It was the first of its kind in my hostel, and I needed to be secretive about it. Doing all of the preparation myself wouldn't be possible, so I had to inform my roommate, who was also my coursemate, begging her not to let anyone know about it.
"A surprise birthday for Bimbo?" Aminat whispered despite just being the two of us in the room.
"Don't be dramatic, it's just us. We won't even bother talking about it if a third party is here.
Aminat cleared her throat and joined me on my bed.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" She asked.
"I will bake the cake, probably a few soft drinks and presents," I replied.
"Good idea, but don't you think we should have ribbons, balloons, and cards everywhere for decoration?" Aminat asked pointing to different parts of the rooms where those items would be fixed.
"Are you serious, right now?"
"Me?" Aminat stuttered.
"Do you think there is money for all of that? I just wanted us to surprise her in a little way because she's been good to everyone here," I replied.
"Yes, we must consider the money. I will buy her perfume and the drinks so just handle the cake, having some snacks wouldn't be bad,"
"I will see what I can do, but this has to stay between us. Bimbo or anyone else mustn't have any clue about the whole thing. Understood?"
"I don't like that. Have you told me something and heard it somewhere else?" Aminat responded angrily.
"Don't misunderstand me, I just wanted to be sure we are on the same page. Don't be offended," I apologized.
"Yes, we are. What next?" Aminat asked and I shared with her the entire plan.
Bimbo's birthday falls on Friday, but she won't be back at the hostel until evening which is the opposite for us; our lecture ends by 2pm. The plan was to come home early, set up the room, and wait patiently for Bimbo.
The preparation went smoothly, and I was looking forward to the expression on Bimbo's face when she found out about the whole thing on the evening of her birthday.
Immediately after I woke up that morning, I sent a birthday message to Bimbo, letting her know how special she was even before getting out of bed, and I watched her blushing while reading.
"Happy birthday bestie," I screamed excitedly, getting out of bed to hug Bimbo.
We hugged and I prayed for her again. Aminat joined us, and we were in a celebration mood already.
Immediately after Bimbo stepped out to bathe, I could hear other girls in the hostel wishing her a happy birthday, and Aminat nearly drove me crazy.
"Should we tell her now?" She stuttered.
"Tell her what?" I replied turning to her sharply.
"That there would be a surprise for her later," Aminat replied.
"Was that the plan or have you ever seen where someone was told about their surprise?" I asked angrily and she just walked away.
I was pissed and wish I didn't carry Aminat along because I sense she would eventually ruin the whole thing.
Bimbo left for class after dressing up and we started preparing for class too. Aminat apologized for her ridiculous suggestion earlier, and I had to let go of my anger.
A few minutes past 2pm, our last lecture ended. Aminat and I left class immediately to pick up the cake at the shop where I work as a partner with the baker.
We hurried back home after picking up the cake and upon arriving home, I got the biggest surprise of the day.
"Is that a cake? Is it for me?" Bimbo asked, standing at the entrance of our room.
She was dressed in a wine gown and looked like she was going to a party.
"Yes, it's your cake but," I turned to look at Aminat.
"It wasn't me. I didn't let the cat out of the bag," She replied.
"Oh, it seems I ruined something special right?" Bimbo asked.
"No, we just wanted to celebrate differently. Nothing has changed," I replied feeling terrible about the ruined surprise.
"You ruined the surprise we have been planning for two weeks," Aminat cuts in.
"I am sorry about that. Darlington, my course mate wanted to buy me lunch, so I came to change my dress since our last lecture today won't hold anymore," She replied, taking the cake from me.
"At this point, I am not going anywhere. I will just spend the rest of the day with you guys," Bimbo lightened up our mood and we dragged ourselves back into the celebration mood.
We presented Bimbo with the other gift, cut the cake, and shared it with some of the girls in the hostel. We laughed about the ruined surprise and I felt glad it was still a special day regardless.
