BOOK SUMMARY
HAPPY BIRTHDAY…
A boy’s sixteenth birthday is a special occasion. It’s a time where he becomes a man. It’s a time that brings many changes.
But Isaac’s sixteenth birthday brings him more changes than most. He is not quite himself and suddenly his friends don’t seem so much like friends anymore. By the end of the party, Isaac will not just change from a boy into a man, but into something else entirely.
GROWING PAINS CAN BE HELL…
A is for Antichrist
Isaac wrung his hands together and clenched his jaw. This was going to be such a wonderful night. Sixteen at last. He couldn't believe he was a man now. As a child, sixteen felt like it was never going to happen, but here it was finally. His sixteenth birthday and he was going to have the party to end all parties. People would be talking about it for years.
His mother joined him in the kitchen, dressed to the nines. "Okay, sweetie,” she said. “Your dad and I will be back around eleven. Try not to wreck the house, okay? And no drinking."
Isaac rolled his eyes. He wished he had alcohol, but unfortunately his boyish looks made getting any impossible. “I promise.”
He gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. He was sixteen and would have to stop such displays of affection soon, but tonight he was too excited to begrudge his mother a kiss.
She looked at him a moment, her shiny red lips forming a lopsided grin. "Look at you,” she said. “I can't believe you're all grown. Happy birthday, my love. Although, you weren't born until eight-o-clock, so technically you're not quite a man yet."
"Mum, will you just get out of here."
"Okay, okay, I'm going. Have a good night, sweetheart."
She left him alone in the kitchen, joining Isaac’s father who waited outside in the car.
Once the house was all his, Isaac went into the living room. Daniel and Jason were sitting on the sofa, watching a crappy remake of Godzilla on the big screen tv. They looked up and grinned as Isaac entered. "You ready to party, man?"
"Yeah, just as soon as everybody else gets here."
Daniel hit the pause button on the remote so that they could hear themselves talk. "What time is everybody coming? You invited girls, right?"
"I invited everyone from school," Isaac replied. "I said seven-o-clock."
Jason checked his watch. "Dude, it's like five-minutes to already."
"Then they should be here soon."
And people did arrive over the next twenty minutes. Three lads Isaac barely knew and Barbara Meady from his Math class. She was about three-stone heavier than most the girls in their year.
Isaac went into the kitchen to pour lemonade for his paltry collection of guests. He had that tingly feeling behind his eyes that heralded the arrival of tears, but he couldn't weep in front of his friends. After this shambles of a party, they may not even be his friends for very much longer. He was such a loser. Why had he thought anybody from school would ever come? He was invisible in the hallways and classrooms, so why had he convinced himself things would be any different on his sixteenth birthday.
"Hey, man." It was Daniel coming into the kitchen. "You okay?"
"I thought more people would come."
Daniel shrugged. "I didn't. We ain't popular, dude. Sucks, but that's just how it is. Don't mean we can't fun tonight. There’s enough of us here."
Isaac rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we can all play hide the sausage with Barbara Meady."
"Hey, man. She's the one girl who came. Be nice to her."
"You're right. She’s okay." Isaac looked down at the glasses of lemonade. "Really wish these were vodka."
Daniel nodded. "That would certainly liven things up."
"Help me take them through."
They carried the glasses of lemonade into the living room and set them down on the coffee table. Everyone was slumped around the sofas looking bored. "We were talking about whether or not to play videogames," Jason said, grabbing one of the glasses of lemonade.
Isaac shook his head adamantly. "We're not sitting around playing videogames. We're going to have a laugh."
"Yeah, this party is a hoot," somebody muttered.
Isaac sighed. He couldn't even entertain a bunch of losers from school. This was a disaster.
Suddenly Jason lurched forward and spluttered. "Whoa, dude. What is this?"
Isaac frowned. "What do you mean?"
Barbara leaned forward and took a sip from another of the glasses. She puckered his lips as she swallowed, then looked at Isaac with a wide grin on her chubby face. "You got vodka. Sweet!"
Jason took another sip and this time he didn't splutter. He downed half the glass and then spoke in a croaky, winded voice. "That's some strong shit, man. How did you get vodka?"
Isaac noticed Daniel grinning at him. "Good joke, Zack. Saying you wish you had vodka when you had it all along. Nice."
"I..." Isaac wondered if his father had done something - switched the contents of the lemonade in secret so his mother wouldn't know. It was a risky move as she would sure as hell know when she came home to a bunch of drunk teenagers.
He headed into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of lemonade from the fridge. He removed the cap and whiffed the contents. Sure enough, the intoxicating stench of alcohol wafted into his nostrils. He grinned. "Thanks, dad."
Back in the living room everyone now looked far more enthusiastic about having a good time. Barbara beamed at Isaac, holding a half-finished glass of vodka in her hand like a trophy. "I just text my sister. She didn't want to come before, but she might do now there's alcohol."
"Who's your sister?"
"Becky. She's in the year above us."
Jason almost spilled his drink. "Becky Meady is your sister?"
Barbara rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. We don't look like sisters. I was born with all the looks and the killer body, but she’s not bad, I suppose."
“Not bad. She’s smokin’.”
Isaac was beginning to like Barbara. She had a dry sense of humour. "Thanks, Barbara,” he said. “The more the merrier."
She smiled at him and for a moment the two of them maintained eye-contact. It made Isaac shiver. He hadn't had much interaction with a girl before. He picked up one of the glasses of vodka and took a deep swig. It tasted horrible, but instantly made him feel better, more relaxed. Aside from the odd glass of wine his parents allowed him at dinner, this was the first time he was truly partaking of alcohol. It frightened him a little, but nowhere near as much as it excited him. He was a man today, come of age, and this was his first adult moment - having a drink with his friends.
"So, what should we do?" Jason asked. "I'm already getting a buzz on. I wanna have some fun."
"What do you suggest?" Daniel said.
"How bout we make some prank phone calls?"
Isaac chuckled. It sounded fun. "Won't they be able to trace the number?"
"Not on my phone," Jason said. "I have my caller ID blocked. I do it all the time. Look, I'll start." He pulled out his mobile phone and tapped in a number. "It's the local Chinese takeaway I use. Listen up...Oh, hi there. I would like to place an order, please? Great. I would like a chicken balti, keema naan, three onion bhajis....what? What do you mean you don't do those? This is a takeaway is it not? Oh, I see, you don't do Indian food. Okay, then I would like a cheese and tomato pizza with a side of chicken wings. Then I..." He looked up from the phone, grinning madly. "They hung up on me."
Everyone split their sides laughing.
Barbara went next. She called a large solicitor firm asking for legal advice concerning her brother leaving skidmarks in his underwear. What made it even funnier was that she didn't have a brother.
Then it was Isaac's turn
. When Jason handed him the phone, he had no idea who to call, but then it came to him. He looked up the number for the local church and dialled the number. "Yes, hello, there," he said upon receiving an answer from a Pastor Phelps. He put the call on speakerphone so that everyone could hear. "Could you answer me a few questions, please?"
"Of course. Please ask away."
"Why does God let children die?"
The room fell silent. Isaac sensed his joke had fallen flat, but he couldn't back out now.
"I'm sorry?"
"Why does God let children die? If I wanted to believe in God, how do I explain that to myself? And don't say that the Lord moves in mysterious ways."
"I...my child, there are many bad things that happen in this world. All God can do is give us the strength and willpower to find our own paths. Life is what we make of it. Children die because we are not yet what we are to become."
"That doesn't answer my question. God kills children, little babies, why?"
"Who is this?"
Isaac cleared his throat. "A heathen looking for answers. Isn't it your duty to try and show me the way, Pastor Phelps?"
"It is, but I can only help those who truly seek help."
Daniel leaned towards Isaac and whispered. "Dude, where are you going with this?"
Isaac shrugged. For some reason he was getting angry. Perhaps he was frustrated by the pastor's steadfast calm, or the way he never gave an answer that actually meant anything. "There is no God," Isaac uttered before he could stop himself. "You are a remnant of an ancient racket intended to take wealth and power from the poor. But your ways are quickly failing. Children die because the world is a dark and lonely place. You offer false hope in exchange for servitude. You are wicked."
There was silence on the line for quite a while. Then the pastor gave his reply. "God bless you child."
Then the line went dead.
The living room fell silent. Everybody looked at Isaac like he had something horrible on his face.
"I don't think you get the point of prank calling, bro," Jason said.
Isaac threw up. It was sudden and unexpected.
Barbara hopped up and immediately started stroking his back. It managed to soothe him to the point that he felt perfectly fine again and wondered what had made him sick to begin with.
"Maybe the vodka doesn't agree with you," Daniel said.
Isaac looked at everyone and shrugged. "I'm fine. I just felt a bit funny all of a sudden. I think I was nervous about making the call. It's not really my thing, winding people up. I'm no good at it."
"No shit," Jason said. "That poor old vicar is probably calling his therapist as we speak."
"Fuck him," Isaac spat.
Daniel asked him, "Are you okay, man? You're acting a little...strange."
Isaac picked up his vodka and downed the contents. "I'm good. Let's have some more fun."
***
They decided to play a drinking game. Each round they would throw three dice. Rolling a score above twelve resulted in a shot of vodka. A combined score lower than six required a forfeit.
Isaac went first. He rattled the three dice inside his hand and let them fly onto the coffee table.
6-6-6
Jason whistled. "Dude, that was so lucky. You have to take a shot now."
Isaac grinned and did his duty, knocking back a shot of vodka and immediately refilling the glass ready for the next one.
Barbara threw two 1s and a 9.
Jason threw 5-3-2.
Daniel got 6-5-5 and did a shot.
Mark, Dave, and Spencer from school all took their turns, but only Mark took a shot. No one got a forfeit for round one.
Isaac picked up the three dice and threw them again. 6-6-6.
"Oh. My. God," Barbara said. "That's insane. What are the odds?"
"I'm the birthday boy," Isaac said, knocking back another shot of vodka. The luck is all mine tonight.
Barbara threw a 1 and two 2s.
Everybody hooted. "You have to do a forfeit," Jason said. "Isaac, you're the man tonight. You choose."
Barbara went bright red, knowing something bad was coming. "You're not going to make me go down on someone are you?"
Isaac blushed at the thought. "Maybe later. Right now, I would just like you to sing happy birthday in the style of the cookie monster."
Everybody bellowed with amusement.
Jason slapped his thighs. "Oh god, let me get my phone. I need to record this."
Barbara was shaking her head, but was smiling. She took a few moments to compose herself, then began. "H-hap-Happy birthday to you, om nom nom. Happy birthday to you, om nom nom nom. Happy birthday, dear Isaac, happy birthday day to - cookies! Om nom nom nom." She leapt forward and started tickling Isaac and pretending to eat his nipple.
Isaac howled with laughter and pushed her away. "That...that was so epic."
"Yeah," Jason said. "That was spot on."
"Next roll," Daniel said.
They went round again. No one else got a forfeit, but Mark, David, and Jason all got shots.
It was Isaac's turn again. He picked the dice up quickly, still giggling from the barrage of jokes that had been flowing from everyone around the table. He flung the dice again, a little harder than usual, making them bounce in the air. They took a few moments to settle, but when they did, everybody's eyes went wide.
6-6-6.
"That is freakin' impossible," Jason said. "You must be cheating."
Isaac snatched at the dice and threw them again.
6-6-6.
"What the hell," he said. "How am I doing it? What are the odds, like one-in-a-gazillion?"
"You must be blessed," Barbara said, winking at him.
Isaac didn't like the sound of that, so pulled a face back at her. The laughter died as everyone lost themselves in thought, probably trying to make sense of how Isaac kept throwing 6s. He had no idea himself.
The doorbell rang.
"That will be my sister," Barbara said.
Isaac leapt up off the floor. "I'll go let her in."
He hurried out into the hallway and opened up the front door. He was surprised to find that Barbara's smoking hot sister had not come alone. She had brought a posse with her consisting of another five girls and two lads. They were all a year or two older than Isaac, but they had brought more booze and looked ready to party.
"You Isaac?" Barbara's sister purred.
"I am. Come on in."
Becky took the invitation and stepped inside, followed by her friends. "Hope you don't mind. I brought a few guests."
Isaac eyed the other girls, took in the sight of their long smooth legs running up beneath their skirts. He licked his lips and smiled. "You're all very welcome."
The two lads at the back nodded at Isaac as they swept past him. They both seemed friendly enough, if a little cooler than him and his normal crowd. One of the guys had a tattoo running up his neck and a stud in his eyebrow.
Isaac followed his new guests through into the living room. Daniel and Jason lit up when they saw all the girls. Barbara, on the other hand, looked less than pleased. "Bex, why did you bring the bitch gang with you? I told you it was a private party."
One of the girls in Becky's group, a girl with a great big afro, looked around and wrinkled her nose. "Looks like this party needs help."
"Not your kind of help," Barbara grunted.
"Everyone is here to have fun," Isaac said. "Let's all get along, shall we? Our new friends have brought more alcohol."
"Then that makes 'em okay in my book," Jason said, getting up and shaking hands with the two new lads. He then went and looked up the girls. One of them, a skinny blonde, frowned at him as he checked out her breasts. "Perv!"
"Hey, sweetheart. You put 'em in the shop window, fella’s gonna look."
"So, are we going to get this party started or what?" Becky asked. "Or has my sister already blown everybody here?"
Barbara chuckled defiantly. "I was only half way through
when you came and interrupted me. You'll have to take over."
Becky winked at Isaac and licked her lips. "Maybe later I will."
Isaac felt his throat go dry. He grabbed a glass of vodka from the coffee table and swigged, feeling instantly refreshed. It was strange, but he was sure he had drunk a lot, but he felt just fine. His friends had grown progressively louder and happier over the last hour, but he felt the same as when they’d first started drinking. Maybe he just had a tolerance for the stuff. His parents did let him have the occasional glass of wine after all.
"I have an idea for a game we can play," one of the new lads said, the one with the neck tattoo.
"Alright," Jason said. "Let's hear it."
The lad pulled a gun from inside his jacket. "Who's up for target practice?"
***
It turned out the lad's name was Shane and the gun was only a pellet shooter with a bright orange muzzle ruining the illusion that it was anything more. They took the party outside to the garden. It was a little more brisk, but it gave them room to manoeuvre. Isaac was lucky enough to have a large garden with a decent strip of lawn. They set up a line of assorted peppers from the fridge along a brick wall at the far end of the garden that Isaac's father had built to contain a small vegetable patch. They had a good twenty feet between their firing position and their targets.
Shane showed them all how to use the gun then took his turn, firing off the clip of five pellets in quick succession. He hit the red pepper in the middle with every round, causing it to shred and leak juices. It stayed in place on the wall, though. The others took their turns between bouts of swigging beers and vodka, and the results were varied. Jason wasn't so bad, hitting the target with three-out-of-five, but Daniel and Barbara failed to hit the target at all. They still found it fun, though, and were laughing their heads off the whole time. The party was going well, especially compared to how it had started. Isaac hoped the friends he made tonight would continue to be friends. It could get dull sometimes, spending all his time with only Daniel and Jason. He looked across at Becky and thought about how much he would like to be her friend. She was beautiful, with the same dark features of her younger sister, but somehow they fit together better on her. Barbara's features were soft and round, while Becky's were sharp and delicate.
A is for Antichrist Page 1