6/6/17

The first thing I see when I wake is sunlight seeping through the curtains. How long have I been sleeping? I roll onto my stomache and glance at the clock on the dresser next to my bed through slitted eyes. It was 9:30 in the morning. Ugh. Can't believe I actually slept for ten whole hours. I check my phone and blanch as I realise I had 7 unread messages. I hastily flip through them and one was from Mishii.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA! It read. I was momentarily caught in a flurry of confusion, then it hit me. Today is the sixth of June, my birthday. I'm now officially sixteen. Oh crap. I totally forgot.

I hurriedly text Mishii back.

[Jesspanda]: how did u remember?

A few seconds later she replies: well duh :)

[Jesspanda]: I totally forgot holy crap I'm 16!

[Mizay]: Calm down, woman. I can't believe you're actually like a month older than me lol.

[Jesspanda]: Three months, actually.

[Mizay]: Whatever. Well? U coming?

[Jesspanda]: Where? What? Why? How? Wh-

[Mizay]: WAKE UP YOU LAZY BUTT! we r going to watch a movie, okay?

[Jesspanda]: what movie? Please don't be a Bruce Willis movie :( you guys always watch it and it's rlly annoying.

[Mizay]: he's a cool guy, okay? But don't worry; we're watching The Fault In Our Stars :) You've been wanting to watch it since the book was published for Christ sake, lady.

[Jesspanda]: YESSSS! Okay, when?

[Mizay]: Like-now!

[Jesspanda]: Uhm... u do realise my mom has the car.

[Mizay]: Get ready, I'll be by your house in ten:)

I was taken by complete surprise. Since when did Mishii actually suggest to go anywhere, let alone to the movies? I quickly change into a tee shirt and jeans, then run brush through my tangled bed hair. Downstairs I hear the grumble of an engine coming to a halt outside. I grab my handbag and leap down the stairs two at a time. I snatch a handful of food from the bench top on the way out my sister had left for me before she left to god knows where with her friends. Mishii's car (a brand new Volkswagen her dad bought her) was parked right in front of the mailbox. The driver rolls down the window and grins at the handful of food in my arms.

"You are so....." She trails off, still looking at me in amusement.

"Now whose talking! You're the one that eats like what-20 kg of food a day!" I protest.

"True that, but-" she pats her stomach sarcastically- "I don't even have to go to the gym!"

"Haha," I return the mocking smirk and climb in the passenger's seat.

Along the journey, I learned one thing for sure: Mishii is a terrible driver. How on earth did she pass the driver's test? The question remains a mystery to me. Every time there was traffic, she would steer the car in a 360 degrees turn. Then drive in the wrong direction. I haven't completed my driver's test so I wasn't allowed to drive yet. I was still nibbling on my sandwhich when suddenly she honks at a car passing by and sticks up the middle finger at the driver. Before I could react, she leans out the window and yells at the top of her lungs.

"VIP COMING THROUGH! BIRTHDAY GIRL IN THE CAR! BY THE WAY, VIP STANDS FOR VERY IMPORTANT PERSON IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW! SO LONG, SUCKERS!" I seize her arm and pulled her back in, just as the driver she was yelling at gets out of his car and starts toward us.

"Shit," Mishii mutters under her breath.

"Drive!" I hiss, hoping she gets the gist.

Without a moment's hesitation, she slams the accelerator down and we dash down the road until the infuriated guy was nowhere to be seen.

"That was close," she stated, but it made no difference because she was laughing.

"I just learned a lesson: never get in a car that Mishii is driving," I say in her trademark sarcastic voice, but soon I was laughing too.

After several minutes of tolerating Mishii's terrible driving skills, we finally arrived at Kingsway.

"Can I finish your cake?" Mishii takes the piece of cake out of my hands without waiting for an answer and I watch in amusement as she devours it in big, hungry bites. This girl really does live for food, I thought.

"C'mon, let's go! I think we're a bit early. Wanna buy some food before we go in?" She suggests.

"Fine," I reply and let her drag me down the row of shops. You really can't argue with her when it comes down to food.

I follow her as she stops outside bakers delight to examine the bread on display.

"Bread? Really-" I start, but it was too late, she had already gone inside. I had no choice but to follow her.

As soon as I step into the shop, the smell of freshly baked bread fills my nose and suddenly I was horrified by the temptation to stuff my face with food. Then, a shriek comes from the back of the shop. The cashier looks up, looking annoyed. Shooting an apologetic glance in her direction, I head toward the source of the sound, knowing what I was about to find. Nikki and Suki appeared, Mishii following in their stead.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS!" They scream and squeeze me so tight I swear my eyes were going to pop out.

"Thanks guys, you really are the best," I say and hug them again.

"How did you get here? Car?" I ask. Not that I was interested, but more to keep a light conversation going.

"I took the bus. My sis stole the car so....." Nikitha sighs. "Big sisters can be really annoying sometimes."

"What about you?" I ask Suki.

"Er...uh.I...." She stutters.

"It's Tom again, isn't it? You two are seriously really cute together!" I say, teasing.

Suki flushes a bright red. "No! I mean, no. I drove here with my dad's car. I saw him and Reynold outside pancake parlour when we came though."

"Ha! I so knew you liked him!" Nikki whispers with full-on sarcasm.

"So, who else is coming? I ask Mishii, (as I suspect she was the one that organised the party) but she merely shrugs and says mischievously, "you'll soon find find out," and wiggles her eyebrows.

"Is Ning coming?" I ask, but she shrugs again.

"I saw her with Joe just outside pancake parlour before," Nikki offers.

"Wait-joe? The guys are coming too?"

"Yep. And Philbert!" Suki chirps in and I punch her in the arm.

"I'll bet you ten bucks he'll come in a pink tutu to impress you," Nikki said with a laugh.

"Oh shut up you idiot, what about you and Prithvick?" I said.

"C'mon people, let's go in and wait for the other people," Mishii suggested.

We head toward the theatre, ignoring the stern looks being cast in our direction by the cashier. Mishii just smiles and waves. So chill.

Soon enough, we were here.
Nikki creeps over to the door, spy-kid style and kicks the door open. "Hi-ya!" We all start laughing.

The theatre was empty, and we were the only ones there. According to Mishii, the movie starts in fifteen minutes so we still had time to have some fun.

"Truth or dare, Nikki?" Suki asks.

"Uhh....... DARE!"

"Okaaaay... Hm. Let me think...." She trailed off, lost in thought.

Mishii picks up a box of popcorn and starts eating.

I grab my coke and watch the game of truth or dare.

"I know! Nikitha, I dare you to sing 'this is my track pants' really loudly until the rest of the people come in," Suki said.

"No way!" Nikki stares at Suki in mock disbelief.

"Yes way! You chose dare, so do it."

"THIS IS MY TRAAAAAAAAAAACK PAAAAAAAAAAAANTS" Nikki starts singing.

A few agonising minutes passed, listening to her sing. Finally the theatre door opened and in came Joe and Ning. Percy comes in a few seconds later behind them. Joe grimaces and Ning just looked amused. "Nice singing," Joe calls out. "

What happened to the track pants you were supposed to put on your head?"

"Shut up, you poo face," Nikki answers with no malice at all.

I was doubled over on the ground laughing, and Mishii was rolling around laughing uncontrollably, popcorn all over the floor. Suki was the only one that held her ground. After we recovered from all the laughing, Ning takes a seat next to me woth Joe at her side.

"Hey, nice to see you two together finally."

Ning slaps me but she is smiling, too. "Hey, what about you and Phil?"

"No. He doesn't like me anyway, so what's the point?"

But all she says is "well, you two had better start DTRing, like them-" she gestures toward Suki and Tom, both laughing at something he said.

"What's DTR?" I ask.

"You idiot, it means 'define the relationship' which you really need to start thinking about."

"Whatever" I mutter, too quiet for anyone else but me to hear.

"Figures," Nikki mutters in my ear. "I knew they would come together. I wonder what they were doing before they came?! Did you see them holding hands?!" I have to admit they were a really cute couple, so I didn't protest.

Ning gave me a card and Joe hands a bag over to me.

"Thanks, you people are amazing!" I say, no sarcasm in that at all.

Suki turns to Tom. "Where's your present?" She demands.

"Ifworgooort" he mumbles with a mouth full of food.

"You-what?"

"I said it forgot"

"You idiot! You knew it was Jessica's birthday! You couldn't be stuffed buying her anything, more like." She pouts.

"Dude, it's ok I'm not here for presents he can pay for it later," I say to Suki.

"Ugh fine, but mind you, I'm no good with presents espicially when it comes down to girls," Tom says.

"Well, I only gave you something because Ning technically forced me to give you a present, mind you." Joe intervenes in his extremely annoying sarcastic voice.

"Ugh. Shut up, you idiot." I say, but I could feel a smile creeping over my face.

How could Ning stand it being with him and all? Another question that is yet to be solved.