A Surprise (1)

It was already past midnight and the convenience store no longer had much customers coming by, the streets silent and the lights of some homes in the city were off, street lights kept the sidewalks lit and only a convenience store had its lights on.

Feng Ling was sat inside this store behind the counter, her eyes focused on her phone but her ears listening for the doors opening sound, she looked at the time and it was 3:13 am, her shift was almost over and she knew there weren't many customers at late hours except for graveyard shift employees, usually at 3 am there wouldn't be a single customer until 4 to 5 am where many start to wake, on this particular night and hour though feng ling heard the door open which was unusual.

"Welcome, Please enjoy your shopping"

Feng ling said in a surprisingly jolly tone, she had practiced a lot to make herself presentable and approachable to the customers since a cashier needed a good personality which was a requirement set by most businesses, feng ling moved her head and pocketed her phone, she put on her best smile and looked at the customer.

The customer was suspiciously clad, they had a black raincoat even though it wasn't raining, hands covered with plastic gloves and rubber boots on their feet, she could only see just a bit of the persons facial features since the raincoat hood obstructed her view, from the body build she could see it was a man, from the face he had a cut on his chin and he was slightly pale.

The strange visitor was moving around the store and then settled to buying a cheap but durable and sharp knife along with an alcoholic beverage, he stood by the counter and presented the products, feng ling found this item assortment kind of odd but she just shrugged it off as somebody who might be cooking or celebrating.

Feng ling scanned the Items and stated the price, the man paid in cash which was a little weird in the current era where electronics can be used to pay, she proceeded with the transaction and gave a receipt.

The suspicious man left without a word and soon disappeared from her sight, feng ling resumed her entertainment till 6:30 am where she swapped with the earlier employee, she got on the bus and then entered her address, she arrived at her apartments doorstep and twisted the knob, the door opened and it baffled her as to why, she locked the door earlier so how could it open like so without her key card, the halls were dimly lit as to not put pressure on the tenants eyes when they just woke up but the building will slowly stabilize it on 8 am.

"A thief? but I don't have any expensive belongings"

Feng ling took out a pepper spray from her pocket, she got it ready with her index finger pressing lightly on the cap prepared to spray away, her heart raced as she pushed open the door, she could hear her heart beating as the door began to creak open and what appeared before her was a dark room with a vague shadow of a person standing in the middle that seemed to be hanging by a rope, the scene made her heart jump and made her wanna scream but she scrambled instead and quickly tapped the light switch on, she was one of those people with late reactions and delayed emotions.

The lights of her room came on and she was hit by something that made her close her eyes as a soft pop happened, she slowly opened them again and what she saw were colorful confetti fluttering in the air and her two bestfriends along with a cake on her coffee table and little decorations.

"Happy Birthday Sister Feng!!!" the two simultaneously said.

Feng ling still had to process what had happened and after a few seconds she laughed earnestly, she entered the room and hugged the two trespassing bestfriends.

"Haha you guys didn't have to go this far but I appreciate it.. very much"

Feng ling would remember the times she would be surprised by her parents with a birthday party but as she aged she left their home and started her own life, her parents were faraway and she was busy earning her daily expenses.

"You guys surprised me, I thought there was a dead body in my apartment"

"Sister feng for that you should blame fu meng, she and her dark humor asked me to stand on a stool in front of a pinata, I feel bad for her future husband"

"Pinata? I'm not a child anymore you two..."

"Hehe feng feng you don't understand just break the pinata and see what's inside, also jia fu were gonna have a talk later~" fu meng told jia fu menacingly. Feng ling looked at the two with bliss as she then returned to her normal expression, she looked around the room and decorations and found a massive box wrapped in wrapping paper with a talismanic design.

" What's this?"

Feng ling pointed at the box and questioned her friends.

"Oh that's our present for you since we know you like ho-"

Before jia fu could finish his answer he was given a knee to the groin by fu meng, he grabbed his groin and rolled to the floor like a baby.

"That's a surprise feng feng~ a surprise you'll get once you break the pinata hehe~, now let's eat some cake"

Fu meng went to the kitchen and sliced up the cake, jia fu still on the ground then talked with a pained voice.

"That's the new... gaming capsule, fu meng got it by... sweet talking her father to get 3 in advance"

Jia Fu was able to crawl himself to a couch and rest, feng ling returned to the door to close and lock it but before she could, she saw the earlier customer enter an apartment near hers with a black trash bag on hand filled with something.

"Weird shouldn't you carry full trash bags out and not in?"

Feng ling shrugged and closed the door locking it as she did, the apartment of the man from earlier opened and his bloodshot eyes were focused on feng lings door.