Valeriana

Commercial Break: Surprise!

Commercial breaks are little stories/oneshots that are canon to the storyline but aren't a part of this book's plot.

This takes place on Joel birthday in the previous year (his 22nd birthday) and is from his perspective (first person).

.•°*°•.

I sighed as I walked into the house, dropping my bag onto the floor and taking off my shoes. I had a rough day and just wanted to sleep.

A new teenager had come into the wellness centre with an awful attitude and a terrible sense of self-control. She probably grew up in a bad household, so I couldn't really blame her rough personality. I was the same at her age. However, there were several occasions where I had to remove her from the room of other kids because of her lack of self-control, and all the other times, I was removed from my workstation to watch and ensure she didn't hurt anyone else.

I didn't get any school work done during the day, so I'd fallen behind my class again. My professor keeps telling me to put in effort and I'll pass, but I know that just effort isn't enough. I need to get the work done, and done on time, or I'll fail the class.

The house was dark, so I had assumed Liz and Grian had gone to bed until all of the lights suddenly turned on and my family and friends all jumped out at me, shouting, "Happy birthday!"

I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. Between having such an awful day and knowing my friends and family were thinking of me all day, I wanted to cry. And I did.

"Oh, honey," Lizzie said, coming over to hug me. I felt bad since my scrubs were all sweaty (the facility's air conditioning was still under construction from the spring). "Come on, don't cry." She pulled away just enough to smile up at me, brushing my hair out of my face.

"I can't help it," I said, hiccuping. I looked up at everyone else. "You guys really did this for me?"

"No," Scott deadpanned, "we're throwing a party for Scar's goldfish." He cracked a smile. "Of course this is for you!"

I wiped at my eyes and went around, giving everyone there a hug. "Thank you, guys," I said. "I really needed this today." I looked around for a moment, wondering where Grian was.

"Dad!"

I turned to see my son holding a tote bag that was half the size of him. "Pff- Grian?"

"Happy birthday!" he said with a laugh, waddling over with the bag. I couldn't help but try to catch a glimpse inside, and I saw what looked like a clothing tag. Grian huffed as he set the bag down in front of me, then he rushed around it to give me a hug. "I love you, Dad."

I smiled and kissed the top of his head. "I love you, too, buddy," I said, then once Grian let go, I took a better look inside the bag. "Oh my god."

Lizzie laughed. "Happy birthday, my love," she said, and I stole a half-hearted glare at her.

Inside the bag was a Shrek costume.

"You guys are the worst," I teased with a laugh, pulling the costume out of the bag. It was surprisingly heavy.

"Put it on!" Grian said, clapping. "Put it on!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, stepping into the costume. Lizzie zipped up the back as I put on the head of the costume and I laughed as I heard a camera click.

We had cake after everyone took pictures of me in the ridiculous costume, and I opened more presents. I got a new watch, some socks, notebooks and a few other things for school, and some cooking supplies.

"Thank you guys for doing this," I said as Lizzie leaned into my side, and I wrapped an arm around her. I always loved when she got cuddly. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course," Jimmy said. "You've been working so hard, you deserve something nice."

Lizzie nodded. "Agreed."

I sighed contently. "You guys are the best."