The Party

Kiara had informed me beforehand that she was organizing the gathering at her house as her parents were out of town. Since I didn't have that many classmates to call, she insisted on bringing her mates. I went along with her plans simply not to disappoint her of course. I stood outside her house, unsure of how the night would turn out to be. Nervously knocking on the door, I was shortly greeted by a bedazzling Kiara in a black corsage dress with her red dye hair tied into a neat knot behind. I gaped at the mesmerizing woman before me as she started posing for my amusement.

" Quite impressive! And here I thought it was my birthday"

" Oh come here you little shit, You look fucking drop-dead gorgeous!! You can't deny that I have a bloody good taste"

Hugging her, I said " Well, I really like this. I feel cute" as I batted my googly eyes at her.

" Although I have to stay, I wasn't exactly sure when you said you'd pick for me" Ki stuck her tongue out mockingly and then pulled me in.

*****

This was the second time I've been inside her house. A two-story building with a spiral staircase connecting them, it was a proper middle-class house. Since both her parents worked, they had a good stable income which later helped her to attend the fashion school she dreamed of. I quickly realized how perfect her house was for a party setting as it was big enough to occupy sufficient people to hang out as long as they wanted. I was precisely an hour early to the actual event as Ki said she had arranged something exclusively for me. She guided me upstairs, my eyes blinded shut by her steady fingers.

Colliding with everything on my way, we giggled and tripped a few times. Upon entering the first room that we came across, she instructed to open my eyes as slowly as I could. Following correctly, my eyes were met with a room filled with yellow and green balloons along with confetti and a dedicated banner hung on the wall, filled with the collages of our pictures together. Astounded, my attention fell on the mattress to the left, with a big cardboard box in-between which was also covered with the loose confetti. Kiara urged me to open it. Still taken aback, I walked over and sat next to it. The tag on top of the box read;

" To 1000 years moreeee!!!"

Chuckling, I opened the box and to my delight, it was a chocolate fudge cake with a small colorful candle in between. I side-eyed Kiara who was standing at the doorway, grinning like an idiot. The sense of contempt that I felt knew no bounds. No one besides my mother had put so much effort to make me happy. Cupping my heart, I spoke;

"This is so beautiful…I really…don't have words…it's just so PERFECT!!" She ran over to me and pinched my nose naughtily.

"I baked it...just for you. Now don't start thanking me. It is my honor to present you with this exceptional gift that I bet no one can come close to" I laughed heartily. She rested her chin over my shoulder and said;

" You are gonna have a wonderful time you know…Just be you"

She quickly rose to her feet and took the lighter which was on a drawer close by. Lighting the candle, she handed me the knife to proceed. It's been a long time since I truly felt a sense of belonging. Kiara, being the weirdo she is, stood up once again and asked me to wait. As I watched on, she picked up her acoustic guitar and sat at the other end of the bed.

" Really?!" I asked excitedly. She shushed me and started the good old birthday song. But the emotion varied as she sang it with such compassion and love. Her baby red hairs rhythmically swayed along with the music. As the song played, the flame was blown away with a wish on my lips and the knife in my hand penetrated through the soft spongy cake all the way down. My first bite was magical. The flavors exploding, I couldn't help but moan with ecstasy. I went on to take multiple bites, trying hard to not make a mess on the bedsheet underneath. The song finally came to a halt and she guffawed at the way I was eating. She was beaming, looking content with the results of her tiresome weekend.

"I can't remember if anyone baked me a cake other than my mum" I paused to chew the rest of the cake and continued with a stuffed mouth; " This is just so good. You just became extra special you know that" I winked sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. " Hey...thank you and I fucking love you", I said sending a flying kiss.

Kiara puffed and dramatically caught my kiss mid-air. " I'll take that, thank you very much. And also We ARE NOT CLOSE TO BEING DONE YET!!!"

As we sat bickering to and fro, the buzzer at the door rang loudly, echoing through the empty hallway. Our conversation ended abruptly as Kiara stood up and adjusted her dress. Turning to me, she said; " Your party is officially ON!!" I fidgeted with my fingers as this would be the first over-the-top celebration I've had in a long time. Kiara showed me the way to the kitchen sink as she left to attend to the door.