Sunlight finds its way through the crack between the red satin curtains that shut my room off from the rest of the world and rouses me from my sleep. I yawn and sit up, pushing the heavy comforter off of me. Sunlight usually only wakes people up in those cheesy commercials I see on television, but I've been anticipating waking up today, just like I would have on any other year on this day. My birthday.

I slide out of bed and feel around with my feet until I find my fluffy pink slippers. I slip my feet into them, tugging the bottoms of my silk pajamas out from under my heel. The pajamas are a little big, but when I saw them in the department store window I just knew I HAD to have them. I'll grow into them soon enough.

I stretch and yawn again. As if on cue, the lights above my head flick on and gentle classical music begins to play through the speakers imbedded into my ceiling. I hum along with the piano as I cross my room to the control panel on the opposite wall. I hit a button; the curtains covering the four bay windows in my room are pulled open by unseen machinery. Sunlight pours into the room. It's beautiful outside, just like it should be on a girl's 17th birthday.

The delicious scent of pastries and meats reaches my nose as I'm sauntering over to my bathroom. My stomach growls ferociously. My saunter turns into a very brisk walk as I hurry into the bathroom. I strip out of my silky pajamas, and throw them into the laundry chute imbedded on the wall to my right. I turn on the shower; the water takes about 3 seconds to heat up. I frown as I step in; Father will have to call someone to make it go faster.

I hit the button that starts my programmed shower. Soapy suds shoot out from all sides of the shower, caking my body in white fluff. Next, a waterfall of water pours down from above me, washing all the soap away. The waterfall of water turns into thick gooey shampoo. I tilt my head back and let the viscous liquid soak its way into my platinum blonde hair. Newly dyed as of yesterday, as the aquamarine color I've had for the past month was beginning to bore me. I scrub the shampoo into my hair, wishing in the back of my head that Father would install the auto-scrubbers I've been asking for. With my scrubbing done, the waterfall of water reappears, washing my hair of all suds. Finally, misters spray out perfume-infused water that makes the room, and myself, smell of lovely flowers. The dryers kick in, and after a few second, I step out of the shower, feeling fabulous. I slip into my bathrobe and face my mirror. I hit a button, and my automatic makeup machine starts whirring on the countertop in front of me. I settle into the chair behind me, and the headrest gently restrains my head with two large pads that press against my ears. The arms of the machine rise up, locate my face, and begin applying cleansers, foundations, and powders. A second set of arms combs out my hair and dries it until it is an unbroken sheet of blonde. After about two minutes, the arms fold back and the machine stops whirring. "Gorgeous!" it says before it shuts down completely. And gorgeous I am.

I step back into my room just as the Avox girl slips out of the door. I walk over to my bed to see what she has left there. I squeal in delight; it's the cute little blue sundress I put on hold at my favorite boutique. Size 2. I get dressed into my undergarments before grabbing the little dress and starting to put in on. My stomach growls again as I remember the meals I skipped in order to slim down, just for this dress. I smile as I grab the zipper and pull it shut with almost no effort. Size 2, finally. All dressed and ready to leave my room, I walk out into the foyer and descend the large spiraled staircase, following the smells until I reach the kitchen.