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Description
Plum Cooper sat in the back of the bar, downing shots of vodka and rum, slurring her words as her friends tried to cheer her up.
"Look, it's just another day, alright? There's nothing any different about turning 22 than any other day of the year. You haven't gotten any wrinkles or any gray hairs. You'll just have a party with us at the bar, little cake, and sleep before going to your boring job at the cannery." Toby said, smiling and kissing her cheek.
"Right, and after that you can celebrate not being fifty by convincing this one to give me grandchildren already."
"Moooom!" Miss Cooper tugged on Toby's sweater lightly while her daughter tried to fake gagging.
"What? You've only been dating for what, five years now?"
"He'll ask me when he's ready." Plum answered, blushing, already hating the night, hating the prospect of growing into... that.
"Speaking of ready, I should probably get going. I have an open house tomorrow, but I'll be at your party afterward honey." Plum waved her mother goodbye and smiled softly, but once she was out of the room she just sighed and groaned.
"Relax, you won't be that bad when you're her age and come to your daughter's birthday down at the bar."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, I mean, you'll probably have a son, since all the women in my family just have boys." Aidan smirked and she hit his shoulder, rolling her eyes.
"Dumbass."
"That's not what you called it this morning..." She turned crimson, looking around the bar, about to tease him and give a kiss, but he was already rising. "I've got to get going too. Starting work earlier so I can get off in time."
"Oh! Um, alright, see you tomorrow then." She watched, smiling and blushing as she blew a kiss, then sighed, fingers drumming the table.
"I hate aging... It's been such a great year, I wish I could just stay twenty-one." She heard a chuckling behind her after the voice spoke and turned.
"How did you-"
"Please. Its one of the most famous birthday wishes for those who turn twenty-two." The man said, sitting down opposite her at the table. Plum raised a brow and opened her mouth, but he raised a hand. "Don't worry, I saw you were with your boyfriend, I'm not here to flirt, just a well-wisher. One cupcake for the birthday girl, hmm? With a candle on top." He said, glancing at the nearby bartendress cleaning up tables. The woman looked over at him, but when he waved a twenty she shrugged and went in the back.
"But it's only eight o'clock, hardly anywhere close to midnight."
"True, but it's midnight somewhere, and I'm afraid I won't be here for much longer, business elsewhere, you understand." Plum blinked, staring at the man for a moment, but then relaxing back into her seat.
"I guess... Free cupcake is a free cupcake." The bartendress returned with just that, setting it before her and taking the twenty, stuffing it into her own bra before giving the man a smile and returning to cleaning.
"Indeed. Why don't you think real hard on your wish and blow out the candle, hmm?"
"Alright..." Plum took a deep breath. I wish...

Plum had gone to sleep with a hangover but woke up feeling perfectly fine, thinking that at least if she didn't have that the day wouldn't be too bad. She looked at the clock for the time and yelped in shock, hurrying to take a shower and get dressed, rushing off to work. When she arrived, however, the doors were locked and cardboard was all over the walls. She pulled on the door and rattled it, then looked up at the sign above. Closed for remodeling? But didn't they just do a remodel last fall? And why wouldn't they tell a new hire about it? She peered in the windows and then felt her phone vibrate. As she pulled it out of her pocket she stared and let it slide out of her hand. Not only was it not the phone she was expecting, being the model she had broken three months ago, but the caller id read WORK with the number of her previous slave-driver of an employer on it. She picked up the phone, letting the call go to voicemail and tried to access the internet. Either this was one terribly bad but ingenious prank... Or this was almost a year ago, the day she turned twenty-one.

Plum rushed to her boyfriend's house, hoping to have some semblance of normalcy, to tell him what had happened and hope he wouldn't try to get her committed. Maybe with all those books he read he might have some idea what was happening. Maybe she truly was going insane, imagining the last year? It didn't make sense, but it made more sense than anything else running through her head right then. She looked both ways as she finally reached and crossed Elm Street, hurrying toward her boyfriend's house, about to go to the door when she saw the curtains drawn and Aidan inside... Kissing another woman. She blinked, biting back tears as he opened his eyes, looking at her with surprise, the strange woman turning to look at her as well, then horror on their faces as they started shouting something at her. The shock wore off from what she saw and she realized she had stumbled back, a loud noise coming from her right. She turned to face it and was knocked through the air by the oncoming semi.

Plum woke up with a start and clutched her chest, heart racing as she gulped and looked around, looking at the clock, deciding to eat a small breakfast and grab a long a cold shower to calm herself from the nightmare despite knowing she'd be late for work. Having ate a hearty plate that would make most women ill from all the calories she jumped in the shower, missing the vibration of her phone when she was under the water. She came back, getting dressed and blinked at the pocket of her pants lit up by her phone inside it. She slowly pulled the phone out and dropped it on the bed, backing up as she saw MISSED CALL and WORK on the phone with her former employer's number on it. She kept backing up as if it were some king cobra coiled and ready to strike, tripping over that rut in the carpet that she had never gotten fixed, falling, hitting her head on the edge of her dresser, slumping to the ground and slipping into unconsciousness. And then she woke up. She clutched the back of her head for any bump, glancing around to make sure she wasn't in a hospital, then at the clock. She had overslept. She sighed, leaning back in her bed... And then her phone vibrated.

Description
Plum Cooper sat in the back of the bar, downing shots of vodka and rum, slurring her words as her friends tried to cheer her up.
"Look, it's just another day, alright? There's nothing any different about turning 22 than any other day of the year. You haven't gotten any wrinkles or any gray hairs. You'll just have a party with us at the bar, little cake, and sleep before going to your boring job at the cannery." Toby said, smiling and kissing her cheek.
"Right, and after that you can celebrate not being fifty by convincing this one to give me grandchildren already."
"Moooom!" Miss Cooper tugged on Toby's sweater lightly while her daughter tried to fake gagging.
"What? You've only been dating for what, five years now?"
"He'll ask me when he's ready." Plum answered, blushing, already hating the night, hating the prospect of growing into... that.
"Speaking of ready, I should probably get going. I have an open house tomorrow, but I'll be at your party afterward honey." Plum waved her mother goodbye and smiled softly, but once she was out of the room she just sighed and groaned.
"Relax, you won't be that bad when you're her age and come to your daughter's birthday down at the bar."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, I mean, you'll probably have a son, since all the women in my family just have boys." Aidan smirked and she hit his shoulder, rolling her eyes.
"Dumbass."
"That's not what you called it this morning..." She turned crimson, looking around the bar, about to tease him and give a kiss, but he was already rising. "I've got to get going too. Starting work earlier so I can get off in time."
"Oh! Um, alright, see you tomorrow then." She watched, smiling and blushing as she blew a kiss, then sighed, fingers drumming the table.
"I hate aging... It's been such a great year, I wish I could just stay twenty-one." She heard a chuckling behind her after the voice spoke and turned.
"How did you-"
"Please. Its one of the most famous birthday wishes for those who turn twenty-two." The man said, sitting down opposite her at the table. Plum raised a brow and opened her mouth, but he raised a hand. "Don't worry, I saw you were with your boyfriend, I'm not here to flirt, just a well-wisher. One cupcake for the birthday girl, hmm? With a candle on top." He said, glancing at the nearby bartendress cleaning up tables. The woman looked over at him, but when he waved a twenty she shrugged and went in the back.
"But it's only eight o'clock, hardly anywhere close to midnight."
"True, but it's midnight somewhere, and I'm afraid I won't be here for much longer, business elsewhere, you understand." Plum blinked, staring at the man for a moment, but then relaxing back into her seat.
"I guess... Free cupcake is a free cupcake." The bartendress returned with just that, setting it before her and taking the twenty, stuffing it into her own bra before giving the man a smile and returning to cleaning.
"Indeed. Why don't you think real hard on your wish and blow out the candle, hmm?"
"Alright..." Plum took a deep breath. I wish...

Plum had gone to sleep with a hangover but woke up feeling perfectly fine, thinking that at least if she didn't have that the day wouldn't be too bad. She looked at the clock for the time and yelped in shock, hurrying to take a shower and get dressed, rushing off to work. When she arrived, however, the doors were locked and cardboard was all over the walls. She pulled on the door and rattled it, then looked up at the sign above. Closed for remodeling? But didn't they just do a remodel last fall? And why wouldn't they tell a new hire about it? She peered in the windows and then felt her phone vibrate. As she pulled it out of her pocket she stared and let it slide out of her hand. Not only was it not the phone she was expecting, being the model she had broken three months ago, but the caller id read WORK with the number of her previous slave-driver of an employer on it. She picked up the phone, letting the call go to voicemail and tried to access the internet. Either this was one terribly bad but ingenious prank... Or this was almost a year ago, the day she turned twenty-one.

Plum rushed to her boyfriend's house, hoping to have some semblance of normalcy, to tell him what had happened and hope he wouldn't try to get her committed. Maybe with all those books he read he might have some idea what was happening. Maybe she truly was going insane, imagining the last year? It didn't make sense, but it made more sense than anything else running through her head right then. She looked both ways as she finally reached and crossed Elm Street, hurrying toward her boyfriend's house, about to go to the door when she saw the curtains drawn and Aidan inside... Kissing another woman. She blinked, biting back tears as he opened his eyes, looking at her with surprise, the strange woman turning to look at her as well, then horror on their faces as they started shouting something at her. The shock wore off from what she saw and she realized she had stumbled back, a loud noise coming from her right. She turned to face it and was knocked through the air by the oncoming semi.

Plum woke up with a start and clutched her chest, heart racing as she gulped and looked around, looking at the clock, deciding to eat a small breakfast and grab a long a cold shower to calm herself from the nightmare despite knowing she'd be late for work. Having ate a hearty plate that would make most women ill from all the calories she jumped in the shower, missing the vibration of her phone when she was under the water. She came back, getting dressed and blinked at the pocket of her pants lit up by her phone inside it. She slowly pulled the phone out and dropped it on the bed, backing up as she saw MISSED CALL and WORK on the phone with her former employer's number on it. She kept backing up as if it were some king cobra coiled and ready to strike, tripping over that rut in the carpet that she had never gotten fixed, falling, hitting her head on the edge of her dresser, slumping to the ground and slipping into unconsciousness. And then she woke up. She clutched the back of her head for any bump, glancing around to make sure she wasn't in a hospital, then at the clock. She had overslept. She sighed, leaning back in her bed... And then her phone vibrated.