My door burst open and I woke up scared to the bone.
"Who's in there?" I screamed. "I've got a pillow and I know how to use it!"
My dad appeared from the doorway and jumped onto my bed, holding a tiny cupcake with fourteen candles barely clinging onto it.
"Happy birthday, Amaryllis!" he said proudly, dropping onto the bed.
"Hey! Get down!" I snapped.
"Poor Amaryllis. It's your goddamn birthday and you're all grumpy."
I smiled despite myself.
"Thanks, Dad," I said softly.
"We'll have ourselves a little party this evening, okay? Right now you have to get ready for school."
"Sure. Now leave, I'm about to change."
"For your information, Amary, I used to see a lot of things when you were younger—"
"Out!" I interrupted.
"Please."
"Aw, come on!"
He bowed his head dramatically and left the room, leaving the over-candled cupcake on my table.
An hour later I was ready for school.
I rushed downstairs and kissed my dad on the cheek while he watched his favorite early morning TV show.
I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
"What about breakfast, honey?" he shouted after me.
"Look! I've got this damaged cupcake." I held it high, proud of myself for removing all the candles without completely destroying it.
"Sure. Have a nice day! And make sure to bring that boy over. What's his name again? Oh, Sanch—"
I shut the door before he could finish and sat on my bike.
------
Sanchi was waiting for me at our usual table during lunch break. His eyes lit up once he saw me, and he waved eagerly.
I was about to sit right beside him when I saw a large box covering the seat.
"Oh!" Sanchi exclaimed shyly and placed the box on the table.
I sniffed the air. Something smelled good.
"Happy birthday," he chortled, a huge grin on his face.
"I'm sorry we couldn't talk yesterday. I'd finally gotten through to my parents and we worked into the night to make this."
"It's chill. At least you got some bonding time with the fam."
"Yeah… it was fun, I guess." He turned his attention to the box and revealed its contents.
My eyes widened.
I was looking at a cake big enough for a small party. It was marvelous, with blue stripes and curls around its edges, and little blue birds huddled up to spell:
"Happy Birthday A."
"Well, I've always been forgetting your birthday, so I wanted to get you something good. Last year was that corny card, so I knew I had to give it my all this year. Even though it was hard deciding what you would want… so I got you this."
"Food!" I shrieked. "I love it! Thanks, Sanchi!"
"The one my dad got one year sucked anyway," I laughed and kissed him on the cheek.
His face turned beet-red.
"I hope you like it," he mumbled.
He brought out a plate, fork, and a knife from his backpack and cut me a slice.
"Hmm… let's see," I said, examining the cake like some big-shot food critic, even though in reality my tongue was crying for a taste.
I placed a slice into my mouth.
Then I saw stars.
I felt like I was in a whole different world as I chewed.
I gobbled the rest.
Sanchi took a few bites too, and we shared the rest among the other students in the dining area who had been secretly admiring the cake from other tables.
------
After lunch, Sanchi and I decided to skip the next class.
I grabbed his arm and dragged him into the music room. I closed the door behind us.
I sat on the piano seat and pressed a key.
"My ears!" Sanchi wailed playfully.
"It was just one note," I murmured.
Sanchi laughed.
"Sanchi," I said, looking directly at him. "Thanks for the cake and everything."
"Uhm, sure. I'd do anything to make you happy."
"I see," I smiled mischievously. "Would you go bald to make me happy?"
"Sure."
"Would you get me cheese all the way from Italy to make me happy?"
"Consider it done."
"Would you go a week without a shower to make me happy?"
"Why not?"
I decided to push his buttons.
"Would you kiss me to make me happy?"
He stayed silent and glared at me in confusion.
"Ha! Got you there—"
He came closer and held my chin, pulling my lips closer. Then our lips touched. I held my breath as we shared that kiss. Then he pulled away, obviously embarrassed.
Both of us were left speechless, and I diverted my eyes from his gaze slightly.
"Anany, I'm s—"
"My dad said we're going to celebrate my birthday tonight. Do you mind, you know, coming over?"
He smiled. "Sure. Just send me the address."
Now it was time to flip out. First, I just kissed Sanchi (well, it was more like he kissed me, but…). And finally, Sanchi had just agreed to come over. Shy guy, after school shut-in, handsome Sanchi Teru was coming to my house tonight!
I did a little dance in my heart.
"Six, don't be late." I got up and left the music room. "See you then."
"Uhm… Amary?"
"Yeah?"
"Oh—it's fine. See you at six."
I walked out of the music room and headed back to my class, trying my very best to hide my blushing.
When the last bell rang, I quickly got on my bike and pedaled like crazy to my house. I screeched to a halt at our garage, dropped my bike, and burst into the living room.
Dad was asleep at the dining table, a gift wrapped on the table along with scattered papers—probably work from the TV station he worked for. His hand was over the wrapped gift, so I assumed he'd fallen asleep right after wrapping it.
I patted his head and proceeded to clean up the house. Dad had messed up the living room with half-drunk wine bottles and leftover pizza, gum wraps and years' worth of old newspapers, but with a little showcase of my vacuum-cleaning skills, it was all spick and span. Soon the place was ready for Sanchi.
The little party we were going to have had woken up later and looked around the house.
"Hey, who messed with my mess?" he cried.
"I thought you said we were going to have a small party. We can't have this place looking like a pig farm."
"You wouldn't have cared if it was just the two of us."
"Yeah, maybe," he gasped. "Is Sanchi going to make it?"
I shifted my gaze from his smile. I quickly sent Sanchi our location, and he sent a thumbs-up as a reply.
After we had all the preparations set up, I forced my dad into the shower and sat on the living room couch. I checked my phone. It was thirty-one minutes after four—less than two hours left for Sanchi to show up.
I reached for the wrapped gift on the dining table and placed it on my lap. It had a blue ribbon attached to it, with a badly written "Amaryllis" etched on the piece of paper that came with the bad handwriting.
How the hell was this guy a journalist with his bad handwriting?
I tore it open, and the new-book smell engulfed my nostrils as I held up two new books by my favorite author, Jack Cream: The Legend of Rai: The Concept of Untapped Energy" and "Guide to Beast-Slaying."
I squealed.
Wait! There was another book gently tucked at the bottom. I brought it out excitedly.
How to Rizz a Guy — For Dummies.
"Dad!" I screamed.
I heard laughter from the bathroom.
I opened one of the books (not the rizz one) and began to skip through it. I constantly checked my phone for notifications from Sanchi.
None.
I opened the first book, The Legend of Rai, and started reading it for real. My dad soon came downstairs, all dressed up, and turned on the TV.
I took my mind off my phone and the book for a while to watch the show. It was boring, and the kissing scenes overlapped the actual story. It got a few thoughts of you-know-who in my head, but I continued watching nevertheless.
I glanced at my phone again after it ended.
Six minutes past six.
Six. Sanchi was late. Well… six minutes late, but still.
I dialed his number.
Beep.
He didn't answer.
Don't tell me he called it quits, I thought.
I called his number again.
Then he answered. Finally.
"Sanchi, where the—"
"Help! Amary, help me please!" he cried.
"Bro, I know you lack fashion sense. Just wear whatever and hurry."
"Amary! Send help, please—but don't come h—"
I heard something thump on the floor, and a weird voice took over the line.
"…Descendant of the King, you must die."
I heard Sanchi scream.
Beep.
I dropped my phone.
I jumped off the couch and bolted to the door.
"Anything wrong, sweetie?" Dad said, looking genuinely concerned.
"I'm going over to Sanchi's. Bye, Dad."
I banged the door open and jumped on my bike.
Something wasn't right. I had to get to Sanchi as soon as I could. I pedaled like my life depended on it.
Where could I find out his address?
I thought hard.
A bulb lit up in my head.
I turned down the street to the next left. My destination: the TenuTenu Restaurant.
I stopped at the small, run-down place and sprinted inside.
A bewildered waitress stared at me.
"Miss, we're about to—"
"Please, I want to see the owners, please," I said in desperation.
"The owners? You haven't heard, my dear? Well… they were found dead this afternoon. We were just about to shut down."
I felt lightheaded.
I was about to topple over when the waitress caught me and led me to a seat.
"Miss? Miss, are you okay? Did—did you know the Terus personally? Oh God, I'm so sorry."
"Where do they live?" I suddenly cried.
She hesitated.
"Where?" I yelled.
"Just go down the road and take the next two rights. It's a brick-red house."
I gave a rapid thanks and sped out toward my bike.
My muscles felt like they were on fire as I pedaled to Sanchi's house, sweat enveloping my face.
The house was easy to find. The red-brick house stood out like a sore thumb. The interior lights were on, and I threw my bike onto the sidewalk and knocked on the door.
No response.
I took a deep breath.
"Amary, calm down," I told myself. "He's going to be fine. Sanchi's fine."
I held the doorknob, praying it wasn't locked, and turned it.