Feliz Cumpleaños

Chapter Two

Mas Drallud

'Ugh… I gotta eat something…' Sam groaned as he walked into the restaurant. He was holding his skateboard under one arm while the other clutched his growling stomach. 'That oatmeal did nothing for me…'

He approached the counter and sat at a stool. He put down his board and waited for someone to come. After several agonizing minutes of clutching his stomach and thinking about how the best day of the year for him could be forgotten, Tito walked over to him.

"Aloha little cuz!" He said happily. "What can I do for ya?"

"A hula burger, an order of chili fries, and a chocolate milkshake." Sam ordered with a moan.

It was like clockwork. He almost always ordered that for lunch. He was usually bugged by his friends (especially Otto) to pick something else. But he never listened to them. Tito went to complete his order. While he waited, Sam held his chin, wondering if he should even attempt to find out if the big brunet remembered his birthday. He shrugged and decided to do so. Couldn't hurt to try, right?

"Hey Tito," He called the chef over as he propped his chin on his hand. "Do you know what today is?"

"Why of course I do, little cuz!" The Hawaiian said cheerfully. Sam didn't even hold his breath. "It's the day of the annual ancient Hawaiian tradition of the Pu'iwa Pa'ina."

The teen slapped his head. Why wasn't he surprised? Tito blinked curiously as he went back to preparing Sam's lunch.

"Is something wrong, cuz?"

"Oh no, nothing at all…" The blond answered with a depressed sigh. "So what is this 'Pu'iwa Pa'ina'?"

"Ahhhh… It's a grand celebration in which Mas Drallud, the golden haired god of determination and intelligence, is honored." The older man explained with an air of happiness and pride. He loved to explain his traditions to the kids. "There is cake, chips, soda, ice cream; and many tributes are made so that the god is happy and content for another year."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Cake, chips, and ice cream? Sounds like a birthday party…"

Tito started to sweat, but he kept his cool as he handed Sam his meal. "Oh I assure you, it's not a birthday party at all, little cuz. It's a very serious and important ritual. In fact, Mas Drallud's tribute requires a human sacrifice in order to truly appease his wrath."

Sam paled. "A h-h-h-human sacrifice?.?.?"

"Right." The brunet answered, nodding gravely. Seeing the boy shudder, he laughed heartily. "Don't worry, little cuz! Mas Drallud only wants sacrifices of evil, mischievous, and wicked people that have darkness in their hearts. As far as I'm concerned, you got the purest heart out of anyone I know. And believe me, that's saying a lot!"

Despite the fact that Tito seemed to forget about his birthday, that one comment really made Sam's day. He smiled sadly at the man as he finished off his shake. He had polished off his plate while Tito was telling his story. Sometimes, in his fun and cheery way, he can really bring joy to people in their time of need without even knowing it.

"T-Tito…" He trailed off, wiping away a tear that was threatening to fall. "Thanks a lot… But today's—"

"WAHOO!.!.!" A voice shouted, startling him.

Almost immediately, Sam realized who it belonged to. Only one person has a voice like that. Otto Rocket, one of his closest friends. The blond grinned as he got up off his stool. If anybody would remember his birthday, it was his three comrades! He picked up his skateboard and started towards the exit.

"Hey cuz, what were you gonna say?" Tito asked. Sam stopped and turned towards him.

"Oh… Ummm… Never mind. I-I-I was just thinking out loud. That's all." He replied. He then waved. "See ya later!"

"Aloha!" The man returned, waving back.

'You mean to tell me he remembers a god's tribute, but not my birthday?' The sudden thought struck Sam as soon as he left the Shack and started down the ramp. 'And why haven't I heard about this "Pu'iwa Pa'ina" before?'

He shrugged as he reached the bottom.

'Maybe he and Noelani did the ritual in secret all these years. But still, if it's on the same day as my birthday, you'd think that would ring some bells!' He then gulped as his eyes widened. 'Do they really perform sacrifices?' He shuddered as he continued walking.

As he entered Mad Town (he saw Otto soaring over the half pipe as he left the Shack), he decided to just calm down and put on a happy expression. After all, nobody made him forget his troubles better than his friends. Well, except maybe Lars, but that's another story.

With a friendly wave and a "Hey! What's up," he climbed up the half pipe's steps and stood by Twister and Reggie, who were watching Otto with admiration and interest (Twister a thousand times more so than Reggie °Wink, wink°). Strangely though, nobody responded to Sam. He tried again, but still got no response. The silent treatment finally ended when Otto returned to their end of the wooden structure with a grand landing.

"Squid! It's about time ya showed up!" He yelled.

"Yeah! What took ya so long?.!" Twister added, putting his arm around Otto's waist and planting a kiss on his lips.

"Ya shoulda been here an hour ago, Squid!" Reggie supplied, crossing her arms impatiently.

Otto and Twister were fifteen; only two and three months younger than Sam respectively. Reggie was a month and three weeks older than her best friend. Otto was five and a half feet tall. He had a broader chest than Sam. His red dreadlocks, which had grown over the years, barely stayed under his red and white dome helmet. His cinnamon skin brought out the color in his eyes, not that you can tell due to his green-tinted sunglasses. He was wearing a yellow shirt and a pair of reddish jean shorts.

Twister, Otto's boyfriend for a year and a half, was significantly taller. He was at least five feet, ten inches tall. He had a cute orange cowlick peeking out from under his red winged helmet. Orange hair could be seen coming down the sides of his head. His chest was between Otto and Sam's in terms of muscle development. He was wearing a blue tank top over his white shirt and a pair of baggy green shorts. In Sam's eyes, he may be good looking, but he paled greatly in comparison to his older brother.

Finally, there was the beautiful Reggie. She clearly outdid all three boys in terms of height. She was nearly as tall as Lars. Her regal purple hair reached midway down her back. Like always, there was a pair of red rimmed sunglasses nestled on top of her yellow helmet. She was wearing a red-violet shirt that had a rocket pictured on it and a pair of camouflage pants. She has really grown up over the years. Her slim and smooth body can turn a guy's gaze to her in a heartbeat. Sam sometimes envied her. If had that kind of ability, he'd have Lars in the blink of an eye!

The blond raised an eyebrow at them. They never sounded so…so nasty towards him. At least not since that whole video game fiasco a few years ago. It wasn't like them at all. After all, they were just like they always were yesterday. Otto and Twister would whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears while Sam and Reggie would gossip. Of course, they did all that while they skated and surfed. The blond just shook his head and held his cool. After all, he didn't want to start anything.

"Uhhh… Sorry, guys." He started, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I woke up late this morning. Too excited thinking about today, ya know." He chuckled sheepishly.

The rest of the group only gave him a confused look.

"Erm… What's so special about today?" Reggie queried.

°Slam!°

Sam's skateboard landed on the floor as he stiffened. His mouth hung open like a goldfish out of water. His body became like stone as the color drained from his entire body. His eyes went as wide as humanely possible (and then some) as he played those words over and over again in his mind. He took in very small breaths as he tried (unsuccessfully) to find his voice. Only pained noises came out as he pointed at all three of them with a trembling finger. He didn't just hear what he thought he heard. He just couldn't! It's impossible! Inconceivable! Not to mention downright unfair!

'N-n-n-no… Please tell me this isn't happening…' He whimpered as tears built up again. He slowly backed up. 'H-h-h-how could they…? Th-th-they all just forgot… But how?.?.?'

"Well, now that you're here, we can finally play some O-T-T-O!" Otto said, scratching Twister's chin, making him purr as he went to the half pipe's edge. "Repeat after me, boys and girl."

With that, he dropped in and rolled down the half pipe. He went up the other end and went down again. He went back and forth for a few moments, building up his speed, before he launched off the opposite end of the structure. When he was at a sufficient height, he performed his signature move, aptly-named "Rocket Air." Basically, he moved his skateboard up and sort of laid on it. He allowed himself to spin around in the air for a few seconds before he shot back up and performed an ollie. He took a quick spin before finally landing on the pipe again. He rolled along the bottom and up before reaching the end the other teens were on.

"Nice one, Ottoman!" Twister cheered, giving his lover a peck on the cheek.

"Not bad, bro." Reggie said with a nod.

"So who's next?" Otto asked, crossing his arms.

"How about Squid?" The taller redhead said, leaning on his boyfriend.

"M-m-m-me!.?" Sam gulped. There was no way he could pull off a move like that! The others gave him disapproving looks.

"What's the matter? Scared?" Otto teased.

"Yeah! Don't be such a baby." Twister supplied.

"Just go already!" Reggie added.

Sam gave her a weirded out look. He expected that sorta thing from Otto and Twister, but Reggie?.?.? She always supported him no matter what. It was even thought that they would get together eventually. That is, until Sam confided his crush on Lars to her. Now it almost seemed like she was turning her back on him. He took another gulp and nodded. Whatever he did to the trio, he wanted to make things right.

"Alright…" He started, picking up his board as he walked over to the edge. "Here goes nothing!"

He got on his board and went down the side of the pipe. He built up speed much like how Otto did. When was going fast enough, he went up the opposite side and flew into the air. He nailed the Rocket Air part of the stunt perfectly, but he wasn't able to stand up before gravity affected him.

"Woah!"

°CRASH!°

Sam landed on his back. His board was a couple of feet away. As he stood up with a groan, all three of his friends laughed at him. Completely baffled and sniffling slightly, he got up and rejoined them. Their laughter turned to small snickers when he reached the platform again.

"Alright Squid, that's an O for ya." The leader of the group told him. He turned to his boyfriend and sister. "Next?"

Twister went up next. He managed to perform the move beautifully, which earned him a deep smooch from Otto as soon as he returned. Reggie also performed the move with no trouble at all. When she came back, the next round started almost immediately.

Otto jumped down and got his speed going. He was soon up in the air, ready to perform another stunt. He performed a sweet McTwist. Before landing on the half pipe, he tilted his body upwards while reaching his hand out. He held on to the board with his other hand. He grabbed the edge of the pipe stayed there for a couple of seconds, balancing himself before pushing up and righting himself. He rolled along the pipe and came back to everybody.

"You're up, Squid!" He said to a trembling Sam after Twister and Reggie congratulated him.

'Have they gone insane!.?.!' The blond thought as he prepared to drop in again. 'They know perfectly well I can't do moves like that, let alone combos!'

"Let's go! We don't have all day!" Reggie heckled.

"Hurry it up, Squid!" Twisted added.

"Heh, get ready for another Squid and beef combo!" Otto teased.

Trying very hard to ignore that jab, Sam took off and attempted to pull off this maneuver. After building speed, he took off. When he did the McTwist, he almost messed up his form while spinning, but the real trouble started when he tried to grab the half pipe. He was just getting out of the spin when he reached out. Unfortunately, he stretched his arm out too far and thus hurt his hand badly. He instinctively yanked it back and rubbed it to make the pain go away. Because he was nursing his hand, he wasn't watching what he was doing and crashed again, getting a T. Reggie and the others teased him big time for that one.

It pretty much continued that way for a while. Otto, Twister, and Reggie would perform tricks too advanced for Sam to copy, making him lose every single game. They put him through misty flips, indies, stalefishes, and other tough moves. After what seemed like a hundred crashes, Sam was in pretty bad shape. His clothes were torn and stained. His helmet was also bent in certain areas. It was hard to move due to the pain he was in.

But nothing was hurt more than his feelings.