Chapter 4

I woke up to the sweet smell of breakfast the next morning. I jumped out of bed with a smile painted on my face. Today was my birthday, which also meant today was my birthday party.

I walked down the stairs to the kitchen, and gasped.

My mom and dad sat at the dinner table eating breakfast, but that was not the reason I gasped.

I looked over the table to see the largest breakfast ever. There was so much food! Bacon, eggs, chocolate chip pancakes-my favorite- toast, bagels, orange juice, milk, coffee, sausage, hash browns, scrapple, waffles, and a big banner that said ‘Happy 16th!’

“Wow.”

“Happy birthday Emery!” my parents shouted in unison.

“Thanks. Why so much food?” There were only 3 of us, but there was enough food to fill a family of ten.

“Well, it’s your birthday and we made everything we could think of. We weren’t sure what you would want the most. This way you can have a bit of everything!” My mom finished filling me in and smiled. Then she handed me an envelope.

It was striped in black and red, and had my name on it. I opened it up to find a birthday card and to my extreme surprise, a thousand dollars.

“Oh my god…a thousand dollars? Thank you so much! Not just for the money, but for the breakfast and the party!” So far, today was going great. If I’m lucky, it will just get better from here.

My dad walked over and hugged me. “Your welcome, honey. We love you so much, and besides, it’s your birthday. You deserve it.” He smiled at me, and my mom walked over and hugged me too.

“Now, just relax and eat some breakfast. You have hours before the party starts.”

“Okay, thanks.”

My parents walked out of the room and that left me to breakfast heaven. I took a bit of everything, except eggs. I don’t so much like eggs. I covered the plate in syrup and scarfed it down. Everything tasted so amazing. I had a cup of coffee and orange juice to wash it down. When I was done gorging myself on breakfast items, I went and plopped down on the couch.

I flipped through the channels a bit, and couldn’t find much on. I just ended up settling for music videos. They were all rock music so I didn’t mind listening for a while. Eating so much must have made me tired, because before I knew it, I was asleep on the couch.

***

It’s dark and I can’t see anything. I feel around for anything to grab a hold of, or something that will make it brighter.

Suddenly, the lights flash on and I see all my family and friends. They’re all glaring at me with hatred in their eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“Happy Birthday Emery…Happy Birthday Emery…Happy Birthday Emery…” They all keep chanting, each time taking a step closer. I’m frightened and don’t know what to do.

I see the light glinting off of some shiny object that’s in everyone’s hands. Squinting to get a better look, I see it’s long and sharp.

Oh no, I think to myself. They all have knives!I try to scream, but a hand muffles the sound. I look behind me to see Craig. He throws me into the chanting crowd. They gather around, knives at the ready.

“Help me! Someone please help me!” My screams don’t faze anyone, they keep getting closer.

A girl I recognized as my friend from school, Trish, pins my arms and legs down.

Then everyone attacks! I feel the knives enter my body. In, out, in, out.

“HELP!” I’m screaming bloody murder. “STOP IT!! SOMEONE HELP!”

I then realize that I’m wearing my beautiful gown I just bought. It completely stained in my own blood. I look around and see my parents in the back corner of the room. They have smiles on their faces and seem almost oblivious to my death going on.

I thrash around and try to get away, but it only makes the stabs worse.

They ease up then, and I can feel my chest rising and falling as I breathe. The rising and fallings slows and I gasp for breath. I tear at my throat and squirm around. I can’t breathe and my chest is getting tighter and tighter. No one helps me; they just look away. Then everything goes black.

My eyes fluttered open and I looked around. I was gasping for breath and then I realized It was all a dream. Oh, thank god, I thought. My forehead was covered in sweat, so I wiped it away with the back of my hand.

Curious, I glanced over at the clock. It read six o’clock.

“What?! I have to get ready!” I jumped up from the couch and into the shower. Why didn’t my mom wake me up? Now I only had two hours to get ready!

I took my shower very slowly, making sure to scrub really well so I didn’t smell, and I washed my hair two times. I let the hot water loosen up my over excited, stressed out muscles. It was nice to relax completely. I hopped out quickly and toweled off once the water turned freezing.

Time to get ready for the biggest night of my life.