LJ Idol: Week 19: Invitation
A collection of invitations and events from over the years:
Come one, come all*
to the greatest ball
you ever saw!
That's right.
Our dear prince Ben
is no longer ten!
So help us make his eleventh year
One that is so very dear.
*Please be sure to bring a gift valued at no less than $100. If you are unwilling to do this, please refrain from attending Ben's party as we only want in attendance those who value his worth.
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What could be better than friends and cake?
Friends and cake and clowns galore!
That's right. We've got not one, not two, not three, but FOUR clowns!
Please be a guest at Sarah's birthday celebration.
Bring a bathing suit and towel.
We've also got water balloons and a slip-and-slide.
But really, come for the clowns. They're awesome.
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Our dear sweet Elizabeth was taken too soon
We know she's running through the meadows in Heaven.
Please help us celebrate her second birthday
by joining us at our home for hor d'oevres and drinks.
If you're able, please bring with you new childrens books and toys.
Everything we receive will be donated to the local children's hospital.
They took such great care of Elizabeth and us during her stay there.
We want to give back to them in any way we can.
With your gifts, the children there can have something to smile about.
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I was invited to my friend Kevin's fourteenth birthday party. His parents wanted it to be a surprise, and somehow I was tasked with keeping him occupied during the day so they and a few of his friends could set everything up at his house. Kevin and I weren't even that close. We just had a lot of mutual friends and I happened to be hanging around them when he was inviting them and, not wanting me to feel left out, kind of just invited me as well.
So here I was, barely knowing the guy, at fourteen years old, having to keep him away from home all day. Not an easy task. His older sister drove us to the mall and left us there. It totally wasn't awkward at all. Not a bit. We went to the bookstore and looked at the manga/graphic novels section. I wasn't really into it, but he loved those books and to his credit, was very good at trying to get me excited about them. We ended up having a good time.
After calling his house from the pay phone (no cell phones yet!) to see how much longer I had to keep him occupied (he was getting a soda, well out of hearing range), I was told his sister would be there in twenty minutes. Everything was ready. Kevin comes over with two sodas, hands me one, and says, "This is for being cool and keeping me away from the house so they can set up the surprise party they think I don't know about. Thanks, and I promise to act surprised."
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I was invited to a New Years party senior of high school by a girl I'd been friends with a few years before, but we'd recently just drifted apart. We never had any issues between us - we'd just fallen into different crowds as kids in high school tend to do. The party was being held at some rich guy's house because his parents were out of town and he had two pools. It was going to be ~*~EPIC~*~
Or so everyone said. And for those who, in high school, loved extremely loud, drunken orgies, maybe it was. Me? Not my scene.
My "friend" called me up the day before the party, in tears, because her car was in the shop and she and her boyfriend needed a ride to the party and since I was going too, could I drive? Sure, I could drive.
When I picked her up the following evening, I should have known something was wrong. Neither of them said more than a "hello" to me as they climbed in the backseat and proceed to eat each other's faces for the 15-minute drive. I parked the car probably nearly a quarter mile from the house (still on this guy's property, mind you) in a grassy area and we made our way up to the castle house. As soon as we went inside, I wanted to leave.
People were fucking naked. EVERYWHERE. Like, literally nobody had any clothes on. My "friend" and her boyfriend started stripping off their clothes as well.
I told her I was leaving. No way in hell was I going to hang out here for the next five hours. She nodded, as if she had been expecting this reaction. "Yeah, we didn't think you'd want to stay, but I invited you because I don't have a car and needed a ride to the party. Pick us up at one?"
I told her I would not be picking her up at one, she laughed and did one of thouse fake pouts and told me she knew I wouldn't leave a poor, innocent, 17-year-old alone at a party. Besides, she told me, I never say no to anyone.
I did not pick them up at one. I did not pick them up at all. From what I later heard, she was pretty much grounded until graduation. She never spoke to me again. I'd get nasty notes with some very creative cursing and name-calling stuffed into my locker on occasion, but she never actually came up to me and said anything.
I take that experience as a positive one though, because that event really strengthened my ability to say no to people.