Surprise!

Winston woke up with a call. He was so sleepy, he didn't even try to check the name of the caller. "Where in earth are you? Why are you ignoring my massages?" It was Mia. She told him off and disconnected the call.

Winston rolled around and checked the clock on the wall. It was only 2pm. For someone who did most of his work at night and stayed up until a few hours after sunrise, it wasn't that late. Checking his phone, he was shocked. He had over 30 massages, all from Mia.

"hey.

Good morning.

Any plans for today?

I wanna see you

Hey

Hey

Hey

Don't ignore me

Hey

Bastard

Where are you

I'll kill you

Hey

Hey

...

...

..."

Winston sighed. He needed a bit more time to sleep but he knew he can't ignore her. He called her and although he thought it'd be impossible, she picked up the phone before the first beep. "Where the hell were you? Are you ignoring me now?"

"I just woke up. You know i work at night. So what's up?" He said.

"That's not a good excuse. Deli, around 8, you pay. See you. And don't forget to wear something nice." She said and without letting him say anything, she hung up.

Winston was somewhat annoyed. He was the adult. Although as one, he had to be more patient, he should also have more authority. "A real adult woman will eat me up whole at this rate." He said to himself, laughing.

He got up, had something to eat and got back to his room. Father was not home and he had a few hours before 8. So he used these hours to work on his latest project for a bit.

He wore the best clothes he had. He only had casual clothing, but he tried his best. He wore a black Jean and a white, cleat T-shirt. Nothing fancy but it was all he had.

Mia was standing right in front of the deli, her back leaning on the wall. As soon as she saw him approaching, she jumped up happily and rushed to him. "You're here." She said and stepped back. "How do I look. Isn't it cute?"

Winston looked at her. He only ever saw her in those baggy clothes on top of the building, and her school uniform. This time she was wearing a summer dress, as blue as the river. "It is. Especial occasion?"

She laughed. Taking his hand, she pulled her inside. "Surprise. It's my birthday." She yelled happily.

Winston looked around. The corner they always sat was decorated a bit, a cake was already on the table and the usual blond, bored waitress was sitting there, wearing casual clothes and a birthday hat. "It's very nice. But isn't the surprise supposed to be the other way around?" He said while laughing.

"Well you didn't know about it, but I wanted to celebrate with you. So I thought I'd surprise you." She said grinning.

"But i didn't bring any gifts."

Her grin turned devilish. It suited her happy face pretty well. "Don't worry about that. This little party is your present. Cause you're gonna pay for it. I've used up all my pocket money long ago." She said.

Winston was shocked at how shameless she was acting. At the same time he was happy she was so comfortable around him. "Tell me beforehand next time. What if I didn't bring enough money?"

They had reached the table. In his response, the waitress said with a grin as devilish as Mia's. "Don't worry about that. For that case, we have a huge sink full of dirty dishes for washing."

Winston sat down beside her, both facing the birthday girl. He looked at Mia who was laughing nonstop at the girl's joke. "Care to introduce?"

Mia tried to hold it back, but she couldn't stop laughing. This went on for a whole minute. "Oh, sorry. This is Kate. She helped me with the decorations and we're friends now. Kate, this is Winston. My..." She paused thinking. "... Partner." She continued with a grin.

Kate raised an eyebrow looking at me. "Mia's underaged, you know. You didn't seem like that kind of guy to me."

Winston looked at the grin on Mia's face and sighed. "She might not look like it but she's a senior. Also, we are not that kind of partner."

Kate seemed a bit shocked. Winston completely understood her feeling. Due to the especial circumstances back then, he didn't think much about it, but Mia didn't seem older than 14. He turned his eyes towards Mia and smiled. She seemed kind of sad. "You didn't have to deny it like that, did you!" She said loud enough for him to hear.

The little party went on smoothly. Mia seemed to like Kate and Winston was happy she could find a friend.

"Keep her company as long as you can. She seemed kind of nervous about something today." Kate whispered to him before leaving. She left pretty fast after that, stating she has a date which she was already late for.

Mia watched her leaving. Then she said. "She acted too much like an adult so I was afraid to mention it. But hey, I'm 18 now. Would you buy me a drink?"

"Happily." Winston said with a big smile on his face. He only now had realised she was 18 now.

They ordered some beer as it was one of the few drinks they served there and a minute later, they were on their table.

Mia took a big sip and slammed the glass on the table, a portion of the drink splashing out. "How do you guys eat this. This tastes like shit."

Winston raised an eyebrow and asked wondering. "Was this your first sip? Your father never gave you any?"

Hearing that name, she drank gulped down half the glass in one go, slamming it again. "Nope. He hates alcohol. It's devil he says. Makes people do what Satan orders and stuff. I once heard from my aunt that their father was a huge alcohol maniac, not staying sober for over five minutes."

Winston remembered his own father and gulped down the whole glass. "Shall we head out? Go for a walk maybe?"

Mia nodded, drinking the little bit of the beer left in her glass. She headed out and waited for Winston to pay and follow her. In silence and without any per-planned destination, they walked down the road, each deep in their own thoughts. Winston saw Mia stopping and looked up. They were in front of THAT building.

Mia turned around looking at him. "Can you believe it, a week has past. We've got three to go now. Do you feel any different?"

Winston looked up and remembered that day. Nothing had changed since then. He still had a miserable relationship with his father, although a bit less he still felt guilty for his mother's death and he still didn't believe he deserved a good life. But something was pretty obvious. He haven't had fun like this for the past three years. "A bit has changed. Didn't believe it'd happen so fast but it did..." He said, deep in thought. "But not enough yet. I'm still pretty much miserable. You?"

Mia looked upon the building and smiled. "Well, my situation is still the same. It's not something you could help me with. But you know, I've had more fun this past week, than my whole life. So..... Thank you Win." Then she turned around and walked slowly towards the river. "Let's hang out some more. Maybe we can help each other out." She added without turning her head.

Winston felt something in her voice that was never there. A cold distance which he had never felt in her words. Until now, he'd always felt like she was forcing herself. Forcibly making herself sound intimate and happy. He opened his mouth to ask, but he couldn't. He didn't dare to know about her situation. He was scared he wouldn't be able to help her and knowing the situation, would make him feel worse. He sank in self-loath and followed her. He was a coward indeed. Not brave enough to jump, not brave enough to visit her mother and not even brave enough to ask a simple question.

"You know, anytime you need it, you can depend on me. I'll try my best helping you with whatever." He said while lighting a smoke.

She stopped and turned around. They were at the shore already. "What was that all of a sudden?" She said and sat there, now facing the river.

"I'm being serious though." He said with an honest smile.

A rock flew out of her hand towards the river. She didn't look him in the eye and mumbled. "Well... There's this... There's something.... I don't know if I should ask.... Do you really mean it?" She said, looking him in the eyes, seeming uncertain.

He looked back at her and nodded his head confidently.

"Then... Can I have another of those. You gave me once before, so it doesn't matter anyway." Mia pointed at his cigarette with a grin.

Winston sighed and hit her in the head lightly. "Stop goofing around. I'm too old for tolerating these things." He said with the same grin. He wasn't good with jokes. He knew it pretty well. But Mia's confused look, hurt him deep.

He looked towards the river and threw a rock. He had three more weeks. That would probably be enough.