Dove Sport

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Lost Day

Arsen's birthday fell on a Wednesday in early November that year. It was gloomy and cold outside, as it always was, and Blair found herself comforted by the fact that she and her friends would be toasty and warm with cake. With the news that Grace was spying on the Larks and hadn't been abducted or coerced into living with them, Blair was allowing herself to relax ever so slightly. It's not that she stopped investigating, she just stopped devoting so much of her time and energy to Seth's murder and allowed herself to take an interest in other things. For example: Arsen. She'd kissed him a few other times since that muddy day in her yard. He seemed to like it, to like her, so Blair told herself to enjoy the time they spent together and not distracted by thinking about murder. They'd been spending more and more time together as the weeks went on, so she'd taken it upon herself to plan his birthday party that year.

In years past, they'd eaten pizza and gone to late-night showings at the local theater. Seeing as the theatre was gone now, Blair was altering the plan a bit. They would go back to her house after school and watch some old movie that he'd picked out and order pizza. Later, Blair planned for some of their other friends- Nick, Dara, and Kenny- to come over and help celebrate. She'd even contacted Mr. Payne and invited him to come celebrate, though she hadn't gotten any promise that he'd stop by.

It was Wednesday morning and Blair was relaying her plans to her mother at breakfast. Arsen had gone to school early to take a test he'd missed. When she'd finished, her mom set down her coffee cup.

"You really like this boy, don't you?" Her mother observed. Blair said nothing, unable to find the words. Her mother sighed. "I don't suppose you'd listen to my advice anyways, so I won't bother with it. I have news."

"Oh?"

"I talked to Principle Nimbus last evening and he agrees with me that it would be beneficial for your school's paper to have more professional oversight."

"Really? That's great, mom!" Blair exclaimed. She meant it, too. Her mother had been floundering without Blair's father or Grace around to occupy her attention, and supervising the paper would give her something to focus on.

Blair's mother smiled. "When can we get started?"

"Tomorrow," Blair said decisively. "Today I'm devoting all my energy to making sure this party goes well." Her mother snorted at that, and left her alone to get ready for school.

That day at school Blair made sure not to mention Arsen's birthday to him at all. She knew he didn't like the attention and preferred to celebrate in private with the people he cared about. As far as he knew, he and Blair were getting pizza after school and taking it back to her house for a Harry Potter movie marathon. By the time school was let out and they'd acquired their pizza, it was already 4:30 in the afternoon. The sun was getting low in the sky and the day was cooling rapidly. Blair checked her watch and determined that she'd kept Arsen out of the house for long enough- there was no way the others weren't done yet. She'd enlisted Kenny, Nick, and Dara to decorate her living room before she and Arsen go home.

Turning onto her street, Blair glimpsed her house and found the windows darkened as if no one was home. Good. Walking in front, Blair climbed her front porch and unlocked the door. She stopped before entering and gave a flourishing wave.

"After you, birthday boy," she said.

Arsen rolled his eyes but followed her instructions. When the front door was shut and locked behind them, Blair flicked on the lights. Their friends jumped out from behind various pieces of furniture and shouted:

"Happy Birthday!"

Arsen froze for a moment. He shot an indecipherable look at Blair over his shoulder before setting his pizza down on the coffee table and smiling at their friends.