I know it's been over two months since my last update…don't hate me please! There's just been a lot going on. Hmm, what has happened since the last time I updated?? In chronological order:
1. The BOSTON REDSOX WON THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 86 YEARS!!!!! Next year it's Chicago's turn. Really. I mean it. I have full confidence in my Cubbies. : )
2. George W. Bush is president AGAIN…sigh. Only 4 more years, only 4 more years…
3. DC United won the 2004 MLS Cup!!! That's AWESOME!! Yay for my (almost) hometown!
4. I got onto a competition jazz dance team for school
5. I got my first C EVER on a report card…damn IB French!
6. My high school football team is the VA state runner-up…next year we'll win!
7. Andy Roddick lost the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston… : (
8. I got a 1400 on my PSATs…that's wild. I guessed on like every single question…hmm, I guess I'm a good guesser.
9. Christmas! Yay!
10. I GOT MY DRIVERS LICENSE!!! YEP THAT'S RIGHT, I'M FREEEE!!
11. 2005, baby!
12. And…I have been procrastinating writing this story because I had writers block again. But now it's up, so enjoy!
Thursday morning, I was sitting at the breakfast table eating my cheerios, when my mom asked me a surprising question.
"So what do you want for your birthday, Suzie?" My birthday? Wow…my birthday is in 3 days! With all the excitement concerning Jesse, it had completely slipped my mind. But seriously, how could I have forgotten my own birthday? I'm turning SEVENTEEN!
"Actually, I haven't thought much about it." I said truthfully.
"Really? That's surprising. You're turning seventeen…I would think that would be a pretty big deal, sweetie." I rolled my eyes.
"I know, mom. It is a big deal. I've just been a little preoccupied lately."
"Yeah, with her boyfriend." Brad said as he walked into the kitchen. He was dressed only in pajama pants and his hair was all messed up. I tried not to laugh—because I would have spit up all my cereal, which would have been really gross—but he just looked so funny. That is, until I realized what he said. My mom looked at me, raising her eyebrows.
"Her boyfriend?" She asked. I shot a death glare at Brad.
"I don't know what he's talking about, mom." Brad looked at me like I was stupid. Yeah, right. I'm the stupid one?
"Don't play dumb, Suze. I know you went to Paul's house again yesterday." I sighed exasperatedly.
"He's tutoring me, moron. You should know what a tutor is. You've certainly had enough of them."
"Ha, ha. If you need help so badly, why don't you get the freak to tutor you? She's a genius, right?"
"Brad, watch it." My mom cut in sternly. "And I think it's sweet that Suzie made a new friend." Brad choked on his cereal, and milk came dribbling down his chin. Um, ew. Now I'm really glad I didn't do that. It is completely repulsive.
"Eat much?" I shot at him. "Seriously, that's disgusting. And mom, it's not sweet that I'm hanging out with Paul. I told you, I hate the guy." She looked at me, as if to say, yeah, right.
I groaned and stalked out of the room, muttering, "Why do I even bother?"
The next couple of days crawled by. I was eager to get started on the soul transference-body restoration-exorcism-whatever-it-was, but when I asked Father D about it, he said he still wasn't ready. I was getting pretty impatient, but what could I do by myself? I'd probably end up killing Jesse…well, you know what I mean. So I waited…and waited…and waited.
The morning of December 3 dawned cold and windy. I woke up at around 9:30, shivering under my covers. I looked over my shoulder and saw why: the window was wide open. Usually my mom closes it during the night. I reluctantly got out of bed to slam it shut, and then I wrapped myself in my bathrobe, shoved my feet into my fuzzy slippers, and walked downstairs. The whole family was sitting around the table, obviously waiting for me.
"Happy birthday!" They all shouted. I grinned, despite myself. I mean, I know it was corny and everything, but they were all part of my family—yes, I considered them all my family, even Brad—and I was glad they cared.
"So, Suzie, I know I used to give you your presents after dinner on your birthday, but this year we thought we'd give them to you earlier." My mom said. Meaning that the Ackerman family always got their presents earlier. Oh well, I didn't mind. Now that we're one big happy family, like the Brady Bunch or something, I would have to start making new traditions. Plus, now I get to enjoy my presents all day, always a good thing. My mom just stood there smiling at me, so I looked around, but I didn't see any presents.
"Um, OK…where are they?" I asked confusedly.
"Come on!" David said, and then started towards the basement door. Um, the basement? Why would my presents be in there? The basement was an unfinished mess of pipes and concrete. I walked down the steps, and gasped. Am I in the wrong house, or something? I guess not, because Andy asked me excitedly if I liked it.
The basement was completely refinished, with a light blue carpet, light wood-paneled walls, and a couple of small pieces of furniture around the edges of the new room. However, the real shock was what was in the room. Andy, and I can only assume my three stepbrothers, had put in a high-tech treadmill and a rowing machine—in front of a new big screen TV—and a brand new punching bag in the corner. There was even an exercise mat down on the floor and small hand weights by the wall.
Like it? I LOVED it!! I stared, speechless, at the new exercise room, as David said,
"Well, we knew you like to work out, but you didn't really have a place to do it, so Dad suggested that we build you one."
"Wow. It's amazing!" I said. "Thank you guys soo much!! I love it!" I squealed.
"Check it out." Brad said, walking over to the shelves that the TV was resting on. "We even installed a surround-sound system, and there's a CD/DVD player so you can watch movies or listen to music while you work out." I looked at him curiously. I thought he hated me…why is he being so nice all of a sudden? I know it's my birthday, but still.
"Thanks Brad. And everyone else, too. It's perfect." I really meant it, too. I didn't know what kind of presents I had been expecting from my stepbrothers, but I didn't think they'd actually think about what I like to do and give me something I could use.
"Well, we're glad you like it." Andy said, smiling. And I really think he was. Glad, I mean. He's the kind of guy that gets happy making other people happy. He really is a nice guy, my stepfather. "And this is your own space, kind of like a second bedroom. So we'll make sure everyone respects your privacy, and knocks before they come down." He glared at Brad when he said this, who said,
"What? I already have a place to work out. Not like I'd use this chick room anyway, I'd rather go to the gym." We all rolled our eyes at that, but decided to ignore him. We usually do. Then my mom suddenly got all excited, and gushed,
"You haven't opened our present yet, Susie!" By 'our', I assumed she meant her and Andy's present. We all filed up the stairs again, and she pulled out a small box with a bow on it…you know, the kind that usually has jewelry in it. So as you can imagine, I was pretty excited opening it up. Every girl loves jewelry. But when I lifted the lid, imagine my surprise when I found, not a pretty pair of earrings or a gold necklace, but a key. My mom must have seen the confused look on my face, because she sighed—not in an annoyed way, but in an "I can't believe my daughter is such a ditz, she doesn't know what this is" way—and led me to the front door. I looked outside, and saw…
a CAR. Oh, but not just any car. A BRAND NEW MINI COOPER. A light blue one, to be exact. My DREAM car. (A/N: Ahem, actually, it's my dream car, but Suze can have it since I can't…grumble) And it's all mine. Now, you might be thinking,
"Hey, isn't this the girl from New York City? I thought she didn't even care that she didn't have her license a little while ago." Yeah, but after spending about a year in sunny ol' California, with no access to a subway or bus system, I have gotten pretty tired of bumming rides off of people. So I practiced, I took the test, and I passed. However, even with a license, I didn't have access to a car.
Until now.
"Oh. My. God. Is that MINE?" I practically screamed. I don't care if I sounded like an idiot…I HAD A CAR! My mom looked—if this was possible—almost as excited as me.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm glad you like it. Andy and I didn't think it was fair that Brad had a car to drive and you didn't, so we couldn't resist buying you one." Dude, I have the coolest mom—and step dad—on the planet!!
"Can I go try it out?" I asked hopefully. My mom looked at me funnily, and then asked,
"Um, don't you want to get dressed first?" I looked down at myself, and snorted. I was still wearing my bathrobe and fuzzy bunny slippers.
"Haha. Yeah, that might be a good idea." I ran upstairs and put on my birthday outfit. No, not my birthday suit. Jeez, I'm not like that. I meant the outfit that I picked out for today—which is, coincidentally, my birthday. Get it? Um, anyways. The ensemble I picked out was a short pink and yellow plaid skirt and soft yellow long sleeved top, with my new pink Uggs. I looked totally cute, if I do say so myself.
I was just finishing putting my makeup on when the phone rang.
"Suze! It's for you!" David called up the stairs.
"Hello?" I said in my phone voice—you know, the bright, telemarketer voice.
"Happy birthday, hun!" CeeCee squealed into my ear.
"Hun? What are you, from Baltimore, or something?" I laughed. (A/N: Don't ask. If you've ever been to B-more, you'll know what I mean.)
"Huh?" CeeCee said confusedly.
"Never mind. I was just about to call you by the way. So what's up?" I asked, twirling the phone cord with my pinkie finger and applying lip gloss.
"Are you doing anything right now? Because Adam and I were thinking we could come pick you up and go to the beach or something. We need to give you your presents!" I grinned.
"Why don't I come pick you guys up in my new car?" I said.
"WHAT? You're kidding! Yeah, go ahead. What kind is it?"
"You'll see soon enough. Alright, see you in a few."
"Bye girl!"
I grabbed my jacket and was out the door faster than you can say shifter.
CeeCee and Adam were as psyched as I was about the car ("Now you don't have to bum rides off me!" Adam said, smirking) and we had a great time cruising Seventeen Mile Drive and laughing at the sunburned tourists on the beach. Cee got me the gorgeous handbag from New York and Co. that I had pointed out when we went shopping, and Adam got me the movie Ghostbusters, saying I was just like Bill Murray. Hah, typical Adam.
We had so much fun that I lost track of time and ended up getting home at around 6…I was only planning on being gone for a couple hours. However, when I walked in the door, my mom, instead of being annoyed, looked strangely happy.
"You had a visitor, Susie." She said excitedly. I groaned. No need to ask who that was. Instead, I asked,
"He's not still here, is he?" She pursed her lips, and said sternly,
"Now Suze, don't be like that. This boy seems very nice, and he's been giving you quite a lot of attention. Shouldn't you be happier?" Yeah, Mom, I know you're surprised. She might as well say 'You're lucky this boy is paying attention to you'…way to rub in the fact that I'm a dateless freak. That's just great.
But of course, I didn't say that. My mom continued, saying,
"I think he left you a little something in your room." I sighed, and stalked up the steps, muttering under my breath. Who does he think he is, anyway? Thinking he can just waltz into my life—not literally, obviously, that would be a little fruity—and get me to fall head over heels in love with him…well, it's not going to—
Whoa. I happened to glance at my vanity table when I walked through the door, and sitting on top of it was a huge bouquet of coral pink and dark red roses (A/N: coral rose passion, dark red rose unconscious beauty) in a gorgeous crystal vase. As I walked closer, I saw that there was something wrapped around the vase. I picked it up and gasped. Clasped around the sparkling crystal was a necklace—a diamond necklace with a silver chain. It must have cost a fortune! It was a completely inappropriate birthday gift from a guy I didn't even like…and it was gorgeous. Automatically, I picked up the card tucked into the perfect rosebuds, and tore it open.
I know you say you hate me. You think you have me all figured out, Suze. You think that I'm some horrible bad guy that only thinks about money, power, and—lets face it—sex. And maybe I used to be like that…before you came into my life. But I think all along, I was waiting for something to come along that would give my life meaning. You think it's just a phase I'm going through, an infatuation…but you're wrong. This is real, Susannah Simon, what I feel for you. I'm not going to scare you by saying those 3 words…but I think you get my meaning. I want you in my life, now and forever. Just think about it. I'll be waiting.
Happy Sweet Seventeen. I hope your day is as perfect as you are.
Just think about it…
Paul
Jeez. Way to spring that on me…I was actually having fun today. And now this. I sighed, and put the card down. Just think about it…
As I was trying to decide what to do about this new development, I was distracted by something else—or someone else, I should say. He was sitting on my bed, regarding me with that cool, unreadable gaze.
"So." Jesse said conversationally. "Nice gift." I sighed and sat down on my bed next to him.
"I didn't ask Paul to give me a present…especially one so expensive. I don't know what to do with it. I hate the guy, but then he does something like this…the necklace is beautiful, but it's from Paul Slater." I was saying just what I was thinking. I didn't really expect Jesse to understand, but I didn't want to lie to him and say I hated it.
But Jesse did seem to understand. He put his arm around me, pulling me close and whispering, "Happy birthday, querida" before kissing the top of my head. "I know it's not your fault that Slater is in love with you—actually, I don't blame him. But it is not his place to do things like this." I smiled mischievously and asked,
"Oh, yeah? Whose place is it, then?" He grinned and ruffled my hair.
"Now that I think about it, I do have something for a certain seventeen year old." He reached behind him and took hold of a small wooden box that had been sitting on the bedspread. It was chipped and dusty, and a little discolored, as if it had been sitting around for a long time. I opened it—after blowing some of the dust off—and my eyes almost bugged out of my head. I know, charming, right? But, seriously. I wish every one of my birthdays were as full of pretty stuff as this one was. Inside the box was a silver ring with a princess cut emerald stone in the middle. The silver band was semi-thick, with an intricate weaving design leading into the stone. (A/N: I'm really bad at describing jewelry; just take my word for it, it's pretty) I stared at it, completely at a loss for words. How did Jesse get this? It's not as if he can just walk into a jewelry store and lay down cash…not only does he not have cash, no one can see him. And, sorry, but I don't see him as the stealing type of ghost—you know, the break and enter, just because he's invisible.
"It was my mother's." He explained, seeming to reading my mind. "I took a little trip to my ranch, and surprisingly, much of our old stuff was still there. I didn't think the new owners would mind this going missing, and I thought it would look beautiful on you." Aw. That's so sweet! He gave me his mother's jewelry! I couldn't contain the grin that spread across my face—I probably looked like a goofy idiot, but I didn't care. I threw my arms around Jesse's neck and kissed him quickly.
"I love it!" I squealed.
"I know it's not as expensive as Slater's gift, but—" I silenced him with another kiss.
"It's perfect." I told him. And it was. Perfect, I mean. That word pretty much summed up my whole day, too. Well, except for the whole Paul thing. I didn't know what I was going to do about that. But he was leaving for Seattle, so at least I would be spared a couple of days of him. Actually, come to think about it, that would be a perfect time to carry out my little Jesse plan without interference. I smiled, thinking about the look on Paul's face when he sees Live Jesse…hahaha.
Hahaha is right. Suze's little maniacal laugh…I know that whole chapter was a little pointless, but oh well. I'm having a little bit of trouble writing right now, so bear with me.