saying they can't come. No text from Aiden.

Jill picked at her breakfast in silence. Her book bag weighed a ton and her hair was in rebellion. She glanced at the mirror near the front door and quickly turned away.

The first person she saw at her locker was Valarie. She smiled at her. Any other day a smile would warm her, but not that smile. It went straight to her heart like a poisonous spear.

Her eyes cast down; she removed her books and headed to class. The day went slow. The final bell rang.

Henry pushed his glasses up to his nose. His bow tie made him look out of place but he didn't care. He was at his locker trying to get the nerve up to talk to Jill. She was someone on his radar screen. He studied her and knew her interests: pineapple malts, romance novels and French. Jill was putting her books away when Henry approached her.

"Want to go have a pineapple malt?

Jill slightly drew back. Her eyes contracted. She continued to put away her books. He stayed there.

"What?"

Henry looked down and started to turn away. "OK," Jill said not believing she said it. Henry was the king of the nerds. It can't get any worse.

She followed him out of school hoping no one saw them. Jill couldn't believe she was opening up to Henry as she sucked on her straw to get the last drop.

"She scheduled her party on the same night as mine." Jill said as she held back the tears.

"You can do that?" Jill said as hope came in her voice.

"Sure, I'll do it. Your party is tonight?"

Henry walked her home, happy to be invited to her party if he could pull off his scheme. Jill entered her home and went up to her room feeling a little better. She pulled out her homework and began to work on it. In the middle of her assignment her phone vibrated. She looked at the ID and it was Henry.

"Look at Valarie's Facebook page."

Jill quickly turned on her computer and punched up Valarie's page. "How did you do that?"

"It wasn't hard. She is so predictable. It only took me several times to get her password. It was "beautiful."

Jill laughed. There on the screen was: My party is canceled. I'm going to Jill's party. "She will just change it."

It was time for Henry to laugh. "She'll change it when she figures out the password." They both laughed. Jill's phone began to chime.