Secrets // Zach Herron

Birthday Girl // C5

Word of the day: Surprise
Definition: an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing

Penelope's POV:

It's been about two weeks since I saw last Zach and I've been avoiding him ever since. I know that it's terrible declining his calls and ignoring his texts but I'm still unsure about what happened the last time I saw him. Yes, we kissed and yes, it was wrong but I don't want to come to terms with the fact that I enjoyed kissing him.

I rolled out of my bed to ignore my conflicting feelings only to realize that it's my birthday! I noticed that there was a box on my vanity mirror, it was a gorgeous black box with a blue bow on it. I played with the strands of the ribbon when I noticed there was a note attached to the end of it:

Here's the first of many birthday gifts, put it on and meet me outside

- You Know Who

I smiled to myself, my boyfriend was so sweet. I undid the bow and opened the box to reveal a winter outfit.

"Definitely adorable" I stated to myself.

I threw on the grey knit oversized sweater, leggings, grey socks, and brown boots. Today was definitely going to be a great day! I quickly did my hair and grabbed my wallet along with my keys.

"Mom! Dad! I'm going out!" I yelled as I raced downstairs. I waited for a response but there was none. "Mom? Dad?"

I walked into the kitchen to notice a Stitch stuffed animal attached to a note and some money.

Sorry we couldn't be there for your birthday, we had to work. Take this money and go have fun today - Mom and Dad

I silently read the note to myself as I picked up the Stitch stuffed animal and squeezed it close to my chest. The stuffed animal smelt of my mother's vanilla perfume.

"Of course they have to work, but if it was my brother's birthday, they would fly across the world to be there" I mumbled to myself as I grabbed the money and started towards the front door.

Wait I was forgetting something, "GRAYSON!"

No response, I wandered towards the front door and noticed another note.

Happy Birthday Sis, hope it's a great one! Sorry I can't be there, UCLA made a last minute decision to fly me out last night.

- Your Brother

I sighed, of course the only person who might actually care about me in this family is busy making a name for themselves on my birthday.

I flung open the front door expecting to see my boyfriend standing on my porch but instead, I found an envelope. As I opened the envelope, I noticed there was a movie ticket as well as another note:

Haha, you didn't think that it would be this easy to find me did you? Welcome to your birthday scavenger hunt! Follow the clues hidden all over town and if you're successful, you'll find me with a secret surprise at the
end!

- Your Man

My cheeks started to flush and I couldn't help but smile. Cameron was so sweet, however, where was the first clue? I searched the envelope before finally finding the first clue on the backside of the movie ticket.

This Scavenger Hunt might be slick,
but I think you would prefer a chick flick.

I thought to myself for a second and flipped over the movie ticket and examined it. The ticket was for the nearby movie theater but the movie was scratched out.