As the sun rises over the town of Blithe Hollow, Norman Babcock woke up to the sound of his zombie alarm clock moaning. He yawns and stretches as he sits up in his bed. Then he puts on his slippers, walks to the bathroom, brushes his teeth and combs his hair that's always spiky and sticks straight up. No matter how many times he combs, his hair goes back up straight.

After getting a shower and putting on his normal clothes, which consists of a grey shirt with red long sleeves and dark blue jeans, Norman went downstairs for breakfast.

Once he enters the kitchen, he could smell pancakes being cooked by his mother, Sandra.

"Good morning, birthday boy!" she greeted her son with a warm smile. "My little boy is 12 years old!"

Norman realizes what day it is. "It is my birthday!" Soon he is joined for breakfast by his father, Perry, and his older sister, Courtney. It's been a while after Norman stopped the witch's curse. Most of the people in Blithe Hollow and his family begin respecting him and accepting his ability to see ghosts. Most of all, he made peace with Aggie Prenderghast who often visits him.

After he finishes his breakfast, Norman puts on his red jacket and heads off to school.

His parents and Courtney watch him leave. Once he's out the door, Perry said to his daughter, "Courtney, your mother and I are going to prepare a party for Norman as a surprise for him. So keep him out of the house and occupied until it's ready."

"When will it be ready?" Courtney asked.

"Around 6:30."

"Will do." Then she walked out and drove her car to school.

As Norman walks to school, he waves and says hello to the ghosts he sees. When he nears the school, Aggie stops by and greets him.

"Hi, Norman. How are you today?" she said with a smile.

"I've been doing good ever since we became friends." Norman replied.

"That's good to hear."

"Did you know that today is my 12th birthday?"

"No, I didn't. You've never told me what day your birthday is before."

"Well, now you know."

Aggie accompanied Norman for the rest of the walk to school. Once he arrives, they give each other a small hug as he tells his ghost friend, "See you later, Aggie." When the pull away, Norman starts walking towards the school building.

"Norman?" Aggie said as he walked away, getting his attention. "Happy birthday." Norman responds by smiling and giving a small wave before he goes inside the building.

Upon arriving at his locker, Norman is greeted by his friend, Neil Downe.

"Hi there, Norman!" he said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. But, hey, today's my birthday!" Norman replied.

"It is? Well, happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Neil." Then he heads to his first hour class.

Later that afternoon, when school ended, Norman was walking out of the building when he saw his sister waving to him from her car. He runs up to the car and gets in.

"How was school today?" Courtney asked her brother.

"It's been good as usual ever since I stopped the witch's curse." Norman replied.

"That's good to hear. Anyway, Mom and Dad told me to keep you out of the house for awhile. They're preparing a surprise for you."

"Ooh, what is it?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

"If you tell me, I'll still act surprised."

Now Courtney is starting to get serious. "Okay, seriously, I have to keep you occupied until the surprise is ready. I don't want it to be spoiled."

Norman knew that her sister is being serious, so he had to go with it.

"I heard that a new ghost film has just came out today and I know that you're into ghosts, so would you like to see it?" Courtney asked as she drove to the local cinema.

"Sweet!" Norman said excitedly. "I've been wanting to see the film ever since I saw the commercial on TV."

Upon arriving at the cinema, they pay for their tickets and refreshments for settling in their seats in the auditorium to watch the film. By the time the film ended, it was ten minutes to 6:00.

They decided to have dinner at a local fast food restaurant called Witch's Burgers. Norma had a cheeseburger with French fries while Courtney had a hamburger with ketchup and mustard on her fries.

"Courtney?" Norman asked his sister.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I've been meaning to tell you thank you for standing up for me when the mob cornered me."

"That's what you do in a family. We look out for each other."

At 6:30, the Babcock siblings have returned to their home. Once Norman opened the door, he finds his parents and the ghosts of his grandmother and Aggie gathered in the kitchen with a birthday cake sitting on the table and a few decorations set up.

"Surprise!" they all exclaimed.

"Oh, my goodness! What a surprise!" Norman gasped in surprise. "Everything looks beautiful!"

After a while of playing party games, Perry lit the candles on the cake.

"Happy birthday to you." Norman's family and friend sang. "You live in Blithe Hollow. You look like a zombie, and... you smell like one too!"

"Aww, well now, you guys are just embarrassing me and yourselves." Norman said.

"What are you talking about?" Courtney said. "We worked on that all week."

"Go ahead, sweetie." Grandma's ghost said. "Make a wish."

Norman closed his eyes as he made a wish in his thoughts. Then he blew out the candles.

"So, what did you wish for, son?" Perry asked.

"I'm not supposed to tell you. I can't let the cat out of the bag." Norman answered.

Then it was time for the gifts. The first gift he unwrapped was a box set of the first "Goosebumps" series books from 1-4. "Sweet!"

Another one, which is wrapped in ghost wrapping paper, was from Courtney. Norman tore off the wrapping paper. The gift was a "Zombieland" DVD. "Wow, a movie about zombies!"

"I spent my birthday money that I saved up to get you this, Norman. Hope you like it." Courtney said with a smile.

"I do like it. I like the gifts that I was given, but my best gift this year is spending the day with you." Norman said. "I'll be spending time with my big sister whenever I get the chance. Plus, it is also to make it up to me for all the mistreatment I've gone through."

"Exactly." She kneels down to her brother's level and they share a heartfelt hug, earning an "Aww" from everyone else.

Later that evening, when the party ended, Norman climbed into his bed, ready for a good night's sleep to start a new day in the morning.

Just when he was about to go to sleep, Aggie floats over to him through his door.

"Hey, Aggie." he greeted the ghost girl.

"Hey, Norman." she greeted in return. "I'm glad you liked the gifts you got from your family. I have one for you and I saved the best for last."

"What is it?"

Aggie responds by closing her eyes and puckering her lips and leaning towards him until her lips landed on Norman's. Norman is surprised at first, but then he started to smile and reciprocate the kiss as he puts his hands on Aggie's back.

When they pulled away, Norman was blushing and was dazed by the effects of the kiss. Aggie giggles at the sight.

Norman recovers from his dazed state and says, "Good night, Aggie."

"Good night, Norman." Aggie replied before vanishing.

Norman turns off his zombie lamp before falling asleep.

I know it's been two months since I last uploaded a story and I apologize for that. I've had a lot going on lately and only had little time for writing. Also, you know how many great authors eventually have writer's block? It's bound to happen. But don't worry. I still have a couple more stories that I plan on writing. One is about SpongeBob celebrating his birthday at the Krusty Krab, which I plan on writing next.

Before I go, here's a little word of advice: Don't let fear stop you from doing the things you love! That's all I have to say. See you all later!