It was my sweet sixteen birthday and my parents were giving me the one gift every teenager wanted, to be treated like an adult. They were letting me throw my own party with the house to myself! They had rules like “no boys”, which would be broken. No alcohol, no loud music and we had to stay out of the game closet for some reason. Ever since I turned thirteen I had been prohibited from going into the game closet, it was also the age I was given my fashion bracelet that I always had to wear. I noticed most teenagers had one so I didn’t feel special but they all didn’t look the same, so some of us felt unique. My parents said they were to help keep kids out of trouble, who was I to argue? My dad figured some of the rules would be broken so he threw his insurance plan in the mix, he was going to leave my little brother behind as well. So I’d have the house to myself, but I’d be babysitting on my birthday. I wasn’t gonna let it ruin my sweet sixteen!!

It seems Agnes was the most popular name on campus that day, everyone knew about my birthday it seemed. “You are the Girl of the Galaxy” my friend Luna screeched when she saw me as we both giggled. She must have spread the word, I was pretty sure of it. We met up with our other friends Mia and Polaris and exchanged girl talk. That consisted of party plans, wardrobe and boys of course. “I was talking to Tommy Star and he can probably bring his friends over”, Mia said with a smile and a wink. My friends knew I had the biggest crush on a boy named Roman Lyte, and he was friends with Tommy. “I can’t invite to many people over” I said. Luna squinted her eyes and shook her head, “Don’t ruin the mood with rules Agnes, it’s your sixteenth birthday. Your parents will never know.” I thought about it for a moment and figured she was right, we’d have the place clean by the time they got back. What could go wrong?

As soon as my parents left, I was on the phone. Luna made it to my house first, she lived the closest and she brought her friends Jordyn and Tiger. I would have said something but they bought snacks so that was nice of them. As time went on, the house started looking like my school cafeteria, food all over and rather crowded. It was a miracle my brother was sleeping through all the chatter taking place. “So, is your birthday wish to dance with me?” Tommy asked. Luna stepped in front of me and laughed sarcastically, “There isn’t that many candles in the universe Tommy” she replied. I could tell people were growing bored of eating and music and that’s when Mia asked, “Do you have any games?”

Every other rule had been broken, why not go into the game closet? “There’s a game closet, but my parents keep it locked up” I said. That’s when Roman walked up and I just froze, I was hypnotized by his beauty and I wasn’t sure if I was drooling or not. He reached for my head and pulled out my hairpin that held my bun together. “You’re prettier with your hair down” he said as I smiled a goofy smile that looked like a drunk martian I’m sure. He used the hairpin to pick the lock and open the game door. Of all the games in there, one game stood out called The Hell with Lau. The name sounded cool, the box was colorful and it was my birthday, my pick!

Everyone gathered around as if the room was dark and the box was a candle. The game consisted of a radio, a whistle and a card. I followed the instructions and inserted the whistle which was a charger, into the slot. It was a prehistoric version of Simon Says. If a red light lit up, I hit red. If it was red and green, I hit those colors and so on. “Follow the sequence all the way through and the Ha La Lau will come for you. What does that mean?” Roman asked as he read the card. Just as I completed another sequence, everyone’s bracelets started blinking and the house started shaking and that’s when my cell phone started ringing. Lights flashed outside the house as everyone panicked inside! Was this it? Was this the Ha La Lau that the card spoke of? I answered my phone and it was my mother!!