home *ੈ✩‧₊˚| wjh

2.5

     [Surprise!]

      I woke up on my couch, Jun was gone. 5:30. "Ah! I'm gonna be late!" I said while jumping off the couch. I quickly did my makeup and skipped breakfast. They'd be giving free food anyway.

     I stood at the front of the building, looking through the windows. Nobody was there. Huh? I pulled on the door, it was unlocked. Am I dreaming again? It's been strange ever since last night. I walked inside, scanning the area warily. "Hello?" I blurted out. No response. I'm getting a bad feeling about this. I slowly opened the door into the office as the lights flickered on. "Happy Birthday, Xiaohua!" Birthday. Right, it was my birthday. The day I despise the most. The memory flooded my mind, making me forget everything.

——

     I woke up in the morning, a beautiful, blue-skied day. "Hua! Happy Birthday!" My mom smiled while handing me my gift. "I'm sorry baba can't be here right now. But we can celebrate later with him when he gets off work." I jumped up and down ecstatically and ripped the pink-polka dot wrapping paper off of the box. "A doll! Ma!!!" I ran up and hugged her. "Okay, okay. Get ready for school now, alright?" She blew me a kiss as I walked out the door, and as usual, I caught it and placed it on my heart.

     I walked into the classroom with a big toothy smile on my face, the little gap between my two front teeth were finally exposed to the world. "Joke?," That was the name they called me back then, "What is wrong with your face?" A girl said while making a disgusted face. "Haha! Now I understand why you never smile! You better hide that!" Another kid went on. I ignored their rude comments as I proudly walked to my desk. "You can't bother me today. It's my birthday." I said with the smile stuck on my face. The teacher walked in and began teaching. I thought those kids wouldn't bother me for the rest of the day. I mean, imagine doing that to a poor child, especially on their birthday?!

     I hung on the monkey bars as a few kids walked up to me. "We can't bother you, huh?" A little kid said while glaring at me from the bottom of the monkey bars. "Nope," I smiled brightly, "I will ignore everything you say." Suddenly, a kid began tugging on my legs, causing me to slip. "Hey, stop it!" I yelled while attempting to hold onto the bars. But before I knew it, my smiley face hit the hard, rough, concrete, adding a few bruises to my knees and arms. My eyes filled with tears. "Haha! do you think we care about your birthday? You're a joke, Li Xiaohua! LI XIAOHUA IS A JOKE!" The kids started throwing water and dirt on me as I helplessly cried. Other kids gathered around and laughed. I'm never having a birthday ever again. I told myself.

——

     I was brought back to reality when I heard my name being called. "Xiaohua?" Minghao said while shaking me. I shook my head. "Hm?" I said while looking at him. "Are you okay?" He looked concerned. I scanned the room, looking at everyone. Completely ignoring Minghao's question. Liang Wei was sitting in a corner. I gasped. "LIANG WEI!!!" I yelled while running toward her. "XIAOHUA!!" she yelled as well. I hugged her tightly, tight enough that she could have suffocated. "Xiaohua- You're suffo-cating me-" I loosened my grip, and looked at her with a suspicious stare. "You said you were coming next week." I told her. Darn, I was really looking forward to meeting her at the airport.

     I sat on the big couch, right in the middle for everyone to see. "Make a wish." Dokyeom said while placing the cake on the table. A wish. I wish to forget everything. That way, I can finally have a normal birthday. I blew out the 5 candles on the cake that represented twenty-three. That marks 16 years of no birthdays. How lovely.

     "Happy birthday, Xiaohua!" Everybody said in unison as I blew out the candles. Everyone happily dug into the cake. Except me. I sat at the corner of the couch and scrolled through my phone. Birthdays bring back bad memories. Ahh, so much for free food.