A SURPRISE

As Stare stepped into the apartment, a cascade of confetti immediately enveloped him, catching him off guard. He brushed the colorful scraps from his face, taking in his surroundings.

His gaze landed first on his mother, a radiant blonde in her mid-thirties, and his adorable little sister, both holding an oversized birthday card. Beside them stood his father, clutching a confetti cannon. Fatigue lines on their faces revealed the hours they must have waited.

Wait…what's going on, aren't you supposed to be angry that I came back late with your parcel?" Stare asked, a little cautious and confused as his mother hadn't launched on him already for being late.

His mother's response was a patient smile as she gestured to a parcel. "Open it, dear."

With a mixture of reluctance and curiosity, Stare complied, revealing an intricately adorned card bearing the words 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BABY BOY' in bold letters.

His parents exchanged glances, their excitement barely concealed. Stare's face bore a blend of confusion and mild embarrassment.

"We know you're not a fan of birthdays, but this is your sixteenth. The beginning of your journey into adulthood deserved a celebration," his father, a man in his late thirties, explained calmly, his attire neat and unassuming.

His mother chimed in, a playful yet somewhat threatening smile directed at Doush. "You had to be kept busy so we could prepare this surprise. We signed up Doush to keep you occupied, who knew he would actually take the job this serious."

Doush didn't know if he should laugh or cry and merely shrugged with a wry smile on his face. "Mrs Johnson needed me, I couldn't afford to give less than my best."

Stare gave his friend a questioning look and met with Doush's characteristic nonchalance.

"What can I say…the pay was quite tempting; the second largest piece of your mum's special vanilla flavored cake, I just had to comply." Doush defended himself.

Stare placed both his parents and friend under his questioning gaze.

It was evident from his expression that he still had questions and didn't seem to completely accept the surprise party, but the dampening mood was immediately livened when a cute girl no older than eight suddenly jumped in between everybody.

"All this talking! Let's open big brother's presents already!" she protested, her big, adorable eyes welling up with tears.

Stare's father tousled her soft brown hair affectionately and wiped her tears away. "Alright, let's see what Stare's got."

With her father's approval, the young girl's face lit up, and she hurried to a nearby table, retrieving a sealed box. Filled with excitement, she handed it to her older brother.

Stare's smile broadened as he watched his little sister eagerly present the gift. Opening the box, he pulled out a multicolored shirt with the phrase 'JOHNSON'S OWN PRIME' boldly displayed at its center.

Perplexed, he looked to his parents for clarification, he could see the excitement in their eyes despite how hard they tried to conceal it.

Stare's mother seemed to notice his confusion and quickly decided to explain, a smile still plastered on her face.

"Well this isn't actually the main birthday present, it's more like something that goes along with the present..."

She then paused most likely to build up suspense and then quickly added.

"I and your father had actually managed to save up enough funds, if the case arises that you actually manage to enter a Hero Academy after the public testing the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah you won't have to worry about the tuition expenses." Stare's father added proudly.

Stare was standing there speechless with the shirt barely hanging in his loose hands.

'These two had actually secretly saved up all these years for the tuition of the Hero Academy…fuck!'

Stare couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Stare's parents could not necessarily be described as broke, neither could they be defined as extremely rich…they just had enough.

Stare's father worked as an Efficiency expert, a career focused on calculating and predicting the efficiency of heavy machines and other tech alike while Stare's mum ran a catering shop at home.

With an average monthly joint revenue of about 150,000 credits, a half a million tuition fee wasn't something they could bring up effortlessly.

Guilt gnawed at him. His parents' hard work and sacrifice, unknown to him until now, shook his resolve to avoid the testing. Disclosing the Cycle of Evolution, his real reason, was out of the question.

This was his reason for hating his birthdays in this cycle.

His parents' nervous anticipation snapped him back to the present. He mustered a smile and tightly gripped the shirt. "The design is really cool. Thank you both for this and for everything. I'll do my best during the testing."

Relief flooded his parents' faces, their worry dissolved. Stare's mother drew near, her touch on his cheek brimming with affection.

"My baby Stare is growing up so fast," she mused, a mixture of sadness and acceptance in her voice.

Stare's guilt deepened. He was about to respond when a small hand tugged at his trousers. He glanced down, finding his little sister looking up at him with her adorable blue big eyes.

"Aila's turn," she declared cutely.

"Oh, my cute sister also has a present for me?" Stare asked as he picked her up and carried her into his arms.

Aila nodded and then pointed toward the box.

Stare immediately became curious on what gift his adorable sister might have prepared for him as he quickly but gently dropped her to ground to check what more was in the box.

Aila however still clung to his leg while staring intensely at her big brother, eager to see his reaction to her gift.

Stare immediately spotted drawings on a paper cardboard lying in the box, it seemed that the shirt had been used to cover the cardboard.

Carefully, he pulled the cardboard out and stared at it with a wide smile.

It was the drawing of a stick-figure with black hair and yellow cape most likely him, his speculation was confirmed when he saw an arrow with his name pointing to the drawing, the description read 'Super Big Brother'.

"Big brother really likes your gift, Aila," Stare praised, running a hand through her soft hair.

Aila beamed, satisfied that her present was well-received. She then gestured to a cat nearby. "Miss Puss helped too."

Stare's unease grew. Miss Puss, the Himalayan cat his sister had adopted, had always exhibited hostility toward him, saving its worst behavior for him alone. Yet now, it remained docile, an unusual calmness on its face.

Stare couldn't help but feel apprehensive. He observed the cat warily, half-expecting it to lash out.

But the cat held its peace, as though saying, "Today I'll allow it, but tomorrow our feud continues."