The Lying Game

33.

E M A N I

I brush my hands against the shelves as Sarah walks with more speed ahead of me. My breathing still hasn't returned to normal since we got out of that SoulCycle class. Sarah randomly suggested that we hang out. She then suggested doing a class at SoulCycle. I had never been, but it was one of those times where you're afraid to say no in the event of Sarah doing something irrational. I've learned there's a side of Sarah to not be messed with. Picking and choosing your battle is key. She also just seems to be more antsy and on edge lately. I haven't talked to William about it because I don't want to intervene if it's not my place. I haven't seen them together a lot lately either.

I cover my mouth to cough but it comes out as more of a wheezing sound. My lungs burn and I don't know how I'm able to walk right now. Sarah hasn't skipped a step and is perfectly fine. She adds shampoo into her basket of items. It's bizzare that she doesn't just by all this stuff at Target. It's not worth the marked up retail price here. We even passed a Target on the way to coming to this Walgreens, but I didn't question it.

"I need to get a birthday card for William." She comments while walking to the next aisle. I follow her to the card section.

I look mindlessly around. "Oh you have a brother named William?"

"No," She side-eyes me before turning back to the selections. "like our William."

Oh, our William, okay. Wait—

"What?!" I scream in the drugstore. A few heads turn from passerbys but I keep my attention on Sarah who looks like she hadn't recognized my prescence untill now. "When is his birthday?" I ask.

"This saturday."

This saturday. My brain is racing trying to piece together this new information. "Why didn't I know this? Is he doing anything for it?"

"William doesn't like telling people his birthday." Her body stood taller and more relaxed as if she gained confidence spilling his little secret.  "He doesn't really do much for it either."

"What, Why not?" Sarah shrugs. "So you just get him a card and do nothing?"

"No I got him a gift too." Sarah laughs. "We just have dinner at a restaurant or watch movies at his house."

"That's what William wants?"  I ask.

"That's what William wants." She echoes.

"We should throw him a surprise party or something." I mutter.

"No, " Sarah's face gets serious. "William hates surprises"

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I slam the front door shut and march towards the sound of the TV on in the living room.

William's head simultaneously turns towards my direction as I enter the room. He furrows his eyebrows. "Hey are you—

"William you fake ass prick, why didn't you tell me your birthday was this weekend?"

He groans, muting the television at the same time. I stand behind the couch with my arms crossed. "I don't like telling people my birthday." He says solemnly.

"Why not?" I ask, arms still crossed.

"It's hard to talk about Emani." He responds.

"Does Sarah  know?" He's silent, which gives me my answer. I was only aaking for dramatic effect. I didn't really mind if Sarah knew. "What do you wanna do for your birthday?"

William shakes his head. "Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"You're so basic." I walk away from the couch. "Just for that your basic ass can figure dinner out yourself."

"What the—" I slip into a bathroom and dial Phoenix's number.

Phoenix alaays answers quickly. "Mani what's up?"

"Hey Phoenix can you schedule a meeting at Mr. Harrington's office with will's parents, you and sarah please?"

"Sure, what's it about?"

I bite my lip to keep from smiling too hard. "How old is Will turning this weekend?"

♠️♠️♠️

We're waiting on Mr. Harringtom to arrive before I can start. I gaze around the conference room amd everyone is occupied on their phones. Which is odd, because these peope always have something to say or share about anything and everything. I wonder if it's because Will or Mr. Harrington isn't here. I still don't know why William is so secretive about his birthday. No one seems to want to talk about it either. There's a lot of that here in this " bubble" that we're in; supressing hard topics and never addressing it.

"Sorry about that." Mr Harrington enters and everyone perks up. Out the corner of my eye Phoenix straightens his tie and Sarah flattens down her blouse.

"It's okay" I say. "We can start now." Mr. Harrington nods while unbuttoning his suit and taking his seat next to his wife across from Sarah and Phoenix.

"What's the purpose of this meeting?" Sarah says loudly. It's only the four of us which she was well aware of. Her fingers are intertwined with each other and she's leaning forward waiting for an answer. Her right pointer finger repeatedly taps against her hand. We've got impatient Sarah again today. Something still feels about her, same as yesterday.

"So I've decided to throw William a surprise party for his birthday." I say speaking to everyone.

"Oh Emani, that's a wonderful idea." Mrs. Harrington exclaims.

"I know William doesn't like doing anything for his birthday, but I think we can do something that could still make him happy." Phoenix, and William's parents nod. "So I was thinking-"

"I can take it from here Emani." Sarah rises from her seat "I've known William longer than you have so I obviously know pretty well what he'll like for his surprise party. I gave what he said before some thought and I already called different venues and sent out invites."

"Oh but-"

"This is gonna be amazing, thank you Emani for the great idea. I can take lead from here, you don't need to add another thing to your plate."

Phoenix and the Harringtons look to me for a response. I'm not in the mood for a fight. I just got these acrylics done.

I mentally take a deep breath and put on my best fake smile. "You're right Sarah, you are the only person that knows William the best. You're the perfect person to plan this." Sarah nods in confirmation. She stands at the front and I take her seat.

Sarah pulls out folders from her Longchamp Tote Bag and hands one to each of us. I tune out her vchippsr voice and read the contents of the folder. How was she able to pull this together when I brought it up yesterday? The first three pages are only venues, mainly clubs that they talk about in the magazines that are the most exclusive. Next is catering, all of them are some form of Asian cuisine. The last page is just a collage of photos of Sarah and William. Classy  touch by Sarah Leonard.

Maybe I don't know William as much as I thought I did because none of this looks like he'll love. This has Sarah written all over it, it's stuff she picked out for her own interests and not Will's.

"And that's i." Sarah says. I look up at her. "I'm going to go make some more phonecalls. This is gonna be great." She nods in confirmation before walking out the room.

"Did anyone get say in their opinions?"  I ask.

"Nope." They respond simultaneously.

"We were looking for you to say something but you were too busy with your nose stuck  in that folder." Phoenix comments..

"William's gonna hate all of this." Mrs. Harrington wails her hands up in the air. Sometimes I wonder in another life if she woukd star in Downtown Abbey or any british drama show.

Mr. Harrington nods. "Emani you have to do something."

The biggest smile spreads across my face. "I'm already on it. But let's keep it on the down low from Ms. Leonard." Their eyes light up in delight and they nod their head in agreement.

Sorry Sarah.