Surprises

Her chest felt tight, the tiny pin pricks it made had her clutching a hand over her heart. She can't believe the turn of events for the evening.

In front of no other than Yvann, a stranger whom she just met, she said something she knew she shouldn't. She was supposed to hate him, too.

It flooded her mind with what would happen now. Yvann knew of a secret that should have remained as that, a secret.

Letting the double doors shut close behind her, Szeina noticed the eerie silence of her surroundings.

Momentarily, it got her out of drowning in her thoughts.

The big house was usually quiet. However, this certain silence made the hairs on her skin stand.

Compared to the eerie silence from the school campus, this hits differently. Szeina knitted her brows, trying to think if she forgot some important reminder.

"Gran?" she tried calling out, slowly making her way towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was her haven. If she wasn't in the garden or in her bedroom reading a novel or writing a blog post, she was in the kitchen.

Poking her head in what Granola would call as her second bedroom, Szeina squinted her eyes, a glinting color called to her mounted on the top of the island.

Szeina knew that whoever placed it there, it has its purpose.

Coming close, she realized what it was.

A card.

The golden ribbon wrapped around it was what glinted in the light. It was what got her attention.

Grabbing the card, Szeina read the one lined sentence inside it.

'In the Veranda, a surprise awaits.'

"Mademoiselle," turning around, Szeina scoffed.

Neyandro was formally dressed. His usually messy hair was pulled back with a hair wax. The black tux made him look like some rich son of a mafia.

"Wow," Szeina clapped her hands, almost not believing the transformation her non-biological brother went through. "What's up with the dress code?"

"In case you have forgotten, it's your birthday."

Szeina scratched the back of her head. In all honesty, that simple fact escaped her mind.

Everything that occurred in the morning now clicked into place. Granola purposely made an excuse to run some errand so Neyandro could give her his gift.

While she was at school, Granola went out to have the preparations ready.

Truth be told, though, today was not really Szeina's actual birth date.

But since no one knew when it was exactly, Granola let her take her pick.

She and Neyandro have temporary birth dates celebrated each year. Until they get to know the real one, both of them accepted the provided dates.

"Oh, right." Szeina looked at Neyandro and narrowed her eyes. "Now what?"

"Now, I believe you are underdressed. It is my duty to make sure that you look the part, so come on. Let's get you changed."

Handing his arm out towards Szeina, Neyandro smirked.

Shaking her head but complying anyway, Szeina joined Neyandro and let him take her to wherever she needed to go in order to 'look the part.'

Near the Veranda, there was one guest room available on that side of the house. Neyandro took Szeina there and had the door open.

"Take your time, I'll wait outside."

Clicking the door shut, Szeina let out a sigh.

Contrary to what she wanted to do, she didn't want to spoil whatever surprise Granola had thought of.

Eyeing the big box on the bed, Szeina walked towards it. When she took the lid off, her mouth almost dropped open.

Carefully pulling the soft cloth from the box, she stared at the ocean blue sleeveless A-line tulle dress that fell all the way down to her feet. It was pleated with a silver sequence. The back was shaped in a deep v.

On the other smaller box, a silver strapped stiletto matched her outfit.

Knowing that she'd probably regret doing this later on, Szeina tossed her jeans and shirt aside.

The dress fit her perfectly, and so did the shoes. Granola truly knew what she was doing.

Refusing to see the outcome in the bathroom mirror, Szeina let her hair down, running her fingers through.

Thanks to the salty beach air, her hair had gotten a little frizzy.

With a sigh, Szeina shook off the images that invaded her mind upon the brief recollection of what went down with her and Yvann at the beach.

She knew she probably looked presentable compared to her ragged attire a while ago.

Not wanting to prolong the delay, Szeina made her way to the door and didn't bother to warn Neyandro beforehand.

"Where to next?"

Neyandro stopped short, his thoughts going blank for a minute. He had to make sure his mouth wasn't hanging open.

It took a while before he could recover and cleared his throat to give Szeina a response.

"To the Veranda. That's where we're headed."

Holding out her hand, Szeina smiled at Neyandro.

"Come on then,"

Clearing his throat for the second time, Neyandro offered his arm to Szeina and together they headed for the Veranda.

It was a short walk.

Seeing the full set up outside, Szeina couldn't contain her awe.

They positioned glass candles in every corner. Beside it, an assortment of lavender flowers joined the parade.

In the middle, they set a round table. A white cloth with a strip of violet covered it. On top of it, a chocolate fountain continuously poured chocolate into a never-ending cycle. Cupcakes and other assorted foods were on display, making Szeina's mouth water and her stomach grumble.

In one corner, a bucket of ice sat and inside it, there was an unopened bottle of champagne.

"Well, Granola, would you look at that? Our little girl is not so little anymore."

With a gasp, Szeina let go of Neyandro and forgot about her awe as the person standing beside Granola grabbed her attention.

"Queedor!" she exclaimed, throwing herself towards the man who was the closest to a father figure to her and Neyandro.

Upon receiving Szeina, Queedor let out a hearty laugh.

When Szeina finally released him, the man took a good look at her.

"The last time I saw you, you didn't quite appear to be this lovely."

"The last time you were here was six months ago." The accusatory tone in Szeina's voice was inevitable.

Queedor gave her head a light pat.

"You know the nature of my work, love."

"He is married to his work, remember?" Granola interrupted, pulling Szeina to her and holding her tightly.

"You look lovely," Granola whispered.

Szeina chuckled.

"All thanks to you, Gran."

Letting her go, Granola shook her head in disagreement.

"Shush. I only prepared the outfit. The rest was up to you,"

Wrapping an arm around Granola's waist, Queedor eyed Szeina.

"No doubt you'll continue to grow beautifully. Which reminds me, who was the young man who took you home?"