Waiting My great-aunt Melon gave me a lime green shirt with a bedazzled pickle splattered on it on my chest for my fifteenth birthday. It also rained. I wasn't shocked or sad at all. It had rained on my birthday every year for fourteen years. Mom even said there was a storm the day I was born. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay I know the story by heart and it always ends like this: “It was hailing and raining, my God!” I thought I was going to have to have you there in the bathtub. Then she laughed several times and gave me a kiss stained with burnt orange that left a mark that I wouldn't get rid of until the next day. In the end, I ended up with a lot of photos with what looks like a birthmark right on my cheek that tortured me, to say the least. Anyway, the three of us were gathered on the patch of grass behind our building. We sat under the fig tree in our version of a circle. Christmas-themed paper plates, sprinkled with Baklava crumbs, were spread out on the sidewalk. The other relatives had left about an hour ago. I sat in the “special birthday chair” which was really just a folding chair with stale yellow paint peeling off the barely there legs. The gift bag that Great-Aunt Melon handed me was a rather witless beige color, so you can imagine my surprise when I pulled out a shirt that shouldn't have even been made in the first place. “Well, thanks Aunt Melon, I uh…I love it.” I tried to suppress a look of pure embarrassment for myself and for her. But hey, my own mother didn't even give me a present. “Go ahead honey, try it.” Mom scoffed, a smile simmering between her dry lips. I felt his eyes staring at my lanky figure as I took off my hoodie to try on my new gift. The shirt fell off my shoulders, three sizes too big. Chills covered my spine from the discomfort of the itchy tissue. I was basically carrying a tent. What girl would want to date a guy wearing a green tent to school? I should burn it immediately. Melon's sleek black glasses hid his eyes but his cheeks glowed with excitement. “Aww honey, it’s fabulous, isn’t it?” This will really highlight your wild red hair. » “Melon!” – His hair is brown. » Mom screamed as she rolled her eyes around the world and back. My cheap smile fell as I muttered, Cars will definitely be able to see me at night, under my breath. It was horribly horrible. I saw Melon give a rather perplexed look. She asked, “Cars?” And Theo cars? Oh. Did I mention she has ears like a hawk? “I just meant because it’s fluorescent, you know?” I squirmed a little in my seat. “Fluorescent?” Since when did apricot color fluoresce? "Aunt Melon, the t-shirt you bought me, it's lime green." She let out a common laugh, "Well, I'll be damned." A lime green shirt, did you say? The girl at the store said it was a casual apricot-colored shirt. Her face went blank as she realized and fell silent. I didn't know what to say or what to do. So, I didn't do anything. My mother remained silent, confused as her hasty correction went unheeded. Melon turned her head in my direction as she reached for my hand to say goodbye, "Happy birthday, sweetheart. Ugh, you're growing up soquickly. This is both wonderful and terrible to know. She let out a short sigh before directing her attention to the attentive golden retriever beside her. “Turbo, are you hungry?” » She looked at us both as we tried not to give off a friendly vibe. She hated it. “He always expects a treat around this time.” I handed her a polka dot umbrella as she stood up from her chair. The guide dog stood on all fours and led Great-Aunt Melon toward the back door, avoiding any puddles that might have otherwise tripped her. She turned around once to say, “I almost forgot! Thanks for having me.” Ta-ta! » She lived only a few doors away, we both knew she would be fine coming home. Mom and I looked at places on opposite sides of the floor. Our chairs were slightly tilted towards each other. “Oh damn, I almost forgot!” She exclaimed as she fished in her overfilled bag. That was it! She had finally thought of giving me my present. I was overcome by a foreign tingling sensation. I assumed it was pocket sized, since it fit in her purse. I quickly said a prayer to the man who was supposed to be up there. I hoped it wasn't something stupid. A wad of cash would be enough. Instead, she pulled out a black, shiny object that lit up in her hand as her finger gently pressed the touchscreen. My eyes popped out of my head with delight when I recognized what it was. After being bombarded with ads for the past six months, it was clear that the polished rectangle was the newest, limited-edition smartphone. It had not yet been made public. I was transported by ecstasy. In an instant, a perplexed expression interrupted my smile. How did my mother get this for me in the first place? The question disappeared and was replaced by the image of the other guys at school. I, the only sophomore without a phone, would now be treated with the utmost respect. My mother's voice disrupted my reverie as she continued to say, "I need to message the girls and ask them what time we'll meet up later," while her chubby thumbs clicked various letters on the screen. The polka dot reading glasses she found near the checkout line at Rite-Aid were resting on the tip of her nose, which bothered me greatly. " Mom ! Stop!" I grabbed my new device while continuing to yell, “Send them a text from your phone!” “Theo! What happened to you? Are you yelling at your mother? It’s my phone.” “But! I was just thinking… you know what, too bad” “Oh honey, didn’t I tell you? celebrate it at Pinocchio’s on Lake Street” “Who’s Cheryl?”, I continued to look at her with a confused look. I had never heard of this friend's name before. But Mom had a tendency to do that, she suddenly had plans with a great friend that she hadn't caught up with in a while. She went on to point out, "Oh come on, you know Cheryl, I worked with her before I got my new job." “No, I don’t know who you’re talking about.” I said feeling my heart squeeze all the way to the tip of my big toe. It was my birthday after all. I had hoped she would take me to the mall to trade the shirt for something cooler. Hell, maybe even get a double-double of in-n-out, but no, she had already made plans. Mother of the year. Really. I decided to save myself from the further humiliation that would come if I asked him to join me, so I got up from my chair and.