Surprise

I had forgotten that today was my birthday. I was so busy preparing for all my A.P. midterm exams for the school year that I hadn't really been paying attention to the dates much. My mom hadn't even said anything when I got up, she just went about her business and left before I even got in the shower. I was in A.P. Physics when one of my friends mentioned that it was my birthday. We had a five minute discussion about it. No one believed that I had really forgotten my birthday. I didn't bother to mention that my dad was in a war zone and I was trying to pass all of my classes. It wouldn't have helped.
The day passed quickly and lunch found my friend, Ray, and I at my house doing math homework and chowing down on McDonald's chicken nuggets. She got a call, from her mom I assumed, and went to my room to take it.
She came back five minutes later, something behind her back. She told me to close my eyes, that she had a surprise. I complied. I felt her place a cloth on top of my eyes and tie it behind my head. She told me she was going to put my headphones in and turn my iPod on just so that I wouldn't hear anything. She led me into my room and sat me on my bed. She pulled off my socks and shoes. There was a minutes pause before she pulled one of my headphones out and told me she was going to change my clothes. I was puzzled, but I stayed quiet nonetheless.
An hour later, I was dressed in some sort of dress and high heels. She had managed to do my hair without taking my blindfold off. She did take it off at one point, to do my make up, but she wrapped me in a robe and kept me away from reflective surfaces. She finished and on went the blindfold again. I wasn't sure how much time passed after that, but she helped me up into her truck - I could tell by the height of her truck, the material, and how her seats were set up - and we were off. I might have fallen asleep, but with my eyes covered and my ears singing from the music I couldn't be sure.
Ray pulled my headphones out a little while later, told me to stay, and removed herself from the truck. I could hear muffled voices from in front of me, just to the right, outside of the vehicle. A few minutes later, my door opened and someone - not Ray - pulled me out. Their hands were firmly planted around my waist and they made sure that I was steady before they let me go. Although, they never said a word, I knew the person in front of me was a guy.
He attached himself to me, his hand on my left elbow, guiding me through a parking lot while Ray told me when to step up onto and down from the curbs. We stopped after a few minutes and my two captors silently discussed something. Finally, Ray told me we were at a set of stairs and to step up. She said that there were forty five steps, so she would count (starting at one) so that I would know when to step up and how far we had left to go. However, after ten steps, we discovered that it would take me forever to get up the steps - I was tripping, kicking my toes, and lifting my legs too high. The guy picked me up bridal style and made it up the rest of the steps.
He set me down at the top, still not removing his hand from my elbow. I was grateful for that comfort; I was light headed from the quick trip up the stairs and being picked up so swiftly. Ray said something about "it being right through here", and he led me across a small area and then through a set of double doors.
We were brought into a hallway, the sound of my high heels stopping short, like something was blocking all the noise. We went up another flight of stairs. It was easier for me this time - the stairs were wider and set at better intervals.
Ray told my guy to stop. They placed my hands on a metal rail in front of me. The guy moved so that he was standing behind me and untied the blindfold. He kept it in place but held it in such a way that he could pull it away when necessary.
Ray counted to three, loudly. The moment the third number came out of her mouth, the guy dropped the blindfold and my ears were bombarded with hundreds of yelled 'surprise's! Club music started pounding and people started dancing.
The first thing I did was turn to see the guy who had guided me - it was Zach. My best guy friend. His ice blue eyes twinkled at me as I took in his appearance: great fitting jeans, a simple dark grey v-neck, and a black blazer. He leaned down and kissed my cheek before pulling me down a set of stairs that led to the dance floor.
The rest of the night was such a blur, I'm not even sure what time we left the club. I know that I didn't go home that night, I went back to Zach's house - something about my mother being pissed with me for being trashed on my 18th birthday.

The next day I made it home around 10 am. I was grateful that Ray had the foresight to make up a bag for me with street clothes so I wasn't coming home with wrinkled and dirty clothes.
I unlocked my front door and slipped inside. The house was eerily quiet for 10 am on a Saturday. Usually the dog was up and barking and mom was watching television or playing on the computer.
I made my way into the living room. The first thing I saw: two men in military uniforms and my mother on our couch, silently crying. Notification officers. In that moment, I knew. But I didn't want to believe it.
"This your daughter, ma'am?" one of the officers asked. My mother nodded.
"Miss, we regret to inform you that at 0009 this morning MSgt Williams -"
"No," I whispered.
"- took an IED to the stomach - "
"NO." I dropped to my knees.
"- and he was killed on impact," the officer finished.
My mother moved from her spot on the couch to mine on the floor. We knelt there together, sobbing, as the second Notifications Officer informed us of the actions we could take and the help and support we could receive and where to find everything and who to talk to.
Happy goddamn birthday to me.