The Big Surprise

This piece was featured in Chunky Paper’s exhibition “Memories from Childhood”. 

When I was a child, my family did their best to get rid of my baby teeth so they didn't have to pay an additional fee at the dentist. We were pretty good at avoiding that fee. At a birthday party, we just finished cutting the cake and my tooth was loose and ready to come out. The cake was one of those Asian cakes with glazed fruit and styrofoam frosting. A couple bites into the cake and I notice that this hard chunk, thinking they snuck in some candy. I spat it back out and lo behold, it was my tooth, stuck in a piece of fruit! Immediately, I ran to my parents who were very shocked and excited for me. This memory stands out to me from my childhood because of the wide range of reactions from disgust to awe I got from my friends and family.