"Happy birthday to youuuuuu!"
Everyone cheered as I sat there, smiling in embarrassment and resisting the urge to shrink into my chair.
"Thanks, guys, but really, this wasn't necessary," I said, feeling my face heat up. My eyes definitely did not sneak a glance at Hiroshi, my crush, who was looking as ridiculously cute as always. Why did he have to look so perfect? With that dark, tousled hair falling just enough over his sharp eyes that were glowing with mischief under the rim of his dark glasses- Sorry where was I? I got carried away.
Linn stepped forward, dramatically grabbing my shoulder. "Excuse me, what do you mean, 'not necessary'? This was absolutely necessary. Don't ever say that again."
Cassandra and Asher nodded like I had just personally offended them.
"Alright, alright, I take it back," I sighed, raising my hands in defeat. My eyes flickered to the clock. Past 5 PM. Oh no. If I didn't get home soon, my mom would personally hunt me down—birthday or not. "Speaking of necessary, I really need to go before my mom declares war on my existence, which is of course, probably going to be the 100th time if she does."
Cue the dramatic groans from everyone.
"We'll miss you, Daph," Asher said with a wink. "Stay strong out there."
What a hero.
I hugged everyone goodbye before making my way home, still grinning like an idiot from the fun of the day. The sky had deepened into a moody shade of blue, the cold breeze brushing against my face as my footsteps echoed on the pavement.
And that's when I noticed something.
The neighborhood was weirdly quiet. Too quiet. Like, horror-movie-right-before-the-monster-appears quiet.
I was still trying to shake off the unease when I spotted him.
An old man. Just standing there, a few steps ahead of me.
I frowned. I could swear he hadn't been there five seconds ago.
Then, as if this whole thing wasn't already weird enough, he looked straight at me and said, "Daphne West, that must be you then?"
Okay. Not creepy at all.
I hesitated but nodded, because, really, what else was I supposed to do?
"Good," the old man rasped. "I have something for you."
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. This was exactly how people ended up cursed in fairy tales.
My heart did this fun little thing where it skipped a beat as the old man rummaged through his robes. And I swear, for a split second, I thought he was going to pull out a glowing amulet, a magic key or something cool.
Then he pulled out... a watch.
And not even a fancy one. Just an old, kinda weird-looking watch. From the colour, it was probably made from brass, with engravings of the different zodiac signs. The silver coloured hands were carved in a shape that reminded me of swords. Roman numerals encircled the watch, as if it wasnt ancient looking enough already.
"Five bucks, and it's yours," he said.
...Seriously? Who did he think I was? A nursery kid?
I stared at him, completely done with this situation. "Wow. No. Not interested."
I turned to walk away, but he quickly held up a hand. "Alright, alright! Two bucks. You know what? Forget it, I'll just give it to you for free."
For free.
Yeah, because nothing about this felt like a scam.
"This is so random," I said, eyeing him warily. "I don't even know who you are, and now you're just... handing me a watch?"
The old man's eyes gleamed. Not a good sign. Gleaming eyes are never a good sign.
"It's not up to you to refuse it," he said, his voice taking on an unsettling edge. "After all, he has decided to adopt you."
I blinked. "Who—?"
Then it hit me. He was talking about the watch.
Great. Just my luck. I had officially run into a mentally unstable old man. What was next? Was he going to tell me the watch could tap-dance?
"He hopes you'll take care of him, considering your bloodline," the old man continued as he shoved the watch into my hands.
Before I could protest, the watch shrunk—yes, SHRUNK—and merged into my bracelet.
"What the—HEY!" I yelped, staring in horror. "This was a New Year's gift when I was twelve! What did you just do?!"
No answer. Because, of course, the old man had disappeared.
Just poof. Gone.
Fantastic. Now I was the insane one.
I grabbed my bracelet, yanking at it, but it wouldn't budge. I tried smashing it on a rock—no luck, except for the part where I bruised my arm.
This was so not my problem. What if the watch was stolen property? What if the old man came back with the police and accused me of stealing it?
I could already picture the conversation:
Police Officer: "Miss, we have reason to believe you stole this watch."
Me: "I SWEAR some weird old guy just gave it to me! He said it adopted me!"
Police Officer: "Right. You're either a liar or clinically insane. Let's go."
Me: "GREAT. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME."
Ok I don't think that last part was necessary but just to check if you were focusing.
Sighing, I trudged home, trying not to think about how my life had spiraled from birthday cake to questionable magical jewelry in the span of an hour.
***
Later that night, I lay on my bed, staring at my still-intact (and still refusing to come off) bracelet. Despite all my very reasonable attempts, the watch wouldn't budge.
My thoughts were racing, swimming around my head like an overcrowded pool party - one with way too many unwanted guests.
"Ugh," I groaned, waving off my internal chaos. "I'll deal with this tomorrow. Right now? I need sleep."
I shut my eyes, bracing myself for what was probably going to be another night of weirdness.