Temptation Not Included

Soft whispers and even softer touches stirred Meru awake ever so slowly. When she had the strength to arouse herself from her demented dreams of uncanny shadows ghosting her through a maze of red roses on white silhouettes of gondolas, she barely recognized that what she awoke to was her room. Dark hues of neglected space of light grazed upon her drowsy reflection. She let out a humph and slowly arched her back, raising her face from burying her nostrils into her pillows. Soft whispers, yet again, racked logical momentum into her thick skull causing her to whirl around in surprise. Normally, if she weren’t heavily coated in the dream scene aftermath, she would have startled her parents with her eerie alertness. Instead, she mimicked a drugged sloth with her movements. She still resembled the same eccentric elegant-ness that was Meru Lang, her mother noted with a pleased demeanor. Watching her young daughter fade herself away from the tempting alternate reality brought forth a smile Meru would have killed to see.

Literally.

Ivy Lang sat on the edge of her daughter’s bed, patting Meru’s shoulder once she collapsed back into her blankets. “Wake up, Ace.” she spoke in that soft whisper that lured Meru awake. “It’s your birthday!”

Meru groaned incoherently into her pillows before she forced herself to finally rise. She turned around and fell back into her blankets, watching the dark silhouettes of her parents with droopy eyes. She smiled drowsily, causing her mother to chuckle. “Hey.”

Her voice drawled as it usually did every morning. “Wake up some Meru.” her father ordered in his kind voice that always pepped Meru up with a natural spirit. Once he held her attention, he flicked on the lights which brought on a slew of astonished gasps from his daughter. “Here. Happy Birthday.”

Meru giggled funnily as she scooted to a slightly upright position and took the card her father gave her. Her parents watched as she opened it with a bright smile. Every year they always gave her a comical birthday card and this year was no different. On the face of the card was an animated field. Floating above the grassy field was a monkey hanging onto the strings of a balloon that hung just below the bolded words: HAPPY BIRTHDAY OUR DAUGHTER!!!. Meru opened the flap and a grin broke out on her lips.

“For the past eighteen years you WISHED you could have just flown away from us. Well, now that you are eighteen, feel free to pack your bags and buy a ticket to that country you always wanted to visit. Ya know, the one you wanted to visit WITHOUT us. Cuz we were just SO embarrassing on the last vacation we went on as a family. Just know, who else could have bought you this birthday card if you left before this day? That’s right, you’d be homeless and your invisible friend would not be able to afford the tax on the back of this card. So, Happy Birthday! (Feel free to fly away anytime-- you‘ll be saving US tax money)”

Meru smiled up at her parents, only for it to falter in wonder when her mother leaned over and flipped over the extra flap Meru didn’t notice. She drew her gaze back down and read aloud once again, what seemed to be her parents’ fine penmanship. “To our baby girl, happy birthday. We hope you have a wonderful day filled with plenty of smiles and happy times. You’re going to live your life to the fullest and we always want you to remember how proud we are of you and how much we love you. Love, Mom & Dad.”

Meru gushed at her parents and while her dad rolled his eyes at her, her mother smiled along with her. “Aww, thanks you guys. It’s so cute. I love the monkey.”

“We thought you’d like that.”

Meru returned the silly face her father shot at her. She slid the card back into the lilac envelope from which it came from and as she set it aside, she froze. Confound wonder pursed her lips and furrowed her brow at a small, scuffling noise. She looked to her parents with a wrinkled expression which evoked her father to lift something from the floor. A blanket Meru recognized from her baby days shielded something with a handle, the only thing visible from its heavy overcast. Now with a raised eyebrow, she looked to her mother expectantly.

“Your Dad thought it was about time.” her mother explained.

Meru pursed her lips but chose not to speak how unhelpful her words were until she saw that her dad had now removed the blanket. Meru involuntarily flinched in surprise. However, it was quickly replaced with awe and glee. She sat up straighter to count the various toys in the large animal cage and with little difficulty, she identified the animal housing residence in the cage. She didn’t know what it was, and by her expression, her dad set the cage down on the foot of her bed and gestured to it.

“It’s a guinea pig.”

“When’d you get it?”

“Yesterday. When you were out. Richard’s daughter’s guinea pig gave birth to about seven of these guys and when he told me, I asked him to hold one for me until your birthday came about.”

“Aww, thanks Daddy!” she beamed softly at the little creature. “It looks so much like a toy. Like… almost like it’s--”

Meru’s eyes widened to the point of oozing from her sockets. Her gasp lingered in the air the moment she and her parents watched her new guinea pig collapse. She crowded on her hands and knees and suddenly, a heavy cloud hung over her shoulders. “Shit, man,” she spoke softly. “I didn’t even get to say it was dead before it croaked.”

She caught her mother rolling her eyes before she tapped the side of the cage. “I dunno what’s up with him, but he ain’t dead. When your father showed him to me yesterday he did the same thing.”

“Me too, when I picked him up. I guess he just does this when he meets strangers. He’ll pop back up soon.” her dad shrugged when Meru looked up to him with a crooked expression of amusement. “Just make sure he has enough food and water and he’ll be happy.”

“We’ve got all of his food and bedding downstairs in the pantry.” her mother explained before rising from the bed. “So, what are you going to name him?”

“It’s a he?”

Her father nodded.

Meru shrugged, staring long and hard at her ‘playing dead’ new pet. Finally, when she noticed it blinking, she rocked back on her feet and sat with her arches meeting at the center of her body. “Spartacus.”

“What?” her father laughed, causing Meru to puff out her cheeks and blow her lips.

“You heard me, Pops. With a name like that, people won’t think he’s weak and look past his odd passing out thing. And,” she stressed sassily, “I’ve always wanted to nickname something Spartie.”

Her father laughed once again with a small shake of the head. “Okay, whatever; it’s your pet after all.”

“My first one. Thanks to someone.” she cast a sly look at her mother, which was caught.

Her mother ignored it and gestured to her bedside lamp that surrounded the large room with the only amount of lighting. “Well, get ready for school. I’ll have your breakfast ready after you’ve showered.”

“Okay!” Meru beamed, sending her parents out with a smile. She waited until they shut her bedroom door behind them until she moved. Crawling from her position, she hovered over the cage and stared down at her new pet with squinted eyes. “You better not die on me, buddy. You’re my first pet and you’re quite lucky my Mom even let you live in this house. Trust me, she’s picky. Hmm, now that I think about it, I wonder how my Dad was able to persuade her to let me have a pet…”

After a moment’s thought, she shrugged it off and ventured to gather clothes for the day. She had an extra spring in her step and a soft smile finding refuge upon her luminescent features. Her thoughts were blank while she showered, with the exception of her new pet. She really hoped it survived for at least the duration of her eighteenth birthday. She would be ashamed if her first pet died on such a turning number of her age, even if it meant very little to her. The only leverage she would have with legally being eighteen is just pronouncing the number to her parents when they wouldn’t allow her to do something. And, well, with enough persuasive begging and reverse psychology, she usually got what she wanted, regardless.

As any charming girl, she thought.

Rejuvenating her outlook on this Tuesday being no different from any other day was the presence of her mother in her room once she emerged from her shower. As usual, her mother disagreed with Meru’s clothing choice for the day - even when her mother was with her on her shopping endeavors. With little effort, Meru allowed her mother to choose something more appropriate for the crisp weather. And as usual, the two females compromised on an appropriate attire to sport outside their home. And as usual, Meru rolled her eyes at her mother’s reasoning for resorting to changing Meru’s desired outfit.

Before Meru could kick her mother out of her room, she withdrew a velvety golden sack that fit in her palm. Ivy placed it in Meru’s upturned hand with a small smile. “Hurry and get ready. I’ve almost got breakfast ready.”

Meru watched her mother leave before she released the ties on the small sack. She tilted it over her open hand and let an ooh slip from between her moist lips. A golden necklace lay in her palm, and as she lifted it to eye level, she noticed its pendant was a locket with something already inside. She unhinged the tiny clasp and awed at the precious silver rose resting inside, dangling smoothly when she swayed it front of her. She smiled graciously at the pendant before clasping it and slipping it over her damp head, allowing it to hang down her neck and over her towel-covered chest.

After that, Meru moved along smoothly with her morning routine. Although it was her birthday, she slacked with doing anything extravagant like most girls her age would. She wasn’t the bragging type and definitely did not like to make it painfully aware, like most girls at McElderrey. They were all, for lack of better words, attention whores. Meru was neither an attention craver or a whore, in any way. So, as she walked down the stairs, vigorously finger combing through her wet locks - she liked how fast her hair dried compared to blow drying it or towel drying - she met her parents with the same morning greeting as any other morning when she descended.

Except, her best friend sat in the kitchen with them.

“Aeron!” Meru gasped in delight, rushing to his side to hug him. She ignored his playful choking and swiped a grape from the small dish near his plate of French Toast. “What’s up? I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Well, if you would answer your damn phone, girl, you would know.” Aeron answered with a smile.

Meru pulled out her phone and brought it to light, oh-ing at the two unread text messages, one missed phone call, and one new voicemail. She sheathed it back to its comfortable domain of her shorts pocket and smiled, taking the seat beside her father, across from Aeron at the kitchen table. Once her mom brought the rest of the breakfast to the center of the table, and took the seat at the end of the table with her morning tea, Meru began to indulge in the her birthday breakfast, as well as her father. Comforting sounds slurred by forks and knives scraping against plates intertwined with the rhythm of chewing, amidst the occasional burp or hiccup.

“Oh, guess what!” Meru took a sip from her apple juice for realization to suddenly dawn on her. “I got a guinea pig for my birthday!” she answered before Aeron could finish swallowing.

“Oh yeah.” Aeron spoke once he did. He lifted a fairly decent sized gift bag from the chair beside him and handed it over to Meru. “Happy Birthday.”

She glanced at her favorite colored tissue paper brimming from the bag briefly before staring at Aeron, focusing her pouty lips at him with a look everyone at the table was well familiar with. “But, you already got me a present.”

“Should you really be complaining, of all things, Meru?” her dad questioned, provoking a curled scowl from his daughter.

Aeron shrugged towards the accusation. “Well, a few months ago before I decided on the tickets, when I asked my folks what I should get you for your birthday, they simultaneously agreed on clothes. And I was like, what?, she doesn’t like clothes other people buy her. I mean, you hardly wear the clothes you buy yourself.”

“Eh, it’s true.” Meru shrugged at the looks her parents gave her, which she always received when she did something careless. Which was quite often.

“But my parents insisted on getting you something proper to wear, since you barely wear anything in the Winter unless it snows.” Aeron continued, gesturing to the bag in Meru’s lap. “So open it. And you better wear it and like it. I swear, if you don’t…”

Meru chuckled but rolled her eyes as she removed the emerald tissue paper. Her mother removed it from resting near her daughter’s breakfast and crumpled it in her hands. Meru frowned slightly; her parents knew she liked to fold untarnished ’trash’. Her frown was quickly upturned, though, from the leather jacket she pulled free. Just before she could thrash aside the gift bag, her mother caught it midair and smiled at her daughter’s actions. “Ahh! Aeron, it’s so lovely! Look at it!”

Her dad recoiled from Meru nearly shoving it in his face. “Damn, Meru, I’m not blind; I see it. Calm down for Christ’s sakes.”

Despite the scold, her father was smiling just as well as Meru. She held the olive toned jacket to her chest and admired the zippers hanging from every angle of the torso. Tickling with giddiness, she swayed slightly before vowing to keep it safely in her bedroom closet. She hurried up the staircase toward her bedroom and slowly stopped, remembering her sensitive new pet. Shooting a cautious glance into her room, she saw Spartacus sniffing about at each corner of his cage. He was happily roaming about his cage, scurrying to one end to the other, only to stop and stick his nose in the air after every roundabout race against himself. With every intention of upholding a façade, she waltzed into her room and securely placed her new birthday gift on a hanger inside her closet. She gathered her school belongings and after throwing a double-take at her bedside table, she decided with wearing her glasses. Before she tossed her glasses case into her backpack, she closed the lid to the purple velvet box that never moved an inch from the bedside table.

“I’ll see you later, Spartacus.” Meru’s façade diminished for her to smile at her new pet. It didn’t falter during their eye lock. Only when she moved towards her door did he ‘faint’. Quirking an eyebrow at the fluffy being, she pursed her lips. “Yeah, we gotta work on that.”

Meru finished her breakfast with a zest and walked out the door with a kiss on the cheek from her mother. Aeron smirked at her reaction and it became the main topic during their drive towards McElderrey High. Every year Meru tried to write her birthday off. No matter how hard she tried, she never could follow through with her given pretense. Aeron always cast her strong beliefs away, knowing full well she would have forgotten about her pact an hour after she vowed it for the umpteenth time. He never knew if Meru ever realized or caught onto her own acts, but as always, he chose to keep his mouth shut. He was pleased knowing she would be undoubtedly happy.

Her rambling lips teetered towards his beliefs when they arrived at their beloved high school. Her voice wavered with a musical tone, more than likely swayed by one of her favorite songs that played on the radio just before Aeron found a parking space. For the entire time he has known Meru, he had never heard her sing. After all the concerts they went to, and all the music shopping and radio snapping, she had never sung in front of him. He thought he struck gold last year when he believed he heard her voice twang while she showered. Before he could investigate, her father entered her room and despite Alexander Lang favoring Aeron, he practically threw Aeron out of Meru’s room once her father realized she was showering with the bathroom door hardly shut. Aeron was positive she had a lovely voice, but he could be bias for having been her friend for so long. That, and based off of the initial thought. Meru was a well-rounded jack-of-all-trades. It was hard to challenge Meru at anything with hopes of her submitting to her opponent. Aeron always found out the hard way with her. Regardless.

“You know, if today were a Kohl day, I think I’d be just as happy. I think I wouldn’t mind going to AP Chem, actually.”

“You’re in a very good mood then, I presume.”

“You presume correctly, doc.” Meru flashed a grin over her shoulder once she walked through the doors of McElderrey. “And I’d be so happy to-- uh, well, I actually don’t think I’d be exited to get my test grades back. But! That’d probably only be the sour part of the day, I’m sure.”

Meru smiled bashfully as Aeron fell into a spill about his experience with Sauvageau’s testing mannerisms when he had the privilege of being enrolled into the class the previous year. Meru nodded and smiled and laughed at all the right moments, rolling over her near folly. She almost voiced her AP Chemistry grade. As unreceptive as it was, she made a promise to Lennox and she had never crossed her promises. She would be willing to bet her life on an accusation of such treason.

The façade slowly retreated when they headed toward Meru’s locker. Unlike her close acquaintances, she never changed locations with her locker every year. She had the chance to, like any given Mason at McElderrey, and even more so that she was one of the top dogs in Student Council. She liked the fact that her locker was located on the first floor. Normally it was whispered through the halls as Freshman Alley. Almost all new recruits from middle school found their locker in the area Meru’s was. In despite of the low credentials, Meru never thought twice about finding a cleaner locker upstairs as her close acquaintances. She liked knowing that someone so fresh and innocent, such as the freshmen, could walk up and talk to her as if nothing mattered. Sure, there wasn’t much to be afraid of at McElderrey, but a good majority of the freshmen were intimidated by what they lacked. Sixty percent of that was height. Obviously, Meru didn’t belong in that category and although she would not admit it openly, not even to Aeron for obvious reasons, gentlemen taller than six foot one intimidated her.

The only exception to that was Lennox and Sauvageau.

Meru kept an open ear to Aeron’s voice, but her eyes were elsewhere. People passing by were giving her strange looks. Not the normal looks she would receive. With her status in the Student Council, people looked to her to amplify their voices in hopes for change. She took everyone to heart when they spared time out of their day to share their opinions with her. Sometimes she wasn’t able to pull through for her fellow peers, and the result would be looks of disappointment and accusations. She wasn’t receiving those looks today.

The other half were given by those whom were happy to see her. She didn’t quite receive those either, she was noticing. She was given looks, as if eye contact would break a stronger bond brought on by the wrath of someone higher up. Meru wasn’t arrogant, but facts were facts: there weren’t very many people above her. Not at this school.

“Is it just me…” Meru murmured, derailing Aeron’s speech instantly. His attention was on her in a centerfold. “Or are people being funny?”

Aeron quirked his eyebrows and took a look around from Meru’s careful gazing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “I hate to break it to you, Meru, but I don’t hear a comedic.”

“Ah.” she breathed out absent-mindedly, her eyes in narrow slits.

Her features had softened by the time she reached her locker, but she still cast a look-a-round gaze before she actually approached her locker and slung her backpack to her chest. The familiarity of her lock eased the tension in her shoulders and she slouched as she tumbled the combination. “You know, I’m actually excited about creating the disposable elements.”

“They’re a lot of fun. But you probably won’t get to that chapter until second semester. We didn’t get to touch that until February.”

“That seems like so long from now. All we’re doing is like, covering the basics from where I left off near the end of second semester in Chem. Honors. And it doesn’t help that Mr. S treats me like a radioactive child when we do labs and such. It’s almost as if--”

The moment Meru opened her locker, glitter and confetti in a mural of pink, white, and lime green exploded from the inside, squirting its residue all over Meru’s face and chest. The pressure caused the locker door to swing back into its neighbor, now hanging idly to the side as if it had opened regularly.

Huffing out her near heart-attack and swallowing her fear to prevent Aeron from sniffing it out, she growled angrily and swatted the glitter and confetti from her hands onto the ground. She clawed her hands through her locker to find more glitter, confetti, and Easter grass than she had suspected. When she but only cleared a tiny spectacle of the bright colors from her neat locker, she noticed a glare from the hinges of her locker staring at the side of her face. She blinked at the orange-ish glow and whirled around. Her lips parted in awe and very slowly, a smile rose to her face.

All dressed to perfection standing ten feet from her was Dimitri Campo, Yvette Dwayne, Kyler Trestrail, and Ellison Vanderbilt, whom of which out of the four, held a globe-sized chocolate cupcake with one lone candle sticking from the middle of it. All of her close acquaintances sported party hats or crowns that advertised the same thing: Happy Birthday Meru or Happy B-Day SBVP Lang.

Kyler was the one who moved from their marble stances, as if their feet had been coated in epoxy and super-glued to the ground. The tall boy swiftly retracted a lighter from his pocket and within seconds, the lone candle in the oversized cupcake lit to life; as well as her acquaintances’ voices. The famous birthday song was sung in soft harmony, and soon enough their voices gathered passerby attention. Most of them smiled when they noticed their student body vice president was on the receiving end of the praise. Some of them joined in for the short song, while the majority watched from a safe distance and clapped when the song reached its end.

“Make a wish!” Yvette hissed with excitement, her Caribbean accent crooning through her smile.

“Yeah, before Principle Roeth catches wind of the fire and extinguishes it with the cupcake.” Aeron stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh, don’t be such a sourpuss, Aeron.” Dimitri spoke and cast off of Aeron’s look. “He’s known us for years. He probably already knows we’d do something like this.”

“’Those blasted kids!’, do you know how many times he’s said that and how many times Miss Viola has gotten on our cases?” Kyler added, throwing a thin-lipped smirk at the tallest of the group.

“He’s right. We’ve done so in the past.” Ellison reminded Aeron.

Aeron, shrugging, rolled his eyes to the corners of his sockets before he looked to Meru expectantly. She chuckled softly under her breath and walked towards them to blow out the candle. She never made wishes over a birthday candle; she stopped when she turned nine. And when her parents or friends asked what she wished for - in despite of the curse of the reason behind wishing - she lied and said she wished for a healthy life. If Meru took care of herself throughout her life, the wish was well within reach.

Meru was smiling so widely, all of her friends were wondering why she was refraining from showing her brilliant teeth. She was bound to crack at any moment, so it seemed.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERU!” Ellison cracked first, giggling insanely as she left her stance beside her friends to engulf the birthday girl in a bear hug. Meru laughed at first, but was cut short when she realized why she never hugged Ellison as much as she hugged everyone else. Ellison’s signs of affection were brutal.

Quickly - but not soon enough in Meru’s mind - the rest of the student body got their fair share of physical endearment from Meru. Yvette had to pry Ellison’s grip from around Meru in order to allow the rest of them a fair shake. Before Dimitri could envelope Meru, she was pulled out of his reach from Ellison. She quickly whirled Meru around until they all crowded around her vibrant locker.

“Thanks, you guys.” Meru spoke with a smile still on her soft features. “I don’t want to know how you guys actually broke into my locker, so I won’t ask.”

“Wise, birthday girl.” Kyler commented.

“And everything’s so pink…” Meru stated, her eyes dancing across the immense glitter winking going on. It was as if a dumpster unloaded all of its unused crafts decoration into her locker; it looked like a five year-old’s doing.

“This year’s theme. It was Sonny’s idea.” Yvette confessed, smiling at a grinning Ellison.

“Yep! I’ve had this prepared for weeks! Hehe. I’m so glad everything worked out right.” a sharp cackle fell from the platinum blonde, her bright teeth glimmering even more so than the glitter. Then, almost instantly, her happy exterior deteriorated into a negative energy. She spun on her heel and faced Dimitri, slapping his chest. “You! You were late! I specifically told you to be here at six-fifteen. You better have a damn good reason why our scheme almost fell apart.”

Dimitri volunteered himself to a stare down with Ellison. His stare was unwavering, calm, while hers flickered with the same intensity from the flame on Meru’s cupcake. Just as short-lived as the flame, and how quickly her breath blew out the orange light, Dimitri cleared his throat roughly and looked away. Suddenly bashful, he ran a hand through his hair and kept his gaze averted towards the ground.

“I, uh-- woke up late.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Ellison inquired blandly.

“I forgot to get Meru a present…” he continued to confess, adding fuel to Ellison’s incredulousness. “And so I went to get her favorite coffee to make up for it…”

Ellison shook her head tightly - her lips even tighter as she watched Dimitri hand Meru a plastic cup of chilled mocha caffeine - and sighed out roughly before turning back to Meru’s locker. She instantly lit up and gestured to it openly. “Open your presents!”

Inside her locker, Meru found that Yvette wasn’t lying about Ellison’s pink theme. Aside from the pink confetti, glitter, and grass, only two of the three gifts from Ellison were in the locker was a crystal tiara, which Ellison wasted no time in placing it on Meru’s head. The second gift from Ellison was a black masquerade mask, feathered above the right eye and dazzling with glitter and sequins in a figure eight sequence. The third gift was the chocolate cupcake. Although Meru did not favor cakes of any like, she promised Ellison she would eat it. But Meru was instantly conflicted once she realized it would melt before first period if she didn’t eat it on the spot. She knew if it weren’t her birthday, Ellison would have force fed the cake to Meru.

The second set of gifts Meru noticed were from Yvette. A three foot plush doll sat in the middle of all the glitter chaos, caressing an even bigger bag. She could easily fit the doll and all of her school necessities in the bag and instantly granted herself in doing so. On one of the tassels was a camera keychain. Yvette informed her that after their conversation last night about Ivan, she found it fitting to include the keychain. The gesture was cute and comical, but it brought down Meru’s energy in the slightest. She still couldn’t believe she lost his phone number. She always misplaced things, but never entirely lost.

Next to Yvette’s space set aside in the locker was Aeron’s gifts. Meru made sure to scold Aeron for getting her more presents, but squealed with joy when Aeron revealed it was nothing new from which he had already prepared for her. The first thing she grasped was a gag at which everyone humored with. Meru glared at Aeron and made sure the pink umbrella was the first to be stowed away into her now empty backpack. At her glare, Aeron pointed out a nest of grass that was untouched by pink. Tucked away gently in a cocoon of lime green paper grass was a small rectangular envelope that concealed two concert tickets for her favorite band: Stone Sour. Behind the small cocoon were a pair of shoes that Meru had fancied for weeks on the internet. She never expected Aeron to actually buy them for her. It was Meru’s job for giving out shoes as presents. She was genuinely surprised and gave him a hug worthy of awe.

The fourth set of gifts Meru pulled free were from Dimitri. There were three bottles of sparking diet Coca Cola. When she cracked a jest about it, instead of finding Dimitri’s previous ashamed lure, she found him winking at her. She gave him a look and shrugged, placing the bottles in her dance bag, which then, she noticed it fit well with Ellison’s pink gift exchange theme. Next, and the final set in her locker, were the gifts from Kyler. A bright white envelope that was clearly decorated by Kyler’s younger sister held a fifty dollar gift certificate to Dangerously Delicious Pies, Meru’s favorite restaurant in all of Baltimore. At first, she was speechless since she knew the owner did not endorse gift certificates. When she placed the gift certificate back into the envelope, she noticed another piece of paper resting neatly folded beside it. Upon reading it she realized it was a letter to her from the owner, Rodney. She tried to hide it well how truly wistful she was after reading it, but while she read it aloud, all of her friends smirked at her reaction. Next to the space where the envelope was found was a large box of white chocolate truffles, finally breaking Meru’s smile into a full-on grin.

“You guys are so amazing, thank you so much. I love each and every one. I’m still a little shell-shocked that you guys actually did something for me.”

Meru’s expression created a warm tingly sensation in each one of their chests. She may not have known how she affected them, and she probably never would for her dense nature. But they knew that this moment struck her fond and that would probably be the closest they could ever really reach her heart. They found out early on that it was hard convincing Meru Lang of anything.

“Awh, you know we’d do something for you.” Ellison spoke, wrapping Meru in a firm, yet more subtle than before, hug. Meru sighed out relieved and returned the rubs on the back. “Although I’m glad you liked it, I’m mad at these despicable men.”

Meru maneuvered her eyes to the three boys conversing mischievously whom instantly stopped once they noticed they had eyes on them. “What?” Kyler questioned, returning the look sent his way from Ellison.

“The agreement was three gifts from each of us. You two,” she waved two fingers in between Kyler and Dimitri. “only got her two. And you, Mr. Overachiever,” she then fixed her glare and accusing fingers at Aeron. “got her four gifts.”

The three looked to each other before looking to Ellison with the same blank expression. “So?”

Ellison sighed out tightly and turned her back on them, throwing her arms over her chest. “Men.”

Meru, chuckling from the side, decided to take action and closed and locked her glitter infested locker. Though, she was spitting image of it so closing it to remove the explosion from her mind was futile. “Well, I gotta go put my bag in my dance locker.” Meru dangled her large pink and brown Ed Hardy duffle that she always brought with her on Kohl days. “I’ll see you guys--”

“Nope!” Yvette and Ellison chimed in unison, grasping each of Meru’s arms before they stalked off, Meru only slightly aware that the boys were following close behind. “We’ll escort you.”

“Uh, okay… then…”

The girls swept Meru away with charming conversations on their walk across McElderrey foundation, mostly consisting of why Meru didn’t put much effort in her ensemble for the day. Both Yvette and Ellison pointed out that the boys put more effort in their hair than normal, which was a shame next to Meru’s usual hairstyle. They made sure to throw in compliments to kiss the surface of their comical insults toward Meru’s plain outfit, which was well received since Meru slapped the sweet foam from her chilled mocha coffee onto each girl’s cheeks and noses. That sequence tilted the conversation toward what Meru was going to wear for the concert on the upcoming weekend.

Meru didn’t get far in her gleeful explanation when she fell upon the awareness that the heart of the school was a lot quieter than normal. She managed to take one look around before she was snatched from Ellison and Yvette’s grasp, her chilled drink plucked from her grasp. The stage area to the cafeteria two hundred feet from the lounging area lit up and within seconds, harmony slithered from microphones into speakers that Meru just noticed were set at the corners of the cafeteria. The lights in the lounging area flicked off with each rising octave that Meru finally realized were from the talented voices belonging to the drama club, in affiliation with the school’s Choir, of course.

Meru marveled and was one of the many that clapped when the school’s Junior Varsity cheerleading squad swarmed the empty space between the lounging area and the vast entrance to the cafeteria. Most of the girls on the Junior Varsity cheerleading squad were on the Dance team at McElderrey, each one specially trained by the captain and co-caption of the Dance team; Meru and Marissa Kinney. The affair was infamous since the Varsity squad did not clash well at all with the Dance team. Meru felt a swell of pride watching her girls perform. Most of them were sophomores and freshmen, with the few outcast juniors that were refused Varsity for even associating with the Dance team. Having them perform in front of the entire school was a definite slap to the Varsity, and Meru even went out of her way to wink at some of the girls she recognized from the Varsity squad. They returned the gesture with disgusted looks, one girl more eager to make her hatred known.

Aria Matsumoto.

Her and Meru have disliked each other since the beginning of their eighth grade year when Aria transferred to Meru’s middle school. The feud began when Meru auditioned for the top spot in their eighth grade Orchestra: first violin chair. Unbeknownst to Aria, Meru held the spot for the previous two years attending the middle school. And every year she auditioned, her song selection and talent beat out those who auditioned beside her. When Aria was the only girl to face off against Meru, she had been the nicest girl Meru had met, aside from Yvette whom she had met in her seventh grade year. Only when Meru was announced as first chair did the short girl receive the end of a gun from Aria. She taunted Meru that she was spoiled that she had received the chair out of routine instead of talent when she did find out that she held the spot for the past two years. As any twelve year old, Meru ignored her until provoked beyond repair.

The moment the two entered high school, the feud escalated to heights that silenced the school when their tempers flared. Aria went through countless measures to up one over Meru and she failed miserably with each attempt. Meru had a hard time gloating openly in someone’s face, but she had no problem igniting her hatred for someone. With Aria Matsumoto, that fire was always alive.

As if the sparks from their glares spiked a thermometer, the Dance team glided swiftly from the crowd’s attention for the Drama Club to take over. Meru instantly grinned at all of the familiar faces and was stunned speechless from her choreography shining through their music, moves, and acts. The crowds behind her now aligned with her to take a front row stance to the preview of the Fall play and the first official play of the year.

Before Meru could wistfully mouth the words to the original songs, she was gently grabbed from behind and slickly maneuvered behind Ellison, Aeron, and Yvette who were completely engrossed in the performance. She looked over her shoulder and glared at the fidgeting Kyler and Dimitri. “Hey, what’s the big deal? I wanna watch them.”

Dimitri tapped his lips in a silencing gesture. Sliding down his features, Meru noticed his backpack was slung in front of his chest, his other hand rummaging through it. As well with Kyler. She looked back and forth between them before cocking her hip and tilting her head at the tall boys.

“What’s up?”

“We need to give you your other gifts.”

“Huh?” she looked to Kyler, then Dimitri. “But I thought you forgot about my birthday.”

Dimitri rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “You really believe that?”

“How long have we known you? Do you really think we’d forget to get you something special?” Kyler asked imaginatively.

The moment Dimitri pulled what he was searching for from his backpack, Kyler’s genuine smile contorted into a mischievous smirk. Meru quirked an eyebrow and frowned, not appreciating the suspension. She absorbed surprises to the fullest, but whenever Kyler and Dimitri hid secrets together, the surprise was usually not one she expected. And it usually involved her sacrificing dry clothes.

Before Meru could toss around speculations, her mouth hung open in shock from what Kyler produced from his backpack. Her eyes widened even further from what Dimitri revealed in his hands.

“And how long have we known you to know what you really want?” Kyler questioned in a sultry tone.

Words refused to form properly in Meru’s mind for a short moment until her astonishment grew to panic. “Are you fucking crazy?!” she hissed, making to grab the bag in Kyler’s hand. He snatched it to his chest, as well as Dimitri with his gift. “You dolts are going to get us arrested! Suspended! Expelled! Incarcerated!”

“Oh, psh, that’s not how you thank us.”

“We’re waiting, Meru.” Dimitri smirked, casting another one of his winks at her.

“Yes, thank you Kyler, thank you Dimitri. Now can I please have them so I can conceal them before we go to jail?”

“We knew you’d appreciate Maureen Jean.” Kyler praised himself as he watched Meru place the bag of weed in her dance bag. His smirk widened when she snatched the bag Dimitri handed her. She paused when she took a second glance at it, stepping closer to the boys to make sure no one cast a wandering eye. “See, Trix? She’s curious.”

Meru’s eyes glistened in the dimly lit lounging area, her lips parted from the other in awe. “It’s beautiful. Where’d you get it, Dimitri?”

“Oh, you know, the internet. You know I don’t actually shop.”

“I thought you got all of your supplies within the city?” she asked openly, tilting her head up at him in confusion.

Dimitri’s eyes flared and he slapped his hand over her mouth, her eyes bugging out from the sudden reaction. “Geez, birthday girl, could you try whispering? And you think we’re the ones going to get us arrested.”

“And look-it, the pipe matches the perfectionist’s pink theme.” Kyler pointed out with a bright smile, tapping the pink swirls on the Sherlock glass pipe.

Meru smiled fondly at it when she removed Dimitri’s heavy hand from her mouth which provoked the boys to laugh. Their laughter drew her out of her minor slap of stupidity and she instantly sheathed the pipe carefully into her dance bag. She cleared her throat and gave the boys a look to which was responded with smirks. Rolling her eyes, Meru returned to Yvette, Ellison, and Aeron just as the Drama club was switched out to the remaining singers and dancers of the Drama club.

The crowd was cheering and random students joined the sporadic fun with their own dance moves. For the early morning, the Masons were clearly more energized than on any given day. Faculty members, who did not know about the student dedication, watched in the same amazement as the students who shared the same surprise. With the exception of a few non-believers, the school was alive and entertained with wonderment. If they weren’t watching with undivided attention, then they paused to catch wind of what all the hubbub was about.

With Yvette and Ellison sharing Meru’s coffee, Meru was dancing to the synthesized bass tracks alongside her friends, acquaintances, and random Masons she never had the privilege of introducing herself to. Before she realized it, Meru was tugged away from them by two tall, dark-skinned, handsome seniors she had grown the years with but never caught their names. They made gestures to keep her rooted in her spot as they cork-screwed their way to the rest of the dancers and singers. Meru clapped her hands to her chest and gasped at their energy, smiling at them in anticipation. Off to the sides, Meru saw that the two had their own fan group for there were many guys and girls cheering on their moves. Their loud movement caused the rest of the watching crowd to increase in noise and size.

Meru clapped in synchronize with the rest of the crowd during the finale of the performance. The two boys fell to a slide and crab-crawled toward Meru. They flipped and jumped to their feet before sliding behind her, causing Meru to whirl in a full rotation circle. Within the blink of an eye, they were right in front of her with bouquets of pink roses. Laughing whole-heartedly from them placing kisses on her cheeks at the ending note of the song, she accepted the roses and hugged each one, thanking them as she did her friends moments ago. They wished her a happy birthday and joined the rest of the performers in front of her for a bow at the thunderous cheers and applauds.

Tyren Stevenson, the president of the Drama club, stepped forward to the frontline and smiled directly at Meru. “This performance was founded by Student Body Historian Ellison Vanderbilt in dedication to Student Body Vice President Meru Lang. It’s her birthday, if you don’t know, so at the count of three, the Dance team, Junior Varsity cheer squad, and the Drama club would like to sing her Happy Birthday. Feel free to join in Masons. Okay, ready? One, two, three.”

Despite herself, Meru found herself blushing from the immediate reply from everyone around her. Although it not need adjusting, Meru fiddled with the crown atop her head and ducked her chin low, doing her best to hide her smile and sudden wave of emotion. At the end of the traditional song, friction of hands imploded the air, intertwined with cheering and whistles. Meru bowed her head in respect to her friends and acquaintances before her and turned around to repeat the gesture around her. Within minutes, once it was apparent that there would be no more living entertainment - cued by the lights turning back on - the crowd dispersed except for those who showered Meru. She beamed brilliance and hugged as many Masons as she could before the first bell rang could signal.

Amongst those smiling and watching, two specific teachers were staring down at her from the second floor railings surrounding the staircase balcony. The blue-eyed duo stared down at the group, only one of the two, the more approachable of the two, smiling. Students who passed the two on the second floor noticed he was just as much enthralled by the Masons’ performance as the students on the first floor. They also noticed that the always silent mentor was just the same as he was in the classroom; mysterious and eerily quiet.