Birthday Wishes - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Kaylee let out a dramatic sigh as she looked at her friends across the cafeteria table, her expression turning into a pout. "I'm just saying... It's my birthday, I shouldn't have to worry about homework."

Chloe gave her a patient look - though it was clear her patience was starting to wear a bit thin. "We know it's your birthday, hon, we gave you..."

"Yeah, a card," Kaylee rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"And a gift card," Ashley pointed out as Chloe - too stunned at Kaylee's ingratitude to say anything - glared at the birthday girl. "We all chipped in!"

"I'm sure you did," Kaylee shrugged. "Thanks again."

"We all have our own homework to get done," Chloe finally spoke back up, her voice sounding slightly strained, as if she were trying her hardest to control herself. "We can't wait on you hand and foot."

"Besides, you always try to get us to do your homework," Alice pointed out, trying to sound like she was joking - even if it wasn't too far off from the truth. 

"But today you should actually do it!" Kaylee crossed her arms. "I wanna go out and have fun tonight! This is my first birthday at college... I don't want to spend the whole night typing papers!"

"We're taking you out this weekend," Ashley reminded her helpfully.

"And it's not like you could go anywhere without us," Chloe pointed out, still sounding annoyed. "I can't chauffeur you around and do homework for you at the same time."

"You don't have to do both," Kaylee promised. "If you have to drive, someone else can write..." She could hardly contain her smug grin, sure that it wouldn't be a problem... Her parents were coming to visit her at college, and she was certain that it was to give her the car she'd been begging them to buy for her for months, back before she'd even started her freshman year. 

"Kaylee, we aren't doing your homework!" Chloe snapped. "Stop asking!"

"Fine!" Kaylee snapped back. "It was just a joke anyway! Grow up!" She hopped down from her chair, grabbing her backpack and storming away, hoping she'd turned around quickly enough that they didn't notice the tears glistening in her eyes... Though, at the same time, she hoped one of them - probably Ashley - would come running after her to apologize. 

Instead, as she retreated, she heard Chloe call out, "Why don't YOU grow up?!" before mumbling something that sounded a lot like, "She is SUCH an only child," though Kaylee couldn't be certain. She heard the other girls' voices, told herself that they were chastising Chloe for her behavior - certainly not agreeing with her. 

She stomped her way back to her dorm room, glad to see that her stupid roommate, Susie, wasn't there. Even though Chloe had obviously meant it in a mean way, it was true that she was an only child, and she hated having to share a room with someone else, especially a nerdy little goody-two-shoes like Susie. Kaylee wouldn't even dream of asking Susie to do her homework - even though she'd probably do better than any of her so-called friends - because she knew the girl would tattle to Kaylee's teachers about it, after lecturing Kaylee that she wasn't really learning if she had someone else do the work.

That was annoying enough regularly... Today, it would be even worse. Susie had just turned 18 a few weeks ago, so at least they'd been the same age the last few times she'd talked at Kaylee about the importance of their education. Now, Kaylee was officially a year older than her again, making it somehow even worse. She'd really wanted a private room, but her parents just hadn't listened, telling her it was too much extra... She was sure, however much more it had been, it would have been worth it to get her away from Susie.

Kaylee dumped her bookbag onto her desk, then flopped down on her bed, still unmade from the night before, grabbing her iPad and flipping open the cover to start up Youtube. She had class in a few minutes, but she didn't care... She'd been hoping her friends were going to surprise her at breakfast, tell her they were all going to the spa or something, some big birthday adventure to get her out of classes for the day. Instead, they'd given her some dumb card, and they weren't even going to help her out that night!

Well, she didn't need them... Surely her professors would understand how important it was to get a day off from classes on her birthday, even if she was already pushing it on the number of absences in a couple of them. She could tell them she was sick or something if they made too much of a fuss...

She'd always imagined her birthdays would be more exciting once she got out of her parents' house. Sure, they always threw her a party, and there were always plenty of gifts, but it was never quite right... They never invited the right people, or they had it at the wrong restaurant, or they hung around too much for her to make a move on the boy she had a crush on... But this was even worse. Nobody wanted to do anything with her!

She stared into her iPad, barely even paying attention to what was on the screen, just letting videos play as she laid on her bed and sulked. Maybe things would be better once her parents got here, she thought. There was a pretty lengthy break between her last morning class and the first one in the afternoon, so her parents were taking her out to lunch. They'd wanted to come later, so they could spend a little longer with her, but she'd told them she had plans already.

They had to be getting her a car... Why else would they have been so adamant about seeing her that day instead of offering to pick her up for the weekend? She'd be able to go home any weekend she wanted now... Of course, there were probably better things to do with her weekends, though having her mom take care of laundry and cooking every now and then would be nice, as would getting away from Susie.

She was so convinced, even when her phone rang, and she went to meet them in the parking lot, only to find they were both in her dad's car, she didn't stop hoping. Maybe they'd parked the car somewhere else, and were going to drive her to it after lunch... Or maybe they were going to a car lot to let her pick one out herself!

She had a hard time concentrating, or even sitting still, as they ate, every passing moment where they didn't bring out some other lame present only making her feel more certain that she was about to get the last thing she needed for real freedom. Then, after the waitresses sang to her and brought her a brownie - which looked kind of dry, so she didn't bother to eat it, though her mother insisted on getting a takeout box for it - and they were all getting ready to leave, her mother finally said it.

"Was it good?" she asked, giving Kaylee a hug.

"Yeah, it was all right," Kaylee nodded.

"That's good," her mother smiled. "And don't worry, we didn't forget your present. You'll get it when we get back to the school."

Kaylee's eyes lit up instantly, positive now, yet not wanting to give away that she knew. She would have to act at least a little surprised... She only hoped they hadn't gotten her anything too big and clunky and ugly, so that she wouldn't want to be seen driving it around.

The thought hadn't occurred to her before, but now, as she rode back to her dorm, it was all she could think about. Her mom's car was a piece of junk, after all, and her dad's wasn't all that great, either. She'd assumed they'd get her something cute, maybe even a convertible... Their judgement on cars clearly couldn't be trusted, however. And what if they'd cheaped out and bought a new car for themselves, and were going to stick her with their old one?

The idea of a car was so liberating... If she couldn't be seen in public with it, though, what was the point? She supposed she could make some late night runs to Wal-Mart, or somewhere else that stayed open long enough that she could be fairly certain not to run into anyone there, but that was barely worth the trouble!

By the time her dad was pulling into her parking lot, she was bracing herself for the worst. She got out of the car, looking around nervously, scanning each other automobile, trying to figure out which one they might have chosen for her. Her parents walked around to the trunk and opened it, revealing a large, wrapped box inside.

"Happy birthday!" her dad exclaimed.

Kaylee looked at the present in surprise, wondering if it was some sort of trick. She waited a moment, then began to tear into the paper, half-expecting to find a huge box, imagining herself digging through tons of packaging before finally finding a key. 

There was, in fact, a box under the wrapping paper, with a picture of a mini-fridge on it. She frowned, her unwrapping slowing slightly as she saw that, before telling herself they'd just found the box, or gotten it from their neighbors, because it was the biggest they could get, to try to trick her. She'd just about convinced herself, too, as she hesitantly opened the lid.

"You're always talking about how the soda machine is all the way in the basement," her mother was blabbering, "and how hard it is to make it to the cafeteria for breakfast sometime, so we thought you could use this to keep some drinks, and maybe some yogurt or something for those mornings."

"Oh... Yeah..." Kaylee nodded, feeling a little numb.

"And here," her father said, handing her an envelope. She perked up immediately, ripping it open, then carefully pulling out the card, making a show of acting like she was reading the front - which had some sappy stuff about how special she was, and how much they loved her, or whatever - before opening it up, sure she'd find a key inside, or maybe a photo of the car, something... There was a check, for nowhere near enough to get even the crappiest of cars, but nothing more.

"Happy birthday, sweetie," her mom said, giving her a hug. Kaylee didn't even try to return it, just stood there, stunned, while her father did the same. "Do you want your dad to take it up to your room?"

"I guess," Kaylee shrugged, wandering into her dorm in a daze, her parents following along behind. She unlocked the door to her room, then groaned as she saw Susie in there, sitting at her desk, hunched over her laptop. 

"Oh, hi, Susie!" Kaylee's mom greeted her as they stepped inside, Kaylee's dad setting the fridge down with a grunt. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" the girl stood, hurrying over to Kaylee's parents and smiling. Kaylee's parents loved her, for some reason. "It's nice to see you guys again! Is this your birthday present?" she asked Kaylee.

"I guess," Kaylee shrugged.

"It's awesome! I've been wanting to get one of these!" Susie beamed.

"Is this a good place?" Kaylee's dad asked. "I can move it, if it's going to be in the way here..."

"I guess," Kaylee shrugged.

"Oh, look at the time!" Kaylee's mom exclaimed, putting the little takeout box with the brownie into the fridge. "We'd better let you go so you can get to class on time. I'm so glad we got to see you. Happy birthday, Kaylee."

"Okay," Kaylee nodded, ushering them back out of her room. "Bye."

She collapsed down on her bed, grabbing her iPad again and rolling over, hot tears stinging her eyes. Susie let it go for a few minutes, but just knowing the girl was there made Kaylee feel even more upset - and, sure enough, before long, she was nagging, "They're right, you know, your next class starts in..."

"Yeah, I know when it starts!" Kaylee growled.

Susie was quiet another few moments, then, "It's all the way across campus, you should..."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Kaylee barked, sitting up. "It's my birthday, and I'll do what I want! Just leave me alone!"

"Didn't you say that you had...?" Susie started. Kaylee leapt to her feet, crossing the room in a few furious strides to grab the other girl by the arm, yanking her back up from her chair. "Hey, stop it!" Susie whined, squirming in her grip. "That hurts! I have work to do, I can't..."

Kaylee shoved the girl out into the hallway, then stormed over to her desk, yanking the power plug out of Susie's laptop and closing it before shoving the whole thing into Susie's chest and slamming the door shut in her face. She hadn't even noticed the tears streaming down her face until she turned back to face her room, and the stupid, useless mini-fridge sitting along one wall.

"I hate you!" she screamed, aiming an angry kick right at the miniature appliance, wanting to knock it over, only to be surprised at how heavy it actually was. She was glad she'd taken the time to put on some real shoes instead of just flip-flops when she'd went out to meet her parents, or that might have really hurt.

Still, her unplanned foresight did little to soothe her rage. She clomped over to her desk, grabbing pens, book, whatever was small enough to pick up easily, and throwing them at the fridge; she mostly missed, which didn't improve her mood any. When she'd run out of things there, she went to her bed, yanking off her pillows, her stuffed animals, even her blankets, at this point doing little more than just making a huge mess in the room.

Susie would hate it, which would have almost made it worth it, but she was too upset now to care. "All I wanted was a stupid car!" she fumed, stomping her foot. "Is that so much to ask?! I never ask for anything! They never give me anything, either! I'm a good daughter, I deserve something!"

She snatched Susie's pillows as well, right off her, as always, immaculately made bed, just wanting something else to throw. "It's my birthday!" she wailed, barely even noticing that she was still crying. "They never give me what I want! They never have! It isn't fair! It's not fair!"

It was only then that she saw it, fallen among everything else by the fridge - her iPad, lying facedown, cover open, shards of glass surrounding it. She'd forgotten it was there, hadn't even been paying attention as she picked things up... She stomped her feet again in impotent rage, letting out a wordless shriek. Now there wasn't even anything to entertain herself with... Susie had her computer, and Kaylee's idiotic parents had told her she didn't need one of her own, that if she needed anything more than what she could do with her tablet, she could just go to the computer lab...

"They never give me what I want..." she shook her head, rubbing her eyes. "That's all I wanted, just this once!" Then she sniffed, shaking her head again. "No... No, screw it! It's my birthday! I should get what I want!" She sniffled, shuffling through the mess of sheets and paper, over to the mini-fridge. She yanked open the door and pulled out the one container inside, carrying it over to her desk.

The candle the waitresses had stuck into the brownie had fallen over, but she stuck it back in, rifling through her desk drawers until she found a lighter. "If nobody else wants to celebrate my birthday the right way, then I'll just do it myself," she fumed out loud.

It was her birthday... She was allowed a wish, wasn't she? And surely, just this once, she was allowed to be a little greedy... "I wish my parents had always given me exactly what I wanted!" she pouted, blowing out the candle with one, angry puff.

As soon as the flame flickered out, so, somehow, did the rest of the light in the room. Kaylee gasped as she was surrounded by darkness, wondering for a moment if - to just put a cap on this awful day - she'd gone blind.

Then, as quickly as everything had vanished, it was back. Or, rather... Something was back, but it wasn't the bland, off-white walls of her dorm room. The walls of this room were striped white and pastel purple; rather than the standard, boring beds of the dorm, there was a white, four-poster bed, golden crowns perched on top of each post, and carved into the head and footboards. The desks were gone, replaced with a vanity - a golden crown matching the ones on the bed carved above the center mirror - and a low table set for tea and surrounded by chairs, all but one filled with stuffed animals.

She spotted something in the three mirrors of the vanity and turned, expecting to see a child behind her, ready to demand an explanation for what was going on, and where she was. There was nobody there... She turned back around, stomach dropping as she took a closer look at the reflection, taking a few tentative steps closer to the mirrors.

There was a little girl in them... Or, rather, a young woman, dressed like a little girl. She was wearing a rainbow-colored My Little Pony t-shirt and a fluffy, pink tutu, a silver tiara perched on her dark hair, and her thumb planted firmly in her mouth. She frowned as she moved, fidgeting and rubbing her legs together, frowning as if she was hearing a strange sound, feeling an unfamiliar sensation. She lifted her tutu, just barely, but enough to show off what Kaylee recognized immediately as a pair of princess-print Pull-Ups. She dropped the skirt, then slowly lifted it again, looking down as if to confirm it for herself, gulping as she noticed the faded stars on the crotch. And, as hard as it was to believe, it was her.

Seeing that only made the whole thing seem less real, somehow. Kaylee shook her head, wanting, trying, to deny it, despite the evidence being right there. It was obvious she was still her, still an adult, and yet, she was very clearly dressed like a child, in a child's room... Had she been kidnapped? Maybe someone at the restaurant had drugged her food, and she'd passed out and they'd brought her here and dressed her up for... some reason... The drugs were surely why her Pull-Ups were wet, too...

Before she could figure out what those might be, there was a light tap on the door, and then it opened. She spun around, preparing to fight, or run, depending on how big her captor was, or how many there were. To her surprise, only one person stepped inside the room, and it was somebody she was very familiar with.

"Are you ready?" her mother asked with a smile. "It's almost time for your party!"