And now the fun begins!
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June 16
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Two days had passed since the popcorn incident. 7 was now officially bored with the second story and was trying to figure out which staircase from the big room was the safest to descend without detection. For the most part, the others were happy to stay in the big room while the girls were out: Maddie was in the yard, raking leaves and putting pine straw down in the flower beds, and Ginny-Ann had a doctor's appointment today.
But when 7 mentioned going downstairs, 6 and 8 suddenly decided they wanted to go with her. She was glad of the company, though her friends were a little concerned.
"They know we're here; they'll be looking for us," 9 pointed out.
"The only one who really thinks we're here is Ginny-Ann," 7 countered. "Everyone else thinks she's being silly."
"What if someone sees you anyway?"
"They won't. Come on, you two, it's us," she insisted, meaning herself, 6 and 8.
"That's not comforting at all," 5 protested.
"Relax; you're both worrying too much," she said with a winning smile.
Dang; whenever she smiled voluntarily like that, there was nothing that they could do.
"…Just be careful, alright?" 9 said after a pause.
"Always," she agreed, stepping forward and giving his a quick kiss on the cheek. "You know that in real life, I like you an awful lot," she added flirtatiously. Then she and her companions dashed off to the staircase.
"What are we going to do with her?" 9 wondered out loud.
"Live with her," 5 suggested flatly, walking off to return to whatever it was he was doing.
Meanwhile, 6, 7 and 8 all skipped down the back staircase, happy to be getting back out. But when they got to the stairwell—which stood to the side of the kitchen dining area, they stopped. There were voices outside, which they hadn't expected. They all stuck their heads halfway out of the door to try and get a better look.
Just outside, sitting on bar stools at the kitchen counter, a filthy Maddie was carrying on a conversation with Ginny-Ann.
"I thought she was leaving," said 8, who was secretly crushing on the blonde girl.
"Guess she hasn't left yet," 7 answered. "Now hush; I'm trying to hear what they're saying."
"Sorry…"
"Shhhh!"
"…"
"—and I want to see if I can custom order balloons too," Ginny-Ann was saying.
"That could be expensive," Maddie answered.
"I know, but it would be totally worth it. Oh! And I'm going to get a piñata!"
"A piñata? Really? I haven't done a piñata since I was, like, 14! I love piñatas so much."
"I love them too! I was trying to find one that looks like 1, but I couldn't. So guess what I'm going to do?"
"Wait a minute… Say that again?"
(sigh) "You know 1, from '9'?"
"Yeah; of course."
"I want a piñata with him on it!"
While Maddie suddenly burst out laughing, 6 asked, "What's a piñata?"
7 and 8 shrugged.
"Gin, that's hilarious!" Maddie exclaimed.
"I know, but I couldn't find one that looked like him. So guess what I'm doing instead?"
"Tell me."
"They make piñatas that are, like, just round and colorful but aren't really shaped like anything, so you print out a picture and glue it to the piñata instead. Well, my mom got one of those; so I'm going to print out a picture of 1 and stick it on the piñata! Then we can finally beat him to death with a stick!"
"And eat his guts," Maddie added. "This is going to be the best birthday party ever!"
(Insert maniacal girlish laughter here.)
The stitchpunks still didn't know exactly what a piñata was, but it sounded like it had something to do with beating 1 with a stick so it must be something good.
"I want a piñata," 7 muttered. "How can I get one?"
"Let's ask the twins," 6 suggested.
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The party's early return surprised everyone, though it obviously didn't bother them. Happily, 3 and 4 knew exactly what a piñata was.
"A piñata is a party game that originated in Mexico," 3 explained in flicker-speak while 4 projected several pictures and some film footage onto the wall as her brother spoke. "It's a large hollow figure made of paper, filled with candy and other stuff that humans like. To play, you blindfold the players, often spinning them around several times, and then have them whack at the piñata with a stick until it breaks open. Traditionally, they're shaped like bulls and birds and other animals like that, but you shape them to look like anything, if you know how to make one. It's pretty messy, I understand."
3's speech over, 4 shut off her projector and stumbled awkwardly back into her brother's arms.
"That's always so draining…" she mumbled dizzily.
"Ginny-Ann said that she was getting a round-shaped one," 7 explained, "but that she was going to—" She stopped mid sentence fell on her knees laughing. 6 and 8 also started laughing, in on the joke where the others weren't.
"She's going to what?" 5 asked.
"She's gonna put 1 on it!" 7 laughed.
"…How?" asked the twins in unison.
"Wouldn't she have to catch him first?" 9 asked, not entirely sure where this was going, or if he should be laughing or not.
"No, no, you see—she's going to print a picture of him off the computer over there, and then she's going to stick it on the piñata, and then they're… Don't you get it?"
Everyone shook their heads and looked at her as if she were crazy.
7 sighed. "They're going to put the picture of 1 on the piñata, and then they're going to smash it with a stick until it breaks open. Get it now?"
The gears clicked together in their heads and at last they realized what 7 was trying to say. The whole group dissolved into uncontrollable laughter.
"That's funny!" 2 gasped. "That's really, really funny!"
"Can we do that too?" 5 asked.
Just then, 1 walked in and saw them all laughing like maniacs.
"What is going on in here?" he demanded, but they were all laughing too hard to hear him. He made an annoyed noise and walked back out.
"Feh; freaks," he grumbled. "Do they know how ridiculous they look?"
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Author's Notes…
Yeah; my cousin is SO hooked that she insisted on a "9"-themed birthday party for her tenth birthday. It wasn't quite as "9"-themed as we had wanted (she was also going to make 7-placemats, which never got done), but it was still a lot of fun. XD
