
JAY’S BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
Characters:
5 boys and 4 girls
Boys:
1. Adam- The lurer-20
2. Rick- The tied up expert-19
3. Nathan- The torture expert-18
4. Max- The teasing expert-17
5. Jay – The chosen victim - 20
Girls
1. Michelle- The deceiver -16
2. Brandy- The set up girl, she comes with the idea-15
3. Natalie- She is the one who gets the equipment to tie me up-14
4. Jasmine- She comes up with ideas for more tortures after the tie-up – 13
1. The Surprise is Planned
Jay was a member of his Church Community group. They met every Sunday after services while the younger children attended Sunday school and the adults had their own meetings concerning the struggles of family life and how to live them in a Christian manner. Jay’s group was for those too old for Sunday school and too young to be married or even have a job. Jay himself went to college and did not need to work for a living or to pay for his tuition, as his wealthy parents paid for everything he had.
This tended to make him somewhat of a snob, and he tended to show off his fancy car and fancy clothes to the others in the group – who came from less well-off, hard -working families. The other eight members in his group, ranging in age from 13 to 20, did not have any of Jay’s special advantages and privileges, and were understandably resentful when he bragged about the Country Club where he would play Golf in the afternoon. Adam, the nominal leader of the group as he was the oldest member, tried to show Jay what an unchristian attitude he was displaying when he bragged so, but this made no impression on Jay whatsoever. He figured Adam was displaying a sour-grapes attitude because his folks could barely make ends meet in the current lousy economy.
Jay was especially annoying to the four youngest members of the group; all of whom happened to be girls. They were generally easy going and had a sense of humor; but even the best sense of humor in the world starts to crack when another person makes fun of “that quaint old dress†or comments on how those “shoes are looking a bit worn†week after week. Everyone in the group managed to keep a Christian attitude about it for years (Adam had had to put up with it for eight years now, as he and Jay had joined the group more or less together at the age of 12), but Jay was increasingly insufferable by the week.
One day it got really bad, when Jay teased all four girls about some item of their apparel that made them feel as if they were the scum of the earth. The older members, all boys, fared little better; they all worked hard in summer jobs to help their families make ends meet and were understandably resentful when Jay casually mocked this as if he were discussing whether red wine or white goes better with fish. When he left the meeting at its official end, Adam subtly signalled to the others to remain behind.
“Is everyone else as sick of this as I am?†he asked in a voice quite free of anger, but everyone knew that he was feeling the same growing wrath they were.
“Well, I sure am,†said Natalie, who was normally the most outspoken member of the group after Jay anyway. “Who does he think he is, telling me my new dress looks tacky?â€
“And my mother made this sweater for me with her own two hands,†piped up Jasmine. “Yet he told me it looked like something bought at Goodwill!â€
Everyone else aired their grievances with no more than a civilized level of rancour and raised voices for the next several minutes.
“What should we do about it then?†asked Adam patiently once the babble of outrage settled down a bit. “Ask him to leave the group for good?â€
“No good,†said Nathan quietly. “He thinks attending gives him social prestige somehow, even though he doesn’t seem to feel that applies to any of the rest of us somehow.â€
“Let’s just talk to the pastor and have him kicked out,†suggested Rick.
“I don’t like that idea either,†said Michelle. “I don’t like going to other people and asking them to solve my problems for me. I’d rather solve them myself.â€
“So do I,†replied Max, . “But what can we do? I’d like to beat some sense into him, but that’s not going to do any good, and talking to him doesn’t work either. He just talks all over you self-defensively and he doesn’t ever shut up!â€
“Maybe we could just gag him,†suggested Brandy. “Better yet, I’d like to tie him up and gag him so he can’t get a word in edgewise, and we make him see things our way.â€
There was a sudden silence in the room as everyone looked at one another. Some of the other boys and girls began to wear sly smiles on their faces.
“Uh, guys…?†added Brandy hesitantly. “Uhhh… I was just kidding.â€
“Maybe you were, Brandy,†said Adam. “But I think what you said is a very good idea. Moreover, I think I know when is the best time and place to do it.â€
You could have heard a pin drop as everyone else present waited for Adam to continue. Seeing their genuine interest and feeling encouraged, Adam continued on.
“His 20th birthday is this Friday. I happen to know that he plans to spend part of it the same way he usually spends Fridays; walking along that trail in the woods he told us about once. He enjoys his quiet time in the woods when there’s no one to bother him, and he says he *never* sees anyone there. Well, next time, he’s going to see Michelle there!â€
“Huh?†exclaimed Michelle. “He is?! Why?â€
“You are going to wish him a Happy Birthday,†replied Adam. “And you are going to tell him that you have a surprise for him. And you are going to lead him to that surprise – over behind that little duck pond. You’ll let him assume he knows what that surprise is going to be, but he’s going to get a much different surprise when he follows you there.â€
“What makes you so sure he’ll follow me if I ask?†said Michelle. "He's almost four years older than I am and he's always making fun of my clothes."
"But not your looks," Nathan pointed out.
“Michelle, if you ask him really nice, I guarantee he’ll follow you there,†said Adam.
“Yeah, I know *I* would!†said Max dreamily, which brought a quiet laugh from everyone else; even Michelle.
“So what’s the surprise Jay’s actually going to get?†asked Jasmine, who at 13 wasn’t as up to understanding schemes as well as her older friends were… though she’d caught the implications of the use of Michelle as a lure readily enough.
“The four of us guys are going to jump him, wrestle him down, yank all his fancy clothes off of him, tie him up in his skivvies, and give him a birthday Jay will never forget!†said Adam.
“Well Hell, count me in!†replied Max eagerly, nor were Nathan and Rick far behind in voicing their own agreement to the plan.
“Natalie, I know your folks own a hardware store,†said Adam. “Do you think you can bring some stuff we’ll need from a list I’ll write for you?â€
Adam wrote out the list; it was a fairly long one. “Wow! That’s sure an awful lot of rope,†commented Natalie. “And clothespins? Are we doing his laundry too when you yank his clothes off? And what are you planning to do with a rug beater? And the…?â€
“You’ll find out when the time comes,†Adam assured her. "Think you can get the stuff for us by Friday afternoon?â€
“Sure, piece of cake,†replied Natalie confidently. "A birthday cake!" she continued, and tittered at her own joke. Everyone else smiled; perhaps a trifle indulgently.
Further details were arranged, and all agreed to meet at a certain rendezvous early Friday afternoon to give Jay an unforgettable birthday.
To be continued ----