The Familiar Stranger

A week later, was Samantha's birthday today so the girls along with some other friends from their batch had decided to throw her a birthday surprise, at the end of the day, after all the classes but the location was not yet decided.

"You guys where should we celebrate?" asked Anna.

"Behind the cafeteria?" someone responded.

"Nooo, it's like 35 degrees hot today, it will be so sunny and hot at the back, the frosting will melt right away," said Natalie worriedly.

"What about the garden in front of the library? It is so gorgeous and it is all shady with the trees too." someone else suggested.

"Oh yeahhh! That sounds nice! Okay, so here's the plan we will all meet at around twelvish at the garden okay? Natalie and Ashley you guys stick with Samantha so she doesn't go anywhere, don't let her go out of your sight and I will try to set the balloons and the cake before you two bring her, okay? And make sure she doesn't get a clue of what is going on! Are we clear, you guys?" ordered Anna.

"Done deal!"

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The lectures for the day were supposed to end around noon, but due to the power outage and constant disturbances, it was already 12:45 and there was no sight of it ending anytime shortly. Anna with another girl had already managed to sneak out to decorate the area where the location was decided, making an excuse to Samantha that she had to leave early for home due to a family emergency.

*Text messages from Anna to Ashley*

Anna: You guys! Where are you??? We are all set and ready to party here!

Ashley: Dude, the class hasn't ended yet!

Anna: Sneak out!! Do something!!!

Ashley: If we try to escape what are we going to tell Samantha as to why are missing out on lectures? And besides, you know she will never agree on bunking classes!

Anna: Uhhh okay-y okay, just please be quick before the cake starts to melt here, and everything turns into a disaster.

Fortunately, the professor got exhausted after ten minutes herself and decided to finish up the lecture for the day. The next problem was on how to get Samantha to the library? After a tiresome day of taking back to back classes and labs, the birthday girl was in no mood to go anywhere but the cafeteria to get herself stuffed.

"What are we going to do?" whispered Natalie to Ashley.

"I really don't know...Call Anna, tell her Samantha said no to heading to the library. Ask her what we should do," answered Ashley.

"You know what? I will text Anna and I will ask her to call Samantha herself. She can say something terrible has happened and ask Samantha to come to help her." said Natalie.

"Ooo, I like it! It is clever! Very smart!" replied Ashley cheerily.

As soon as Anna called Samantha and asked for her aid, Samantha along with both Ashley and Natalie, went running to find her, however, confused at the same time about what Anna was still doing there when she had left the lecture early to leave for home.

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As the girls approached the library building, there stretched in front of them was the magnificent garden which really did look like it was taken out from a picture of a painting, with the smell of freshly cut grass and sweet-scented flowers, the lovely, majestic palm date trees that covered the sun. Vines hanging down from some of them and the simple garden benches that sat there adding more scenic beauty to the environment with a chocolate fudge cake placed on one of them that read, "Happy Birthday Samantha! " with colourful balloons and ribbons surrounding it.

From behind the bushes came out Anna along with the other girls, singing the happy birthday song for Samantha!

"You guuuuyyyyyyys! You didn't have to do this, this is so overwhelming," said Samantha happily, blushing as she realized what was really going on.

"Of course we were gonna celebrate your birthday stupid!" laughed Anna as she foamed her from head to toe with snow spray.

"Just cause you don't count us as friends you can trust with your relationship, doesn't mean we don't love you enough not to celebrate your birthday!" said Natalie teasing her friend, chuckling.

As Samantha cut her birthday cake and blew out her candles, Ashley looked up to catch sight of a fine looking guy walking on the sidewalk across the garden from where the girls were. "He looks familiar." She thought to herself. A familiar stranger, with faded blue jeans, and a white fitted t-shirt that slightly showed his well-defined abs underneath, with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he had the kind of a face that could make you stop in your tracks. Innocence dripped from his face, his complexion fair, skin glowing. A different kind of handsome, the kind that got into Ashley's bones and spoke to her soul even before he had said a word, in a language she didn't even know she was so fluent in. She watched him as he came nearer. His ebony black hair, his gentle expressions and glasses that really brought out his jawbones, turning him from superman to the handsome-nerdish Clark Kent.

The closer he got, the familiar he looked until she finally realised who it was. It was SAMUEL. ZOEY'S FRIEND, SAMUEL, the one they had discussed just a couple of days back!!! "What was he doing here? Does he know who I am? Has Zoey ever mentioned me to him? Shown any of my pictures? And more importantly why do I care so much and what is with this guy that always catches my eye." she thought to herself confused over the whirlpool of emotions she was feeling at the moment. It had never happened to her before, whether it is was in photographs and now in person this guy always seemed to make her stop and stare, leaving her heart racing as it had never before.