That Was Then

17-Then

My birthday is in the end of May and almost always falls during the last week of school. In third grade it was on the very last day of school and I was especially excited because we were having an end of the year party with the other third grade class. So Kya and I would get to be together. My mom ordered cupcakes from my favorite shop. Half of them were chocolate with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting. My favorite. At first Mama had ordered all chocolate but since Kya doesn't particularly like chocolate I had her order strawberry cupcakes with white chocolate frosting too. Kya's favorite.

"You know, not a lot of people like strawberry cupcakes? I know they're Kya's favorite but it's your day Blakely, not hers!" Mama said before changing the order. But I was insistent.

On my birthday my teacher, Mrs. Stone, kept teasing that the day's festivities were all for my birthday and not the last day of school. I was a bit of a teacher's pet and I knew she was just trying to make me feel special. It worked. I basked in the spotlight and beamed when all of the kids sang me happy birthday. Then, sure enough, when it came time to pass out the cupcakes the chocolate ones were disappearing fast. I was worried that I wouldn't get one but at the end there was just one chocolate one left and only Kya and myself who hadn't gotten a cupcake because we had been passing them out. I told her to get her cupcake before I grabbed mine because I was going to put the leftovers behind Mrs. Stone's desk.

"Hmmm," Kya deliberated over the cupcakes for a minute and I thought she was just joking because of course she would pick the strawberry one. I had gotten them especially for her. "I'm kind of feeling like chocolate today," she smiled up at me, I was already a head taller than her, and grabbed the last chocolate cupcake. "You don't mind, do you?" She asked, almost challenging me to say something. My face fell, of course I minded, but I didn't say so.

I walked sadly back to Mrs. Stone's desk with a half dozen strawberry cupcakes. I was one of those people that did not like strawberry cupcakes.

"What kind are those ones?" Mrs. Stone asked. I had already told the whole class, she was the first who had eagerly grabbed for a chocolate one.

"Strawberry with white chocolate frosting," my voice barely above a whisper because I was trying really hard not to cry.

"Ohhh! I thought they were cherry!" Mrs. Stone exclaimed, even though I was pretty sure she didn't think that at all. "I love strawberry. I know I already touched this one, but do you think I could trade?" We had a strict treat rule in third grade, you take the first one you touch. But I nodded anyway and she put back the chocolate cupcake and took a strawberry one instead.

"Where'd that come from?" Kya asked when I sat back down next to her with my chocolate cupcake. I told her Mrs. Stone had decided she wanted strawberry instead. Kya sneered and said "well, that worked out well for you then," like she was actually upset that I got the kind of cupcake that I wanted on my birthday. She only ate a couple of bites of hers and then threw it away. For the rest of the day she begged me to let her have a strawberry one after school. And, of course, I gave her two because she was my best friend.