First Impressions

"Happy birthday, dear Autum! Happy birthday to you!"

I cringe at Trev's deaf tone singing and blow out the candles. Everyone whoops and claps while Mom turns the lights back on. I grin down at my cake at start cutting it, giving myself a very large slice.

"Presents! Presents! Presents!" Trev starts chanting, his whole mouth covered with ice cream cake already. I roll my eyes and take the first present handed to me. I open it and gasp at it.

"Shelby! How did you-" I watch her jerk her thumb towards Tash who looks away sheepishly. Ever since I became friends with her, if only for three days, she and Tash have hung out together too. She's actually quite nice and smarter than she lets on. I put the box full of new guitar strings down and literally jump over the table to hug her.

"Oof!"

We fall backwards in her chair and land on the floor, me chanting the mantra of 'Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!' I get up after a couple minutes with a wide grin and hug Tash as well. I open the next box handed to me, sitting down.

"Shale, what the-" She yanks it from my hands grinning at me.

"I figured that you needed an ipod since you're either singing or dancing. People will think you're less crazy if you have this." I watch her turn it on and stick the earbuds in my ears, Queen coming through with Another One Bites The Dust. I start snapping my fingers along with it before Shale shuts it off again.

"THANK YOU!!" I jump her with a hug before she starts whispering for breath. I laugh and let her go, picking up the next box on the table. I immediately grow wary when I see who it's from. "Trev, should I open this in private or should I wear a helmet?"

"Naw, it's safe!" He smiles cheekily from ear to ear. I slowly unwrap the bow and lean back when I take the lid off. When nothing explodes in my face I peer into the box and immediately snap the lid back on.

"Trev! Is that even necessary?" I snort, slightly choking. He lets out a belly laugh, slapping his knee. Mom slowly takes the box from me, reaches in, and holds the present up.

"You can tell he was thinking about you." Mom grins down at me. I stare stupidly at the tie-dyed thong before grabbing it and flicking it at Trev's head and moving on to the other box.

"Who's next?" I say, sticking my grubby hands out. Brad lifts up a small box and hands it to me. I stare at it for a minute. "Oh, it's tiny! I love tiny presents, more mysterious!"

I open it and see a piece of paper. I lift it up and stare at it.

"Wow, Brad. It's, um . . . interesting?" I ask. He gives me a weird look before shaking his head.

"No, there's something written on it." I 'oh' and look closer.

Not here. In the garage.

"It's in the garage?" I ask. He just shrugs and I jump up, going outside to the garage with everyone following behind me. When I open the garage door, there's another little box sitting there in waiting. I pick it up and open it, only to find another piece of paper.

Not here either? Try the backyard.

I run back outside and around the house to the backyard, everyone still trailing behind me. I am excited to find out what Brad got me, but I didn't really think it'd involve a chase. I stop in the backyard and look around, seeing another box on the patio. I run over to it, hoping that this was my gift because it was a bigger box. I open it to find another paper and a dark green guitar pick.

Getting warmer. Maybe you should check your room.

I sigh and run through back door up and into my room, taking the stairs two at a time. I race down the hallway and open the door, searching for anything out of the ordinary, specifically a box. I spot it on the window sill. I walk over and pick it up, not realizing that no one else has followed me into my room. I open it.

Close your eyes and turn around.

"Psh. He thinks I'm closing my eyes?" I snort, starting to turn around. Before I know it something is over my eyes and someone is chuckling behind me.

"If you won't close them then I'll close them for you." I hear Brad say. I pout but don't struggle.

"Do I get my present this time?" Just as soon as the question leaves my mouth, he takes his hands off of my eyes. "Oh My God."

A guitar. He got me a fucking sweet ass guitar. An electric one! I scurry over to it and carefully pick it up, examining it. I may not know a whole lot about guitars like I do playing them, but even I can tell that this one was a beaut. It was all black and even had the neck strap on it already.

I set it back down on my bed and turn around to face Brad.

"Dad helped me with the money. He said that you really dese-"

"Thank you!" I run up to him and jump-hug him, automatically wrapping my legs around him while my arms wrap around his neck, squeezing him into the best bear hug I can give him.

He lets out a surprised noise and moves back a little before leaning against the window sill.

"Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, well, it was really Tash. He told me about how you want to-" I cut him off with a peck on the lips before going back to hugging him.

"Thank you!" I squeal before unraveling myself from him and sliding down. I grab the guitar and go back downstairs where everyone else is, all of them asking me what I got. They all swoon over it and then Tash pulls out a giant amplifier from the closet, almost making me faint. I stare at it, completely stupefied, and try speaking but it comes out in squawks and squeaks.

"You're welcome." Tash says, hugging me. Brad comes down the stairs a little while later when all of us are talking in the living room. Mom laughs at one of Trev's comments while Shelby giggles quietly, glancing at Tash every now and then. It was obvious that she liked him . . . well, to me at least.

Brad sits down beside just as I sneak a peek at the clock to see how long my party has been so far. 11:30 p.m. That's quite amazing really. I sigh and sink back into the couch comfortably, watching everyone talk to each other. For some reason, I didn't feel like talking to anyone, so I just sit here next to Brad quietly.

I yawn quietly to myself before my eyelids start to get heavy. Even I know that my head automatically on Brad's shoulder when I fell asleep.