I turn 24 on Sunday. I've not been very excited about the prospect of having lived for 24 years and not really accomplished anything in life.
I was torn about when to head to ND for Christmas, because I felt like I should celebrate my birthday here before heading back. But I wasn't sure who would be around, what we would do, etc. And I most certainly didn't want to plan my own birthday party.
On Monday, I ran into my friend Anna, and she asked me what I was doing. I'd recently become very noncommittal about a birthday party because of being drained at the idea of being 24. I was trying to explain it to her, but she didn't get it, and offered to plan a birthday party for me. I agreed that if she wanted to plan something, I would participate.
Not two hours later, Kenny texted me, asking me what my plans were for Wednesday evening. I didn't have any, so he suggested I come over to cook hamburger helper for him. If that seems weird to you, let me explain: Kenny can't cook. He once failed at cooking frozen pizza by leaving the cardboard under the pizza while it was in the oven. I've cooked hamburger helper for us before, so it wasn't that strange of a request. But I knew immediately that there was a party being planned for me.
I was determined not to tell them that I knew, but I really wanted someone to know that I knew so that when I told them that I knew they would believe me. I told people at work, along with others about my suspicions. One co-worker laughed and wondered what would happen if I went there expecting a surprise when really it was just dinner.
When Dennis dropped me at my apartment on Tuesday night, I wanted to give him an appropriate goodbye. If there was no surprise party, I should give him a hug and say Merry Christmas. But if there was a surprise party, then I wouldn't need to do that. As I got out of the car, I said, "Will I see you tomorrow?" He said, "I don't know." I said, "Well, is Kenny having a surprise party for me tomorrow?" His face told it all. I said, "Okay, see you tomorrow! And don't worry, I won't tell that you told me." He tried to tell me that he didn't tell me, which I guess he technically didn't, but he did.
Wednesday night, I was hanging out at my house, waiting to head over to Kenny's, when he texted me and asked for my roommate's number. Weird, considering that they don't really talk. Then, I got a phone call from a friend asking for Kenny's number. Then, Kenny told me to hurry because he had cooked without me.
If there had been any doubts about a surprise before, there wasn't anymore. I drove to Kenny's and could see a number of legs between the windowsill and the bottom of the blinds. I saw women's shoes in the window by the door. I opened the door, walked in, and everyone yelled, "Surprise!"
"Did you know?" they said. "Of course," was my reply. They were disappointed that I knew, but it was still very exciting. It's my very first surprise party! Of course I was excited! They all had brought a potluck dish, and some friends got me flowers. We drank mojitos and chatted until I fell asleep on the couch.
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