The Earthquake Party

By: Ethan Yu

It would be my best friend’s birthday the day after tomorrow. Her parents had invited me to Japan on vacation to celebrate her birthday. We were going to go skiing, then go to a costly and grand hotel to have her birthday party.

Kitty was rather lucky to have her birthday on September 9th. It would be really lucky if she were born at 09:09. However, she was born a bit before midnight.

I stayed awake that night. I was just so excited. So I ended up eating some sleeping pills and waited for sleep to come. I set my alarm to wake me up at 5 o’clock so I could go to Kitty’s house on time. Kitty had just moved to a bigger house, but it was much farther away from my home. Kitty and I used to be neighbours, so we were close friends. She was good with Maths, but now I couldn’t ask her for help.

My alarm went off at five o’clock, so I dragged myself out of bed and did my daily routines. By the time I was done, it was already 5:30. I had to get to the airport by 6:30. So I took my luggage and set off. Before I could go, my mom hugged me and said, ‘You have grown up Judy! There’s not much time before you move out! I will miss you, my daughter.’ With that said, she let go of me and closed the door behind me.

It was 6:15 by the time I was at the airport. I found Kitty and her family at the airport. We ate breakfast at the airport. After that, we went to terminal 1 to check in. We turned in the baggage for the X-ray machine and then went to the immigration counter. Finally, we got to the boarding place. Kitty and I were sitting together, and we watched Barbie together.

We finally were in Japan! It was snowing right now, so we quickly check out of the airport and went to the hotel. We went to our rooms and unpacked all of our stuff. The snow was fresh, so we wasted no time and went skiing. We all warmed up with the green runs, and after 3 times, Kitty and I went to the red runs. Kitty’s parents weren’t that good, so they stayed at the green run. They wished us good luck and we went our separate ways.

It was 4:00 when we went back to the hotel. We showered and then went down to the restaurant to celebrate Kitty’s birthday. I wore my best skirt and jersey and tied up my hair with two ribbons. Kitty was the birthday girl, so she bought a really nice dress with a ribbon and tidied her hair with a headband. We went down arm in arm.

As we came to the restaurant, I was surprised by the elegance of the restaurant. When I saw everybody’s suits, tuxedos and frilly gowns, I felt horribly underdressed. I saw a stack of presents.

I had soba, Kitty had sushi and Kitty’s parents had udon for dinner. We also had some extra sushi. After we finished dinner, the waitress brought us the chocolate cake!

Just then, the whole floor started shaking! I read in a book that you should go under tables when there was an earthquake. I told Kitty and her parents to climb under the tables. I climbed under a table with Kitty, and when there was an especially big rumble, we saw the stack of presents fall off! Some of the presents came out of the packing. Barbie dolls, fart machines, and…… UNDERWEAR?! Most of the presents I didn’t know about, but I saw one of the presents I would give to Kitty. Kitty was really touched by what I gave her. I gave her a photo album of all our times together and artwork of her and her family.

There was an announcement on the loudspeaker. It said, ‘Everybody. May I have everyone’s attention, please? This is a level of 5.4 magnitude earthquake. There’s no reason to worry.’ Miraculously, the birthday cake was not destroyed. So we ate it and check the bill, and tried to leave. But a big surprise was waiting for us. The door was stuck! Just then, there was an announcement that said, ‘Please stand clear of the door.’ Suddenly, there was a crack through the door! After a few more times, the door broke into shreds. A restaurant staff was holding an axe and a megaphone was behind him. I was so thankful! I thought I would die in that restaurant!

After the incident, everything went smoothly. We had one more day of skiing and Kitty’s parents could go on the red runs! I went back home and told all my parents about that incident.

The end