she does n't want to be forced to consider evidence of dad 's birthday party at a pub in oxford ; she does n't need a reminder that she was n't there , had in fact woken that morning feeling the significance of the day like a weight around her neck , which trailed her through geometry and chemistry , all the way through lunch in the cafeteria , where a group of football players had sung a jokey version of `` happy birthday '' to lucas heyward , the hapless kicker , and by the end of their awful rendition hadley had been surprised to discover the pretzel she 'd been holding was nothing more than a handful of crumbs .