It was my 17th birthday and I was looking forward to seeing my friends.

We were meeting at Le
Chocolate, my favourite restaurant, for a special birthday dinner. I was excited and got to the
restaurant at exactly 7 o’clock, the time we had arranged to meet. I decided to wait outside and
stood patiently in the warm evening.

The restaurant quickly filled up with customers, but none of them were my friends. “Where are
they?” I thought. At half past seven I was still waiting, so I called my best friend Hassan. “Why
doesn’t he answer his phone?” I asked myself then I called Salem, Jamal and Salah but they didn’t
answer either. “What is going on?” I wondered.

At 8 o’clock I went home. I was so sad and I told myself that my friends had forgotten my birthday
and I felt lonely and miserable. I opened the front door and walked into the dark house. The living
room door was closed. “How strange” I thought. I opened the door nervously. Suddenly the lights
went on and all my friends jumped up and shouted “Surprise!” So they hadn’t forgotten, and in the
end it was the best birthday ever. Surely, it is the most memorable day in my life.