OCEANIA

V

To say that I felt crazy was an understatement. I couldn’t even eat last night. I had gone to bed with the excuse of extreme tiredness. I could tell that they didn’t believe me even if their words said opposite. At first, I was too scared to sleep so I just stared at the ceiling. When I got too restless, I started pacing around the room. It wasn’t until the moonlight outlined my room that I noticed that I didn’t close the window.

As I was closing, a figure caught my attention. It was walking to the dock. I could tell that it was guy because of the broad shoulders and ripped muscles. The guy waited for minutes until he dived into the water. I watched patiently to see if a shark would attack him too but weirdly, he never came back to the surface. I clapped the windows shut and flew under the bed cover.

My phone chimed uncontrollably. After that text, anyone in my position would be terrified of the device. I drew in a huge breath before picking the phone. I smiled widely after reading the texts. I squealed as I opened my laptop. “Hey!” I waved as the faces of my best friends appeared on the screen. “Happy Birthday!” They shouted. I giggled with joy bursting through my body. “Thank you so much guys”, I said, “I’m happy you guys are the first to say it”. “Pffft, it was nothing”. Helen brushed it off. “It was something. A lot of stress”, Bill retorted, “I had to wake up early on a Saturday”. I laughed at his silly face, “and this girl appreciates it”, I folded my legs, “anyways, what are you guys doing today?”

“I’m going to the club. My crazy cousin already told my parents before asking me”. Helen replied

. “I’m going surfing dudes. I need the waves to wash away the heat”. Bill said in the stereotypical surfer accent.

“Okay, stop talking like that or I walk”. I gave a smile.

“Wiberly!” I heard Shelly call. “My parents need to ask something”. I whispered. “Yes?!” I yelled back. “Are you gonna be down soon?” She asked, “I need to know so that I’ll make the caramel”. Hearing that word, boosted my appetite not to mention that I was starving from last night. “Do I need to shower?” I asked hoping she says ‘no'. “Brushing is just fine”. She replied. I beamed from ear to ear but I replied in a sing song voice, “I’ll be down in a minute”. “Guess who's the lucky birthday girl” Helen cooed. “Yeah yeah. You guys okay with me going?”. “Sure. Go enjoy your royal breakfast”, Bill faked a bow, “I need to catch some groovy wave with the fly dudes”. He’s accent cracked me up. I was about to end the call but I remembered the Sara thing. “Hey, you okay?” I gave a sympathetic look, “I know what Sara did. I actually caught them in the girls’ bathroom”. “I’m cool”, she shrugged, “I was hurt at first but I don’t feel anything anymore”. “Whoa, that was fast”, I chuckled, “love you guys. Bye!” “Bye!” they said together. “Dude! We got to stop doing that” I heard Helen's last complain.

I rushed to find my brush. I washed my face as well. I slipped into my fur slides and humming ‘Just Dance’ by Lady Gaga, I walked downstairs. The whole house smelled delicious which was perfect. That was something I loved about Shelly; when she was in a good mood, her food becomes heavenly. “Good morning” I sang. “Thank goodness”, she smiled before hugging me, “happy birthday darling”. “Thanks Mom” I smiled. I know I shouldn’t say that to them any more but it's my birthday, anything goes. “Where’s Dad?” I asked grabbing a fork to stuff my face. “He went to pull the tarp off your car but I’m worried he’s not doing it right”. She said.

She was totally unconscious of the fact that she had told me a secret until I screamed, “you got me a car?!” She face palmed herself just as Martin's voice graced the room, “we sure did, kiddo”. He kissed my hair and said, “happy birthday sweetheart”. “Thanks” At this rate, my cheeks are gonna freeze soon from smiling too much. I focused my mind to the delicious caramel covered waffles on my plate. It tasted amazing even though I took little. I was saving room for that good looking cranberry pie I saw in the background.

Martin handed me a signed birthday card. It was weird ‘cause I didn’t recognize the signatures. “Who signed this?” I asked staring at them. The worry on their faces told me the answer but Shelly still replied, “your parents”. I scanned through the content before reading, “happy eighteenth birthday to my beautiful daughter”, I cleared my throat, “I know this will be weird since you've been calling my sister Mom. Your father and I love you very much and if we had a choice, we would be there for you today. We're sorry that you’re just finding out the truth but we begged Shelly to never speak of it until you turned eighteen”.

I had to pause because I was on the brink of crying. I had been so wrong about my parents; real and present. They loved me even if they had to keep the truth away from me. “I'm sorry”, I tried to hide the break in my voice, “I had no idea”. “We get that honey”, Shelly smiled, “and we forgive you”. I sniffed loudly before asking, “what were they like? What was she like?” “We’ll tell you everything”. She promised.

“Is that all the card says?” Martin finally used his voice. “No no”, I opened the card again. “We know you been having the best time with Shelly and Martin but listen closely”, I shifted unnervingly in my seat, “you’re in danger and you need to act fast. Your first clue is in the story of my life. You need to find the cast before they find you. Only the cast can help you survive. Be strong my daughter and remember that we’ll be with you every step. With much love, Mom and Dad”. I sighed as I closed the card. So much for a normal birthday.