Unexpected

• Chapter Thirty-Five •

"Giving to others will not take away from what you have but will in fact add to your life." ~Catherine Pulsifer

• • •

It's officially Abel's birthday. And also, the last day of term, so double bonus.

I jump out of bed half an hour earlier than usual so that I can do my makeup. As I said before, make up isn't usually my thing, but since its Abels birthday I've decided to try a little harder. I take a quick shower and wrap my robe around my body before sitting myself in front of my mirror. I decide to go for the relatively natural look by doing my eyebrows, foundation, mascara, concealer and a little bit of highlight to add some glow.

Happy with what I've done, I head to my wardrobe to decide on what to wear. I would have done this last night but I got distracted by talking to Abel on the phone and falling asleep to his voice.

Anyway, I slip on the blue pair of jeans that Abel loves so much and add a knitted white long-sleeved top which make my boobs look absolutely massive by the way. That wasn't my aim but I'm guessing Abel won't really mind.

I rush down the stairs to quickly grab some food and wait for my dad to come down so that I can hitch a ride with him. I told Abel not to drive me to school today and when he asked why, I gave a vague response of my parents wanting to talk to me about something. The obvious disappointment in his voice last night when I told him almost had me giving in but my strength prevailed and I powered through.

My dad finally makes it to the kitchen to make himself some coffee before we leave.

"Hurry up dad, I want to get to school earlier than usual today." I say urgently.

"What's the rush Keziah?" He takes a sip of his drink and sits at the table.

"It's Abels birthday and I have something planned that requires me being at school early, so can we get a move on?"

"Alright alright."

I slip on my camo puffer jacket and combat boots before taking a quick look at myself in the full-length mirror we have by the door. Deciding that I look pretty good, I head out the car to wait for dad. A minute later, he joins me in the car.

He makes the relatively short drive to my school and drops me off with a goodbye.

Since it's only half 7, I still have about 20 more minutes until Abel arrives.

I quickly head to his locker and open it up to place the several balloons I got for him inside. I also place an origami heart with a handwritten note inside it before shutting the door.

Since it's almost time for Abel to arrive, I go and hide round the corner to wait for him.

"Hey Keziah, what are you doing?" Ana, Rolo and Rani stand in front of me completely in sight for Abel to see when he gets here.

"Ssh!" I grab their arms and pull them away from view. "Its Abels birthday today remember, I put some stuff in his locker. But what I want you guys to do is when he opens his locker, jump out, blow these and scream happy birthday okay?" I pass all three of them some party blowers and tell them to get ready.

They give me a weird look before sighing in acceptance.

I look back to the hallway to see Abel walking up with Raph and Israel who are laughing at something that was said. I watch as Abel opens his locker causing all the balloons to slip out before ushering my friends out to meet him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Abel jumps slightly from shock as they scream this. He murmurs a quick thank you and bats the balloons away from his face while laughing.