The day started like any other day; same, old routine of being forcibly woken up from a wonderful dream (at least,I thought it was a good one) by the constant ringing of an annoying alarm clock. Swinging my legs out of the bed, I dragged myself to where the alarm clock was, grumbing to myself about buying a baseball bat to end the short life of that stupid clock. Looking at the calender as I walked past to go to the bathroom, I paused to look at it and started dancing.

" YES!!! Today's the day. I'm 21 years old and there's nothing that will bring me down. Woohoo!! "

That was my one constant thought as I dressed for school in my favourite purple top and blue jeans. One last check in the mirror showed a slim, hourglass figure with long, wavy hair and a beautiful smile and the cutest eyes. Satisfied with the way how I looked, I skipped down the steps to the kitchen. 

"Happy Birthday, darling. What are your plans for today?" My mom asked while preparing my birthday breakfast which consists of a few favorites of mine like chocolate chip pancakes in maple syrup as well as scrambled eggs and kimbap.

"Um, not sure yet. Sandara and Yoona said that they have a surprise for me but those damn girls are keeping their lips shut and no matter how much I try to force them to tell me, they just won't tell me" I said with a hint of annoyance.

"Well, if you already know your surprise, WHAT'S the surprise then?' My mom said with laughter in her voice. "Eat up quickly. Even if it's your birthday, you still have to go to school and study. No day off, Missy. Hehe.. I'll drop you off at school on the way to work."

"Yes, Ma'am" A salute was made as I said those words, knowing that my mother would just laugh and continue to clean the kitchen while shaking her head.

Home is just mom and I as my dad had passed away a few years ago due to an accident. Home is a comfortable two-storey house which was bought after the accident using the insurance compensation money as my mom couldn't bear to live in our old house with all of dad's memories. Home is where my mom and I rebuilt our lives. Home is my sanctuary, my escape from reality for those times when life seemed too hard. Sigh, I love my home.

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"Aw, come on.. Tell me... Tell me... Please.. Please.. PLEASE!!!"

After school, I begged Sandara and Yoona, my two best buddies who had been there for me these past few years especially after my dad passed away. I hate surprises coz I know that I'l die out of curiosity if I don't know what's going to happen next. It will bug me every single minute until I explode, figuratively of course. One reason why I'm a fast reader and could finish a book within an hour was precisely because of this fact.

"Hahaha. No, nope. Suzy, you'll just have to wait till later. We're not going to spoil your birthday surprise. We worked hard, you know."

"Sigh, Okay. Fine. Sandara, you win. I will not pester you all again." I promised with a pout forming over my lips, which soon disappeared as I could never stay angry with them for a long period.

"So, where are we going later? I told my mom that I would be back late..Hehehe.."

Sandara and Yoona just rolled their eyes while I started to laugh, pushing my luck even though I know it will get me nowhere. Unfortunately, I didn't notice there was an uneven tile on the ground where we were walking, causing me to fall forward in slow motion (well, that's how it felt like) and landed on a small puddle of mud.

"Suzy, are you okay? Hurt anywhere?" Yoona was the first to help me up as she was the closest, with concern reflected in her eyes. She's always been the one who worries about everyone else and I don't exactly want to spoil the day even though my left wrist hurt abit..

"Arrrghhh, damn it. This is my favorite top. Why did I even thought of wearing this today? Look at that mess. Urrgh, how am I going to go out looking like this? " I started to grumble after seeing the destruction that the mud splash had done to my favorite top.

"Hmm, seeing as how you are more concerned about your top, I guess you are all right?' Sandara said after putting her arm around my waist, not even worried about the mud that's covering about half of my top and some on my jeans.

"Let's go. Ms. Muddy Chest.. I think it's time we bring the birthday girl for a shopping trip to replace that top and hopefully, start the birthday celebration right. We have plans for later and I don't think your fashion statement right now is appropriate, no matter how interesting that mud looked on your top. Hehehe."

If only, I had known that this incident would not be the only thing that went wrong on my birthday. I would have immediately told my friends that I want to go back home and hide myself under my blanket in my sanctuary. However, we are not seers and cannot foresee the future. And so, I happily went on my way to the shopping mall with Sandara and Yoona, smiling and singing "Mr Chu" by Apink along the way.