Grace was older than Simon by one month exactly and she never let him forget it. March 28th was when Simon had been born and because it had been then and not one month before he had to endure countless teasing about his age from his best friend; which he didn't mind, but put up token resistance to anyway.
"You know, because I'm older than you, I'll get to drive first and see Pg-13 movies first." Grace said over the phone. Simon rolled his eyes even though she couldn't see it happening.
"You'll also die first." he shot back. Simon honestly thought he'd sounded too mean and was going to apologize when Grace began laughing on the other line, a reaction he was not expecting.
"Actually, since I'm a girl statistically you'll still die first." she responded. Simon groaned at this answer.
"Did you really call me just to remind me that I'm going to die someday?" he asked. Grace was quick with her answer.
"No, I called to ask what you're doing for your birthday." she said. "And to remind you that I can call whenever I want now that I have a cell phone." Grace's birthday had been four and a half weeks ago and like everything about Grace it had been extravagant and awesome. It had also ended with her being gifted a cell phone which was something Simon was undecided on the goodness of. In all honesty Simon would have liked a cell phone for his birthday but he had absolutely no hopes of getting one until college, or until he had his own job. That was according to his mom. Simon knew that if his dad was there he might have a chance of getting one before he was old but who knew when he'd be back.
"Why do I have a feeling that giving you a phone was an awful decision?" he questioned. Grace chuckled at his statement even though Simon was completely serious.
"Probably because it was. Now, what are you doing for your birthday?"she asked again. Simon wasn't jealous of Grace's life. It was awesome no doubt but Simon was never one for extravagance or expensive gifts and all that. If he had a chance to live his life or Grace's he'd probably choose his own. But that knowledge didn't make Simon any less self-conscious of how different their lives were and how much more interesting Grace's was. That was probably why he'd neglected to tell Grace about his birthday plans.
"The same thing I did last year." he said quietly.
"Cake and ice cream at your house?" she asked to clarify.
"Yeah." Simon responded, still quiet. It was what he did for his birthday every year. Grace had two big bombastic themed parties over the course of him knowing her and he got the feeling that she did something new for her birthday every year. Simon was not like that. He had his cake and ice cream with his mom and maybe a friend or two and that was his birthday. He liked it that way and he'd never been embarrassed about it until he'd met Grace. That wasn't fair, Grace wasn't trying to make him feel inadequate after all. It was just that she was so cool he wanted to live up to that standard. Simon had been so lost in his own self-pitying internal monologue he hadn't even heard Grace's response.
"Sounds fun!" she said. Simon always forgot how awesome Grace was and he figured that he should work harder on remembering that. She never judged him for not being as outgoing or extravagant or cool as she was. The only one who did that was his own brain and if he could stop he'd probably be a lot happier.
"Hey Grace?" Simon said.
"Yeah?" she responded.
"You're a good friend," he concluded. He didn't know why he'd said it but he was happy that he had.
"So are you." Grace said in response. The two of them understood each other in a way that wasn't clear to either of them. They both made each other happier people for the most part and that made them good friends. Simon couldn't imagine being best friends with anyone else. The two talked for a while longer before Simon's mother made him get off the phone while Grace bragged about being able to talk for as long as she wanted. Simon went about his day mostly like any other after that point.
He still had three days until his birthday and Simon didn't have plans to invite anyone, other than Grace. After the event with his former friends Simon didn't really talk to anyone at school. He was kind of okay with that as sad as it seemed. Simon of course would have liked some friends but there were benefits to having none. He spent his lunch in the library studying now instead of sitting at the table being left out by his friends. Doing that made Simon realize that he liked learning about stuff.
He'd always been considered smart but Simon now had a hunger for knowledge. Before when he felt bad Simon would imagine that one day he'd be popular and famous and everyone would like him. Now when he felt bad he imagined that one day he'd be really smart and do something incredible because of it. Simon knew that spending his lunch in the library reading books about history and science and math probably made him and even bigger target for bullying but the great thing about being invisible was that no one even cared enough about you to bother you and if there was one thing that Simon could claim it was that no one at that school cared about him, so they left him alone.
Still, Simon knew that his possible research output was limited by the fact that his school was still overcrowded and underfunded. If he went to a better school Simon figured he'd already be a genius by now. It wasn't like he had anything keeping him tied to this school either, so if someone had come up to him and offered to send him to another school far away and never see any of his peers again it's a deal he would have taken. Of course Simon knew that fantasy wouldn't come true, changing schools would be expensive and he'd never put that kind of burden on his mother.
To saisate his quest for knowledge rather than beg her to change schools Simon asked his mother for an encyclopedia for his birthday. The look she'd given him when he'd asked made him feel like he'd done something wrong but after confirming that it was what he wanted she'd agreed. So Simon waited for his birthday where he could eat cake and ice cream and talk to his best and currently only friend and then after she'd left he could sit down and read his encyclopedia. Simon decided that that was a thing to look forward to. What felt to Simon like a painfully long three days his birthday did finally arrive.
He knew it was his birthday because when he'd woken up Archduke Franz Ferdidand was asleep at the foot of his bed and his mother had a very big "No dog on the furniture" rule which was only allowed to be broken on special occasions. His birthday was one of those occasions. When he'd woken up Archduke Franz Ferdidand had immediately begun licking his face. Simon laughed at this before removinging the dog from his bed and going to the kitchen in order to retrieve breakfast. The kitchen smelled like pancakes and eggs and Simon smiled because his mother always made pancakes and eggs on his birthday.
He walked into the kitchen and upon seeing him his mother threw him into a hug despite the fact that they lived together and hadn't been separated. "How's my little birthday boy?" she asked, ruffling his hair. Simon sighed and gave a response.
"Don't call me that, it's embarrassing." he said, utterly annoyed with the name his mother had just given him.
"Why not? The two of us are the only ones here and embarrassing you is my job." his mother responded. Simon put his head in his hands. He didn't know how to explain that embarrassing things were still embarrassing even when it was just the two of them. Rather than attempt to, he sat down to eat breakfast in silence. Simon let his mind wander to his birthday three years ago when he'd turned nine. That had been the last birthday his father had been around for. When he'd turned ten his father had been able to call them. When he'd turned eleven Simon had gotten a letter.
"Did anything come for me?" Simon asked suddenly. His mother looked at him surprised before shaking her head.
"No, were you expecting something?" she asked humorously. Simon kept eating his pancakes.
"No, I wasn't expecting anything." That was of course a lie. Simon was expecting something from his father, an acknowledgement that he was okay. But there was none. Simon was a little terrified that the lack of acknowledgement meant that his father wasn't okay, that something had happened to him and his mother was too afraid to say it. The other part of him thought that maybe his father had just forgotten due to being so busy fighting in a war for so long. He wasn't sure which he thought was worse.
He wouldn't say any of this to his mother of course, it would just worry her, and make her feel bad. Simon knew that she missed his father too but did her best to keep it hidden and to be a good mom. Even if she was one of the most embarrassing people on planet earth he still loved her and thought she did as good a job as she could. So he wouldn't make the day sad by bringing up things that would make her sad. Birthdays were supposed to be happy. He should be happy today because he was going to eat cake and ice cream with his friend and open his gift.
"Simon are you okay?" his mother asked, concerned. He looked up from his pancakes which he realized he'd been staring intensely at. Simon wiped his cheeks and found that they were wet, he'd been crying without even realizing it. Simon looked at that worried face of his mother and told himself to lie, to say that nothing was wrong and that he was fine. He told himself not to worry her because that would make him a bad son.
He opened his mouth to tell her that he had something in his eye and that he was just being dramatic but the words wouldn't had one friend and he missed his dad and his only happy place was learning stuff because it was the only thing in his life he felt like he had control over. Simon felt sad and drained, like someone had knocked the wind out of him, sucked all the happiness that he'd had when he woke up right out of his body. He was crying more by the time he finally gave his answer.
"I don't have any friends, and I hate school, and I miss dad." he choked out through sobs. It felt cathartic in a way even through crying made Simon feel like an absolute loser and dork who couldn't control his own feelings. His mother pulled him into a hug and Simon stayed there because sometimes you need to be held even if it makes you feel like you haven't matured at all from when you were five. Archduke Franz Ferdidand heard the commotion and came to sit at his feet as a show of affection. His mother ruffled his hair and didn't ask him to elaborate and didn't make him feel like he was irrational for being , Simon did stop crying and he stopped hugging his mom. Wiping the remaining tears away he began to apologize. "I'm sorry for being so sensitive." he offered. His mother shook her head.
"Don't do that Simon, don't apologize for being sad. I want you to understand that there is nothing wrong with being hurt by something, okay?" she said. Simon nodded in response to the lesson. "Do you still want me to invite Grace over?" she asked. Simon thought for a moment. Grace was a good friend and having her around always made Simon feel a little better. And besides, he wanted to see what she'd gotten him for a present.
"Yeah, I still want her to come over." he responded. His mother nodded and walked away leaving Simon to finish breakfast on his own. Once that was done Simon got dressed and ready and did feel better about the day. He figured that maybe he should be more honest about his feelings with his mother more frequently if it meant that he'd actually feel better about things. He also decided that even if he didn't get anything from his dad today it was okay because he had a mother that loved him very much.
Grace came a bit later in the day armed with a birthday gift. "What is it?" Simon asked. Grace clutched the present close to her and shook her head.
"I'm not telling you, you'll have to wait until after cake and ice cream." she said. Simon raised his objection to this.
"It's my birthday, how come you get to decide when the presents are given out?" he asked. Grace gave her answer.
"Through the transitive gift giving property, until the gift leaves my hands it belongs to me and not you. As it is my property I get to decide when it is shared and therefore I do get to decide when you get the gift." she said smugly. Simon rolled his eyes.
"Did you make that up on the spot?" he asked. Grace shook her head and laughed.
"I practiced in the car." she said. Simon laughed in response and shot back.
"How are you the cool one in this friendship?" he asked through his own laughter. Grace shrugged at this. The lights were turned off, the candles lit and the happy birthday song sung. Simon made his wish and though he didn't believe in them Simon wished for his dad to come home. The two sat down to enjoy their servings of cake and ice cream while continuing their on-going joint crusade against chocolate ice cream and those that claim to enjoy it. After the desserts gifts were handed out. Simon unwrapped his present from his mother which was of course the requested encyclopedia.
It met all of Simon's requirements for an awesome gift that being that he'd love it forever. Then was Grace's gift. Cautionsouly Simon opened the present and was met with a very large, old looking wasn't until he read the bottom of the map that Simon became utterly excited. The bottom of the map read "The Kingdom of Esmoroth" and looking at it, the map displayed a perfect recreation of the kingdom, just as he'd imagined it.
"I saw that you'd drawn a rough map of what the place looked like so I took it to a cartographer and asked them to make a real map of it! What do you think?" Grace asked. Simon's smile was wider than the Grand Canyon.
"I think that you're the best, best friend ever." was his response and he meant it.