"you,"
"look,"
"amazing!" gina squeals
nini laughs as she examines her outfit in the mirror
she was wearing a purple dress that perfectly hugged her frame. it had thin straps and she was wearing stilettos that matched the dress. she had light makeup and her hair was straightened
"you guys are miracle workers." nini says
the three nod and smile as nini hears a knock at the door
she goes over to open it and sees ida with a box
nini lets her in and the woman smiles
"could i just talk to nini for a bit?" ida asks them
they all nod "we'll just go help daniel with downstairs."
when they're gone, ida closes the door and nini looks at her confused
"what's going on?"
ida takes a deep breath and places the box on the bed
"well, this was the gift your mom and dad wanted to give you on your eighteenth." she says softly
nini sucks in a breath and walks over to her bed where the white box was
she puts her hands on the lid, glancing at ida, who nods in encouragement, before opening the box
nini smiles as she takes out a picture frame that held a collage of all of the pictures of her from when she was younger. either by herself or with her parents.
she feels her eyes sting slightly and takes a deep breath before putting it on her nigh table
"thank you." she whispers
ida pulls nini in for a hug and when the pull away, nini quickly wipes a fallen tear before sniffling
"i can't cry otherwise kourt is going to kill me." she laughs
ida joins her and nini checks herself in her mirror once more before leaving her room with ida following close behind
***
ricky was waiting for ashlyn with seb, ej and big red in the car
they kept questioning whether or not it was a good idea
"guys calm down." ricky says, though he was sort of nervous as well.
"oh look ash is coming!" seb exclaims
ashlyn opens the door and climbs into the car
"alright, i'm ready for my funeral."
everyone laughs and ricky shakes his head with a smile as he pulls out of the side of the road and drives to nini's house
when they arrive, it's already packed with students and muffled music is heard
"never would i have ever thought that we would be going to her birthday party." ej says
everyone nods in agreement as they get out of the car and go to the front door
they enter the house and ricky's eyes land on the brunette smiling and talking to different people
he can't help but realize how beautiful she looked but quickly recovers himself when her eyes meet his and she makes her way towards them
"thanks for coming." she says with a bright smile
everyone nods
"happy birthday." ashlyn and seb grin
"thank you guys."
"is that a chocolate fountain?!" ej and big red exclaim
nini laughs and nods "go help yourselves."
they both smirk and rush towards the food section while seb and ashlyn go off dancing
"happy birthday." ricky says, handing her a wrapped wooden box "uh-be careful it's sensitive."
nini looks at the present "ricky you really didn't have to-"
"i'd sort of be a douche if i came to my friend's birthday party without a present." he laughs
nini joins him and nods as she carefully placed it on the table
"what is it?" she asks him
ricky waves a finger "you have to wait."
nini folds her arms and fakes a pout, making him chuckle
"yeah that won't work on me."
"it worked when we were kids." she smirks
ricky nods "yeah but not anymore."
nini laughs as she sees more people arrive
"i should go." she says
"yeah."
"i'll see you later though?"
he nods with a smile and watches her disappear into the crowd before taking a deep breath and going over to join his friends
nini had an amazing time at her birthday party and everyone left quite late
she started helping alexa with the cleaning before ida told her to go open her presents while she continued helping
nini opened them one by one and they were mostly just vouchers or gift cards or even some jewelry. she then saw that there was still ricky's gift left to open and she carefully carried the box to the dining table
"who's this from?" daniel asks
"ricky." nini says simply as she rips the wrapping paper off and sees the soft surface of the wooden box clearly
she opens it slowly and her eyes light up when she sees what's in front of her
"no he didn't-" daniel gasps
"what's up with you two?" ida asks confused as she approaches them
"r-ricky got me a lotus flower." nini breathes
usually someone would think that it wasn't a big deal that she got a flower as her birthday present. but this flower meant a lot to nini. it was a symbol of her and her mother's relationship and bond, and she always loved this flower ever since she was a little girl. it was definitely meaningful, especially due to the fact that she never told ricky that she loved this flower.
nini smiles to herself as she takes the box up to her room, daniel and ida exchanging a knowing look before their eyes follow the happy brunette
when she gets into her pajamas and sits at her desk where she put the box, she takes her phone and decides to face-time ricky.
his face comes into view and she sees him sitting in his room
"yo." he says
"how did you know?" she asks as she flips the camera
ricky smiles "your necklace."
nini flips the camera back to face her and gives him a confused look
"uh-you never take it off and have been wearing it ever since your mom gave it to you." he says "so i figured-"
"thank you." she says
ricky looks at her and nods "no problem."
the two stay there in silence before ricky clears his throat
"so, how does it feel to be eighteen?" he asks her
nini laughs "it's not that different."
ricky smiles and they both stay there looking at each other
"well, i should go." nini says
"yeah, i'll see you on monday."
she nods "monday. thanks again."
he smiles again and they end the call before nini looks at the flower in awe, remembering her mother's words
'nini, you have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness, and radiate in the sun. just like a lotus flower.'