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Description
Molly sat on the floor with her legs stretched out to either side, her birthday hat askew.  The elastic cord dug into her chubby, three-year-old chin, and her hair, which was finally growing out, much to her mother's relief, was caught and twisted under the hat.  A balloon bounced behind her, the string trailing behind it like a tail.  It was blue and had a birthday cake design on it.  Molly didn't care much for the balloons.  She was engrossed in pouring tea for all the dolls and stuffed animals surrounding her.  There was a plate with a half-eaten piece of cake on it beside her, and a strip of wrapping paper partially covered her left leg.  Molly's mother leaned against the doorframe and sighed as she crossed her arms across her chest.  This was all that was left of the party.  She wondered how long the new tea set would stay in that condition.  Molly instructed her stuffed panda, Pandy, on how to properly drink his tea.

Molly shrieked as her father pushed her higher and higher on the swing.  The swing set was a birthday present.  Molly had wanted one since she had played on her friend Stephanie's, and her parents had finally decided that she was old enough, at seven, to have a play set in the backyard.
Molly's mother watched her daughter and her husband from the kitchen window.  She felt her heart skip a beat when he pushed Molly especially high, but she knew Molly wouldn't fall.  If she got off the swing, it would be because she had jumped.  Molly's mother hoped she wouldn't get any ideas.
Molly's toes brushed across the tips of the cool grass blades and her hair settled down around her shoulders as the swing slowed.  She twisted in her seat, impatient for her father to push her again, higher and higher, so she could take off to the moon, just like the astronauts.

Molly sat slumped in her seat at her desk.  She refused to raise her hand anymore.  The teacher never called on her anyway.  She swore she was invisible to everyone.  The teacher didn't know anything, anyway.  Molly looked up briefly to see Danny, the boy she had a crush on, giving her a strange look.  She realized she had been scowling and tried to change her expression, but the fact that Danny had been looking at her like that just made everything worse.  He only seemed to notice her when she most wanted him not to. She sighed and sank lower in her seat and scuffed her converse sneakers on the carpet.
After a few more torturous minutes, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for the last period of homeroom before everyone went home.  Molly sat up a little as she cleared her desk and began packing up her backpack.  The stupid teacher had probably forgotten what day it was.
"Everyone," said the teacher, "today is Molly's special day.  Let's all sing 'Happy Birthday' and thank her for the cupcakes she brought for all of you.  Stephanie, will you help Molly pass them out?"  Molly couldn't help brightening as the class began a less-than rousing and more than slightly off-key rendition of  "Happy Birthday."  It wasn't every day you turned thirteen.

The pillow under Molly's head had become very hot in the last two hours she had been lying on her bed.  She could feel her heartbeat in the back of her head. It would probably be a good idea to sit up.  Not to mention her laptop that was propped on her stomach and bent knees was almost out of battery power.  Maybe she'd sit up in a minute.  A cool breeze blew in from the open window across her feet and ruffled the sheet.
There was a faint knock on the door before it slowly crept open.  Molly hated how her mother did that.  She wasn't sure why she even bothered knocking at all if she was just going to open the door without a response anyway.  "Molly?" said her mother timidly.  Molly hated that tone of voice, too.  "Why don't you come downstairs."  It wasn't even a question.  "Dinner's about ready." Her mother left without closing the door again.
Molly sighed.  She would have much rather gone out with her friends tonight than stay home with her parents.  Sure, turning seventeen wasn't exactly a big deal, but she had thought it would be nice to celebrate somehow.  It was a school night and finals were coming up, so none of her friends were allowed out.  Molly doubted that she would have been allowed out, either, but still.  She almost felt bad wanting to be elsewhere because her father had been so proud of the cake he had picked up at the grocery store, and her mother had gone to the trouble to actually cook something for dinner even though it wasn't Sunday.  She rolled her eyes as she shut her laptop.

Molly felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.  She signaled to her friends to keep it down a bit as she answered, not that it would help the noise level at all.  Her eyes widened as she heard her mother's voice on the end of the line.  She wished she had checked the number on her phone before answering.
"What's that music, honey?" asked her mother.  Molly scrambled off the barstool and pushed her way through the crowd to the door.
"Just someone's dorm." Molly sat on the low brick wall outside the door.  A few other people had had the same idea and were in the middle of animated phone conversations.  Molly was glad that her mother had at least called earlier in the evening rather than later.  She wasn't planning on being sober for much longer.  But who would be on her twenty-first birthday?
"Are you going out with your friends?" asked her mother.
"Probably."
"Well, have fun."
"Thanks."
"Your father and I were just checking in.  We wanted to wish you a happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Mom."  Molly smiled faintly.  It was nice of her mother to call.  For a second, she felt guilty for not calling more than once a month, and that was mostly when she needed something.  But Stephanie came to the door and motioned her back inside.
"I gotta go, Mom. Love you, too."

Cold air poured silently out of the vent in the ceiling.  It was uncharacteristically hot for the middle of May, necessitating the air conditioning.  Molly's office phone rang, but she let it go straight to voicemail, concentrating instead on the hundreds of emails she still needed to sort through.  The phone's ring was irritating.  Molly thought absently for probably the thousandth time that she should change it.  She continued deleting emails.
Peg stuck her head into Molly's office.  "Are you doing anything tonight?" she asked.  Molly shook her head, eyes not leaving her computer screen.  "Come on, Molly," said Peg.  "You can stand to leave early for once, especially today.  I'll buy you a drink."
"It's ok," said Molly.  "Thanks, though."  Why would Peg want to buy her a drink?  It was nice of her to offer.
After a few minutes, Molly looked away from the screen.  She glanced at her phone, having forgotten that it had rung not too long ago, and saw the blinking red light.  She picked up the receiver and listened to the message.  She smiled almost sadly at the tinny voice.  She hung up, fingers hovering over the numbers before she picked up the receiver again and dialed decisively.
"Hey, Mom," she said when her mother answered the phone.  "Thanks for calling.  No, I hadn't forgotten what today was.  Well…how are you and Dad?"  She listened to her mother go on about her father's most recent knee surgery.  Molly realized she probably should have sent a card or something.  She'd forgotten about the surgery.  "I might be able to fly out in July," she said in response to her mother's question.  "All right.  I have to go, Mom.  Peg invited me out.  Thanks again.  Ok.  Love you, too."  She hung up the phone and shut down her computer.

Description
Molly sat on the floor with her legs stretched out to either side, her birthday hat askew.  The elastic cord dug into her chubby, three-year-old chin, and her hair, which was finally growing out, much to her mother's relief, was caught and twisted under the hat.  A balloon bounced behind her, the string trailing behind it like a tail.  It was blue and had a birthday cake design on it.  Molly didn't care much for the balloons.  She was engrossed in pouring tea for all the dolls and stuffed animals surrounding her.  There was a plate with a half-eaten piece of cake on it beside her, and a strip of wrapping paper partially covered her left leg.  Molly's mother leaned against the doorframe and sighed as she crossed her arms across her chest.  This was all that was left of the party.  She wondered how long the new tea set would stay in that condition.  Molly instructed her stuffed panda, Pandy, on how to properly drink his tea.

Molly shrieked as her father pushed her higher and higher on the swing.  The swing set was a birthday present.  Molly had wanted one since she had played on her friend Stephanie's, and her parents had finally decided that she was old enough, at seven, to have a play set in the backyard.
Molly's mother watched her daughter and her husband from the kitchen window.  She felt her heart skip a beat when he pushed Molly especially high, but she knew Molly wouldn't fall.  If she got off the swing, it would be because she had jumped.  Molly's mother hoped she wouldn't get any ideas.
Molly's toes brushed across the tips of the cool grass blades and her hair settled down around her shoulders as the swing slowed.  She twisted in her seat, impatient for her father to push her again, higher and higher, so she could take off to the moon, just like the astronauts.

Molly sat slumped in her seat at her desk.  She refused to raise her hand anymore.  The teacher never called on her anyway.  She swore she was invisible to everyone.  The teacher didn't know anything, anyway.  Molly looked up briefly to see Danny, the boy she had a crush on, giving her a strange look.  She realized she had been scowling and tried to change her expression, but the fact that Danny had been looking at her like that just made everything worse.  He only seemed to notice her when she most wanted him not to. She sighed and sank lower in her seat and scuffed her converse sneakers on the carpet.
After a few more torturous minutes, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for the last period of homeroom before everyone went home.  Molly sat up a little as she cleared her desk and began packing up her backpack.  The stupid teacher had probably forgotten what day it was.
"Everyone," said the teacher, "today is Molly's special day.  Let's all sing 'Happy Birthday' and thank her for the cupcakes she brought for all of you.  Stephanie, will you help Molly pass them out?"  Molly couldn't help brightening as the class began a less-than rousing and more than slightly off-key rendition of  "Happy Birthday."  It wasn't every day you turned thirteen.

The pillow under Molly's head had become very hot in the last two hours she had been lying on her bed.  She could feel her heartbeat in the back of her head. It would probably be a good idea to sit up.  Not to mention her laptop that was propped on her stomach and bent knees was almost out of battery power.  Maybe she'd sit up in a minute.  A cool breeze blew in from the open window across her feet and ruffled the sheet.
There was a faint knock on the door before it slowly crept open.  Molly hated how her mother did that.  She wasn't sure why she even bothered knocking at all if she was just going to open the door without a response anyway.  "Molly?" said her mother timidly.  Molly hated that tone of voice, too.  "Why don't you come downstairs."  It wasn't even a question.  "Dinner's about ready." Her mother left without closing the door again.
Molly sighed.  She would have much rather gone out with her friends tonight than stay home with her parents.  Sure, turning seventeen wasn't exactly a big deal, but she had thought it would be nice to celebrate somehow.  It was a school night and finals were coming up, so none of her friends were allowed out.  Molly doubted that she would have been allowed out, either, but still.  She almost felt bad wanting to be elsewhere because her father had been so proud of the cake he had picked up at the grocery store, and her mother had gone to the trouble to actually cook something for dinner even though it wasn't Sunday.  She rolled her eyes as she shut her laptop.

Molly felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.  She signaled to her friends to keep it down a bit as she answered, not that it would help the noise level at all.  Her eyes widened as she heard her mother's voice on the end of the line.  She wished she had checked the number on her phone before answering.
"What's that music, honey?" asked her mother.  Molly scrambled off the barstool and pushed her way through the crowd to the door.
"Just someone's dorm." Molly sat on the low brick wall outside the door.  A few other people had had the same idea and were in the middle of animated phone conversations.  Molly was glad that her mother had at least called earlier in the evening rather than later.  She wasn't planning on being sober for much longer.  But who would be on her twenty-first birthday?
"Are you going out with your friends?" asked her mother.
"Probably."
"Well, have fun."
"Thanks."
"Your father and I were just checking in.  We wanted to wish you a happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Mom."  Molly smiled faintly.  It was nice of her mother to call.  For a second, she felt guilty for not calling more than once a month, and that was mostly when she needed something.  But Stephanie came to the door and motioned her back inside.
"I gotta go, Mom. Love you, too."

Cold air poured silently out of the vent in the ceiling.  It was uncharacteristically hot for the middle of May, necessitating the air conditioning.  Molly's office phone rang, but she let it go straight to voicemail, concentrating instead on the hundreds of emails she still needed to sort through.  The phone's ring was irritating.  Molly thought absently for probably the thousandth time that she should change it.  She continued deleting emails.
Peg stuck her head into Molly's office.  "Are you doing anything tonight?" she asked.  Molly shook her head, eyes not leaving her computer screen.  "Come on, Molly," said Peg.  "You can stand to leave early for once, especially today.  I'll buy you a drink."
"It's ok," said Molly.  "Thanks, though."  Why would Peg want to buy her a drink?  It was nice of her to offer.
After a few minutes, Molly looked away from the screen.  She glanced at her phone, having forgotten that it had rung not too long ago, and saw the blinking red light.  She picked up the receiver and listened to the message.  She smiled almost sadly at the tinny voice.  She hung up, fingers hovering over the numbers before she picked up the receiver again and dialed decisively.
"Hey, Mom," she said when her mother answered the phone.  "Thanks for calling.  No, I hadn't forgotten what today was.  Well…how are you and Dad?"  She listened to her mother go on about her father's most recent knee surgery.  Molly realized she probably should have sent a card or something.  She'd forgotten about the surgery.  "I might be able to fly out in July," she said in response to her mother's question.  "All right.  I have to go, Mom.  Peg invited me out.  Thanks again.  Ok.  Love you, too."  She hung up the phone and shut down her computer.