bee’s birthday

Merlyn poked her head into Bee’s study without knocking first, abruptly clapping her hands together with a large grin across her face. Bee started and whipped around to face her, instantly calming upon noticing who the intruder was.

“Yes?” sighed Bee.

Merlyn tugged free from her pocket a cupcake inside a tiny plastic box. “Guess what day it is?”

Bee frowned and lied, “No idea.”

Merlyn lightheartedly narrowed her eyes and set the cupcake on the desk, yanking Bee to their feet. They allowed it and simply stood still as Merlyn exited the room.

When Merlyn did not return for two minutes, Bee called out, “Okay, okay, will you come back if...”

Instead of Merlyn hopping through the doorway as expected, Evelyn appeared and shoved a handful of balloons into the room. Bee watched, mouth agape, as they all simultaneously floated to the ceiling. Upon bumping against the ceiling, the balloons popped and sprayed blue confetti about the room. Bee’s mouth remained widened as they glanced toward the doorway to find Elris giving everyone a thumbs up.

“Happy birthday, Bee,” murmured Evelyn, shoving confetti off Bee’s hair after entering the room.

“Um...” Bee paused in an effort to gather their thoughts but decided to stop speaking altogether.

Evelyn grinned and reached into the air, seizing one of the surviving balloons by its string. She tugged it downward and offered it to Bee, but they did not take the balloon. Evelyn looked downward and bit her lip. “We know you said you don’t like your birthday, but we wanted to do something to celebrate. It felt wrong not to.”

Elris pulled a notebook from her pocket and scribbled, “I thought of the balloons.”

Bee remained motionless as they surveyed the room, taking note of the confetti that was spread across the floor and furniture. They looked at Evelyn, whose smile had not wavered. They looked at Elris, who was plucking pieces of confetti off the floor, knowing Bee’s attitude toward disorder. With a jolt, they realized that Merlyn was still missing and had not returned from her previously odd disappearance.

“Surprise!” yelled a familiar voice, and Merlyn entered the room once more, now holding a green apple. She held it out to Bee. “Not a cupcake this time, you see? You like green apples! Take the apple!”

Bee heard the ripping of paper and noticed that Elris was now offering them a drawing of a cartoon bee; the bee had Bee’s hair drawn onto its head and a bandaid over where a nose should have been.

Instead of accepting the gifts, Bee outstretched their arms and pulled the three of their friends into an awkward hug. Evelyn was shocked by the sudden display of affection, while Merlyn shouted in delight and snuggled up to them. Elris, on the other hand, just happily sighed.

“You all,” Bee muttered, “are so annoying.”

“Are you crying? Do you like the apple that much?” said Merlyn, genuine confusion laced in her tone.

Bee pushed Merlyn away but continued hugging Evelyn and Elris. Merlyn snickered in response and tossed the apple into the air, nearly dropping it.

Evelyn slightly pulled away from Bee to look them in the eyes, noticing that tears were welling up.

“Not crying,” insisted Bee, catching Evelyn’s gaze.

Elris escaped the hug and began writing in her notebook once again, revealing a note that read, “You’re crying.”

Bee made a noise in their throat and ended the hug after a few more seconds, thinking that their slight smile went unnoticed.

Bee’s smile, in fact, did not go unnoticed. The others said nothing.