On the morning of 25 October I wake up just like any other school morning and follow my daily routine. Once I'm dressed in my uniform, I head downstairs for breakfast expecting mom and dad to have already left but they're all waiting for me.

"Happy birthday to you." All three of them break into the birthday song.

I'm pretty sure my cheeks are pink from shyness and excitement as I say, "Thank you."

"Officially legal!" Sebastian holds up a hand for a high five which I give him.

Mom comes over and gives me a hug, followed by another from dad.

"You shouldn't be late for office because of me." I say, looking at them.

"You're not going to turn 18 again, now are you?" Mom raises an eyebrow at me.

I smile at her and shake my head, "Just once."

"Come here." She holds out her arms to me again and I let her hug me a second time. I love my family.

Breakfast is my favorite, scrambled eggs and sausages and of course, there's cake from my favorite bakery in town. After a hearty breakfast, we all leave the house for our separate destinations.

Sebastian and I arrive in school just before first period begins and we rush to our classes. My first class of the day is English and when I sit down at the seat in front of Angelina, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"Happy birthday!" She gushes, hugging me from behind.

"Thank you." I turn around to talk to her as we wait for the teacher to arrive.

My classes before lunch break pass without much event but I don't get to see any of my friends until then either. As I walk towards the glass doors that open into the cafeteria, I see that everything is calm. But the moment I push the doors open, everyone sitting at my table bursts into a chorus of 'happy birthday' and the entire cafeteria crowd joins in.

I know I'm smiling like an idiot when Ben walks over from the table and pulls me into a hug. When the song ends, everyone bursts into cheers and I wave at the crowd to thank them. Everyone settles down as Ben takes my hand and leads me to our lunch table.

"Happy birthday!" Liam and Ash shout as they hug me.

"Thanks guys." I smile at them.

"Hey." Ben nudges me.

"Hmm?" I ask, looking at him.

"I have something planned for tonight. Don't worry, I already told your parents and they said that it's okay. Is it okay with you?" He asks me.

I'm dumbfounded as I nod, "Yes." Since Ben's sitting right next to me, I only need to lean forward an inch for my lips to meet his.

"Guys come on!" I hear Liam groan and I pull away from Ben as we both start laughing at our friend's discomfort.

School ends and I head back home with Sebastian. Mom and dad aren't home when we arrive so I decide to start prepping for whatever Ben has planned for me. I go to my room and text Ben.

What should I wear?

I get a reply a few minutes later, anything comfortable.

I go to my walk-through wardrobe and stand in front of the shelves that hold my casual attires. Once I've finally decided on what to wear, I check my hair to make sure it hasn't gotten dirty during the day. But it's grease-free so I decide to leave it as it is.

Since tomorrow is Tuesday I decide to get my homework out of the way before I leave. I have an English assignment which I've just completed when a knock sounds on my door.

"Hey, birthday Bunny." Dad says, pushing the door open.

"Hey! You're home early." I say.

"So is Emma and your birthday present is here." Dad tells me.

"Birthday present?" I ask, confused.

"It's a gift you get on your birthday." Dad explains, making me laugh.

"Alright." I laugh, "Will you bring it to me or should I come with you?"

"We can't exactly bring it into the house so you'll have to come with me." Dad shrugs, not giving anything away.

I'm curious to know what my present that can't be brought into the house so I get up from the desk in my room and follow him downstairs. Mom and Sebastian as waiting for us in foyer.

"Ready?" Mom asks me and I nod.

Dad opens the front door and steps outside and I follow. My eyes widen and my jaw hits the floor when I see what it is.

"Oh my gosh!" I scream, covering my mouth as I sink onto the cobbled pathway. I'm laughing, smiling and crying, all at the same time.

It's my dream white BMW.

"Thank you so much." I finally whisper once I have control over my emotions. Mom kneels down next to me and wraps her arms around me as she kisses my head, "You're welcome, Bunny."

After that mom and dad head inside and I spend a good thirty minutes looking at the inside of the car while Sebastian keeps me company. Finally I decide to start getting ready before Ben arrives.

I put on dark blue jeans and a navy blue sweater. I brush my hair and leave it in its natural state. I put on minimal make up and finally deem myself ready once I've slipped on my white Vans.

"Ben's here." A helper lets me know and I head downstairs to meet him.

I find him alone in the foyer. He too is dressed in jeans and a sweater.

"Do I look okay?" I ask, walking over to him.

"Don't you always?" He says and I giggle when he proceeds to kiss my cheek.

"Did you see my new car outside?" I ask him.

"It's majestic. As a princess's car should be." He makes me blush.

"Ben!" I hear dad call out just before he joins us.

"Mr. Aaron." Ben says, letting go of me so that he can shake dad's hand.

"Be home by eleven, okay?" He looks to me and I nod.

"But have fun." Mom adds, appearing behind him.

"I thought that was a given." Dad wraps an arm around mom's waist.

"Okay. We're going to go now." I say and grab Ben's arm.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Aaron!" Ben calls out as I drag him out of the house.

We get into Ben's car and he begins driving.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"You'll have to wait and see." Is all he says.

When we finally arrive at our destination, I'm puzzled. It's the country club.

"Are we having dinner here?" I ask Ben as we get out of the car in the parking.

"Yes." He says and takes my hand.

We walk through the building and head outdoors when my brain finally catches up and I realize that we're headed towards the swimming pool. But I'm not expecting what I see when we get there. The pool area is empty since it's nearly 8 p.m. but on one of the poolside tables there is food laid out.

"Ben." I whisper as memories wash over me.

"Do you remember?" He asks, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me to his side.

I blink back the tears at all the happy memories and nod, "Of course I do."

Some of my earliest memories of Ben are at this pool. We used to swim together here before we even started school at Rushmore Academy. In fact, we kept going until we were nearly eleven before I started swimming regularly at school and Ben took up soccer.

But we spent nearly eight years together here and even the table where the food is laid out holds memories. As Ben brings me to the table, I can't help the tears anymore. I'm smiling as tears streak down my cheeks.

Sometimes when Ben and I got super hungry after swimming, our mothers used to have us sit at this table and they'd order us food. Ben used to get sandwiches and I used to get a pizza, we were also allowed to order extra fries to share. And now the same food is laid out.

I'm so overwhelmed by happy memories that I wrap my around Ben's neck and breath in his scent for a second to calm myself down. Then I sit down at the table and Ben takes the seat next to mine. We share the food and laugh at childhood memories of six year old Hazel and Ben.

I turn away to take a sip of my water and when I look at Ben again, he's already looking at me. The soft look in his eyes makes my heart melt and hammer at the same time. He slowly leans forward and presses a kiss to my lips. I lean into him and deepen the kiss.

As I sit there kissing Ben, I'm fairly certain that I can hear laughter from our memories and I think to myself,

Just wait little Hazel, you're going to fall in love with his boy. So madly in love that every memory you have ever shared with him in the past will mean ten times more than it ever did.

Ben pulls away slightly and smiles at me, "Do you like your present?"

"I love you, Ben." I whisper as I press my forehead to his.

"I love you, Hazel." He whispers back before kissing me again.

Who remembers Hazel and Ben swimming at the country club from Cool Mom?

-T

P.S. If you're an Enid Blyton fan as I am, you'll know that 'a hearty meal' was one of her favorite phrases to use and appears repeatedly in her writing! ❤️