Our Winter

thank you Hao

Monday morning came by faster than Xiao Mei wanted it to. Though considering she spent most of Sunday at the theme park, Mei wasn't surprised. A lot of good memories were formed there. Mei ended up posting some pictures, but she didn't expect the uproar that came with it. Her friends immediately texted why she didn't invite them; at least she had an excuse: Minghao only had two tickets.

"Are you excited Mei Mei?" Her uncle asked while driving her to school.
"Mhm, I can't wait for Friday." Mei said. Friday was her birthday. By this time on Friday, Mei would have opened her mother's letter. She didn't know how to feel about that — was she supposed to be excited or sad? Or a bit of both?

The week couldn't have gone any slower. They say time flies when you're having fun. Clearly it prefers to crawl if you're not.

At long last, Friday came. Mei woke up extra early. She sprinted down the stairs as she looked around for her aunt and uncle. Suddenly from behind her, she heard a pop, and down rained the confetti. Mei turned to find her aunt and uncle full of smiles. Her uncle held the now popped confetti bomb, while her aunt held two things: a wrapped box and a letter.

"Happy birthday Mei! I can't believe you're already sixteen!" Her aunt said, handing her the gifts. Mei put them aside and hugged her uncle and aunt. "Thank you guys so much. I love you." She said full of sincerity.

"Go and get ready for school, I'll make you your favourite breakfast today." Her aunt said. Mei nodded and started upstairs with her gifts. She put aside the letter and opened the gift. Inside the box, Mei found a beautiful whale plushie. She found it adorable, and put it on her swing chair. Returning to her bed, Mei looked at the letter and sighed. Now that she actually had it, Mei didn't know if she wanted to open the letter. "I'll figure it out later" she told herself and left to ready herself for school.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEI!" Came a loud cheer, startling Mei. She looked to find Siwen, Jia and Miaoyi all bunched up and holding a banner that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Mei smiled and hugged her friends. "Thanks guys." She said. "Ay, teachers coming" Miaoyi said, running in. Mei couldn't help but laugh. No matter how old they got, the teacher would always scare them.

For once in his life (or in the time Mei knew him), her homeroom teacher wasn't strict. Over time, she'd known to ignore all his grumbling, but today, he didn't grumble a word. Even more surprising, he'd wished her a happy birthday after calling out her name. Walking out to her Chinese class, Mei noticed that it was sunny with a few clouds. She smiled. 'Perfect weather, so that means a perfect day' she hoped.

"Hello everyone, as some of you might already know, the language department in our school has come to a decision. From today, we'll be practicing a new seating arrangement where weak students will be next to stronger students in order to give and take help. This is what we feel benefits all the students, so don't take this as an insult or be overconfident. Now that that's in the clear, I'll draw out the plan." Her teacher announced. Mei chuckled. She was so horrible at Chinese she was guaranteed to be next to a top student. Mei prayed that it was someone good, or at least a seat by the window. Mei saw her name being written at last- it was a seat next to the window! Yes! She thanked the fairy of good luck and waited to see her partner. Xu... Ming... Hao? Xu Minghao? Really? Mei rubbed her eyes. The words were the same. She couldn't believe her own luck. A window seat AND next to a close friend? Luck was really on her side today.

"Okay everyone, move now. You have today's lesson off, do what you like." Her teacher announced. Mei was dumbfounded. No way someone had this much luck right? Did she fail her last test? Laughing lightly, Mei decided not to jinx it, and moved. Minghao moved right after her. As soon as Mei turned to arrange her stuff, she heard a slight thud against her desk. She turned back and found Minghao sitting with his head on one of his hands, his torso turned towards her. He had a soft smile on his face, and pushed a wrapped rectangular box towards her gently. "Happy birthday Mei Mei." He said. Mei looked at him for a solid thirty seconds before he nodded, and she moved her attention to the gift. She gently unwrapped it, and found a flower tea assortment.