Parties in Peril!
''I can't wait to see Mom's face when she arrives at her surprise birthday party!'' Rachel Walker said with a little skip of excitement.
''Yes, she'll be so amazed when she realizes that you and your dad arranged it all!'' replied her best friend, Kirsty Tate, swinging her roller skates
happily.
Kirsty was staying at Rachel's house in Tippington during school break. Rachel's mom thought that Kirsty was just there for a visit, but she was also
there to attend Mrs. Walker's surprise party!
''Everything's ready,'' said Rachel, counting things off on her fingers. ''The food, the music, the decorations for the village hall . . .''
''What about the cake?'' Kirsty asked.
''Dad ordered that from the bakery,'' said Rachel with a smile. ''He's not very good at baking, and he wanted it to be perfect!''
The friends were on their way to the local park to go rollerskating. As they passed the village hall where Mrs. Walker's party was going to be, Rachel
squeezed Kirsty's hand.
''Let's just quickly look inside,'' she said. ''I want to show you where I'm planning to put all the decorations on the day of the party.''
''Ooh, yes!'' said Kirsty eagerly. ''I can't wait to help you decorate the hall and lay out the food.''
They peeked in the door- and their mouths feel open in astonishment. A group of boys and girls were there in their best party outfits, but no one
seemed to be having a good time. The guests were talking in low voices. They all looked upset! Some of the parents were kneeling on the floor,
cleaning up squished cakes and spilled drinks. A box of decorations sat untouched by the window. There was a stereo on the stage, but it was making
a strange whining sound and there was smoke coming out of the top.
A little girl was standing by the door with her head down. She was wearing a pretty pink dress with a white sash, but she looked very sad.
''Hello,'' said Rachel. ''Is this your party?''
The little girl nodded her head. Her big blue eyes filled with tears.
''Everything's going wrong!'' she sobbed. ''Half of the guests forgot my birthday party and didn't show up. The food tables collapsed and squished my
birthday cake. None of the decorations would stay up on the walls. Now the stereo is broken, so we can't even dance.'' Kirsty put her arms around the
little girl's shaking shoulders. She didn't know what to say.
The girl's mom hurried over to them.
''I'm sorry, Maya, but Dad can't fix the stereo. We're going to have to move the party home.''
''But we can't fit everyone in our house,'' said Maya, looking miserable.
''I know, but we have no choice,'' said her mom sadly. ''You can pick ten friends to bring with you. Everyone else will just have to go home.''
Trying not to cry again, Maya walked off with her mom. Rachel and Kirsty left and headed toward the park.
''I feel so bad for Maya,'' said Rachel. ''It's really unlucky that all those things went wrong.''
When they got to the park, they sat down to put on their roller skates. They were both upset about the little girl's birthday being ruined!
''If only one of the Party Fairies had been here,'' Kirsty said with a sigh. ''I'm sure they could have done something,''
Rachel and Kirsty were good friends with the fairies, and had often helped them outwit mean Jack Frost and his mischievous goblins.
The girls stood up, wobbled a little, and held onto each other for balance. For a moment, they forgot about the ruined party.
''It's been ages since you and I went rollerskating!'' Rachel giggled. ''I hope I can still remember how to skate without falling over!''