ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀɴᴅ|ᴊ.ꜰ

🀣𝟢𝟢𝟫🀣

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɴɪɴᴇ
↳ʟᴇᴛ'ꜱ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴀᴍᴇɴᴅꜱ.

Susannah pulled out a celebratory yellow cake from the fridge when we'd all gotten home. She said I'd deserved it along with the first place metal that hung around my neck. She turned on the oldies really loud and popped open a bottle of champaign for her and Laurel. "Looks like your good luck charm really does work," I smiled. Theo took his seat next to me at the island. "It was blessed by Buddhist Monks about a decade or two ago when my grandpa went, as he says, 'soul searching', and he gave it to me during my first ever football game."
"Did you win?" I asked. "I took us to state before school ended." Susannah and Laurel came over and sat wrapped gifts in front of me. "Since we didn't celebrate while your mom was here, which is understandable, we wanted to celebrate now."
Susannah had this big bright smile that made my heart warm. "You guys really didn't have to get me anything," I said. Susannah pushed her gift towards me. "I know, but we wanted to. We do it every year, even when you skipped out on Cousins."
And I'd probably be skipping out on Cousins next year. But I'd taken the gift anyway. "Each year on your birthdays, you and Belly get a new charm for your bracelets. This year, we decided to not get you matching charms. You're getting older, and you're becoming different, beautiful people."
Inside was a small, white box. I knew it was expensive because it was from one of the shops here in Cousins.

It was a Phoenix. Its eyes were filled with little clusters of diamonds. I felt like I was gonna cry. "How much was this? I can't take this, Susannah." She shook her head. "You can and you will. Don't worry about how much it was, it doesn't matter."
This is the kind of purchase Laurel would scold Susannah for. Phoenix's represent transformation and rebirth, but to me, this meant I'd always have her close. Susannah wasn't one to play into metaphysics but she always told me she'd come back as a Phoenix if she ever passed.
"Maholo," I wrapped her up in a big hug, even if the counter was putting distance between the two of us. Laurel broke us apart though, clearly excited for me to open her gift. "Okay, mine next!" And I'd tear through the wrapping paper.
When Belly and I were little, we'd always see each other on holidays. Dad would take me all the way to the Conklin's house just so Belly and I could give each other gifts or eat turkey together on Thanksgiving. We'd stopped going when dad got sick and couldn't really stand the super long drive every year.
Laurels gift was sentimental, something from my childhood that I thought I'd never see again. She used to have these little elephant statues around the house when we were younger. Well, until Steven and I had a pillow fight and he accidentally broke one. She'd put them away and we never saw them again, not until now. I wish he were here to see it.
"Do you remember when you freaked at the zoo that one day?" Conrad laughed. "I didn't think it would sniff me!"

Theo's brows furrowed. "You never told me that story," he said. "And you'll never hear it because it's super embarrassing." I'd get my gift from Belly, which was a butterfly necklace. It was split into two hands: One for Belly, one for me. Then Conrads gift, which was another patch on snuffles, because he'd apparently ripped him again when I wasn't at home.
Conrad used to sneak snuffles whenever I wasn't around or I'd accidentally leave it here. He'd take it home with him and would have Susannah patch snuffles up before their night back home. Mateo's bracelet was his gift, and I wasn't complaining, either. It was a really great gift.
And everyone kind of fell silent when It was Jeremiah's turn. I didn't expect a gift since we'd been blatantly ignoring each other lately. "Where's your gift for Nani, Jeremiah?" Susannah asked. He glanced up at her, looked over to me and his eyes would linger before they fell back down to his hands.
"I forgot... Sorry, Zara." Zara. Jeremiah never calls me by my first name. "It's okay, I wasn't really expecting one, anyway." I'd given him just the ghost of a smile, trying to reassure him, but he'd just gotten up and left.