"I know," I replied, smiling sadly. "So do I. But you heard her -it's an expensive trip." I turned back what I was doing and began mindlessly flipping through the piles of sheet music on the baby grand. Trinity had run to her locker for some books before we headed to the local bookstore.
Suddenly, an idea sprang to my mind. The trip was in March, giving us a little over a month until we left. Trinity's birthday was in less than two weeks. Wouldn't it be a fabulous present to surprise her with her ticket to Disneyland? I immediately turned to Honor, eyes full of excitement and hope, but then the reality of what I was about to say hit me. I closed my mouth while she looked at me, head tilted quizzically.
"What is it?" Honor questioned, her tone light upon seeing my excitement.
Would it work? I bit my lip in concentration, weighing the odds of pulling this off. "Well...I have an idea."
She rolled her eyes then looked back at me, chuckling slightly. "Obviously."
"What if," I began cautiously, unsure of her reaction, "Trinity did have a way to pay?"
"For Disneyland." It wasn't a matter of what for, but how it would happen. Her brow furrowed as she stared at me to continue.
"Yes," I started, smiling as the possibility became clear in my mind, "For Disneyland. I was thinking, her birthday is coming up soon, right?"
She nodded patiently, waiting for me to state my point.
"Well, everyone really likes her, right? What if we got all of our friends in Mads," I paused, pursing my lips before adding, "and those who are not in Mads, to chip in a little bit for a birthday present? It costs around $350. There are over 40 people in Madrigals, not to mention all of her friends, so it would be easy if everyone contributed around $10."
A smile slowly spread across Honor's face, growing bigger as I explained my plan. By the end, she was nodding her head, grinning from ear to ear. "Yes! That would be fantastic!"
I let out a relieved sigh, happy that she agreed with me. "Great! I'll make a notebook to write down everyone's names and how much they'll give!" I grabbed my Peruvian bag/satchel that hung on the chair next to me. After rummaging for a second, I pulled out my spiral notebook, flipping to a blank page and clicking my pen.
"Wait," I heard Honor say, catching the barest of worry in her voice. My brain snapped out of its reverie as I stared blankly at her. "I think we should call her mom about this first -just to make sure it's okay with her."
I shook my head, mentally slapping myself for not thinking of that sooner. "Oh yeah, of course! Duh."
She reached over the piano, handing me her iPhone and motioned to the already turned-on screen. "I have her number, if you want to call her." She emphasized the word "you", probably since I was the one that came up with the idea.
Just as the phone was about to drop into my open palm, we heard the choir room door open as Trinity strode into the room, textbooks in hand.
"Hey guys," she began, a grin on her face as she saw the phone in my hand. "What are you up to?"
Being the oh-so-smooth actress I was, [and still am, by the way] I slipped the phone into my pocket and flashed her a cheeky smile. "I was just telling Honor here about how I'm going to ride the craziest roller coaster in California Adventure first."
Trinity rolled her eyes but was still smiling, "Of course you will, Alex." She turned to Honor and held up a duet they had to learn for Region. "Ready to practice?"
She returned her smile, "Definitely." As Trinity walked around the piano to sit on the bench, Honor flashed me a look that said, "Call her mom".
"Well," I sighed in fake disappointment, "As much as I would love to hear you guys play the same thing over and over again, I have to make a phone call. I'll be back."
Trinity raised a questioning eyebrow at me, silently asking who it was. I didn't bother to answer and shrugged my shoulders, spinning on my heel towards the adjoining room. "Later," I called over my shoulder.
As I strode across the room, I heard them begin practicing the quick, intense song. Upon opening the door, I quickly dialed the number and hit "call".
I then proceeded to have a hilariously awkward conversation with Trinity's mom about my little plan. Eventually, I managed to get through it without sounding like a complete idiot, and her mom thanked me for being such a caring and thoughtful friend to Trinity.
"Oh really, it's nothing I wouldn't do for anyone else," I told her honestly. "Trinity is one of my closest friends, and I would rather stay home than go without her."
"Well, thank you again so much. I'll keep it a secret," her mother replied. "You girls go out and have a fun day!"
"We will!" I hung up the phone and grabbed the door handle, swiftly returning to the piano. Honor's eyes flicked towards mine, questioning Trinity's mom's response.
I grinned widely, nodding my head. I couldn't contain my excitement. Trinity was coming with us to Disneyland! And even if we didn't earn enough to pay for the whole trip, I'd just make up for the difference.
Honor shared my enthusiasm, beaming as she practiced her duet with Trin. Lucky for us, Trinity either didn't notice or didn't care that we were smiling like idiots for no particular reason.
Now it was time to put my plan in action.
To avoid the longest, most boring post about how exactly I set up everyones donations, I'll crop it down. Basically, I just talked to them and collected the money the next day. I stored it in an envelope that was kept safely in my bag until we finally got enough. Everyone I asked was on board and eager to help, donating about $10. I explained it as a birthday gift from everyone to her, which made it that much better.
Now, fast-foward to when we went shopping for the perfect card to put the receipt in.
"What about this one?" I held up a colorful card with balloons on it, looking over the row to Honor.
She scrutinized it for a moment, scrunching her eyebrows together. "No, not quite. It has to be perfect." She walked around the corner, starting on a new aisle.
I placed the card back in its proper holder. "Honor, I'm awful at this. I don't know what she'd like." I managed to meander halfway across the store before I heard her shout.
"Oh my gosh!" Honor exclaimed loud enough to be heard through the entire store. "This is it! It's perfect!"
I blindly searched the aisles until I found her, clutching a rather thick-looking card to her chest. When she saw me, she thrust the card out, gesturing for me to read it.
I looked at the front. It was the scene of a carnival -a ferris wheel, booths, and fireworks- against the night sky. In gold letters, it read; "A place that's full of fun and excitement..."
I flipped it open, finding a similar picture and the words; "...is a place where you deserve to be!"
Looking up, I smiled at Honor. "It's fantastic."
Now cut to a week later. It was a Friday, three days before Trinity and Quinn's birthday. Their mom, Honor and I had planned a surprise party, inviting all of their friends at school and close family to their house. While their mom kept them away from home, we set up all sorts of decorations, streamers, a banner, signs, you name it. We also bought a cake for them and some smaller presents for Quinn. Finally, their mom texted us that they were on their way home.
"Now remember," Knox, their older brother, began. "When I say 'what's up girls?' is when you'll all pop out and surprise them."
"Okay, okay, we got it," Honor sassed. "Now scatter!"
Everyone in the room (about 35-40 people) scrambled to find their hiding places. I ran into their laundry room, which was around five feet from the door, a few people following me in. I peeked out the door at Knox, reclining comfortably on the couch.
After a few moments of "Shhsh!"ing, we heard their garage door being opened. The entire room went silent, none of us uttering a word. The car door slammed shut, matching the hammering of my heart.
Their voices were muffled as they approached the door, giving us plenty of warning before they walked in. You could practically smell the excitement in the air.
The handle turned and Trinity walked in, Quinn following closely behind.
"Hey girls. What's up?" Knox said rather obviously.
The entire room exploded with "SURPRISE!" as we all emerged from our hiding places. The look on their faces went from shock to confused, seeing as it wasn't their birthday quite yet.
Since I was the closest, I grabbed Trinity in a hug. "Hey birthday girl!" When I released her, she still looked confused. The rest of the crowd had caught up to me, quickly swarming the two girls.
By this time, they knew what was going on. After the initial shock wore off, we all started socializing and ate cake & ice cream. Eventually, we got around to opening the (few) presents for them. Instead of just the two of us (me and Honor) signing the card, we had passed it around to all of the kids who had donated so they could write a small message. We then put the receipt of the purchased trip into the card.
"Okay everyone, gather 'round!" Honor's best friend, Nikki, shouted. "Time to open presents!"
We all settled down to form an extremely lopsided circle around the twins. Most of us were still eating the last bit of cake on our plates.
"Alright. Quinn first." One of Quinn's friends handed her her presents.
Eventually, after opening some candy and jewelry, it was Trinity's turn. Everyone in the room had either contributed to Trinity's present or brought something for Quinn, leaving nothing else but the card.
"Trinity's turn," Honor smiled and nudged me with her elbow, just as giddy as I was. I held the card in my hand nervously, anxious for her to find out what it was. Because I had come up with the idea, everyone had agreed that I give it to her.
I rose to my feet, then crossed the circle to Trinity. My face hurt from smiling too much as I handed her the card. She took it cautiously, giving me a weird look before looking back down at it.
"It's from a lot of us," I explained, returning to my spot. Her blue eyes were locked with mine until I smiled, reassuring her.
She quickly opened the envelope and pulled out the card. Every face was on hers as she scanned the front, then opened it. Inside were all the signatures and well-wishes we had written, handwritten by each of us. The receipt had been folded neatly as to not reveal itself too early. She pulled it out, dropping the card on her lap.
"Is this part of it?" She questioned, looking at no one in particular. Unfolding the paper, she scanned the short line. Her eyebrows scrunched together, not quite believing what she was seeing. Then she broke out into a huge grin. "Are you serious?!"
Honor couldn't contain it anymore. "You're going to Disneyland!!!" The rest of us shouted with glee, throwing our hands in the air.
Trinity looked as if she was going to burst with excitement. "Oh my gosh!" She stood up and everybody rushed her, creating one giant group hug.
I could've exploded with joy then. I was so happy that she was coming with us, and I literally could not stop smiling.
The rest of the day continued with the party, all of us celebrating the fact that she was going. It was one of the best times in our friendship. Trinity couldn't stop smiling, and I felt my heart would just jump out of my chest.
That was one of my favorite memories of Trinity. I would've done anything for her. I didn't end up paying as much as I thought I would. I paid for about a third of her trip, her mom paid for another third, and the rest of the kids made up the rest. I would've gladly paid more. But Trinity didn't feel quite the same.
And I was going to find that out very, very soon.
She returned her smile, "Definitely." As Trinity walked around the piano to sit on the bench, Honor flashed me a look that said, "Call her mom".
"Well," I sighed in fake disappointment, "As much as I would love to hear you guys play the same thing over and over again, I have to make a phone call. I'll be back."
Trinity raised a questioning eyebrow at me, silently asking who it was. I didn't bother to answer and shrugged my shoulders, spinning on my heel towards the adjoining room. "Later," I called over my shoulder.
As I strode across the room, I heard them begin practicing the quick, intense song. Upon opening the door, I quickly dialed the number and hit "call".
I then proceeded to have a hilariously awkward conversation with Trinity's mom about my little plan. Eventually, I managed to get through it without sounding like a complete idiot, and her mom thanked me for being such a caring and thoughtful friend to Trinity.
"Oh really, it's nothing I wouldn't do for anyone else," I told her honestly. "Trinity is one of my closest friends, and I would rather stay home than go without her."
"Well, thank you again so much. I'll keep it a secret," her mother replied. "You girls go out and have a fun day!"
"We will!" I hung up the phone and grabbed the door handle, swiftly returning to the piano. Honor's eyes flicked towards mine, questioning Trinity's mom's response.
I grinned widely, nodding my head. I couldn't contain my excitement. Trinity was coming with us to Disneyland! And even if we didn't earn enough to pay for the whole trip, I'd just make up for the difference.
Honor shared my enthusiasm, beaming as she practiced her duet with Trin. Lucky for us, Trinity either didn't notice or didn't care that we were smiling like idiots for no particular reason.
Now it was time to put my plan in action.
To avoid the longest, most boring post about how exactly I set up everyones donations, I'll crop it down. Basically, I just talked to them and collected the money the next day. I stored it in an envelope that was kept safely in my bag until we finally got enough. Everyone I asked was on board and eager to help, donating about $10. I explained it as a birthday gift from everyone to her, which made it that much better.
Now, fast-foward to when we went shopping for the perfect card to put the receipt in.
"What about this one?" I held up a colorful card with balloons on it, looking over the row to Honor.
She scrutinized it for a moment, scrunching her eyebrows together. "No, not quite. It has to be perfect." She walked around the corner, starting on a new aisle.
I placed the card back in its proper holder. "Honor, I'm awful at this. I don't know what she'd like." I managed to meander halfway across the store before I heard her shout.
"Oh my gosh!" Honor exclaimed loud enough to be heard through the entire store. "This is it! It's perfect!"
I blindly searched the aisles until I found her, clutching a rather thick-looking card to her chest. When she saw me, she thrust the card out, gesturing for me to read it.
I looked at the front. It was the scene of a carnival -a ferris wheel, booths, and fireworks- against the night sky. In gold letters, it read; "A place that's full of fun and excitement..."
I flipped it open, finding a similar picture and the words; "...is a place where you deserve to be!"
Looking up, I smiled at Honor. "It's fantastic."
Now cut to a week later. It was a Friday, three days before Trinity and Quinn's birthday. Their mom, Honor and I had planned a surprise party, inviting all of their friends at school and close family to their house. While their mom kept them away from home, we set up all sorts of decorations, streamers, a banner, signs, you name it. We also bought a cake for them and some smaller presents for Quinn. Finally, their mom texted us that they were on their way home.
"Now remember," Knox, their older brother, began. "When I say 'what's up girls?' is when you'll all pop out and surprise them."
"Okay, okay, we got it," Honor sassed. "Now scatter!"
Everyone in the room (about 35-40 people) scrambled to find their hiding places. I ran into their laundry room, which was around five feet from the door, a few people following me in. I peeked out the door at Knox, reclining comfortably on the couch.
After a few moments of "Shhsh!"ing, we heard their garage door being opened. The entire room went silent, none of us uttering a word. The car door slammed shut, matching the hammering of my heart.
Their voices were muffled as they approached the door, giving us plenty of warning before they walked in. You could practically smell the excitement in the air.
The handle turned and Trinity walked in, Quinn following closely behind.
"Hey girls. What's up?" Knox said rather obviously.
The entire room exploded with "SURPRISE!" as we all emerged from our hiding places. The look on their faces went from shock to confused, seeing as it wasn't their birthday quite yet.
Since I was the closest, I grabbed Trinity in a hug. "Hey birthday girl!" When I released her, she still looked confused. The rest of the crowd had caught up to me, quickly swarming the two girls.
By this time, they knew what was going on. After the initial shock wore off, we all started socializing and ate cake & ice cream. Eventually, we got around to opening the (few) presents for them. Instead of just the two of us (me and Honor) signing the card, we had passed it around to all of the kids who had donated so they could write a small message. We then put the receipt of the purchased trip into the card.
"Okay everyone, gather 'round!" Honor's best friend, Nikki, shouted. "Time to open presents!"
We all settled down to form an extremely lopsided circle around the twins. Most of us were still eating the last bit of cake on our plates.
"Alright. Quinn first." One of Quinn's friends handed her her presents.
Eventually, after opening some candy and jewelry, it was Trinity's turn. Everyone in the room had either contributed to Trinity's present or brought something for Quinn, leaving nothing else but the card.
"Trinity's turn," Honor smiled and nudged me with her elbow, just as giddy as I was. I held the card in my hand nervously, anxious for her to find out what it was. Because I had come up with the idea, everyone had agreed that I give it to her.
I rose to my feet, then crossed the circle to Trinity. My face hurt from smiling too much as I handed her the card. She took it cautiously, giving me a weird look before looking back down at it.
"It's from a lot of us," I explained, returning to my spot. Her blue eyes were locked with mine until I smiled, reassuring her.
She quickly opened the envelope and pulled out the card. Every face was on hers as she scanned the front, then opened it. Inside were all the signatures and well-wishes we had written, handwritten by each of us. The receipt had been folded neatly as to not reveal itself too early. She pulled it out, dropping the card on her lap.
"Is this part of it?" She questioned, looking at no one in particular. Unfolding the paper, she scanned the short line. Her eyebrows scrunched together, not quite believing what she was seeing. Then she broke out into a huge grin. "Are you serious?!"
Honor couldn't contain it anymore. "You're going to Disneyland!!!" The rest of us shouted with glee, throwing our hands in the air.
Trinity looked as if she was going to burst with excitement. "Oh my gosh!" She stood up and everybody rushed her, creating one giant group hug.
I could've exploded with joy then. I was so happy that she was coming with us, and I literally could not stop smiling.
The rest of the day continued with the party, all of us celebrating the fact that she was going. It was one of the best times in our friendship. Trinity couldn't stop smiling, and I felt my heart would just jump out of my chest.
That was one of my favorite memories of Trinity. I would've done anything for her. I didn't end up paying as much as I thought I would. I paid for about a third of her trip, her mom paid for another third, and the rest of the kids made up the rest. I would've gladly paid more. But Trinity didn't feel quite the same.
And I was going to find that out very, very soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment