Picture This

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Charlotte

I woke up to my bed bouncing me up and down and sounding like it was about to break.

“Wake up, wake up!” Freddie said. 

“Go away, Freddie!” I yelled, pulling my pillow over my face. 

“But it’s your birthday!” he said.  His jumping came closer and closer to me.  “Plus it’s the last day of school before the Christmas holiday, which makes it even better!”

As he continued to bounce, I shot up in a sitting position and threw my pillow at him.  He caught it easily, laughing. 

“You’re in America, Freddie.  It’s call the Christmas vacation,” I said. 

“Whatever,” he said, continuing to jump. 

As he jumped nearer and nearer, an amazing idea popped into my head.  I smiled up at him as he jumped up, oblivious to what I was about to do. 

When he was just about to land on my bed, I pulled my covers up and his eyes widened as he flipped off my bed and onto the floor with a thud and an oof.  I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe.

“That was so not funny,” Freddie grumbled as he peeled himself off my floor. 

“Yeah, it was!” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.  “You should have seen your face!”

He stood up and crossed his arms over his chest.  “I came in here to wake you up and be the first one to give a birthday gift to you but I guess I’m not giving it to you now,” he said, narrowing his eyes playfully at me. 

“Aw, come on,” I said.  “You know you still love me and still want to give me my present.”

A grin appeared on his face.  “Of course, I do,” he said. 

He walked over to sit on the side of my bed next to me and reached in his pocket, pulling out a little box wrapped in pink paper with a black bow.  Once I unwrapped it, I opened up the little velvet box, revealing a pair of earrings shaped like bows with diamonds in them. 

“Oh, Freddie, they’re beautiful!” I said, giving him a hug. 

“I was hoping you’d like them,” he said, smiling.  “And you’d better wear them today or I’m taking them back!”

I laughed.  “Of course, I’ll wear them!” I said.

“Good,” he said, standing up.  “Oh, and by the way, I’m driving today.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Exactly.  Now hurry up and get ready.”

Once I was dressed – warmly, since the weather man said there would more than likely be snow – I went downstairs to the kitchen where my birthday breakfast sat.  There was a yellow gift bag in front of my plate. 

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Dad said, walking in the kitchen with Liz behind him.  He came over and kissed the top of my head.  “And happy eighteenth birthday.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I said, smiling up at the two of them.

Liz kissed my cheek and smiled.  “I see you’re wearing Freddie’s gift,” she said.

I reached up and touched the earrings.  “He made me promise,” I said, laughing. 

“Well, our gift goes perfectly with his,” she said, nodding to the yellow gift bag.