CHAPTER 6: February—Jason

When I woke up on the morning of February 9th, I remembered that it was my sixteenth birthday. As I got dressed, I recalled some of my other birthdays.

First, I remembered my fifth birthday in Manhattan. Mum had taken me and Luke Sullivan, my best friend—as well as Luke's mum—to Chuck E. Cheese, and we had a ball. Luke and I were going to have a pizza-eating contest, but our mums stopped us from making ourselves sick, which would've been the last thing either of them wanted. I don't know which would've been worse for them: that, or doing what the kids did at the Carnival cast party. To this day, I can still hear Watson saying, "STEP AWAY FROM THE SUGAR."

Next, I remembered my eighth birthday, which seemed like a million years ago, but was really only eight. That year, I got two very special presents. Mum had given me my real father's ID tags, which I still wear even today, and Steve had taken me and Luke, as well as Luke's dad, to the Bon Jovi concert in Madison Square Garden. At the concert, two bigger kids tried to beat the crap out of me and Luke, but Steve stopped them before they could do so. After that, Steve taught me self-defense, which has come to great use over the years.

I also remembered my eleventh birthday. At the time, Granny, Mum's mother, was dying of bone cancer, and she'd given me her Celtic cross ring, which she'd gotten when she was sixteen, and she'd left it to me in her will. It's also something else I wear to this day, although I thought it was a little strange to be the same age Granny was when she'd gotten that ring.

Okay, back to me. When I got to the kitchen, Mum was fixing breakfast. "Good morning," I said.

"Happy birthday," she answered.

"Thanks," I said. "You know, the weather seems to have warmed up a bit, so I thought I'd ride my motor scooter to school today."

"Okay, that's fine."

"If Bebe wants, I can even dorp her off at SMS."

Bebe came into the kitchen just in time to hear that. "Sure!" she said.

As soon as we finished breakfast, we headed out the door. I dropped Bebe off at SMS, and headed to SHS.

When I arrived at SHS, I parked my bike in the student parking lot. Even though the students who drive park there, the principal said it was all right for me to do so as well.

While I was at my locker getting my books, Claudia passed by. "Hi, Jason," she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," I said.

In Chorus, Mr. Metz made the entire class sing "Happy Birthday". I didn't mind one bit, not even the fact that they were purposely singing off-key, out of tune, you name it. After they finished, I said, in my best Simon Cowell voice, "That was simply dreadful. You all sounded like a bunch of drill sergeants with your hands caught in the garbage disposal."

I'd never heard such raucous laughter in my life. After they'd calmed down, Pete Black managed to gasp out, "Just don't ask us where your slippers are, okay?" And another round of laughter ensued.

As I was heading to gym class, I saw the announcements on the bulletin board, announcing the cast lists for the all-school play, M.A.S.H., and the senior class play, The Mousetrap. I'd auditioned for the part of Radar in M.A.S.H., but saw that the part went to Jason Henderson. Oh, well. I guess I'll keep trying every year.

I made it through the rest of the morning: second period gym with Abby; third period math with none of my BSC friends; and fourth period English with Dawn and Abby.

Soon, it was time for lunch. Kristy, Mary Anne, Logan, and I sat at our usual table.

"So, what are your plans for this afternoon?" Kristy asked as she bit into a chicken ring. Logan once told me how he'd make the SMS cooks laugh by calling them chicken donuts instead of chicken rings. He's done that here, too.

"Well, after I leave here, I'm baby-sitting for Karen and Andrew at their mum's house," I answered. "Then after I get home, Mum and Steve are taking me out to Pietro's for my birthday."

Pietro's is an Italian restaurant near the Washington Mall, and it happens to be one of my family's favorite places.

The afternoon also passed quickly. I had sixth period study hall with Mary Anne. I had seventh period History with Kristy, Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, and Logan, then eighth period science with Kristy, Abby, and Logan. As soon as the last bell rang, I went to my locker, got out a couple of books, picked Bebe up at SMS, dropped her off at her baby-sitting job at the Newtons', then headed to Forest Drive, where Lisa and Seth Engle, Karen and Andrew's mother and stepfather, live.

"Karen and Andrew should be getting off the bus in a few minutes," she told me as I came inside. "I also heard it's your birthday today."

"Thanks," I said. "How'd you know?"

"I ran into your mom while I was at the grocery store."

"Thanks again."

At that moment, Karen and Andrew came barreling through the front door. "Hi, Jason!" Karen said, giving me a hug, and still managing to knock the wind out of me. I wonder if there are any linebackers in her family? On the upside, she wasn't saying, "Thank you, Papa!" when she was hugging me. "Kristy called me last night and told me to tell you happy birthday."

"Thanks."

"I just have some errands to run, and I'm going to stop by Seth's workshop for a little bit," Lisa said as she put on her pink windbreaker. "I should be back in a couple of hours. Merry's spending the weekend with her parents, and if, for some reason, you can't get hold of me, Seth, or Mrs. Dawes, call her. If you need anything, Merry's parents' number and the workshop number are right by the phone. Well, see you later."

After their mother left, I asked, "So, what would you guys like?"

"How about popcorn?" Karen suggested. I opened the cupboard and found the kind with movie-theater butter—which, in my opinion, is the best kind ever, next to the caramel kind. Bebe's favorite kind of popcorn is the rainbow-colored one.

After our snack, Karen started her homework. Time passed rather quickly, and before I knew it, Mrs. Engle had returned. After she paid me, I got on my motor scooter, picked Bebe up at the Newtons', and returned home.

As soon as we got home, the four of us went out to Pietro's. Besides my eighth birthday, this was the best one ever.