This is the seventh chapter of my second serial novel, The Year of the Winding Road < click here to see the main page for the novel, read the other chapters if you missed them or have no idea what this story is about.
Note to readers:
While this story does have events in it that were inspired by true life and the people who made them happen, all of it is fictional and made up. The people, aside from the popular culture figures that pepper this novel, are made up using qualities and quirks I have observed in the people I have met in real life. The places are also made up. The popular culture figures are used fictionally, though I tried to remain true to them in my writing.
The emotions though are very real. High school is a time for angst. High school is a time for finding one’s self and learning who and what one will become. I tried to keep that ribbon alive in this piece of fiction.
Birthday
Brianna’s birthday fell in the last week of October, exactly one week before Halloween. Her grandfather used to call her his little witch as a result. It usually made Brianna grin. But only he was ever allowed to call her that. Anyone else who used the nickname was usually given a scowl
Of course, Matt called her something else that rhymed. That something else always annoyed her.
Her seventeenth birthday was on a Friday that year, almost a week after her first date with Patrick. While it was thrilling being one year closer to adulthood, the anticipation of reaching that threshold felt like it was killing her.
Mom woke her at five that morning, singing “Happy Birthday” quietly, though Annabelle still grumbled about being woken as well and told them to shut up. At least her sister got to go back to sleep, Brianna mused as she slid out from under her covers while Mom chided Annabelle for her rudeness.
There were freshly made chocolate chip pancakes for her birthday breakfast, her favorite. Brianna ate them with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. She also had a cup of coffee, though Mom teased her since it was really only half a cup. The other half of the mug was milk and sugar, but Brianna liked it that way.
She was allowed to open one of her presents that morning. It was a pair of denim bib overalls, one of the latest rages in fashion for the school. Brianna grinned with delight when she saw them and held them up to measure their length against her long legs.
“Thanks, Mom!” she said finally. She ran over to give her a hug and a kiss.
“I’ve already washed them,” Mom replied after she kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Since I thought you’d like to wear them to school today.”
Brianna grinned as she darted down the hallway and into her room to change.
Another treat that day was a ride to school from Dad, who thought that the birthday girl deserved it for once. It gave Brianna some precious moments to focus on making her appearance a little more sparkly for her birthday, regardless of the barbs Matt was giving her as he waited for the bathroom.
As she was putting her things in her locker that morning, a small bouquet of purple chrysanthemums appeared in front of her face. Each stem was in a vial of water, with plastic wrapped around the bouquet. A big green bow was tied around them. She let out a sigh of exuberance and turned to see Patrick smiling at her as she reached for the flowers.
“Happy birthday!” he said.
She practically jumped for joy as she hugged him.
“You can thank my mom for them,” he said happily. “She went to three different flower shops yesterday to find them for you.”
“How did you know?” she asked.
“I called your house last Thursday when I knew you were working and asked your mom.”
She smiled at the gesture. He had gone to great lengths for her. She felt like she was on top of the world from it.
“They are beautiful!” she said, standing tall to kiss him. “Thank you! I love them. I love you too.”
His dark eyes glistened with happiness as she clapped her hand over her mouth and blushed. It was the first time she had told him that.
They walked hand in hand to Chemistry class. She held the bouquet in her free hand, smelling them as she walked. She smiled every time and glanced up at her boyfriend’s profile.
She had a test in Algebra that morning that Matt had helped her prepare for. While she knew she didn’t ace it, she hoped she passed it. Her math grade was suffering, even with all of the help from Patrick and her brother.
Nothing special happened in her history class. They were discussing some important events from the War of 1812. Brianna’s hand had cramped by the time class was done from furiously trying to write down notes from Mr. Carter’s lecture. Mr. Carter commented briefly on the flowers, told her “Happy Birthday” and then moved on.
Spanish class sang the Spanish version of “Happy Birthday” to her. Sra. Allen gave her a small dulce from Mexico as a present but asked her to wait until break to eat it. She also complimented Brianna on the flowers.
When she got to her locker at break time, she discovered that it was covered in birthday wrapping paper. When she went to open it, bits of confetti fell out. Several small presents were crammed inside, covered in confetti. She laughed as Patrick, Maisie, Adelaide and a few more of their friends came to surround her.
They sang “Happy Birthday” to her, despite her blushing and trying to hide in Patrick’s shoulder. She simultaneously enjoyed and hated the attention she was getting.
Her few presents included a couple of claw clips for her hair, a pin that proclaimed it was her birthday that Maisie made her wear, and some of her favorite snacks.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by. Even Matt seemed to be unusually nice to her when he spotted her during passing periods. He didn’t flip her off or offer any obnoxious remarks when he saw her walking hand in hand with Patrick. It was like he knew that day was her day. He’d be back to his usual tricks soon enough.
Maisie offered her a ride home that afternoon. Now that she had wheels of her own, she sometimes gave Brianna rides home when she could. That day she had already offered Adelaide a ride.
“Let’s go get some ice cream!” Maisie suggested. “After all, it’s Friday AND Bree’s birthday.”
“I’ll have to call my mom and ask permission,” Brianna said.
She fished a quarter out of her wallet and walked to the payphone at the front of the office.
Mom gave permission but told her she had to be home by five. So the three of them went off to the nearby ice cream store, known for its thirty-some-odd flavors.
“So, what are you and Patrick going to do on your date tomorrow?” Adelaide asked as she licked some peanut butter ice cream from her spoon.
Brianna blushed. It was very like her bestie to bring up her date with Patrick. When they said goodbye after school, he reminded her to be ready at one the next day.
“I’m not sure. Patrick has something up his sleeve,” she said shyly.
“Oooooh,” Adelaide teased.
All three of them laughed as they finished their ice cream and headed back out to Maisie’s car. Brianna was going to be home well before five.
She put her things away in her room and walked out to flop down on the couch to watch some mindless television until dinner. Since it was Friday, her homework could wait.
Mom had bought a frozen vegetable lasagna for dinner, since that was what Brianna wanted. Brianna did have to preheat the oven for dinner since Mom wasn’t home in time. But she had the evening off from any other chores.
Annabelle took one look at it as Mom pulled it out of the oven and made a face.
“Ugh, vegetable lasagna? Why do we have to eat this for dinner?” she whined.
Matt groaned too.
“Yeah, who picked this crap for tonight?”
Brianna glared at both of them as Mom huffed.
“You know very well that since it’s Brianna’s birthday, she gets to pick what we eat for dinner. I happen to like vegetable lasagna as well. You both have two choices, take it or leave it!”
After dinner, Brianna opened the remainder of her birthday gifts. She was given a couple of books, two CDs by Amy Grant and some makeup that her mom knew she’d like. She thanked everyone for the gifts.
After presents came her birthday cake, chocolate with chocolate icing. Dad had picked it up at the store on his way home from work. It was served with ice cream, although each of the kids had their own favorite flavors. Brianna had vanilla.
Long after Annabelle had fallen asleep that night, Brianna lay in her bed, thinking about her wonderful birthday. She also thought about what the date the next day could be, since she was still mystified as to what her boyfriend had planned. It took her a very long time to fall asleep that night, but when she finally did, she dreamed of beautiful things and a young man with deep brown eyes.
Click here to read the next chapter – Second Date (live on 27 September 2025)
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction written by K. S. Wood, and thus is copyrighted 2025. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author. All rights reserved.If you enjoyed this chapter, please share it with others. Every other Saturday, there will be a new chapter posted for your reading pleasure. The entire story can be found on this page – The Year of the Winding Road
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