Memories A Pricefield story

Chapter seven

"Happy Birthday Maxine!" 

Max peeked her eyes open to see her parents standing over her, grinning widely with pancakes and bacon arranged in a smiley face. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and said, "It's my birthday?" Vanessa chuckled and ruffled her daughters brown hair. 

"Yeah kiddo, we've been talking about it for weeks now." And by that she meant she and Ryan had been talking about it for weeks. Max had not been. But she smiled and ate her breakfast anyway. Her pancakes didn't taste like Two Whales pancakes, but they were still good anyway. 

"Mommy?" Max asked between mouthfuls of pancake. 

"Yes kiddo?"

"Is it too late to cancel my party?"
"Yes." Vanessa frowned and pressed her hand lightly on Max's forehead. "Kiddo, are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah. Was just wondering. Never mind." There was no way Max could explain that she was feeling fine. Honestly, she was excited for her birthday. It was Medieval themed, with Princesses and Princes and Knights. There was pony rides and balloon animals and even a huge bouncy castle! Yes, Max was excited for her party, but she what she wasn't excited for was the fact that her entire class was coming.

Max was practically horrified when she opened her backpack one day to see that her mother had packed invitations for the whole class, and practically had a heart attack when the next day her mother made Chloe help hand them out.

"We're just trying to help you out of your shell, Max," her parents had said. But Max didn't want to come out of her shell. The only friend she needed was Chloe, and that's all. 

After she was finished her breakfast, Max went down to the living room to watch cartoons. Her dad was at the door lacing up his boots. 

"Hi daddy."
"Hey bug." Ryan lifted up his daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Where you goin'?"

"To go get your cake." 

Max's eyes widened. "The cake that Miss Joyce made me?"
"That's the one." He set her down and finished tying his boots. "Oh, and don't forget our yearly present hunt. Bye bug, see you soon." He ruffled her hair and left. Since her second birthday, the Caulfield's had a tradition of hiding a birthday present and the person has to find it. As Max got older, the presents were supposed to become more difficult to find. 

Max had searched the entire house for what felt like hours (which it was in kindergartner time. In real time, it was likely only 20 minutes).  She was minutes away from giving up when she remembered there was a room that she hadn't even gone to yet.

The basement.

Oh Dog not the basement. Max absolutely hated to basement. You could never tell what creepy crawlies lurk. But then again, she was turning four... 

Slowly, she crept to the basement and pushed open the door. She flicked on the light switch. A dim bulb hummed from somewhere below. She made it about three steps when she heard a deep growling voice coming from the bottom of the stairs. With a yelp, Max quickly raced upstairs, slamming the door behind her. She almost knocked her father and her cake down in the process. 

Ryan chuckled and set the white box down on the table. "Woah, where's the fire?"  He turned and faced his daughter, who was about as pale as a sheet. His face turned into concern. "Maxie, are you okay?"

"Ye-yeah," she said breathlessly. "I was running real fast."

"From what?"
"Nothing. But I couldn't find my present."