"You guys understand the game, right?" I asked, raising the scarf to my eyes. Lory gave me a nod, while her brother pumped his fists in the air.

It was late Sunday evening and I should have been studying for my upcoming test. Instead, I was wasting time and playing stupid games with Lory and Ron. The current game involved wearing a blindfold and chasing each other around the apartment. Not the safest game, I would have to admit, but it was still fun.

"Danger!" Ron yelled from beside the table.

"Not yet, Ron!" Lory stated. "You have to say danger if she's about to bump into something."

Laughing, I tied the scarf around my head. "If I end up stubbing my toe because of you, little man, we're never making ice cream again." He gasped loudly but didn't say anything, just scampered away from the table.

Early that night, we had attempted to make ice cream again. This time, the ice cream turned out creamy and surprisingly not salty.

"I'm going to hit play," Lory said before music blasted from the stereo system. To make the game harder Lory had suggested that we play music in the background. This would ensure that the person who was blindfolded would have a more difficult time finding the others.

Spreading my arms out, I inched forward, making sure not to bump into the coffee table. Barely a minute passed by when I rammed into something hard, causing me to almost fall backward. Someone grabbed onto my elbows to steady me. Pulling the scarf away from my eyes, I saw that Zane stood before me. A look of worry was etched across his features.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I pulled away from him. There were two gift bags in his hands that he carefully set onto the couch. Lory and Ron were sitting on the counter, trying and failing in muffling their laughter.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I said, dropping the scarf onto the couch. "How was your trip?"

"It was good," he answered, loosening his tie.

Zane's father owned an antique business and was thinking about expanding it. This weekend, Zane had gone with his father to the States to deal with the legal proceedings of going international. He asked me if I wanted to go but with exams just around the corner, an impromptu trip to another country didn't seem like a good idea.

"Zane!" Ron yelled, jumping off the counter and rushing toward his big brother.

"Hey, little man. What are you doing here?" Zane bent down and ruffled Ron's hair, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Jasmine asked me to watch the kids," I replied with a shrug. "Something came up last minute. Plus, Ron really wanted to try making ice cream again." Hearing his name, he looked up at me and grinned. Lory tiptoed towards us and gave Zane a wave.

"I'm glad you guys are here," Zane said, standing up and reaching for the bags. "I bought presents!" He handed one bag to Ron and the other to Lory. They both sat down on the couch to open their gifts as Zane came to stand beside me. He reached into the pocket of his tiny suitcase and pulled out a neatly wrapped present. "And this one is for you."

"Is it a puppy?" I asked, taking the book-shaped gift from him. He snorted and shook his head.

Pulling back the wrapping paper did, in fact, reveal a book. It was a tattered copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. But it was just not any copy. It was one of the original editions published in the 1900s and must have cost Zane a fortune.

"I wasn't sure what to get you," Zane said, tugging at his ear nervously. "I thought that you might like this." The gift was absolutely perfect. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was one of my favourite books.

"I can't take this, Hendrick," I said, quietly. The book felt heavy in my hands. Simply breathing near a relic like this might damage it. "It's too much."

He waved a hand at me. "Don't worry about it. I'm good for it." There was no doubt in my mind that he was. For crying out loud, the guy walked around wearing Gucci glasses and Armani suits. But I could never pay him back for something like this.

"We're friends, right? And friends buy each other presents for their birthdays, correct?" I nodded, dumbfounded. He was using my argument against me. "Think of this as an early birthday present from me."

Just as I was about to open my mouth to protest, a whirring sound distracted me. While Lory had her nose buried in one of the books her brother had bought her, Ron was trying to maneuver a drone. A freaking drone!

I would have been perfectly content with a present like that –one that was probably cheaper than the book in my hands. Looking up at Zane, I smiled. "Thanks for this, Zane. You really didn't need to do this."

He returned my smile. I carefully wrapped the book in the paper and took it to my room. When I returned, Zane had disappeared and Ronald was still messing around with the drone. "Hey, Ron. Is it cool if I give it a go?"

Grinning, he handed me the remote. "I knew he bought me a drone! I wanted it so badly," he explained. We took turns steering the drone around the apartment, shrieking every time it got too close to our heads.

When Ron left to take a washroom break, he handed me the remote as he hopped from one foot to the other.

Keeping my eyes set on the drone, I guided it into Zane's room. He was sitting on an armchair and was fiddling with the laces on his shoes. "We made some lasagna. Would you like some?" I asked him.

I couldn't help but think about the Looney Tunes character, Cayote, who unwittingly runs off a cliff and then pauses in midair before tumbling to the ground. That was exactly how the drone suddenly froze in the air before crashing to the floor.

One side of the drone bumped against a bowl that was placed on the dressing table, tipping it over and spilling its contents. My eyes wide, I set the remote down and picked up the drone. There was no damage to the toy.

Setting it onto the bed, I dropped to my knees. "I'm so sorry, Hendrick." Tie pins were scattered across the hardwood, some of them had disappeared under the bed.

"It's fine," he said with his eyebrows raised. "Let me help."

Putting up my hand, I said, "I got it." After collecting all the pins, I dropped them into the bowl that I set onto his dressing table. My eyes fell on Zane's watch which lay against the leg of the chair he was sitting on. "Shit," I muttered, bending down to pick it up. There was a scratch on the glass.

Handing him the watch, I shook my head. "I'm so sorry for breaking it." He squinted his eyes in response as he took it from me. "I will buy you another one, I promise."

Ron skipped into the room and grabbed the drone from the bed. Getting up from his chair, Zane strode towards his brother, pocketing his watch without saying a word to me. "I think you might need to recharge the batteries," he said to Ron.

First, I got Zane banned from his favourite grocery store and now I broke his watch. Guilt settled at the pit of my belly. The feeling spread across my body.

Ron rushed out of the room and Zane turned to face me. "You're upset," he said. "Please don't be." Waving his hand nonchalantly, he added, "it wasn't your fault."

Zane would never get mad at me for something like this. Hell. He wouldn't get mad at anyone for scratching his expensive watch.