Her 18th Debut

Today, I noticed a purple envelope addressed to me in the pile of Saturday's mail. I had a pretty good idea of what it was, because just yesterday, my buddy and tennis co-captain, E, had asked me for my address.

I have to say, I knew it was birthday invitation, but I did not expect an invitation printed on shimmering, pearly high-quality paper in scripted purple ink, all tied together with an elegant gray ribbon. The invitation was completely formal (2009 was written as "Two Thousand and Nine") with a list of E's "Court of Honor" and a "Courtesy of Reply" card with different places to fill in "_____ adult(s)" and "_______ children under 12". The apparent location of this "18th Birthday Debut" is at a local Marriot Hotel. I had to go back and reread the invitation to make sure I didn't receive E's wedding invitation.

To be honest, I am very intimidated by the invitation. E is a girl I get along with well, but she's not somebody I talk to very much once the tennis season is over. And other than the list of guests on E's Court of Honor (none of them whom I talk to very much), I really have no idea who is going to go. I'm hoping my CCS doubles partner received the invitation as well.

And the Courtesy of Replay card makes me antsy. If this really is a wedding-style 18th Birthday Debut, does that mean I am supposed to bring an escort? Because apparently, RS is E's escort. I guess essentially, this whole business makes me fidgety because it feels so grown-up. This kind of party reinforces the fact that all of us are going to be legally adults within the year. We are not children anymore.

I have always been drawn to the high-society styled parties, since I'm part of the middle society that spends a Saturday afternoon with friends by taking photographs in the countryside and making ourselves nauseous with laughter by playing Kingdom Hearts for four hours. When my S-twin decided to hold a masquerade party a few months back, I had a very grand image in my head -- though S-twin's party was held at her house, so obviously it would not have lived up to my expectations if I had ended up going anyway. I read about these kind of parties all the time in literature, and I see these dramatic parties all the time in cinema. For me, it's an exotic form that I would want to experience.

Then again, I don't need elaborate and fancy parties. Ice-skating and playing pictionary while dining on apple and pineapple pie for Rogue's 18th birthday; celebrating second-semester by eating at Aldo's and watching Garden State; spending a lazy Saturday taking photographs in the middle of the road, yelling at the TV screen when we finally defeated Riku for the first time with a final record of 1-15, staring stalkerishly at C through Skype, cracking up at the sexual implications of Kairi's words -- I really don't need any more than this.