She opened her eyes and glanced over at the clock. 8:33am. It was her birthday. But not any old birthday. It was a special birthday. Her 15th birthday. On this day, her mum had promised her to take her back in, because by then, she would've picked herself back up. Carmen smiled to herself and jumped out of bed and over to her wardrobe. She wanted to look nice and smart for her mums arrival, so chose to wear a white knee length dress with a floral pattern. The dress had short sleeves, and came out slightly from the waist. To go with the dress, Carmen chose a pair of white ballet pumps. She applied her make-up and did her hair - it was worn down with a small French plait to one side. Then she checked that pretty much everything was packed. She sure would miss this place. This was where she grew up and had met all of her best friends. It would be hard to let it go, but she knew that it would be best for her to leave. She then left her room and went downstairs. She could smell her birthday breakfast cooking as she neared the kitchen. As she entered the kitchen, everybody cheered and clapped. Carmen sat down and tucked in to her sausages, bacon, eggs and beans. This was only cooked on birthdays.
"I'm really going to miss you lot." Carmen smiled.
"What do you mean?" Tee asked.
"Well, my mum's coming today, to take me back." Carmen explained. Everybody went silent.
"What?" Mike said.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but, I thought you wouldn't let me go." Carmen said.
"You realise that she'll have to pass our standards before you can go back." May-Li warned Carmen, who smiled.
"Of course, and she will." She said. "I'm going to finish packing." Carmen's told the others, then let the kitchen.
"Then it's present time!" Mike announced. Carmen smiled. After half an hour, Carmen was back in the living room, about to open her presents. Mike and May-Li gave Carmen gift cards for her favourite shop and Tee gave Carmen some new mascara. Carmen said her thanks and was about to go and bring her things downstairs, when Floss and Harry stopped her.
"We want to give you your birthday card. We made it ourselves." Floss smiled, as Harry handed Carmen the card. It read:
'To Carmen. Happy 15th Birthday. Love from Harry and Floss.'
"Aw, thanks guys." Carmen said, pulling them into a hug, before going upstairs.
"Mike, did you get the cake?" May-Li asked in alarm. Mike gasped.
"No!" He shrieked.
"I'm on it!" May-Li said, running out. Half an hour later, May-Li returned to the DG and Carmen's dozen bags and boxes were downstairs by the door. Then, everybody gathered in the kitchen to sing happy birthday to Carmen. She blew out her candles when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Tee said, leaving. May-Li thanked her, beginning to cut the chocolate cake. She was about to hand the pieces out when Tee entered the kitchen again.
"Carmen. It's time." She said, faking a smile. Carmen put down her cake, smoothed down her skirt and ran to the hallway. When she got there, she gave her mum a huge hug. Then, she began to say her goodbyes.
"Actually, my dear, that won't be necessary." Mrs Howle said, tearing up.
"What do you mean?" Carmen asked confused.
"In really sorry sweetheart, but I can't take you back. I came here because I thought I should tell you in person." Mrs Howle cried.
"What? But you promised." Carmen yelled, her temper flaring up.
"If it was possible you know I would." Mrs Howle said wiping her tears away. Then Carmen's eyes became teary. Mike escorted Mrs Howle out. Carmen felt a hand on her shoulder - it belonged to Tee. Carmen brushed the hand off and ran upstairs. Everybody looked sympathetically after her.
"I feel really bad for her. I'm going to go to the shopping centre and buy her a fantastic present." Johnny said, grabbing his coat then leaving. Tee was confused - her brother was actually showing some empathy! Johnny knew what he wanted to get for Carmen - a necklace with a heart on. The heart was made up of baby pink diamonds. It cost £30. Johnny headed straight to the shop selling the necklace.
Meanwhile, Carmen was in her bedroom, crying, when something caught her eye. It was a piece of lined paper poking out of one of her scrapbooks in one of the boxes she'd brought upstairs. She'd taken that box up because it contained her personal stuff - things she didn't want people like Jody and Tyler looking at. She picked up the paper - it was the letter her mum had written her when she was first taken into care. The letter read:
'My dearest Carmen. I'm so sorry that this has come upon us. But the situation can't be helped. I'm so sorry about daddy. Even though he's no longer with us and died in the car accident, he's still in our hearts, and always will be. It will take me a while to get back up on my feet, considering I'm in debt. But as soon as the pace picks up, you can return home. This will be on your 15th birthday. I promise. Also, if I end up marrying again, you'll be invited, and if he has a big house, you can come back then. I promise. I love you so much. From Mum xxxx'
Carmen cried into her pillow, thinking about why her mum wouldn't keep her promise. Maybe she never got back in her feet. Or maybe she broke her other promise, about her wedding. Carmen logged onto the laptop, that was in her room, and looked at the golf club near where her mum lived. And sure enough, there were wedding pictures on there, of her mum and some other guy. Teenagers, around her age, were also in some of the pictures. They were her new step children. And Carmen wasn't even invited to the wedding. What made her the most upset was that the headline of the images was 'ONE HAPPY FAMILY'. Carmen began to cry into her pillow again. Her mum had betrayed her. Twice. She knew it was bad luck to cry on her birthday, but how could the day get any worse? Carmen laid on her back, the tears still rolling down her cheeks, when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" She asked, trying to prevent the person from knowing she was crying. The door opened.
"It's Jonny."
"How can I help you?" Carmen sighed.
"Everyone's worried about you." Jonny said, sitting down on the bed. Carmen sat up.
"Really?" Carmen asked, in disbelief.
"I don't know about everyone, but definitely me." Jonny exclaimed.
"I'm fine." Carmen said, but the tears were visible.
"Then why are you crying?" Jonny asked.
"You know why." Carmen said. Suddenly, something caught Jonny's eye. It was Carmen's letter. Jonny picked it up and read it, even though Carmen tried to protest.
"I never knew your dad died." Jonny frowned.
"No one does. Apart from Mike and May-Li." Carmen said. Jonny kept reading. He realised then why it had meant so much to Carmen about going back home. When he got to the part where Carmen's mum promised that Carmen would be invited to the wedding, Carmen showed Jonny the wedding pictures on the laptop.
"She broke both of her promises." Jonny said, in shock. Carmen nodded, tearfully.
"And the reason she didn't take me back was because of her new family." Carmen said. "Considering the wedding was last week."
Jonny pulled Carmen into a hug. She cried on his shoulder. They hugged for a couple of minutes, then released. Jonny gave Carmen her birthday present.
"Thanks Jonny, but you didn't have to..." Carmen started, but Jonny interrupted, saying:
"Open it!"
So Carmen did as she was told. She opened the little box, and inside was the necklace with the heart made out of baby pink diamonds. Carmen held the necklace in her hand, before Jonny took it from her and fastened it around her neck. She admired the necklace in the mirror.
"Wow. It's beautiful Jonny, thank you." Carmen said, hugging her friend.
"No problem." Jonny answered. "Now, everyone's waiting downstairs to watch a film, birthday girl's choice!"
"Okay, can I change into something a bit more practical first?" Carmen asked. Jonny nodded and left. A few minutes later, Carmen came downstairs wearing pastel blue skinny jeans and a plain white vest top with a transparent pink top over the top. She smiled, sitting between Jonny and Tee.
"What film do you want Carmen?" Mike asked. Carmen smiled.
"I think I'll pick Frozen." Carmen announced. The boys groaned, while Floss cheered and the other girls laughed. Mike found the film and put it on. All the girls sang along loudly, to ensure they annoyed the boys! Once the film was finished, a trip to the local park was suggested. Everyone agreed. The boys wanted to take a football. This was Carmen's chance to show how sporty she could be. When they got to the park, everyone decided to play basketball. Everyone expected Carmen to miss the shot, but she scored, shocking everyone. Then a game of football was played. Carmen managed to score a goal, but realising how talented she was, everyone began to play a bit more violently. The game had to stop when Bailey took it too far and tackled Carmen to the ground. Jonny helped her up.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, fine." She smiled back, then everyone headed into the playground. After playing for half an hour, it was back to the DG for a special birthday meal - roast beef. It was delicious. Then, Carmen, Jonny and Ryan headed to the pool table, for a game. The game was Jonny V Ryan.
"How are you feeling about...you know." Jonny started, taking his turn.
"My mum. I'm fine. To be honest, I'm glad to stay." Carmen said.
"Really, why?" Jonny asked.
"Because it means I get to stay with amazing people like you a lot longer." Carmen smiled, as Jonny pulled her in for hug. Even though it had started out pretty bad, this had been Carmen's best birthday ever.