“Surprise!” Evelyn jumped out from behind the couch. Her friend leaped backward in shock, his hand over his chest. He nearly ran back out the front door in fright. Evelyn laughed as she walked around to the other side of the couch to meet him.

“What was that for?” Logan asked glaring at her. His hand was still clutching his chest and heaving up and down. He slowly walked further into the living room eyeing her cautiously.

Evelyn was still laughing. She walked past him and closed the front door. “It’s a surprise, Logan. Laugh.”

“A surprise for what?” he asked.

Evelyn folded her arms over her chest. She looked at Logan with a huff though she was still smirking. Logan raised an eyebrow. Was he forgetting something? He must have been forgetting something.

“Well, you’re surprising me so I know it’s not your birthday.” Logan said.

Evelyn scoffed rolling her eyes. Yet the smile never left her lips.

“I know it’s not my birthday. My birthday isn’t for another couple of months and no one really cares about my birthday anyway, so…”

“What are you talking about? You’re going to be 30 on your next birthday!” Evelyn commented defensively.

“Exactly my point.” Logan grunted.

Evelyn dropped her arms back down by her and turned to walk away. “Alright, old man. You think what you want.”

“Where are you going?” Logan stretched out an arm to stop her, but she didn’t see him. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to follow her or not.

“I’m hungry,” she called from the other room.

Logan drew in a breath and then jogged into the kitchen. He had thought maybe she made him a cake or something for whatever they were celebrating. But she wasn’t being very open about it. Maybe she was just saying that to trick him again? Maybe he’d enter the kitchen and sure enough there would be a cake in the middle of the table saying, “Happy…” Well, happy whatever.

“I’m coming into the kitchen…” Logan warned.

“Go for it,”

He sighed. She was taking the fun out of everything. He walked into the kitchen but there was no cake. Evelyn was making herself a sandwich.

“Wait, so what’s the occasion? I didn’t get a promotion at work or anything… you and I aren’t together so I know it’s not our anniversary.” He gasped. “Wait, is it our anniversary from when we became roommates?”

Evelyn giggled slathering on the last bit of mayo onto her sandwich. “No, no, and no. You’re totally off, Logan.”

Logan folded his hands and leaned against the wall deep in thought.

Evelyn turned around and took a bite of her sandwich. They stood in silence and when she swallowed, she grinned again. “You’re really going crazy about this, aren’t you?”

Logan nodded. “Of course I am! You nearly gave me a heart attack when I entered the room. Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

Evelyn shook her head. “Well, where’s the fun in that? I can’t believe you don’t even remember what it is anyway.”

Logan scratched the top of his head ruffling his brown hair. “I really… I really just have no idea…”

Evelyn put down her sandwich and walked over to Logan. She wrapped him up in a hug, Logan being as confused as ever, she pulled away and patted him on the shoulder.

“Oh, you’re so much fun.”

“What?” Logan asked as she walked back over to her sandwich.

“I just wanted to spook you coming through the door, but you really took it seriously so I wanted to string you along a bit.” Evelyn replied.

Logan narrowed his eyes puzzled. “So… you surprised me just to scare me?”

“Yes,”

“And there’s no occasion? Nothing I forgot?”

“Nope, it’s a normal day.”

Logan sighed. “I hate you.” He turned around walking out of the room.

“Oh, by the way,” Evelyn called after him. “Call your mom, it’s her birthday today.”

Logan paused. He waved a hand acknowledging her comment. His mother’s birthday… that was something he had forgotten.

“Are you ready for today’s test?” Lauren asked with a wide grin.

Avery raised an eyebrow at her friend. She seemed to be a little too excited for this test. Avery knew Lauren since they were very young, they went to kindergarten together and had been best friends ever since. That’s how Avery knew when Lauren was being serious or not. She could see right through her friend.

Right now, Lauren was not being sarcastic. For some reason, she was actually excited for this test. Who would be excited for a test? Maybe Lauren woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something.

“You don’t look excited.” Lauren frowned.

“Why would I be? It’s a test.” Avery replied. She stepped in front of Lauren and took the lead as they headed toward the front doors of the testing building.

“Yeah, but this is going to be a cool test.” Lauren replied. She began to skip beside Avery.

“This test is going to decide our future.” Avery said nervously.

Lauren sighed. “No, Avery, it’s not. It’s just going to show us where we place and it’ll be easier for us to choose our college, that’s all.”

“Right, exactly. I’m not going to be able to go to college when this thing is done.”

Lauren stopped walking and grabbed Avery’s arm forcing her to stop. She pulled her friend to the side of the walkway so other people could pass.

“What are you talking about?” she asked. “You’re an A-and-B student. I’ve never seen you get lower than a B-plus.”

Avery sighed. “That’s all thanks to homework, class work, and extra credit. But the tests? I fail those.”

Lauren titled her head to the side like a confused puppy. “You do?”

“I don’t test well.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you say something? I would have studied with you.”

“It doesn’t matter how much I study. I know the material in and out. But I panic when I take tests. I freeze up and I just want to get the test done and over with as quickly as possible. People think I do so well because I have great grades and I finish the tests so quickly, but it’s actually just because I end up putting down random answers. I’ll know them, but I just zip right through them and it hurts my grade.” Avery explained. She stared at the ground somberly.

“Well, you would never know that your grades suffer from the tests.” Lauren chuckled trying to lighten things up a bit, but Avery didn’t crack a smile.

Lauren sighed. “Maybe you can talk to one of the proctors about it. Maybe you can go in a separate room and take the test alone? Maybe you won’t feel as overwhelmed.”

“I’ve tried that at school before. It just made me feel singled out.” Avery replied.

“Ah, true.” Lauren nodded.

“The doors will be closing in two minutes! Last warning! Two minutes!” a woman shouted by the front door. Students who were lingering about began to run toward the door.

Lauren grabbed Avery’s hand. “We have to go.” They broke into a run. “I know it’s hard, but try not to read too deep into it. We have three hours for the test, just take it one question at a time. Pretend the test is only the one question as you go through it all.”

Avery nodded but she didn’t know how any of this advice was going to help her.

They made it to the front doors. Due to the alphabetical order of their last names, they were going to have to part ways. Lauren squeezed Avery’s hand. “In fact, don’t even think at all. Be confident. You ace the homework and class work. A test is no different. Good luck!”

Avery was reluctant to let go of Lauren’s hand, but Lauren forced it as she went in a different direction. She waved even though Lauren was far away.

“Good luck.” Avery muttered to herself. Though she knew Lauren was going to be fine. She was smart and confident, while Avery only had half of that.

Avery knew she over thought things, but she couldn’t help it. This test was going to decide where she could be placed in college. Sure, she could go to an advisor and show them her real grades. Still, it wouldn’t help her when she had to take a test in her college classes. High school was easier in that since on account they weren’t preparing you for your career.

“Excuse me, are you registered yet?” a woman asked Avery.

She was snapped out of her thoughts and realized the lobby was just about empty.

“The tests are going to start in about five minutes.”

Avery swallowed a lump in her throat. “Yes, I’m sorry. I got lost in thought.”

The woman smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Avery’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Between you and me, these kinds of tests are so easy it’s pretty difficult to fail.”

Avery cracked a small smile. She wasn’t sure if that would help her at all, but she appreciated it. She took a deep breath and entered the classroom.

It was a beautiful summer night. The sun had just set but it was still light enough to see and not yet look at the stars. She was sitting on her back deck, lounging in a cushioned chair, her feet propped up on the adjacent chair. Her head was titled back, eyes closed, taking in the summer breeze. This summer had been brutal and the heat was just awful. It was great to sit outside in the evening and naturally cool down.

She heard a zap in the distance and ignored it. Crickets were chirping all around her and even some birds were singing even though they were usually in bed at this time.

Another zap came and she opened one eye. Then there was nothing again. A car drove by her house, its windows down, blasting some heavy metal music. She shifted in her chair trying to get comfortable and relaxed again. The music faded as the car made its distance. She let out a deep sigh and slunk into her chair once more.

Zap.

She opened both her eyes this time. What in the world was that noise? She was trying to have a relaxing night. Her husband had gone to the game with some friends and all the kids were out of the house at their friends’ houses. She hadn’t had a quiet night like this in a long time and she wasn’t to soak it all up.

Zap.

She lifted her head and scanned the area with narrowed eyes. It wasn’t even a loud noise. It was just annoying her. It was a quick zap too, so she knew there was no reason for her to be bothered by it… but she was.

Zap.

She stood up from her chair and looked around. Nothing seemed to be in the yard. The backyard was pretty quiet and dark. She had to squint her eyes to see, but she still couldn’t tell if anything was out there.

Zap.

Groaning, she stepped off the deck and walked through the grass in the backyard. She walked over to the garage, waving her arm trying to set off the motion sensor light. She blinded herself when it turned on because of course she was looking directly at the bulb. It was a stupid move, but she had done it subconsciously.

She rubbed her eyes together turning away from the light. She blinked seeing spots everywhere but she walked away from the light anyway trying to find her way back to the deck.

Zap.

She stopped walking and grunted. She let out an annoyed sigh and decided she wasn’t going to let it bother her anymore. It wasn’t doing anything other than the occasional quick sound. She was making it more annoying than it seemed.

Zap.

Nope. She wasn’t going to let it bother her. She walked back up on the deck. When facing that neighbor’s house she noticed something that wasn’t there the night before. She walked over to the other side of the deck and leaned against the railing trying to get a closer ook. Her eyes were still spotty so she couldn’t tell if she was seeing things or if it was the real deal.

It was a blue light and the moment she heard another zapping sound, it lit up before going dim again.

A bug zapper. Her neighbor got a bug zapper. That was it? That’s what was driving her nuts all this time? She groaned rubbing her head. She didn’t realize how much she needed to relax until something as simple as a bug zapper started driving her crazy.

She sat back down in her chair, scooting down, resting her head against the back again. She propped up her feet once more on the chair. The garage light had shut off and she was able to close her eyes and try to get some rest again.

When all was quiet, she breathed in through her nose taking in the summer breeze again. She smiled to herself. The only thing that would make this night better was if there were cucumbers on her eyes and she had a cold glass of lemonade.

“Mom!”

Her eyes snapped open. How were the kids home already? She had just sat back down to relax!

Her daughter opened the back door. “Oh, there you are. We’re home. We brought a couple of friends, too. Hope you don’t mind.” The door closed and her daughter disappeared.

But she could still hear their voices. Both her daughters, her son, and a couple of other voices. They were all in the kitchen, no doubt raiding the fridge, laughing, being loud and obnoxious.

She groaned pushing herself up and out of her chair. Well, maybe she’ll try again tomorrow night.