Crap Metal [10.1.08]

Tonight was the night of the surprise party. The schedule was strategically planned around our mandatory club meeting, and people were specifically instructed to show up a couple minutes before the start of the meeting. The members of the club were also distinctly instructed to show up with a half-hour to spare, in order to decorate and such. In theory everything would go off without a hitch, but in reality, that was definitely not the case. For starters, home base was locked, and the only person that held a key was running late. So there we were, the gang of party animals, standing awkwardly in the hall. The only thing that was preventing us from entering our haven of happiness was a lousy piece of scrap metal. So when the guests started to arrive, all of us had to uncomfortably tell them to join our crammed clump. Finally, the key holder showed up and we all burst into the room with panic. Trying to delegate was like trying to lasso a butterfly: "Streamers! We need to hang up streamers!" "Well, what about the cupcakes? Don't forget the candles!" "Well when are we going to sing? Can anyone play the piano?" "Where are we supposed to hide?" "Should we have the lights on or off?" Streamers were hastily thrown as people army-crawled under the few pieces of furniture they could find. We waited in silence - or almost silence, as one of our friends warmed up his jazzicised birthday theme on the keyboard. It's volume resonated as a low hum, while it was loud enough to block out our chaos-ensued hurried breaths. Finally, the birthday girl opened the door, while everyone popped out and yelled that all-too-popular phrase. We sang as she basked in the limelight, and she kindly appeased our efforts by thanking us. Perhaps the best present of all was not the mini cupcakes or the blobs of streamer hung about the room, but the account of the few minutes prior to her arrival. It was surely not the best surprise party ever, but it was definitely the fastest.