I'm Obviously A Girl. But none of you idiots have to know that...

Chapter 41: I'm Obviously A Girl. But none of you idiots have to know that...

“Hurry up, he’s coming!”

I felt Parker manually duck my head under my work desk in my dorm, watching him feebly crawl under next to me as Aaron, Kale and Drake fumbled around, fruitlessly trying to find a hiding place. Parker and I had organized a huge party for Alex as a welcoming back present from the nurse’s office. Alex had been in there all alone for a while and was finally being allowed to return, so we decided to throw him a party. Well, more like me. Parker spent most of the time blowing the same single balloon over and over again after he continued to suck out the helium so he’d have a comical, high voice. But there was no doubt that, with knowing Parker, he’d take full credit.

“Just hide somewhere!” Parker whispered frantically, “He’ll be here any minute!”

“I’m trying, but there’s nowhere to go!” Drake hissed under his breath, trying his best to fit between the frame of my bed and the wall.

“Just stay there!” Parker said, rolling his eyes. I scanned the room, seeing Aaron hiding out in the closet and Kale taking refuge behind the window curtains. The lights were off, and it was…well, relatively difficult to spot them. Suddenly, Parker spoke again, “Shh! I think I hear him!”

Sure enough, within moment, I heard footsteps emanate from the outside. A click of the door knob opened the mahogany entrance, and it creaked open unwillingly. A silhouette shaded the floor, and I could see Alex’s hazy shadow slowly inch inward, clicking the light switch on.

Immediately, Parker leapt out of his hiding spot, “Surprise!” He cried joyfully, a grin cracking his lips.

The rest of us jumped out of our hiding spots as well, joining in on the chorus. Alex stared at us in disbelief, the one eye that was exposed widened. His right and blackened eye was covered with a manila bandage and his swollen cheek had a small, white, square band aid covering it up. Truthfully, he looked like a wreck, but I was just glad to see him back in the room in one piece.

“Happy return, Al!” Parker cheered, wrapping his arms around Alex in a bear hug, causing us all to laugh out. Alex struggled out of Parker’s iron grip, a smile apparent on his face, even though he tried hard to cover it up.

“You threw a party?” Alex asked in disbelief, “…For my release from the nurse’s office?”

Parker grinned, “Well, it was my idea—”

I elbowed Parker in the stomach along with Drake, who was on his other side. Drake grinned ear to ear, “Nah, it wasn’t his idea.” He confessed, “Sam came up with the idea. We kind of all just helped him out.”

I saw Alex turn to me, and a smile was on his face. A genuine smile. I could have died from all the happiness inside me, but instead, I simply gave off a similar euphoric grin. I was about to say something, but Aaron interrupted me, “We would have a cake, or something, but we got kind of sidetracked with inhaling all the helium so that our voices would sound funny…”

“But we have cupcakes!” Parker said cheekily, holding up a pink frosted cupcake that had been carelessly pushed off to the side along with a plethora of deflated balloons gleefully.