Chapter 47 - a birthday for Hana

A week after the incident with Roland and Rose, they managed to open up a hostel dormitory for girls. Today is a special day, because it's Hana’s birthday. Luckily it is on the weekend, since today is Saturday. Her surprise party is being planned by Sylvia, who is making a cake for Hana. In the meantime, Siti and Tama make decorations for her party. Sylvia and mom entrust me to bring Hana and Sam out of the house to entertain Hana while they prepare. Mariam invited us to her house, and Amin and his brother Arman joined us. The surprise party was just around the corner, and Hana was the one throwing it!

"Hey Big Sis Mariam!! We are here!!" Hana jumps from the entrance of Mariam's condo. While Amin and Arman have not arrived yet, Mariam is really well prepared with a place for Sam to play around. Mariam acted like a big sister to her while teaching her to dance. It was Mariam who called Hana to tell her somebody was calling. She looked really happy about it while we waited for mom and Sylvia to signal us. Amin and Arman arrived at the house.

As we hung around at her house, Mariam asked me about something of importance during our time together. It's about our plans to reach LA soon.

"As soon as we arrive in LA, someone will pick us up, and I have arranged a place to crash until my audition."

“Oh yeah, so? ”

"What's your plan? Do you plan to be a cowboy again?" she must have meant my crazy idea of spending time there.

"The last thing I want to do is beat them. I'd rather meet them. I guess I'm just looking for a bit of peace and quiet, and maybe a hug or two." I guess Mariam noticed my sarcastic response.

Mariam then walked away to hang out with Amin and Arman, leaving me to sleep on the couch outside the corridor. It was breezy outside, with soft sunlight surrounding it. Mariam had her own phone, a Samsung MPH 100 with a music player. I don't have one yet, but I intend to get one. But I'm not sure which model to choose. Maybe I'll remember it later. I fell asleep and suddenly remembered what I had with Natalie, but I also remembered Sylvia and Priscilla. I guess life isn't all about phones, after all!

Someone woke me up and it was Hana. Suddenly, she pushed me off the couch.

“I’m bored, come on! It occurred to me that I had only been sleeping this whole time. Mariam and Amin looked after Sam and Hana. Having wanted to see the beach, Mariam asked her driver to drive us to Tanjung Aru Beach. Hana is extremely excited because it has been a while since we last made it to the beach. As soon as we arrived, we headed to a place where Mariam had a membership in a yacht club, and we rented a sailboat to explore.

“Never knew that you knew how to sail a boat?” I’m really impressed with her

We sail the boat while Hana and Sam are in the boat. Nothing like a secret present for Hana. We manage to pass by the airport where we sail again. That's basically what we're doing, buying time until Sylvia tells us we have to be back at home. Showing Hana how to handle the sail boat, navigating the waters along the way. I notice Priscilla isn't there either, so Mariam nudges me and tells me they're at my house.

"That's got to be a joke, right?" I laugh nervously and reply, "Maybe, but this isn't the time for jokes!"

Mariam gave me a look while sarcastically explaining to me. I guess I should've known that there's no such thing as a joke-free zone.

"You know what, you better be ready for all kinds of trouble eh?"

Sonava!! I really hope mom can handle this with all the girls there. This is not the time for me to be safe at all. But I'm sure she'll be fine, after all, she is a mom – an expert at dealing with all kinds of trouble!

"Whatever!" As Amin and the others enjoy the sea view, I glance away from Mariam. Mariam is basically a pirate by heart, knowing how to sail, having no sense of etiquette and proving to be a mean fighter to say the least. I guess you could say that Mariam was a real buccaneer...of hearts.Hana's eyes were filled with wonder and excitement as she held my arm as she jumped around causing me to follow her. Soon after we retreated to the beach, she held my arm while jumping around forcing me to follow.

Big Brother, hurry up! She pulls me onto the beach while Hana jumps into the ocean and swims away.

"Hey squirt, not too far got it!"." Hana didn't listen to me. Mariam held my shoulder, now making me look like an idiot. I guess that's what I get for trying to be the cool big brother!

“Hey dad, don’t be a hardass!! She is having fun right? In this case, I have no choice! However, I have to agree with Mariam. Time flies by, and Mariam calls, signalling us back to the house. As we change our clothes, I realize my clothing has disappeared from the locker. Whoa! Amin then held my shoulder.

"It's Honey's idea, just follow the flow, okay bro?" I realize what's in the locker: it's a tuxedo. I thought to myself, "Mariam really knows how to dress up!" Wait a second! I thought this was just a birthday party for Hana, not the wedding of a lifetime! This ain’t my style!! I started screaming at Mariam. Suddenly, I realized this was not going to be just a casual birthday party, but rather a sinister plan! - one that I was not prepared for!

“MARIAM! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT? Everyone was startled by the sound of me shouting like a madman. Amin tried to calm me down while he closed my mouth.

“Bro! Like I said, just follow the flow!” Amin pulled me away and forced me to wear the tuxedo.

"there is no way in the world for me to wear this! this is her idea of making fun of me you know that asshole!"

"Oh, come on, dude, just be a good sport will ya?" I mean, sure it's embarrassing, but at least I'll be the talk of the party!

"Is my life you are talking about? Good sport!" I guess I can't argue with that logic - when life gives you lemons, make lemonade (or a crazy party story)!

He held my shoulder, convincing me this was for Hana. It's true that love for your little sister makes you do crazy things - like make a purchase you can't afford! I could tell he was serious, but it was hard to laugh at the idea of me being a romantic sacrifice. In the end, I reluctantly wore a tuxedo. Mariam wears a party dress, Hana changes into a really cute dress. Sam is not left behind dressed in a baby tuxedo. We all looked like a million bucks, or at least a couple thousand dollars.

"This is a special day for Hana." Yeah right, or something is seriously fishy going on with Mariam at the moment. I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd say something was brewing between them!

There is something really going on with her sparkling eyes as she says, "Big brother!". I have a bad feeling about this. It's like the calm before the storm. I can sense the tension in the air and I can almost predict that something is about to happen. It's like a ticking time bomb and I'm just waiting for it to explode. I can sense the anticipation in her voice and the way she looks at me. The atmosphere is electric and I can almost feel the energy radiating off of her. My biggest concern is that I will not be able to handle what follows and that Mariam will be entertained by the consequences. I guess you could say that I'm a bit of a drama queen.

After all is said and done, we head out, but Mariam appears to have stopped at another place. Mariam smiles at me while looking at me. “Oh, no!” I groan. What else did she want to add to the itinerary of her fun days? I guess when your best friend is the queen of spontaneity, you just have to roll with the flow! One person sent a box to be placed under the trunk of the car. It’s like being on a roller coaster—you never know what’s going to happen next, but you’re along for the ride regardless! Hana is really wondering what it is all about. Looks like the Queen of spontaneity is playing a mystery game! Mariam gave a wink to Hana and said it was a surprise for someone. Hana was slightly confuse with all of this. When Mariam reached my house, she asked Hana to close her eyes. Hana was the only one who closed her eyes as we sped up. While in the darkness of the living room, Mariam pushed her towards the house.

“Poof!!” The party popper started around and everyone shouted

“Surprise!"Hana was surprised by this and she was confused and I looked at her and said.

“Happy Birthday Squirt!"

“Big brother?”

“You seem to forget that this is the day you were born Hana” Mom explained to her that today is her birthday.

We celebrate her birthday while Sylvia and a pleasantly surprised Priscilla are here as well. It's a cheesecake that Sylvia made for her. Hana was so excited that she almost forgot to make a wish before blowing out the candles!

Whenever it came time to give her a present, everyone had their own. Except for me. Oh, sh*t! I forgot about that!

Sylvia: "It's OK, don't worry! You can just make a wish for me!"

Hana: "Yeah! I wish big brother to remember to get me a present next time!"

Mariam and Amin gave me a look and said to me

"some big brother you are eh?"

"Bro, that's a cold man..."

Priscilla knocked on my head while locking my head

"this is our own idiot eh!!?"

I've become cannon fodder for them now. Mom said to me "Well, at least you'll be remembered as a hero! *wink*" Everyone laughed.

Still, I was able to give Hana something that no one else had. A kiss on the forehead. Their eyes were fixed on me when Sylvia and Priscilla glanced at me.

As I face another problem, Siti adores what's happening. Little did I know that I was about to have my first three-way kiss! In my ignorance, Mariam took a picture of that moment and teased me in a sarcastic manner. "Awww, what a sweet moment" my vision turned blank. As I woke up, Sylvia explained that I had been brutally beaten on my head again by Hana. Talk about a kiss and a drop kick! Damn, that dress looks adorable on her! What the hell am I thinking?

"Aren't you still young enough to forget things like birthdays?" That hurts but I don't really care.

“At least you guys managed to pull off such a party.” Sylvia smiles at me as I wonder where everyone is.

“They spent time outside playing with fireworks that Mariam bought for her” I guess Mariam wanted to make sure the party ended with a bang!

As I stood up, I looked down at them from the balcony. The rest of the group had an awesome time, so I asked Sylvia to go ahead without me. As I watched them, I couldn't help but feel a wave of joy and admiration for Mariam's thoughtfulness.

“Don't be a grinch, just have fun with them.” Sylvia looked at me while trying to get me off the balcony.

"This is your sister's birthday, so just be with the flow" she continued, "and aside, we look cute together." I stared at Sylvia wearing a really elegant dress with a light blue sheath that matched her body beautifully. She looked really hot in that dress. What the hell am I thinking again? This is getting out of hand! After snapping out of my trance, I said, "Yeah, let's just go with the flow and look cute together... or whatever." Sylvia smiled at me and pushed me out of the balcony. As Sylvia and I walk out together, she holds my arm. I guess when you're in a trance, you don't think about the consequences of your words!

At this point, three girls were about to have a cat fight and I was caught between them. I guess I should have known it was going to be a bad day when I woke up between a rock and a hard place! While Hana, Arman and Steward play with fireworks together, Mariam seems to enjoy the moments. Mariam said to mom and Amin, "Oh, I'm having the time of my life! Now if only I had some popcorn!" Mom is enjoying her tea while watching me be a victim. Little did I know that I was about to become the popcorn!

After the party, Mom decided that everyone should stay at our house since it was already late. As everyone was asleep, Hana called me and we walked out of the balcony together.

“Big brother?”

“Yeah?”

“I really wish Big Sis was here with us to be in our party…”

“Yeah, I know…”

"But big brother is stupid to the point that I have to break it" yep I deserved it. This mess has been around since we arrived.

"Uh...yeah but that doesn't mean I forget about Natalie”

"Promise...big brother?"

"Yeah..." That is what I believe because I know that Natalie is the one. As she warned me, she retreated back to the room with relief in her heart.

"Remember, I've got my eye on you big brother...." Yeah, I'm planning to avoid trouble that until Natalie meets me. After all, it's not easy to ignore a warning from a 7-year-old. My head rests on my soft pillow as I return to my room with Amin in my room. I can relax now, knowing I am safe and sound in my own place. It's nice to have a cozy little nest to come back to, even if it's full of Amin's snoring. He is fast asleep as I go back to my room. I look at the ceiling while thinking about what Natalie is doing now.