Friday, October 21, 2005

Birthday Hell - 50 Word Fiction Fridays Vol. 29



Birthday Hell

I unwrap the box with frantic fingers. Grammy always buys the best birthday presents! My friends sit nearby, eagerly watching the birthday ritual. I yank the lid right off and... oh no. Grammy bought me underwear?! The girls giggle, the boys stare at their feet, and I pray for invisibility.

The 50 Word Fiction Friday theme this week is: birthdays.

Another bit of Friday Fiction based on past experiences. I was in the first or second grade. Several girl and boy classmates were there. So were my grandparents. And the underwear? They were cute little silky Days-Of-The-Week panties. Very snazzy.

My grandma, who'd brought a couple of presents with her, meant to give the underwear box to my mom so it could be hidden. To be opened later. When my friends weren't around. My boy friends. Gah! I was sooooooooooo embarrassed. I mean, if I'm gonna show a boy my panties I want to be the one who picks the time and place. Not my grandmother!

My brother made it worse, as only little brothers can. He's younger than me so he would have been about four or five years old at the time. (Very impatient years those are.) As he'd been sitting on the floor, where his eyes were lower than everyone else's, he hadn't seen what everyone else had seen. And he really wanted to know if it was another toy. He didn't get why I didn't showcase it like I showed off every other present I got. "What was it? I didn't get to see it! What's so funny? What was it?"

Mom quickly handed me another present and the birthday party continued with no further hiccups or embarrassingly personal gifts. I don't remember much else from that day, but that particular moment in time, all those many years ago, will remain with me for a long, long time.

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