Page 148 of Clean Slade
I heard shushing and giggling, but I wasn’t sure where it was coming from, so I checked Mac’s room.
It was empty.
The living room was too.
Were they playing hide and seek at this time of day? And more importantly, why hadn’t they invited me?
I stepped into the kitchen and froze on the spot.
The cabinets were brandishing red hearts and bunting, the floor was covered in rose petals, and the dining table was littered with dozens upon dozens of stuffies.
What was going on? Was Mac holding a tea party with all my collectibles?
I picked one up, inspected it, and only then did I realize none of them were mine.
Whose stuffies are they?
“King? Mac?” I called out when they both jumped out from behind the table and legitimately almost gave me a heart attack.
“Surprise!” they shouted as I clutched my heart and tried to remember the day. Had I somehow slept through the year only to wake up on Valentine’s Day again?
Was it Mac’s birthday? That couldn’t be. That was in July.
And my birthday wasn’t for another few months.
“Wh-what are we celebrating?” I asked.
King and Mac exchanged a cheeky glance before they took a few steps back. When they were next to the wall, he grabbed Mac by the waist and lifted her up.
As she reached for a cord hanging above her, I noticed a roll stuck to the ceiling. It unraveled under Mac’s influence, and I almost had a heart attack for the second time that morning.
Written across a big piece of paper with bright-red bold letters was a question.
Will you move in with us?
And on the side, with much smaller letters, was the word “officially,” as if they’d run out of space.
“What is this?” I asked.
King smiled and looked at Mac, still in his arms, as they approached me.
“It was her idea, really.”
“I get the best ideas,” she said.
They watched me with big hopeful eyes, and my heart skipped a beat. Several beats, actually. All the beats.
“Do you mean it?”
“Um…yes. That’s why we did all this. Did you think we handpicked every single one of those fluff machines for a prank?”
“And I made sure no two are the same,” Mac added.
I glanced back at the table. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
How had my life become so perfect in such a short time?
How could I have gotten so lucky?
