"But, Dad... you promised you'd stay home this week." Ume tried her best to keep her voice at it's normal, uninterested tone, but it faltered slightly at the last word. Her father was, once again, heading out on a trip to who knows where, but this time, Ume actually cared. The upcoming week held her birthday and he promised to stay at home for the week to celebrate. 

"Ume, I know I did but I've got to go, ok? It's important." Her father barely lifted his head to look at his daughter at all as he spoke, "I'll still buy you that nice purse you wanted, won't that be nice?" Ume simply nodded her head a fraction and left the study, her spirits completely crushed. The sound of her 3-inch heels clicked against the dark, polished wood floors, and the hall seemed much longer than when she came through it earlier. As she sulked her way back to her bedroom, she tried to think things through in her head. Of course, she had thought this was a possibility, that no one would celebrate with her, even her own parents. None of her so-called friends wanted to hang out with her unless they got something out of it, but it's not like Ume [i]wanted[/i] them to care about her birthday.

"I didn't want to deal with them anyway... I'll just celebrate by myself and it'll be fine." Ume muttered to herself, willing herself to believe, that being alone on her birthday would be perfectly alright.