Chapter 1: May 18th

It was an early Sunday morning in the small town of "Builth Wells" and all you could hear were the chirping of birds that flew across the bright skies and the bells that rang in the Catholic Church which was not very far from where I lived.

I stood on my balcony for a while staring at the sun as it rose and thinking to myself what delight it was to see the beauty in Gods creation. As I stared I wondered within me what could possibly make news on such a beautiful day.

“Oh! It is the 18th of May” I said to myself as I smiled. This day was of course very special to me and most especially to my best friend Courtney because it was her birthday.

Courtney and I had known each other since we were five. They first moved into our neighborhood shortly after Courtney's father(Mr. Williams) lost his job as a bartender because of his ill mannered and insolent behavior 13years ago.

On this very special day, I already had Courtney's birthday present well figured out and as always, I was so certain she'd love what I had got her.

Courtney was a very elegant young girl who adored fashion and always wore tight-fitting mini gowns that could barely fit anyone her age. To her, looking beautiful and feeling confident in what she wore always kept her positive.

On this day, she was turning 18 and I had picked out a short cherry-red gown, a small fancy bag and some very pretty diamond earrings which I found in the jewelry shop the day before. I just knew She'd love them as she had always wanted a pair of diamond earrings.

As I left my balcony back into my not-too-large bedroom, I dashed straight to my study table where I had left my cellphone the previous night.

I immediately dialed Courtney's phone number as soon as she picked up, I shouted "Happy Birthday poo'' with a happy voice. (Poo, was how we addressed each other).

She responded in her ethereal voice, Thank you so much Poo, I have been waiting for your call since midnight because that has always been your call time on my past birthdays. We both laughed and continued chatting.

Courtney had no other friends asides me (as well as I knew) so we often spent most of our times together.

When we finished chatting and the call ended, I moved on to my normal daily routine which was to clean the house, do the dishes and trim the flowers.

Just like Courtney, I was an only child. My parents had been long divorced and my dad had remarried and lived with his wife in a different town which was not very close by.

My mum and I on the other hand lived together in the small town of 'Builth Wells' in a not-very-big but comfortable bungalow which was surrounded by wide verandas and a flower bed to one end.

This would have been a perfect house for myself and siblings if I had any as it had so much play space.

My mum was a lawyer who had been practicing for twelve years and she spent most of her time either attending to her clients or reading books. For this reason, she barely noticed if I needed anything at all and we almost never spent any time together.

Courtney and I were very close yet, had so many differences. Unlike her, I'd rather be seen in lose jeans, pullovers, tennis and other attires which were not very catchy but I really didn't care much about my looks.

We attended the same school and always sat on the same desk. We spent more time together in school than at home and we did so many fun and mischievous things together.

It was summer vacation and asides Courtney's birthday, we had other todo lists put together for the summer which included some things we had never tried before.

Once I was done cleaning, I ran out of the house and hopped on my old-looking bicycle which my dad had offered me on my 15th birthday and I rode straight to where Courtney lived with her parents.

I rode through the quiet narrow path with no one on the streets. It was past 11am and this path was quite empty since most people who lived in this neighborhood had all gone to their job sites.

Courtney lived about 3mins away from me.

"Good morning Mr Williams" I shouted as I saw her dad seated at the garden just outside the house.

He stared at me from a distance and snubbed.Courtney's dad didn't really like me so I wasn't surprised at his reaction and I also didn't really like him either.

I leaned my bicycle on an old vehicle which was packed at one end of the yard and walked straight into the house where I spotted Mrs Williams(Courtney's Mum) in the kitchen which was at the right end of their living room.

"Hey Judy", she called out!

"Good morning Mrs Williams" I responded with a broad smile.

"I guess you have come to your friend" she added and I nodded my head to a yes.

I walked towards the staircase and shouting out Courtney's name I climbed up to her room. Her room as the first door to the left of the staircase and it was well decorated with very fancy girlish furniture.

As I walked into her room, she was seated right before her mirror and had just finished painting her face with makeup. I walked closer to a better view and the thick dark winged makeup caked her face and her lips were painted red. She looked drop-dead gorgeous and the gown which I had picked would be a match for the make up.

As soon as she saw me, she wore a pretty smile and hugged me so tight. I wished her a happy birthday again and handed her the new plastic bag I held which contained her gift.

Her eyes soon became watery n filled up with tears and gladness as she unveiled the bag. She took out the dress and the small bag and opening the bag saw a small jewelry box. She quickly opened the box and saw the diamond earrings she had always longed for...

She threw herself at me giving me a kiss on the cheek and thanking me with so much joy.

"You never fail to make me cry each year" she said.

We both chuckled... It was now time for her to try on her new outfit and I helped her fit in the tight-fitting cherry-red mini gown.

"OMG! Courtney you look ravishing" I said to her as she starred at herself in the mirror. I asked her to sit and I removed her tiny earrings replacing them with the new diamond earrings I got her. I tied her long blunt hair which hung on her shoulders to the side.

All that was left was a pair of shoes and I knew exactly what would be perfect for this outfit.

I walked into her closet and brought out a silver stiletto heel which had been offered to her by her aunt just a month back. I helped her put them on and handed to her the small bag I had bought(it was a small silver colored back with few red stripes).

We had finished dressing her up by this time and she stood up, posed before me and looked so pretty. It was the prettiest of her I had ever seen.

Courtney looked as though she was a fairy princess and was going on a date with her Prince Charming but with all honesty, I knew Courtney had nowhere special to go to because I was her best and only friend and I’d have known if she had any plans because we always did everything together. She didn’t even have a boyfriend.

I took a second look at her and said smiling “Poo, you look so beautiful today. I mean, you look way better than I had imagined. But it’s just past 12 noon and we have no plans for the day. What’s up?”

She responded excitedly, “I won’t look this pretty if it were not for you and the wonderful gifts you bought me. I love you poo and thank you so much”.

Then she continued “And well, Yes! I’m going out on a date today with my boyfriend Chris. He promised to take me to this beautiful new eatery in town”.

Wait, what? Boyfriend? Chris? I questioned as I looked at her in dismay. “When did you get a boyfriend Courtney? Chris? And when did you plan on telling me?” I continued in so much shock.

(Chris was a weirdo who lived at the end of the street and we attended the same school. He was avoided by everyone in school because of his eccentric behavior.)

“I’m sorry poo, I didn’t intend to keep it away from you Courtney started. I was so shattered that I didn’t even wait for her to finish as I sighed and ran out of her room.

She ran after me and I could hear her call out my name with a trembly and sad voice but I didn’t stop because I was so upset.

“How could she have kept this away from me all this while?” I thought to myself. We are supposed to be best of friends that do not keep anything away from each other or at least so I thought.

I soon approached my old-looking bicycle and paddled off. I rode back through the quiet road to my mother’s bungalow and straight into my room.

I quickly pulled out my out the old boots I had on and dived into my not-so-good looking spring bed. Just few minutes later, I heard a loud voice call out to me. “Poo, please hear me out!”

I was still very furious and shouted “ leave me alone Courtney, I don’t wanna hear anything from you!” She insisted and called out even louder. I finally agreed to listen to her and opened up the door.

Her make up was all ruined by the tears that ran down her cheeks as she tried explaining herself.

“I didn’t know how to tell you this” she started.

“How do I tell my best friend that I fell for the weirdest person in the entire school and neighborhood?

I was scared of how you’d react to it. I’m not trying to justify what I did but Chris is not as bad as people think him to be.” He’s actually an adorable, well-mannered, caring and lovable person she squealed.

For a moment, I could hear her heartbeat and I felt the sincerity with which she said all of this. I understood her fear and was calmed by the look on her face.

Still, you should have told me earlier. You made me feel left out earlier today. I’m your best friend and I’ll never make you feel this way, I said to her.

She grabbed my hand and grinned...

“Judy, I’m so sorry. I was really just scared.I didn’t know how you’ll react to it, if you’ll be mad or happy. I wasn’t ready to lose you because of the person my heart chose to love.”

I stood up to her and answered. “It’s okay Courtney. I understand you and I want you to know that if you love him then I’m in total support. You’re my friend and I’ll support whatever brings you joy and happiness. Just promise me that there’ll be no more secrets.” I said this giving her a warm pampering hug.