Her next thought gave her a small amount of happiness. Today was her birthday. She was now sixteen years old. Her parents were home, for once, and she was supposed to celebrate by hanging out at LaserQuest with Ike, Taylor, and Zac. No big deal. Of course, she yearned for a big party with all of her friends, but she was now accustomed to life's little disappointments. The phone rang at that moment, startling her.

"Nic," Isaac's voice rang over the line, "hurry up, take a shower, and get dressed. We're picking you up in an hour."

"An hour?" she mumbled sleepily. "But LaserQuest doesn't open until 6 PM. It's only noon now."

"I know," Isaac said, "but we're going to go to the Botanical Gardens and have a picnic, and then to the lake. We'll finish up at LaserQuest."

"Awesome," Nicole said. "How did you know that those are like, my favorite places in Tulsa? Anyways....who all is going?"

"Oh, just the four of us," he said.

"Great," she said, mentally wishing that he was hiding something, wishing for a huge party with all of her friends. But she could tell that Ike was telling it straight.

"Okay, I'll see you guys in an hour," she said, and headed for the shower.

"This is such a beautiful day," Nicole said.

"Are you having fun?" Isaac asked, pulling himself up onto his elbows and looking over at her.

"Definitely," she said, smiling. "I hope that this day never ends," she whispered softly.

"Nic," he said, touching her cheek, "don't think about it. This is your day, and you don't have to think about Muskogee, or your parents, or even me - if you don't want to. Just kick back and relax."

"I know, I know," she said. "I just wish - nevermind. I've said it a million times in the last week and a half. I'm going to miss Tulsa though.

"Nic, the way your dad talks, you could be back here in six months," Isaac said, lowering his sunglasses. Suddenly, he checked his watch and sat up. "Okay guys," he said, yelling to Taylor and Zac. "It's five-thirty. Let's get going."

"All right!" Zac yelled, splashing up the shore and out of the water. He hurriedly pulled on a tee shirt and toweled off his wet trunks. "Let's go!"

"Isn't he a little excited to hang out at LaserQuest for the millionth time?" Nicole asked. Isaac just smiled mischieviously and shook his head. "What?" she asked. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Come on you guys!" Taylor yelled, ignoring her question. Isaac helped Nicole button her shirt over her bathing suit, and she slid on her jean shorts. The he got dressed and they all piled into the van, where Zac and Taylor had quickly changed out of their wet trunks and into jean shorts.

An abundance of cars sat outside of LaserQuest, but Nicole couldn't see that anyone was outside enjoying the games or picnic area.

"Where is everyone?" Nicole asked. "This place looks packed."

"They're probably inside," Taylor said, grinning. Isaac took Nicole's hand and led her through the glass double-doors that led into the arcade of LaserQuest. Taylor was holding a stack of presents to Nicole from himself and his brothers, and he suggested that they put them in the party room until they finished playing Lasertag. The three boys led Nicole into the darkened room.

"SURPRIZE!" came a deafening roar as the light clicked on. Nicole watched in overwhelming shock as about twenty-five of her friends and neighbors appeared from the darkness. She put her hands to her face in surprize for just a moment, and then turned around and gave Isaac a big kiss.

"Oh-my-gosh!" she cried. "Thank you guys so much! This is exactly what I wanted!" As she began to greet her guests, she took in the decorations of the room. There were tons of sleeping bags in a corner, an eating area with eight tables, a larger table covered with presents, and a large space of cleared floor for everyone to sleep on. "This is going to be a sleepover?" she wondered aloud, and Isaac nodded.

"Don't worry," he said. "I got your parents' permission."

She smiled at him and surveyed the room one more time, noticing something that she had missed. A huge banner hung from one wall to another, declaring the phrase: "Happy 16th Birthday Nicole! We're Going To Miss You!". As she lowered her eyes to the party again, hot tears rushed to them. But for once in the past nine days, the tears were not of sadness. They were of joy over her wonderful friends.

"Open mine first!" Zac cried, pushing a large present at her. She excitedly ripped through the Animaniac paper and emerged a large sketch pad, art pens, watercolor paints, and colored charcoals. "I knew how much you like to draw," Zac said, "and I do too, so I just got you the stuff I use. Do 'ya like it?"

"I love it, thank you!" she said, hugging Zac tightly. As she sat back down in her place on the floor, surrounded by paper and bows, Taylor produced a small card from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Since you don't have the internet yet," he said, "but you have a capable computer, I subscribed you to six months of unlimited internet access. Don't worry about the bill, it's coming to me. Happy birthday 'sis'," he said, using the name he had called her when they were younger. "You better e-mail me every day."

"I will," she said, a solitary tear running down her cheek for love of Taylor. He was the best friend she could have ever had. He reached over and kissed her softly on the cheek, and she enveloped him in a hug. When she pulled back, Isaac placed the small golden box in her hand once again. She smiled lovingly at him and began to gently unwrap the present. For some reason, she didn't want to mess up the paper. She opened the box inside and found an elegant silver ring, an exact replica of Isaac's ring that he wore on his middle finger. He pointed to the inside of the ring and she found that there was an inscription.

"Have no fear when your tears are fallin', I will hear your spirit callin'," she read aloud. This was her favorite line from her favorite song, 'I Will Come To You'. She reached for Isaac and he pulled her into his arms, holding her as she cried. "I'm going to miss you so much," she cried, looking up at him.

"I know," he said, gently wiping her face with his index finger. Then she realized that she was crying in front of all of her friends and tried to compose herself. "That isn't all of the present," he said, pointing to the box.

She looked in the box one more time after Isaac slipped the ring onto her middle finger and this time eyed a little square of paper. The paper told her to open the closet in the back of the room, so she stood quickly and was followed by most of her guests. She gently pulled open the door, and Isaac flicked on the light in the closet.