Saturday...
1:30 PM...
At Sugar Pie Bakery....
"One blueberry cheese cake," says the cashier as she hands Ara the box of blueberry cheese cake she had ordered for her mom.
"Thank you," Ara says as she grabs the box from the cashier, before walking out of the bakery.
After exiting the bakery, Ara walked passed some familiar shops often passed by whenever she wants to visit the bakery. She considered herself to be lucky to have live in an area that's quite near to her favorite bakery, which she had grew up to love their bread and cakes. One of their signature cakes is the blueberry cheese cake, which she thought would be the perfect surprise for her mom. 
Mom, you're gonna be so surprised. Ara thought.
10 minutes later...
Ara arrives at her home. As she enters her house, she sees her mom is washing the dishes in the kitchen, while her dad is outside washing his car on a Saturday afternoon. She puts the box of cake on the dining table, as she stood to wait for her mom to come out from the kitchen.
"Mom! I'm home," Ara says from the dining room, attempting to get her mom's attention.
"Ara, you're back. And I forgot to ask you about where did you-"
"Surprise," Ara says as she gives her mom a big hug, making the middle-age woman a little confuse by her sudden action. For what she knew, her sassy daughter isn't really the type who would be sweet and full of concern.
"Ara, what is this?" her mom asks.
"Happy birthday, Mom! I bought you a surprise," Ara says as she slowly release her mom from the big.
"Oh, Ara. You didn't have to. You know I can bake a cake whenever I want to," her mom says.
"Mom, it's your birthday. I wanted to give you a surprise," Ara says.
"Well, thank you, Ara. That was very nice of you," her mom says as she gives her daughter a hug, in which Ara hugs back.
"So what time will you be going to  prom tonight?" her mom asks as she slowly release her daughter from the hug.
"I'm not going to prom tonight," Ara says in a casual tone, which made her mom to look at her with a confuse look.
"What? Why, Ara? It's not everyday you could attend a high school prom," her mom says.
"Mom, today is your birthday. I want to spend the whole day with celebrating with you," Ara says.
"Oh, Ara. You can celebrate and still go to have fun at night," her mom says.
"Your birthday only comes once a year, Mom. Last year I was so busy with school projects, I forgot about your birthday," Ara says, looking disappointed as the thought of her forgetting her mom's birthday last year came surfacing back in her head.
"Ara, it's fine. I understand. But it's not everyday you get to have some fun at the school dance. This could be a great experience for you," her mom says.
"Your mom's right, Ara," says her dad as he suddenly enters the dining room, in which she just finished washing his car. He then walks up to stood next to his wife, making Ara now to stood face to face with both of her parents. 
Ara sighs. "This year, I don't want to miss your special day again, Mom."
"Ara, I already appreciate that you are here. Yet you're still so young. Honey, you have a school dance to attend, which you won't be able to attend after you graduate. It's a once in a lifetime experience," her mom says, trying her best to convience her stubborn daughter to go to the dance and not worried so much of her.
"Your mother is right, Ara. You've been studying so hard, you should have some fun tonight," her dad says, as he gently puts his hand on his wife's shoulder in an affectionate manner.
Ara stood in silence as her vision continues to shift between her mom and dad. She hesitated for a while about attending the dance, not because she didn't want to, but because she purely she just wanted to spend time with her mom on her birthday, feeling guilty that last year she was too busy with school projects, that she didn't have much time for her. She still feels guilty everytime the thought of it comes crossing inside her mind. Yet, hearing both her parents convincing her to go, she start to consider that she would still have some time to go after having dinner together with her family.
"I guess. Ok then, I'll go," Ara says.
"That's good, Honey," her mom says.
Hearing that, Ara forms a small smile on her lips, as her eyes continues to shift between her parents. She felt very grateful to have such supporting and understanding parents. Despite often feeling like she's not being the best version of herself, her parents never fails to encourage and comfort her in every step she's taking.
A few hours later...
7:47 PM...
At school...
Prom has started and all the students showed up looking their best from head to toe. As if looking less fabulous is a crime, the entire room literally looks like a fashion show with all the students looking stunning. Talking, drinking, to dancing the night away, literally everyone is just trying to enjoy the night of their lifes.
"Looks like someone surely dressed up well for the dance," Grace says before taking a sip of her orange juice while staring at Zach who is all dressed up in a fancy tuxedo.
"Believe when I said that it only took 5 minutes for me to prepare this tux," Zach states.
"Haha, of course," Grace says. As for her, she's wearing a baby blue dress that falls below her knees, silver high heels, complete with some pearl accesories. For her hair, Grace decided to go with some curls, giving her a classic Hollywood look.
"Too bad that Ara couldn't be here though," Grace adds in a low tone.
"Yeah. She told me about that," Zach states. Before, he thought he wanted to have his second dance with her tonight, with the first one being the dance they shared in her front yard. Even after some times of trying to pursue with her not having any interest to be in a deeper relationship, Zach couldn't deny that he still has feelings for the sassy girl, which for now, he didn't mind to stay in his heart and mess it up at least sometimes.
"Well, it's her mom's birthday," Grace says. "By the way, where's Junghwa?"
"I don't know," Zach states. "He hasn't reply my text yet."
"Weird," Grace says.
"Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late."
Zach and Grace turns their heads, almost dropping their jaws as their eyes widen of the sudden surprise of Ara's presence. She walks up to her two friends with a small smile on her lips, looking all pretty in her simple, peach colored dress which has some some lace on the neck part, complete with her golden brown high heels. For her hair, Ara decided to let just let her hair down, but for a sweet touch, she has on a baby pink rose hairclip on her right bang.
"Ara! Girl, you look gorgeous," Grace says in a higher, looking at excited as she is still stunned by her best friend's presence.
"My parents insisted that I should go after dinner. They didn't want me to miss out on the fun," Ara says.
"Well, we're glad you came," Zach says. His eyes are still in awe at Ara's beautiful look, making his eyes feel enchanted. He simply couldn't move his gaze away from her.
"Where's Junghwa?" Ara asks, noticing that Junghwa is no where in sigh.
"I don't know. He hasn't reply Zach's text. Maybe he'll be running a bit late," Grace states.
"Oh, I see," Ara says. Deep down, she feels a bit disappointed that Junghwa is no where to be seen, knowing that she did want to have the chance to see him at prom.
"Well, I'm sure he'll arrive soon. Meanwhile, let's get some snacks there," Zach says as he insisted his two friends to get some snacks with him.
"Ok," Ara says, as she starts to follow Zach from behind, along with Grace.
To be continue...