Carlos' Birthday
The room was shaking. He could feel himself bouncing up and down and being tossed back and forth on the bed. He felt his hair graze the headboard and immediately his hands went to protect his head. He sat up as quick as he could, his hands pushing himself toward the headboard in an effort to stabilize himself. Once he was pressed against it, he realized it wasn't an earthquake. It was…
"Shawn? Mark? What gives?" Carlos screamed as he saw the twins jumping on his bed.
"Happy Birthday, Carlos," they shouted in unison.
"Mom and Dad…," Shawn started.
"Mom mostly," Mark continued.
"Say you need to come downstairs," Shawn spoke again.
"It's time for breakfast," Mark added, without missing a beat, despite the fact that neither of them had ceased jumping on the bed.
Both boys began to laugh as they finally jumped off the bed and started running downstairs. So that's what that feels like, Carlos thought as he stayed sitting, trying to figure out just what had happened.
"I don't care what Jay says, those two might as well really be Pain and Panic," he said to himself as he forced himself to start getting out of bed. He dragged himself downstairs to where the rest of the family was already halfway done having breakfast.
"Morning," Coach greeted him as he fell into his seat. "And Happy Birthday."
"Thanks," Carlos mumbled, still trying to process being awakened so drastically.
"Not fun when it happens to you, is it?" Jay smiled evilly as he tried to laugh at Carlos's current state.
"How many times have I made them do that to you?" Carlos asked him as he rested his head on his hands, being held up by his elbows on the table.
"Enough times that this doesn't make us even," Jay chuckled. Carlos groaned and closed his eyes, feeling the exhaustion hitting him again. It was Saturday morning, and he and Jay were spending the weekend at home, at Liz's insistence. Normally when they were home on weekends, the boys were allowed to sleep in, but apparently Liz had other plans, as Carlos discovered when he glanced at the clock next to his bed and saw that it was only ten a.m. If I'd known I was gonna be up this early, I wouldn't have stayed up until four playing video games on my handheld, he thought.
"Elbows off the table, Honey," Liz said as she gave Carlos a gentle swat on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and moved his arms. Liz then slid his breakfast in front of him. "Happy Birthday," she smiled, ruffling his hair and leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek. Carlos looked down at the plate: double chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs covered in a good sized amount of ketchup, bacon that was apparently drizzled with the same syrup as his pancakes and big glass of orange juice.
"Seriously?" he asked, surprised at the plate.
"It's your birthday, why shouldn't you get your favorite breakfast?" Liz grinned.
Carlos smiled as he took a large drink of the juice.
"I don't how you can do that to your eggs and bacon?" Jay cringed.
"Because eggs are bland and bacon and syrup make everything awesome," Carlos replied just before he shoved a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.
"I don't know about that, but you will need your energy today, so eat up," Coach told him. Carlos looked over at him, his eyebrow raised.
"Like we said, it's your birthday, we have plans," Liz smiled as she took a drink of her coffee.
Liz was in the backyard, trying to set up the tables and quickly realizing that it was more than a one woman job. And there's freaking eight of these, she thought to herself as she finished righting the first table on its legs properly. Plus the table cloths, and the set up for the food and gifts, and place settings, she further pondered. She was telling herself that she should've taken Jay's offer to stay and help instead of insisting that he go with Sam, Carlos, and the twins to that video game expo Carlos wanted to go to when she heard someone walking up to gate.
"Hello?" she heard a soft voice shout out. "Mrs. Jenkins?"
Liz looked up while walking over toward the gate and smiled. Reinforcements had arrived in the form of Fairy Godmother, Mal, and Jane.
"Hi," Liz greeted with a thankful sigh. "I am so happy to see all three of you."
Liz opened the gate and let the three of them in. They all said their hellos while looking into the backyard. "None of the boys decided to help?" Fairy Godmother asked.
"Jay did. I made him go with the Sam and the boys. Really wishing I hadn't done that," she said with a regretful nod.
"Well, we're here now, so what do you need?" Fairy Godmother asked. Liz began directing the three of them with helping to set up the remaining tables. She had Mal and Jane place the table cloths and the simple centerpieces on the tables while she and Fairy Godmother went inside to start some of the food.
"So how does Carlos feel about this party?" Fairy Godmother asked as she set the pot of potatoes to boil.
"He's kind of so-so, mostly because he's never had a good birthday," Liz answered as she molded the meat for the burgers later.
"From what Mal tells me, he's never had a birthday," Fairy Godmother replied.
"She told me too. She also mentioned that his mother actually used to make him feel bad about his birthday."
Fairy Godmother nodded, a sullen look on her face. Liz remembered what Mal had told Sam and herself when she was trying to figure out something for Jay. How she would rant about the pain of being in labor. Jay let her in on more information, saying how he once heard Cruella complain that she had to constantly get up because, as she put it, he was whiny baby. But it was the detail that Evie gave her that broke Liz's heart. Evie revealed to her that the birthday before they came to Auradon, Evie was waiting for Carlos to come out of his house when she heard Cruella yelling at Carlos about what she ever did to be stuck with him, and why she didn't just get rid of him first chance she had. That woman better hope I never get her in a room alone, Liz thought.
"That why Sam and I are making sure that this day feels all about him," Liz told her. "What?" she asked when she saw Fairy Godmother smiling at her.
"I can see why Carlos particularly likes it here," Fairy Godmother said. "Is there anything else you need help with?" she asked to break the tense emotion.
"I still need to pick up his present, but finishing up the prep on the food isn't going to leave me with much time to get it before the boys and everyone else gets here."
"That's not a problem," Fairy Godmother smiled with a raising of her eyebrows. She wiped her hands and went to kitchen door that led out to the backyard. "Girls, can you come in here, please." A few seconds later Mal and Jane came in. "Girls, Mrs. Jenkins and I need to step out, can you do her a favor and finish prepping the food for later?"
Jane nodded.
"You're doing anything that needs to be put together," Mal said to Jane.
"Really, Mal?" Fairy Godmother asked flatly.
"What? You've seen me try to cook, it doesn't end well," Mal replied.
"Relax Mom, I got this," Jane cut in. She learned over and put her arm around Mal's shoulder. "We'll be fine," she added to her mother.
"I'm trusting you two. Please don't burn down her house."
"Mom," both girls complained.
"Sorry. Shall we?" Fairy Godmother said as she and Liz began making their way out.
The backyard was full of teenagers. There were the usual suspects; Mal, Jay, Evie, Jane, and Ben. Then there were connected additions; Doug, Audrey, Lonnie, Ally, Freddie, and even Chad. After that, it was the people that Carlos had gotten to be friends with outside the usual group; other students from class, the tourney team, and the R.O.A.R. team. All in all, is a sizable group, and a few more than Liz and Coach had estimated. Luckily, Fairy Godmother waived her rule against using magic to make things momentarily easier, and did the favor of waving her wand to add a few table set ups and a little bit more food. While Coach worked the grill, cooking up burgers and hotdogs, Liz was moving around, making sure everyone was enjoying themselves, checking to see if anything needed refilling, and generally making sure that things went off without a hitch.
Carlos and a few others of the group were on the largest table. Mal and Ben were sitting off near the edge of the backyard. Jay and Audrey were seated across from Carlos and Jane. Doug was sitting at the end of the table, temporarily by himself as Evie had insisted on helping Liz and Fairy Godmother with making sure everything was going smoothly.
"You did tell Evie that she didn't need to start helping with the food and drinks and stuff, right?" Jay asked Carlos, though it came out more like a statement.
Carlos nodded. "But you try and talking her out of it."
"Pass," Jay replied.
"Evie's just not a fan of chaos," Doug countered. The others looked at him. "It from her Mom – being taught to cook and clean, and always having to cook and clean. She sees a mess, or something like this, she can't help herself, she's gonna do something about it."
"Chore wheel," Carlos and Jay said simultaneously, once again drawing stares from those at the table.
"Liz has a chore wheel so me, Carlos, and the twins help around the house," Jay clarified.
"Taking out the trash, doing the dishes, sweeping, vacuuming…stuff like that," Carlos added.
"Watch Evie do the same to her kids," Jay finished.
"Sounds like a good idea after we get mar—" Audrey began.
"Don't finish that sentence," Jay cut her off. Audrey immediately looked in his direction, just staring at him, slightly amused. "What?"
"Look at the fear in his eyes," Jane laughed at expression Jay's face. The rest of the table, even Audrey, began to laugh. Jay just shrugged off the momentary awkwardness.
"I'm gonna go get some more food," Jay said as he got up.
"Seriously?" Doug asked. "Marriage?"
Audrey shrugged. "I don't mean it…not really. We're both too young, but I love watching him freak when I bring it up," Audrey giggled.
"You're bad," Jane laughed with a shake of her head.
"I'm just having fun. You're the bad one Little Miss Bibbidi-Bobbidi."
Everyone looked at Jane questioningly. "I have no clue what you're talking about."
Audrey took on a look of feigned shock. "Says the girl who uses magic to pick her clothes in the morning, even though her mother tells her not to. Or who also made the good fairies daughters bald last summer. And do I even need to bring up the sneaking out of our room you do every now and then to meet your boyfriend?"
Jane looked at Audrey wide-eyed. Even Carlos look a little caught. Doug was trying not to smirk.
"Hey, what's going on?" Evie asked as she finally walked up to the table, taking a seat next to Doug and kissing him on the cheek. "Miss me?" she chimed at him.
He nodded. "At least until we started discussing Jane's becoming a bad girl."
Evie looked over at Jane, genuine shock on her face.
"I don't sneak out," Jane finally blurted. "I'm in our room. In bed. Like a good girl."
"Jane," Audrey began, drawing out her friend's name. "You've woken me up a couple of times when you snuck out. I've gotten up and found you gone. And there was time Jay told me about when he saw Carlos sneaking out of their room, followed him, and found you two in the west lawn's gazebo…sitting on his lap…making out."
It didn't seem possible, but Jane's eyes widened even further, and her face seemed to go as pale as Mal's. Carlos just sat there, slack-jawed.
"Janey, such bad behavior – I'm so proud," Evie laughed, a bright smile on her face.
"Uh…um…please don't tell Mom," Jane squeaked.
"I don't need to get grounded today," Carlos said flatly. Everyone started to laugh. That was how Jay saw them when he walked back up, a burger and hotdog filling a paper plate.
"What I miss?"
"Just revealing how these two sneak out at night to meet up and make out," Audrey told him in reference to the two youngest in their group.
Jay laughed. "Don't let Coach and Liz find out. Especially Liz," he told them. "Unless you want her to read you the riot act in front of everybody, Birthday Boy. And then she'll tear me a new one for not telling her."
The party was over. Everyone had gone home or back to campus save for the main four, along with Doug, Audrey, and Jane and Fairy Godmother. They were helping bring in the leftover food from the barbecue, tear down the tables, and help Carlos bring in the presents he received, which were mostly in the form video games and gift cards from his friends. Belle and Adam had gotten him a new laptop. Fairy Godmother, Mal, and Jane bought the 3D printer he'd been begging for. And Liz and Coach got him a brand new gaming PC, which he couldn't wait to set up and start using. As she was surveying anything that needed doing, Liz moved over toward the sink, siding up next to Jane in order to help her.
"I've got it," Jane told her as she wiped down one of the serving bowls. "And before you think about, Audrey's already outside corralling Jay, Mal, Evie, and the twins with the tables and putting them away for when the rental guy comes to get them in the morning. She said she'll help my mom put away the food when she's done there. So go, sit down, rest, for once today, please," Jane requested sweetly.
"Alright, fine. Apparently, you and Audrey have things under control," Liz conceded with a smile. She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water and went into the living room. The boys sure did find themselves some nice girls, she thought as she sat down on the far side of the couch. She looked over and saw Carlos on his tablet on the other end. Whatever he was looking at had him so riveted that he didn't even notice that he wasn't alone anymore. She craned her neck and saw that he was looking at video games online. Probably going to spend all those gift cards on them, she thought.
"Can we talk?"
Carlos' head shot up and he looked around. "Huh…oh, hey, Liz."
Liz just chuckled. "I asked if we can talk?"
Carlos looked at her, cautiously. Then he nodded.
"Did you have fun?"
"Uh, yeah, I did. You and Coach didn't need to go all out with Video Game Con, and the barbecue, you know."
"Yeah we did," she said. Carlos looked at her, both shocked at confused. She slid over to him until she was right next to him. She softly put her arm around his shoulder. "Don't be mad at them, but your friends kind of told me and Sam about what it was like with your Mom back on the island."
Carlos swallowed hard and put the tablet down between himself and the couch. He turned away from Liz and tried not to feel…awkward…sad.
"Hey, look at me," Liz told him gently. Carlos turned, a sheepish, almost blank look on his face. "We just figured, that unlike all your friends, who decided if they wanted anything, you needed it. You need a birthday to be what it's supposed to be – all about you. Not about chores, or hearing about…," she trailed off, finding herself unable to finish her sentence. The thoughts of what her boy went through back with that evil woman to traumatic for even her.
Carlos leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. "It was nice not hear it for once," he sighed. "Thanks, Mom."
I never get tired of hearing that, Liz thought. Carlos lifted himself off her shoulder and let out a deep breath. "For a second there I thought you found out what me and the guys were talking about earlier."
"What were you talking about?"
Crap, Carlos said inside his head. "Nothing," he said with a shake of his head. "We didn't talk about anything," he reinforced, emphasizing every word way too much.
"Carlos," Liz said, this time in her mom voice.
"Um…uh," Carlos stammered. He then looked toward the kitchen. "What Jane?" he shouted toward it. "Sorry, I should go see what she wants," he said, bolting from the couch.
Oh you are not getting out of this that easy, she thought, not with that reaction. But who would tell me. She then smiled and got up herself. "Audrey, honey."