Disclaimer: The main characters don't belong to me, but the rest does.

Finally, Christine's 18th birthday has arrived and we can all stop feeling so creeped out by her age (hopefully you too, emeraldphan :) ). When I started writing this story as a teenager, 16-17 seemed very grown-up, but now not so much, so believe me when I say this is a great relief…

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Dear Diary,

Sorry I didn't write for two months, but I've been completely overrun with work and lessons.

The reason I'm writing right now is to tell you that today is my birthday and I AM FINALLY A GROWN-UP!

All right, maybe grown-ups don't use all-caps, so I'll stop, but I really couldn't be more excited!

For one, I can vote! This is made slightly less exciting by the currently rather limited range of choices available to the American voter, but still!

I can also sue people, buy cigars, get a tattoo sleeve, get married, and serve on a jury like Henry Fonda in Ten Angry Men!

Of course, I don't actually want to do any of those things, at least not right now, but it's the principle that counts. Though, if I was allowed to drink, I might want to try some rosé… but since I live in a country of people who like to pretend weed is superior to wine, that's out, so never mind.

Also, it is now officially not-as-creepy for Erik and I to experience romantic tension, so that's cool. I'm sure it's a great relief to him. When he congratulated me earlier today and handed me a bouquet of roses, I almost wanted to tell him, "no, congratulations to you! You're no longer technically an ephebophile! Wooo!"

My birthday party consisted of Dad, Erik, Meg and Devin, who has now unfortunately graduated to being Meg's boyfriend. (It is a great mystery to me what on earth she sees in him, but I guess love is blind — and deaf…)

I considered inviting a few other people from my class that I like, like Esther Ahmadi, but I eventually decided that I wasn't that close to them and I'd rather have my birthday be a cosy affair. Of course, it was a bit weird to have Devin there, but thankfully he wasn't as obnoxious as usual, possibly because he was a bit intimidated by Erik.

I was very pleased when Erik complimented my new dress. He remarked that it looked like a good dress for dancing (it has a long, flowy skirt), and I answered it was a shame I didn't have anyone to dance with.

"Do you know how to dance?" he asked me.

"No," I answered, "but I've been wanting to learn for ages. Proper dances, though, like the waltz, the fox trot, or the tango. Do you know any dances?"

"No, but I'd also like to learn."

"Well… I'm sure we can find some tutorials on youtube."

He said, with great enthusiasm, that it sounded like an excellent idea. I quickly concurred, then excused myself to go check something in the kitchen. I felt like I might be blushing and I didn't want him to see it.

When we said good night, our hug lasted a good five seconds, so two whole seconds longer than usual, which is why I am now in such a flurry.

Right, good night!