Johnny was skateboarding to Moon Theater like he always did on weekdays. He never went to school because his Dad wanted him to go into the "family business" but now that was passed. He moved out of his Dad's garage and into the same apartment as Rosita who took the liberty into home schooling him which Johnny loved. He was smart and was able to skip past a grade or two.
He halted to a stop and picked up his board and walked in through the doors. The stage was empty, which made Johnny wonder where everyone was.
"Maybe their backstage." He said to himself.
As he was walking over, he saw Miss Crawley stacking some cards.
"Hi, Miss Crawley!" Johnny said.
The old iguana jumped in fright. "Oh, Johnny! You, you gave me a fright!"
"I'm sorry. Where is everyone?"
"Oh, um..." Miss Crawley nervously twitched her fingers as she hummed.
"JOHNNY!"
The teen turned and saw Buster Moon standing on the stage.
"Hey, Mr. Moon. Everything...okay?" Johnny asked, seeing that his boss seemed a little more nervous then usual.
"Yes! Great! I'm just going to run an errand. Miss Crawley has a list of songs you guys need to practice. I'll be back in a few hours." And with that, the Theater Owner was gone.
Johnny frowned as he walked backstage and saw Ash and Meena looking at a box. The shy elephant turned and squeaked as she quickly grabbed the box and ran into her dressing room.
"Is Meena okay?" Johnny asked.
"Jeez, Johnny! Put a bell on!" Ash cried, jumping. "And yeah, Meena's fine. She's, she's..."
"Excited for her new dress. You know how girls are, kid." Mike said as he approached.
"Oh, yeah, totally." Johnny said, not noticing the thank you, Ash mouthed to Mike. Then he noticed Rosita and Norman walking down the stairs. Johnny raised a brow at the paper that was in Norman's hand.
"Hi, Norman. I didn't know you were here."
Rosita gasped and Norman stuffed the note in his pocket.
"Oh, yeah! Rosita just needed something." He said.
"Cool." Johnny said, frowning.
SING
The day rolled by. Miss Crawley took over practices while Buster was gone.
Johnny was beginning to feel uncomfortable around his friends. They kept whispering and they always seemed nervous around him.
Johnny tried to ignore, but he just couldn't. He began to feel that his friends, his family were starting to fear him for what his dad and uncles did.
Finally he couldn't take it.
He had just walked into the main area where the gang was speaking in hushed tones, which was immediately stopped when they noticed him.
Johnny growled.
"Look! If ya don't want to talk to me or hang out it's fine! I don't care! All I want to know is are you afraid of me? Of my past!? I thought you all were my friends! But you have been ignoring me all day! Well, fine! Do it, I don't care!" And with that, Johnny stormed outside into the alley.
SING
Johnny huffed as he sat on the back steps. He shouldn't have yelled, he knew, but why weren't his friends talking to him?
He heard the door open and close behind him and he frowned as he looked down the alley.
"Johnny?" Rosita asked. "Mind if I sit?"
The gorilla said nothing but moved so that she could sit.
"Are you okay?" Rosita asked.
Johnny took a large breath. "Why is everyone avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?"
His look broke Rosita's heart and she gave him a hug. "Oh, no, Johnny! You did nothing wrong!" She cried.
"Then, why?"
There suddenly came a knock to the door and Rosita smiled.
"Well, I can't tell you. But I can show you." The mother then stood and opened the door, leading Johnny inside.
They walked to a large room where Johnny was met with a delightful surprise. The room was covered in party decorations and a banner hung on the wall saying Happy Birthday, Johnny.
There was also a buffet with food and a large cake and in the center stood, Buster, Miss Crawley, Gunthar, Ash, Eddie, Meena, Mike and Diana.
But the biggest surprise of all, stood in front of them. Johnny's dad and uncles stood smiling and no longer in jail clothes but nice suits.
Johnny felt tears to his eyes as he ran and hugged his father.
"Happy Birthday!" Everyone shouted.
"Th-thank you! Thank you all so much!" Johnny said as he cried.
"Happy Birthday, son." Johnny's dad, Marcus said as he held his son close.
"But what are you guys doing here?" The teen asked.
"Ask your friend here." Barry said, gesturing to Buster.
Johnny looked to his boss. "How?"
Buster laughed. "Let's just say this is my present to you, kiddo." He said. "They get a little time off for good behavior."
"Enough mushy stuff! Let's party!" Mike said as he turned up the volume and pulled Diana in for a dance.
The gang laughed as they joined in.
Johnny was laughing as he joked with his uncles when Meena nervously tapped him with his trunk.
"Hey, Meena, what's up?"
"Hi, Johnny. Um, remember this morning when I ran out with that box?"
Johnny chuckled. "Yeah."
"Well, it's really your presents. You see, we all ordered something special and they all came in the box. So, happy birthday." She said as she gave it to him.
Johnny quickly ran and sat down, his family gathering around as he opened it.
Johnny was speechless at the wonderful gifts.
"You...you guys, I don't deserve this."
"Nonsense, of course you do, sweetie!" Diana said.
Johnny smiled as he opened his gifts. From Meena, he got her delicious home made cookies, from Mike and Diana, he received a $200.
"Couldn't fine anything online, so ya get a hundred bucks from each of us." Mike said.
From Miss Crawley he got CDS of piano music, from Rosita he got a brand new jacket, from Gunthar, he got a jump suit, from Ash, he got new headphones, from Eddie, he got a mini drone and from Buster, a new skateboard.
"Your current one was looking a little old." Buster said.
"Thank you all!" Johnny said.
"Wait, son, we got one more gift." Marcus said as he approached. He got out an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Johnny who immediately tore into it.
"Dad..."
"We've been saving money since you were little for this special reason."
In the envelope was enough money to pay for his choice of college.
Johnny smiled as he hugged his father and uncles.
"Wait, I thought all the money you stole was taken." Johnny said.
The gorillas turned to Buster.
"I pulled a few strings. Considered it a birthday present from Nana Noodleman." He said, smiling.
The party went on into the night with laughs, dancing and fun.