The Hitting Zone



*Third Person Perspective*

In the early morning, someone turned on a loud speaker, playing the opening of 50 cent's 'In da Club'. A tall blonde girl took the speaker down a freshman residential hall causing some groans and yells. A few doors opened either a crack or all the way, but at the sight of the lady, no one said anything and let her continue on her way. 

She stopped in front of a door and banged on it twice. The speaker got louder as the lyrics started. 

"Go, go, go, go, go, go

Go, shorty

It's your birthday

We gon' party like it's your birthday

We gon' sip Bacardi like it's your birthday

And you know we don't give a fuck it's not your birthday"

Behind the door were two guys in the late teens. Zeke Atkins and Rhys Johnson.

Rhys was under the covers, holding a pillow over his head to try to block out the racket. He glared at the guy who was sitting on the adjacent bed. "That is clearly for you. Go answer it."

Zeke, dressed for an early workout, didn't budge. His eyes narrowed at his roommate. "Do you think I'm dumb? Someone had to tell those brats what time I go for my morning run. Otherwise how would they know to send something so ridiculous so early?"

"They simply asked me what time you normally wake up." Rhys groaned. "I didn't think it would be whatever this nonsense is." The banging on the door happened again. "Fuckkkk. What the hell can it be?"

"You're more than welcome to open the door yourself." Zeke told his best friend. "You live here too."

Rhys rolled his eyes, but flipped the covers off. "Fine. You might not mind, but I do. I'll accept whatever booby trap this is but if it's messy, you have to clean it up. It's your brothers." He slowly got up and stretched. "It's going to be hard to go back to sleep after this." He reached for the door knob and slowly opened the door. 

Seeing a crack, the girl turned the speaker off. "You up? I'm looking for a Zeke Atkins."

"Yea. He's here." Rhys opened the door fully and revealed a lady wearing a huge heart and holding five balloons. "What-what is this?"

"It's a singing gram, of course!" She pushed her way past Rhys and saw the young man on the bed. She held the strings of the balloons out for Zeke to take. Seeing that he wasn't going to accept them, she simply let go and let them float to the ceiling. She then reached to her backside, pulled out a party popper, and set it off, sprinkling confetti all over the sitting Zeke. Then she sung. 

"Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

you live in a zoo,

you look like a monkey, 

and you act like one too!"

She pulled out another party popper. 

Zeke snatched it away. "Thank you. That's enough."

She frowned and stared at the item in his hands. She sighed. "Well, if you're sure." She headed for the exit. "See ya later."

Zeke frowned and looked to Rhys. "Later?"

Rhys had a look of pure innocence. "Don't ask me. I'm just collateral damage." He looked at the confetti all over the floor and Zeke's bed. He shook his head and climbed back into his own bed. "Good luck today, man. You might just need it."

Zeke felt his eyelid twitch. He pulled out his phone but nothing was there. His four brothers wouldn't be up for another hour; even if they were awake, they wouldn't answer his calls. He was gonna have to face today head on.

Nothing unexpected popped up until his 10am class. It was in a lecture hall of about a hundred students. He sat front and center, listening to the instructors lesson plan intently. 

There was a faint sound of music causing him and a few others to look at the double doors that led to the main hall. They suddenly burst open and a girl in sparkly, bright neon outfit came strutting in, singing Katy Perry's 'Birthday'. 

Zeke recognized her as the same girl from before. Sure enough, he really saw her later. He sighed and rubbed his eyebrow. At least she had a decent voice. Though the dancing performance left a lot to be desired. 

"Boy, when you're with me

I'll give you a taste

Make it like your birthday everyday

I know you like it sweet

So you can have your cake

Give you something good to celebrate."

She sung and placed a small single layer cake before him. She took off the lid and stuck a candle in it and lit it with a lighter. 

"So make a wish

I'll make it like your birthday everyday

I'll be your gift

Give you something good to celebrate!"

Zeke's eyelid twitched again. He raised a hand to stop her from singing the rest of the song. "If I blow out the candle, can you please go away? We're in the middle of class."

"Booo!" A few guys said from the back while laughing. Zeke spotted a few of his teammates. 

"If that's what you want to do." The girl gave a friendly smile. 

Zeke let out a puff of air and the candle went out. The girl pulled out a party popper and set off another confetti bomb upon Zeke. Zeke closed his eyes to regain his composure, which turned out to be a mistake. The girl had another popper go off in a second. 

She lifted her hands like a conductor and started to wave them around, signaling for the whole class to join in as they sang 'Happy Birthday.'

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR ZEKE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

The whole class broke out in applause. The girl bowed and headed out of the classroom, not bothered by the disruption she just caused. 

Zeke looked to his professor. "Sorry, Dr. Williams. I'll clean this up as soon as you're done."

Dr. Williams chuckled. "I think we hit a good spot to call it quits for today. It's not everyday that we get a impromptu show. Happy birthday, Mr. Atkins. I hope you have a fantastic day." He looked up at the rest of the class. "Everyone is dismissed. Have a good Wednesday and don't forget to remind your friends that it's Zeke's birthday in case no one has heard yet."

The class got loud as everyone packed up and talked happily among one another. A few shouts of 'happy birthday Zeke' and 'thanks Zeke' were called out as Zeke cleaned up the confetti. He couldn't just leave it for the janitor when it was so excessive. 

During lunch, Zeke was a little more aware, paying attention to his surroundings in case that girl had another performance coming up. Unexpectedly, it wasn't her he had to watch out for. 

A three man mariachi band came in the cafeteria, playing their music for all to hear. Zeke lowered his head and avoided eye contact, but it was no use. They were zoned in on him, stopping just feet away from his table. 

"Hola, Zeke! It's your birthday, we're here to party, and sing to you! It's from Jeremy. Hope you are bueno, the fun will rain-o the whole day through. From the gulf up to the mountains, the city lights and fountains, we hope you're birthday's excellente. Today you're 19, so perhaps you should celebrate, 'cause today is your day! Hola Zeke, you deserve a grand fiesta, and later on siesta, and the best of everything! Happy Birthday!"

They dramatically stopped and applause started up as all the students nearby acknowledged the performance. 

Zeke nodded politely at the men. "Thank you."

They started to play their music again, but just as they exited the cafeteria. 

Rhys laughed from two seats over. "Shit. Even Jeremy is in on it? Maybe you should start going away for your birthday? Like hide out at some air bnb where your brothers can't find you."

"This is definitely war." Zeke spoke calmly with a hint of a smile. "They really surprised me with this one though."

"You'd be surprised who came up with the idea." Rhys laughed. 

Zeke squinted at him. "I thought you didn't know."

"I really don't know any real details about your day." Rhys stood his ground. "I just got a call that asked for your schedule. But they did leak that someone had an idea for your big day."

"Noah." Zeke said. "He's the only one to be so creative and foolish at the same time. I'm guessing the twins are the ones financing it."

"No idea about whose money. But eh, you're wrong. They said they were going with Jake's idea."

Zeke raised both eyebrows, impressed and surprised. "Okay." He pulled out his phone. 

"What are you doing?" Rhys leaned over. 

"Setting a few reminders so I can properly plan for their birthdays this year. It has to be as 'special' as mine was."

"Hard to top." Rhys grinned. "Best of luck to you."

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