Did Some One Order a Surprise?

I'm going to take the next ten minutes out of my busy busy busy work week day to tell you a little story. I hope it makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

So there's a girl on the forensics team from Mississippi this year. Her name is Elizabeth, and I think she's super swell. Anyway, she had received a graduation present of a bike that was her sort of mode of transportation since you're going super far away to college and you don't get to keep the car. Bikes are great, that's awesome.

Bad news: Some asshole on campus took her bike before she could get her lock from in her room.

Dear sir/madame who stole Elizabeth's bike: I'm a fierce mama bear and if I see you riding on that bike around campus, I will deck you and rub your face into the dirt/snow with my shoe until I think you have suffered enough for being the kind of terrible person you are. You suck. --Sincerely, Kelsey "yabettersleepwithbotheyesopen" Abele.

So this bike hasn't been recovered, and St. Peter is typically a very safe community. Things get returned, and there's not too many people on campus that you don't know, so things turn up.

None the less, being about a gajillion miles away, it's hard to lose something that was a parting gift and a sign of freedom from your community back home. So Kris tells us about this bike problem and a plan is formed. Prove Minnesotans aren't evil, chip in and buy Elizabeth a bike.

So all sneaky like, we find out things like, "What kind of bike did you have? A Schwinn was it? Oh, you like red? Hmmm I'll keep an eye out for it!" And we get her a bike.

Now for the fun part of the story. We decided to surprise her.

So this morning, after warm ups are over, everyone is sitting in their pride rooms working quietly(sort of this is speech), and Elizabeth pipes up, hey my brother might buy me a new bike. Kelsey's thought: oh no he won't. Commence plan.

Brittany, Karin and I go down to fetch the bike out of Brittany's car and wheel her in.

We then go into the team room where Elizabeth is still working. I walk in pushing the bike. Park it in the center of the room. Wait for Elizabeth to turn around. And say:

"The team cares."

That's it. She covers her mouth, says, "Are you kidding?" "Not at all."

She then immediately starts crying and comes to hug me. I'm practically crying at this point, and she's just saying thanks over and over and over again.

"Want to take her for a spin?"
"She's really mine?"
"Sure is."
"Do I get to name her?"
"Of course you do."
"What about, Awesome Team?"

If you're not crying at this point you have no soul.

She called her mom and told her, and for the rest of the day she kept talking about how amazing it was, and how perfect it was, and how she couldn't be happier.

Damn. Good. Day.