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Chapter 4: The Best Birthday Ever

We pulled up to the skating rink. I look up at the car's radio; it read 6:56 pm. I told Braxton to meet here at 7:00 pm, so I quickly scanned the parking lot to see if I could find him. I continued to look, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black vehicle; I cut my eyes over to look at it, but it was not him. I started to get sad and wonder if he would come tonight; I mean, he seemed serious about it.

    "Are you ready to go in, girls?" my dad asked.

    "No, I am not! Just wait one second."

    My eyes cut back to the clock on the radio; it read 7:00 pm. See, if I had a phone, I could text or call him to see if anything had changed about him coming, I thought. I looked nervously over at Laura, and she smiled at me and whispered.

    "Evelyn, do not worry. He will be here."

    We sat for a little longer in the car, and finally, I decided we should get out. At least I will have Laura with me. Just as I stepped out of the car, I saw headlights pull into the parking lot and a car rev up. IT WAS A MUSTANG! A smile grew across my face as Braxton parked and got out of his car. He had flowers and a small gift bag in his hand. Once he spotted us, he rushed over with a big smile on his face. We all proceeded to walk in, we approached the front desk, and my parents bought us all skates. We walked over to a table where we could all sit our stuff down. My parents carried my presents from them and Laura, alongside a cake. Braxton then brought the gift bag over and set it on the table. He stopped before me with the flowers in his hands, and his gaze fell upon me.

    He spoke, "Well, I wanted to surprise you as you came through the doors, so I tried to get here early, but traffic was crazy out my way."

    He then handed me the flowers; they were solid black roses.

"Thank you so much, Braxton; they are gorgeous."

    "Yeah, just like you."

    I started to blush and hugged him. When I am with him, I feel as if nothing else matters in this world. We let go of each other and walked to the bench where Laura was so we could put on our rollerblades. Braxton slid his rollerblades on.

    "See you on the floor, losers!" he jokingly said.

    Laura and I both laughed. She then smiled at me and nudged me on the shoulder.

    "You know he likes you, right?" she smirked.

    "I have a good feeling, BUT I am not making a move until he asks me."

    We finished putting on our blades and skated out to the floor. We skated for half an hour before returning to the table where my parents were sitting.

    "Guys, let's have some cake!" My parents said happily.

    They unboxed the cake. It was a chocolate fudge cake with the words "happy birthday, Evelyn" on it. Everybody gathered around and sang happy birthday to me, and I blew out the candles. We then cut the cake, and all dug in. Once we finished up our cake, it was time for presents. Laura jumped up excitedly and rushed over to the gift she got me.

    "Here, Evelyn, I am SO excited for you to open it." she handed me the present and smiled.

    I unwrapped the gift, and inside I found a picture album. I opened it up, and inside I found a whole collection of pictures Laura and I had taken together, dating back to when we first became friends. A tear began to form in my eye.

    "Thank you so much, Laura. This is a beautiful album." I hugged her.

    "I am glad you like it, bestie."

    Next up was Braxton. He handed me the gift he had got me. I smiled at him and then opened it up. Inside I found a necklace with a heart on it. I looked at him as he untucked a chain from under his shirt; it was a necklace that matched mine. He then uttered the words.

    "Evelyn, I have liked you for a long time. I think you are stunning and have a fantastic personality."

    My face began to turn red.

    "I would be honored to have such a beautiful girl as my girlfriend."

    I smiled at him, "I would love to be your girlfriend. I have felt the same about you."

    We hugged each other, and the table became filled with awws. All I could do was smile. Was this even real? Is this actually happening? This is all that could run through my mind. My dad spoke up,

    "Make sure you treat my daughter right." he looked at Braxton sternly.

    "Of course, sir."

    My parents then handed their gift to me from them. It was a smaller package that had been wrapped perfectly. Everybody waited for me to open it eagerly. I thought this was probably more stationary for my journaling habits; maybe a new set of pens? I unwrapped the gift, and my mouth dropped open.

    "OH MY GOSH?" this could not be.

The small package set in my hands, it was an iPhone 8 in rose gold. I started jumping up and down out of excitement. Everybody smiled at me.

    "Thank you guys so much! This feels unreal."

    "You are welcome, my sweet girl." my mom said.

    I rushed over to my parents and gave them both a giant hug. I stepped back, noticing the uneasy feeling on my mom's face.

    "It is okay, mom. I promise I will be safe."

    After we finished opening presents, we turned in our rollerblades.

    "Hey, dad, would you be opposed to all of us going to Kimono tonight?"

    "Hey, as long as everybody is okay with it, then sure."

    Everybody nodded in agreement. We headed out of the rink, into our respective cars, and drove to the restaurant. We got out and went in and were seated at the table. We ordered our food and pigged out. The food was delicious. After we finished eating, we all headed outside to the cars again.

    "Mom, I have one more request for tonight."

    "What is that, sweetie?"

    "CAN LAURA PLEASE STAY TONIGHT? We do not have school tomorrow."

    "As long as Laura and her parents are okay with it, I am more than glad to have her over.

    Laura smiled and texted her parents to let her know she would be staying the night. I turned to Braxton.

    "Thank you so much for helping make tonight special."

    "Anything for you, beautiful."

We hugged each other one last time, and I asked him for his phone number so I could text him once I got my phone set up. We then all got in our cars and left to go home. This was the best birthday EVER.