After Calvin finished eating six bowls of rice and three servings of fruit salad, he went to bed. Selina had asked about Hebe, but Calvin wouldn't tell her anything about her. He only said "it's a surprise", and changed the subject to his medical studies. Calvin then would stuff his head into his food and not talk for a few minutes.

Selina lay on her bed thinking. She had missed Calvin's endless chatter. But now he had a hint of seriousness in his look. Who could change my brother so much? Selina really wanted to meet Hebe to compare strategies.

Selina could hear a busy buzz downstairs. Her mom had insisted cooking for tomorrow.  Selina fell asleep listening to her mom and dad's laughter.

Selina woke up feeling nothing changed. So this is how it feels to be sixteen... Selina checked her wall to see if her height had grown from last year. It was only a finger's distance!

Selina trudged down the hallway to the bathroom. Selina walked right into a closed door.

"Umph." She grunted. Oh ya, Calvin is back. Selina had grown so used to wakling right through the open doorway. Now Calvin was there.

She opened the door a peak to see her brother shaving. Shaving? He liked the feeling of his mustache!

"Who is it?" Calvin asked. He opened the door and whacked Selina right in the face. "Oh, sorry, mei."

"Uhh...Can I open your present now?"

"Sure, it might be considered lame, but I really liked it. By the way, did you need the washroom?"

"Not yet.." Selina rushed back to her room and flopped on her bed.  She grabbed hold of the bag. Selina guessed it was something like chocolates. That wouldn't be lame at all.

She overturned the bag and its contents fell on her bed. There were three bundles, all neatly-wrapped. Calvin didn't look like he could be neat once in a while.

She opened the first bundle, it was a picture frame. It read 'Best of Times' around the border. Inside was a picture of her and her brother at the beach, last summer.  Selina thought back to the events of last summer. Last summer, her brother had fought off crabs that were chasing Selina. He then had to save Selina from nearly drowning, which led to Selina's determination to learn swimming. Selina had also ruined Calvin's moment with this girl he met. Selina laughed at this. I don't think it was the best of times for Calvin. On the back of the picture there was a note.

Mei, I know this picture doesn't fit, but it's the only one I had with me. Wish we'd taken more pictures! Anyways, you can replace the moment anytime, it just caught my eye. PS hahah, pee, next summer you have to save me from crabs. --- Calvin.

Selina laughed. Anytime. Selina replied silently.

The next bundle was small. In the box there was a shooting star necklace. In there there was a note too.

You are a shooting star, just to point that out. Hope you don't solely focus on things outside of school, like me. I know you won't, keep shooting for the stars! Hehehe. :) ---Calvin.

The last bundle was a book on finance. This surprised Selina, but again, there was a note.

Yeah, yeah. This one is boring, right? I knew you'd open this last. Anyways, I just thought that since you are almost as old as I am, you should learn to manage money. Hey, it helped me out a lot, so I thought you should have it. Anyways, Happy birthday, mei! ---Calvin.

All these gifts had a meaning to it. Calvin sure turned out to be a thoughtful person.  Selina smiled. She had an awesome life right now. She silently wished her birthday wish. I wish everything could stay the same.

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Oh wow, starting to not do so well for my goal! Well, I'll keep trying.. But I will take a few days off.. hehehehe.