Will and Cecily climbed out of the car outside Jem's house. It was Saturday and they were here to celebrate Jem's 16th birthday, which was a few days ago on Jan 10. Jem had decided to hold off on celebrations until the weekend so that no one would have to rush off because of school the next day.
Not that there were many guests anyway. When Jem opened the door, Will found it was just Elias, Colette and a couple of Colette's relatives – two boys and a girl, all of whom were slightly younger than Jem but a million times more boisterous. They mostly kept to themselves and were currently fighting over whose turn it was to play with Jem's Xbox.
The living room was not big but Jem, Will and Cecily found a corner to sit in. Jem looked extremely excited and happy. He wore a colourful striped sweater, which was very loose and perfect to hide the IV bag he had to carry around.
First, Cecily gave Jem her present. It was a charm bracelet made from the kit he had given her at Christmas. It was a thick black band, off of which hung clear plastic beads and a blue star, which Cecily had dipped in glitter glue so that it shone. Jem put it on right away.
Will handed over his present with a grin. Jem carefully opened the wrapping paper to uncover packets of instant soup, of various brands and flavours. He laughed hard at this jibe Will was taking at his love of soup.
"I thought of getting you a soup cookbook," Will elaborated. "But I figured you'd prefer something easier."
"I'll think of you every time I make a cup of soup," Jem vowed as he browsed through the different flavours.
"Are you guys ready for cake?" Colette called, poking her head into the living room.
All the kids were, and there was a mad rush into the kitchen. Elias presided over a large chocolate cake and he ushered Jem over to the head of the table. Jem looked very shy to be the centre of attention. Colette drew the curtains to darken the room, lit the candles and led everyone in song. Jem's smile grew wider with each successive line.
At the end, Jem clasped his hands together and shut his eyes to make a wish. There was silence for a moment, then he opened his eyes and blew. There were 16 candles on the cake, but he was able to blow out only a few before he began to cough. His smile fell.
But Elias picked up the slack and helped his nephew to blow out the rest of the candles. He gave Jem a huge hug and kiss, then released him so he could make the first cut on the cake. Everyone applauded. Colette took over cutting the cake and the guests thronged forward for a slice.
Jem slipped away in the commotion. Will noticed and went after his friend, catching up to him as he mounted the stairs. "Jem? What's wrong?" Will asked.
Jem smiled, but it was clear that he was faking it. "It's nothing. I just needed some air," he said.
"Jem," Will said, climbing up the stairs too so he was on a level with his friend. "It's okay, you know, to be upset."
"What am I upset about?" Jem asked.
"I don't know. Being unable to blow out all the candles, being ill," Will suggested. "What did you wish for, Jem?"
"To get better," Jem replied. He sat down on the top stair and continued: "I hate being sick. I'm such a burden on Uncle and Colette. They have done so much for me. I just want to make them happy. That's why I agreed to this party. They wanted to do something special. Sweet 16 and all that. Don't get me wrong, I love having you guys over. But the truth is, I hate celebrating my birthday."
Will sat next to his friend. "Your parents?" he asked gently. Jem nodded. Will put an arm around his friend as Jem buried his head into his knees. At length, he said: "Come on, you've been away long enough. It's time to get back to the party. There's chocolate cake. It'll make you feel better. You guaranteed it."
Jem gave Will a weak smile upon hearing his own words thrown back at him. They returned to the kitchen and saw Elias' relieved expression when he spotted Jem come in.
"Jem! Here's your cake," Elias said, presenting his nephew with a huge slice of chocolate cake. A "Happy Birthday" sign was stuck into it. "The kids were going to eat it all – the little savages – but we managed to save you some. Will, sorry, you're going to have to fight off the beasts for your share."
Will glanced over at the other young guests. Cecily was already right in the thick of things and making friends with everyone. But it was clear she wouldn't care to fight for her brother's right to cake.
Jem noticed and also assessed the situation. "Will can share my slice with me," he said. He grabbed two forks and gave Will one. "Come on, Will. I can't finish this by myself. It looks like half the cake."
The boys perched on the kitchen counter and shared the rich chocolate cake. A pizza deliveryman arrived soon afterwards and Will fought his way through the mass of people to grab food for himself and Jem. Jem seemed to have recovered his good spirits as he cheered Will on.
Colette took her relatives home after pizza and the house grew a hundred times more peaceful. Jem, Will and Cecily went outside to play with Jem's new skateboard. It was a bright yellow plastic skateboard with neon green wheels that Elias had given him, in an effort to help Jem get more fresh air outside without exerting himself too much.
None of the trio had ever ridden a skateboard before. Jem did not even know how to ride a bike. They put the board down on the pavement and surrounded it, inspecting it like it was a wild animal. No one seemed to want to be the first to get on.
"Well, Jem," Will said. "Go on, do the honours. It's your board." Jem grimaced and got on. The board wobbled precariously but eventually stabilised. He gave Will a thumbs up. "Try to move," Will suggested.
Jem put a foot down and instantly fell off the board as it moved when his weight shifted. "Ow," he said. "I didn't know it would be so responsive."
"You all right, mate?" Will asked, helping him up.
"Fine," Jem said. He replaced the skateboard with a determined expression. "Let me try again."
He got on the board again and experimented with shifting his weight around. His arms were all flailed out in an attempt to keep his balance. He put a foot down gingerly and gave a tiny push.
The board moved and he managed to stay on for a few seconds before losing his balance and falling again. "Did you see that?" he asked, laughing loudly. "It worked! I moved!"
"Go on, try it again!" Will encouraged.
Jem did so, and gave a harder push. This time, he was ready for the movement and he sped down the pavement. He had his feet in a stable position, like when he was doing fencing, and was balancing perfectly. To anyone watching, it was just another kid moving slowly on a skateboard, but to Jem, felt exhilarating to be able to move faster than a walk and feel the wind blowing at him without him getting tired. Will and Cecily ran along after him, cheering him on.
The problem came when he got to the end of the street. "Will! I don't know how to stop!" Jem realised.
Will reached out to grab his arm. Because of the momentum, all he did was yank Jem off the skateboard and cause the skateboard to go flying. Jem landed on top of Will. The boys were too stunned to move and Cecily had to go and retrieve the board. She returned whizzing on the board, looking graceful and poised.
"That's not fair!" Will pointed out. "Why do you look like you've spent your whole life on the skateboard, even though it's your first time on it?"
"Because I'm wonderful," Cecily explained. She stopped in front of Jem and hopped off the board. "You've got to find your centre of balance," she advised.
"Will, why don't you have a go?" Jem offered.
Will needed no further prompting. He got on the board so fast that he had no time to balance himself and he immediately fell off. "Shut up," he growled at Cecily who was hooting with laughter.
Jem held out a hand to pull his friend up. "On your feet, soldier," he ordered. "We'll conquer this board yet."
Hope you guys liked it. Please review. :)
By the way, did anyone watch the new Shadowhunters TV series? What did you think of it?