It's your birthday... what will 3 get you?

I opened my eyes excitedly that morning as I turned over and crossed out an X on my beach-themed calendar. Today was December 17th- my birthday!

I quickly got out of bed and got dressed before going upstairs to have a breakfast of French Toast. I ate it slowly, savoring the sweetness of all-natural maple syrup.

Right as I went to go rinse off my plate, a booming voice interrupted me.

"BEWARE!"

I yelped as I dropped the plate on the floor. Luckily, it didn't break, but I didn't pay attention to that as I turned around to face…. The Box Ghost.

"Really?!" I asked, annoyed. "You just HAD to do that, didn't you?! Can't you at least wait until I finish breakfast before I have to capture you?!"

You see, I had started catching ghosts with Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and Danny ever since they came over for a family reunion. I still found it weird that my parents thought this was totally normal- in fact it freaked me out a little bit more than usual since they could actually see them and didn't think anything of it- but whatever. I was cool with it.

"YOU CANNOT CAPTURE ME IN YOUR CYLINDRICAL CONTRAPTION YOUNG GHOST HUNTER!" the Box Ghost boomed. Then he cleared his throat. "But anyways, that's not what I'm here for." He reached behind him and proudly presented a large… box. Woah, now there's a shocker, I thought sarcastically as he handed the box to me.

"THIS IS FOR YOU!" the Box Ghost shouted while he started floating towards the ceiling. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Then he phased through the ceiling, disappearing from sight. I blinked.

"This is… a birthday present?" I said out loud, even though no one was there to answer. I stared warily at the floating box, but then shrugged and started untying the purple ribbon adorning the top. The second the ribbon was released, the top of the box burst open, and I shrieked from the bright light emanating from the box.

Once my eyes adjusted, I squinted as I reached into the box. I facepalmed once I saw the gift.

"Glowing bubble wrap…" I mumbled. "Of course."