Birthday Surprise!
Diya Mittal
I run into the house bouncing with excitement - today is my 10th birthday and my parents are finally going to tell me about the epic surprise they have planned! I quickly eat a snack while waiting for my dad to get home, then I race upstairs and throw on my new favorite sweatshirt- a blue pullover with the Golden State Warriors logo emblazoned on the front.
I hear the alarm chime and my dad saying, “I’m home!” I walk down the stairs and wait for my sisters to give my dad some space. I’ve never really been a hugger (unlike the rest of my family). Then he turns to me, “Finally,” I think, “this is my moment.”
But of course, my dad instead says, “Ok let’s go.”
“What do you mean,” I reply. ”What’s the surprise?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” he says.
“Ugh,” I think, but follow him out the door anyway, giving my sisters and mom a quick goodbye. We hop in the car and I revel in the fact that my sisters aren’t here so I can listen to whatever music that I want to. My dad backs out of the driveway and I turn the volume up high on the radio.
After some time, we pull up to a Chipotle, we get out of the car, and walk into the restaurant. While we wait in line, I badger my dad with questions about where we are going. “Where is it?” I ask.
“Oakland” he replies. “What do I know that’s in Oakland?” I think, racking my brain for ideas. When it’s my turn to order, I ask for some soft tacos and a soda. We walk outside and the night air is cool and crisp on my face as we sit down to eat, and a mild but familiar scent of tortillas fills my nose. After my first bite, my body relaxes as I taste the deliciousness of cheese, beans, rice and sour cream all put into a luxuriously soft tortilla. I love that Chipotle is a place my dad always takes me even though he only thinks it’s ok, but I love it.
In a few seconds, my dad snaps me out of my thoughts by finally hinting at what’s going to happen. “I’ll give you a hint,” he says, I immediately look up and give him my full attention. “It’s something involving sports.” Yes! I scream in my head, now I know that no matter what it is, I will like it. I devour the rest of my taco and we head for the car, eager to see what the surprise is. We drive for what seems like hours but is probably only thirty minutes. When we pull up to the Warriors stadium, I have to do a double-take, is this really happening? As it finally sinks in, I scream and hug my dad. We walk towards the entrance and meet up with some of his people from work. While waiting in line I glance around in awe, taking in every aspect of the massive stadium.
The stadium is a sensory overload. Lights are flashing, people are talking loudly and highlights from previous games are playing on the screens outside. Walking into the stadium and seeing people decked out in Warriors gear, I am glad that I wore my Warriors sweatshirt.
We take our seats, they are not super close to the court but are still pretty good. I am glad that we are sitting right next to one of the baskets so we get a good view. I turn my attention to the court where the players are warming up. I see Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and can’t believe that I am actually about to watch my favorite team playing my favorite sport. “This is the best birthday ever,” I think.
Suddenly all the lights dim and the announcer starts talking: “Please welcome to the court the GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS!” he finishes loudly. The crowd goes wild, including me. When everyone quiets down he adds, “And the Oklahoma Thunder!” with much less enthusiasm.
The first half of the game starts in a flurry of fast breaks and whistles; Oklahoma is a fan of fouls apparently. Before I know it, we are at halftime and the Warriors are up by one point. All of a sudden, little parachutes with McDonald's burgers start floating down, and the crowd goes wild trying to catch one. This is absolutely crazy. I am in awe as people all around me try to catch burgers falling from the sky, this is definitely something I didn’t expect to see tonight.
I look over at the Jumbotron to see all the birthdays being displayed. My dad nudges me and says, “Pay attention,” I concentrate on the board when I recognize my name, I look closer and see that it says, “Happy 10th Birthday Diya.”
“OMG!” I look at my dad and squeal.
“Surprise,” he says with a goofy grin. I just laugh and turn my attention to the rest of the game.
When we walk out into the night, I can still feel the adrenaline coursing through me, making me feel warm even though the air is cold. As we walk to our car, I feel content, running all the best moments of the game through my head and the satisfying last few seconds when Curry drained a game-winning three-pointer. As I think back I can still hear the loud and distinct trill of the ending buzzer ending one of the coolest moments of my life. I’m pretty sure I’ve never screamed louder in my life, I’ve definitely lost my voice but I don’t care. All I can think is, “This is the best surprise ever.”
