My aunt showed me her new alarm clock and I immediately thought of Rose. So this is a little birthday story.

I saved Dimtri's present for last. It was neatly wrapped in dark purple paper with Happy Birthday written in swirling lime-green writing. I slowly pulled away the tape, wanting to impress Dimtri with my restraint. He chuckled, "Go ahead and tear into it like you want, Roza."

I grinned and ripped the rest of the paper off at warp speed. Inside the paper was an unlabeled cardboard box. I pulled out my knife and cut through the tape. I yanked the flaps open to reveal…

"An alarm clock, Comrade?!" I yelled. "You bought me an alarm clock?" To say I was pissed would be an understatement. He was mocking me, the jerk. I was expecting something sweet and caring, like a card with a saucy note or coupons for donuts. But a clock? Heck no.

Dimtri just nodded with a calm expression. "You'll thank me later."

I grunted and put it in my dresser drawer. "Yeah right." I surveyed the rest of my presents. Some jeans and t-shirts from my mother, Turkish jewelry from my father, my favorite meal from Christian, and a weekend get-away for me and Dimtri from Lissa.

"Thanks from the presents, everyone," I yawned. "But it's late and I'm tired. Get out, please."

Dimtri stayed behind after Rose fell asleep and set up her new alarm clock. She hadn't looked at it very closely, otherwise she would have noticed the significant difference. Unlike her other clocks, this clock's case was completely rubber with no corners and wouldn't break when thrown against the wall.

He took her other clock back to his room and then returned to Rose's room to sleep on the couch. He wanted to see her reaction when she woke up and discovered how indestructible her clock had become.

At 6:15, my alarm blared an unfamiliar screech. I grabbed it and chucked it at the wall. However, instead of a cracking sound and silence, I heard a thump and the alarm clock continued to work. I leapt up and grabbed the clock. This wasn't my clock. I threw open my dresser drawer and found it empty. I heard Dimtri chuckling and screamed, "Dimtri! Where's my alarm clock?!"

"That's your alarm clock," he answered. "Isn't it great? It won't break; you'll have to get up to turn it off; and it will save you the money you use to buy new alarm clocks to replace the ones you broke."

"I ought to slug you," I growled. "You owe me a better birthday gift than this."

Dimtri nodded. "Of course I do."

To be continued in another story...

I making this into two stories because I want to second story to have a much different rating and I feel like this one can stand on its own.

I'm also working on my other two stories, so be patient. I have a job that takes up most of my day and/or night.