Helloooo all you wonderful readers!
Sorry it took so long to update - I keep thinking I'll start writing more but something always comes up! I really wanted to update more than this before the start of school term in September, but it just doesn't seem like that's going to be the case. Oh well. One update is better than none, right?
Anyways, I'll let you guys read on!
For this chapter, I incorporated suggestions from long ago by Pika-Bones, goldensphere, random reviewer and guest reviewers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or form!
Ultimate Birthday Party
Kindergarten
May (5), Drew (6), Gary (6), Paul (6)
May was excited: She was going to another one of her friends' birthday party! Gary had invited her last month, and now, she was on her way to Drew's. Drew had told her and their other friends, Gary and Paul, that he hadn't invited the entire class like Gary had, but May didn't mind. In fact, being one of the only ones Drew did invite made her feel extra-special.
"Are we there yet?" she asked her mother for the umpteenth time.
This time, however, her mother said, "It looks like we're close, but..." She looked a little puzzled, looking out the window. "Drew lives here?"
"What's wrong?" May asked. When she looked outside, she could see the houses were much bigger than the ones in her neighbourhood, but there wasn't anything wrong with them. On the contrary, she thought they looked quite impressive.
"No, no, nothing's wrong," said her mother, shaking her head. To herself, she muttered, "I guess it makes sense, since he does have a butler..."
They kept going down the road, the large houses becoming mansions, some of which, May thought, resembled castles. Finally, May's mother stopped in front of a massive, intricately decorated gate. She stared at it, looked at the address on the invitation card Drew had given May, and turned back to the gate.
"Well," she said. "Looks like this is the place."
"Wow," May marvelled. "His house is huge!"
"It certainly is," her mother murmured in wonder. She shook her head and got out of the car. "Come on, May. Let's get you inside."
Unlike the doorbell of May's house, the bell for Drew's had a little intercom beside it. Her mother pressed the bell, and a familiar voice came from the intercom. "Who is it?"
"Wow, look, Mommy, the doorbell sounds like Drew's butler!" May said excitedly.
"Ah, yes, May, I see you," the voice said.
He could see her? May looked around and noticed a camera a little above their heads. "Mommy, they have a camera too!"
There was a buzz, and the gate opened by itself.
"It's a better idea to drive than walk," the voice in the intercom said. "The driveway's rather long."
May's mother looked at her. "Well, back in the car, then."
Her mother had to drive a little, but May didn't really mind. Looking through the window, she could see Drew's front yard gardens, and with the trees and rosebushes and sculptures and fountains, it all looked absolutely beautiful.
Finally, they stopped in front of the castle-like mansion. Drew was waiting at the entrance, looking excited, and his eyes lit up when May came out of the car.
"Drew!" May chirped, running up to him. "Happy birthday!" She handed him the gift bag she'd brought with a huge smile.
"Thank you," said Drew, taking it, and immediately, a butler was at his side - not the butler May always saw driving him to school and picking him up, but a younger one who seemed somewhat sullen compared to Drew's usual companion.
"Shall I take that for you, Master Andrew?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice that made May think he didn't want to be there.
"Yes please," said Drew, passing him the gift bag.
As the butler went inside, May asked, "Is that your butler's brother?"
Drew looked confused. "Which butler's?"
"Your usual one. The one who brings you to school all the time. They're wearing the same clothes."
"Oh. No, they're not brothers."
"Friends?"
"I don't know." Drew looked thoughtfully after the butler who'd just left. "Maybe. I'll ask."
"Hello, Drew," said May's mother, coming around the car to greet him. She smiled. "You have a very lovely house."
"Yes," said May brightly. "It's so big! You must be so rich!"
"May—" May's mother began, but just then, another car pulled up behind them. The back door burst open before the driver seat's, and Gary came bounding out, eyes wide as he took in his surroundings.
"Hello, Gary!" May exclaimed. "Isn't Drew's house so big?"
"Yeah, it's ginormous!" said Gary, eyes sparkling. "You're rich, Drew!"
Drew looked around. He'd never really thought of himself as rich. This was just his regular home. Besides, he'd been to a lot of people's houses that were as big as his. But, he supposed, his house was much bigger than most of the houses he passed on the way to school. It was certainly bigger than Gary's.
"Hello there, Caroline," said Professor Oak, coming out of the driver's seat. He was carrying a large box wrapped in colourful wrapping paper and a bow.
"Hello, Professor Oak," said May's mother, and they began to talk about some grownup things the kindergartners couldn't pay attention to.
"Is everyone here?" Gary asked, looking around, eager to go inside.
"Almost," said Drew. "We sent a car to pick up Paul from the bus stop."
On cue, another car arrived, this one a lot fancier than May's or Gary's. The driver stepped out and held the door open for Paul and Paul's older brother, Reggie, to step out. Even Paul, who usually looked unimpressed by everything, appeared captivated by the immensity of Drew's home. Reggie looked around and let out a low whistle.
"Not bad, Paul," he muttered. "You sure picked an interesting friend..."
"Paul!" Gary called, waving him over. Paul joined them, and Drew, feeling important because he was the host, stood up straighter and flipped his hair.
"Thank you all for coming," he said as he knew he was supposed to. But he was getting excited. It wasn't often he impressed all three of his friends to this extent, and he couldn't wait to show them around inside.
"Thanks for letting us come!" May said. "I really, really like your house!"
"Yeah," said Gary. "Why didn't you tell us your house is a castle?"
"It's not actually a castle, but I can invite you all more, if you like it here," Drew offered, pleased at the praise.
"Yes!" Gary punched the air. "And maybe we can invite Leafy too!"
May, Drew and Paul had met Leaf once during Gary's birthday party, but now that Drew thought about it, they'd gotten along pretty well with her, as well as with Gary and Leaf's other friend, Ash. He could probably invite them over sometime too.
"Good, you're all here," came another voice - it was Drew's butler this time, the usual one May was used to. The other butler came as well to take the gifts Gary and Paul had brought, but he left quickly.
"Hey, thanks for sending a car for us," said Reggie to Drew's butler, grinning. "I thought we'd be fine if we walked, but now that I've seen this place, I'm pretty sure the walk would have ended up being a little too long."
"No problem at all," said Drew's butler.
"It is a very impressive place," said May's mother. "I didn't think a lot of rich... I mean, a lot of kids from this neighbourhood went to May's school."
"The young Master's parents placed me in charge of selecting the educational institution for him to attend," Drew's butler explained. "Most children with his financial background are enrolled in very specific private academies; I, however, felt a school with a more relaxed environment and students with a diverse range of backgrounds would work more in the young Master's favour."
Professor Oak nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, having many different kinds of people to interact with would definitely help with the child's growth."
"Can we go inside, now?" Drew asked - neither he nor his friends were very sure what the adults were talking about, and they were getting impatient with all that waiting.
"Of course, Master Andrew," said the butler.
"I'll leave it to you, then," said Caroline. "Good bye, May! Be a good girl!"
"You be good too, Gary, and have a nice time," Professor Oak said. "I'll be back to pick you later."
"Later, Paul!" said Reggie, getting back into the car the driver had brought him in.
The cars drove away, and Drew's butler led the kindergartners inside.
Drew's friends had thought the outside of Drew's house looked impressive, but the inside was even more castle-like than they'd thought!
"Wow!" May exclaimed, taking in the smooth, marble floors, the high ceiling, the chandeliers, the expensive, polished furniture. She stretched her arms wide and twirled in the open foyer. "Your house is amazing, Drew! Why didn't you invite everyone from school? Everyone can fit here."
Drew shrugged. "I didn't want to have my birthday with too many people. Just with my friends."
"I'm your friend," Gary said quickly.
"I know," said Drew, a little puzzled as to why Gary would have to say it. "That's why I invited you."
May couldn't help but feel very special. This was a friends-only party, and even though she'd always known Drew thought of her as a friend, she hadn't known she would get special treatment because of it, like getting to come to his baronial house.
"Come on, come on!" she said, bouncing up and down. "Let's go do birthday party stuff!"
When May had said "birthday party stuff," she had been expecting activities like she did at her birthday parties, or stuff they'd done at Gary's.
She had not been prepared for what constituted as regular birthday activities at Drew's house.
First of all, there was an indoor ball pit.
May had played in ball pits before, but never in her own home! And it wasn't just some small kiddie pool either; to May, it looked like an entire sea!
"You have your own ball pit?!" May exclaimed.
"That's so cool!" Gary yelled.
"I don't always have it," Drew explained. "It's only for my birthday."
"How did you fit it through the door?" Paul asked. Drew didn't know the answer to that question, but then Gary challenged Paul to racing around the ball pit, so Drew didn't have to answer. It made him quite a bit smug to watch them, though. When Drew had first invited them, Gary had bragged how Drew couldn't top the birthday party he threw, and Paul had seemed as reluctant to come as he had been for Gary's party (though he seemed less reluctant when Drew explained he wasn't inviting everyone in the class). Now, it seemed both were legitimately enjoying themselves!
"Come on, let's play!" May shrieked in delight, linking her arm with Drew's and pulling him into the colourful sea with her.
All four of them enjoyed the ball pit to the fullest extent. They jumped, they screamed, they swam, they threw the balls at one another (which Drew's butler had to prohibit so they didn't hurt each other), and, to Drew's delight, Gary enthusiastically proclaimed this the best birthday party he'd ever been to.
Eventually, Paul and (to Drew's surprise) May began pushing towards roughhousing, and Drew sent his butler a desperate glance - he was never one to roughhouse - and his butler, getting the hint, announced that they would be moving on to the next activity.
"Wow," chirped May as they all got out of the ball pit. "I'm gonna ask Mommy and Daddy if they can buy a ball pit for my birthday too!"
"Yeah, me too!" said Gary. "Then I can have a ball pit party and you all can come to my house!"
"Where are you gonna put the ball pit?" said Paul, frowning. "Your house is too small."
"No it's not! There's lotsa room in the basement."
They followed Drew's butler out of the ball pit room, and he was about to lead them to a different spot when a chime stopped him short - the doorbell had rung. The kindergartners looked at him, expecting an explanation, but he seemed confused too.
"Was someone coming today?" Drew asked, wondering if he'd forgotten something.
"There shouldn't be," said his butler. People normally didn't come here unannounced. "Unless it's finally the bouncy castle company...?" he murmured under his breath.
The kindergartners waited in the foyer while he investigated.
"Maybe it's the pizza man," said May. Drew had asked them their favourite pizzas a few days back so he could order them for the party.
Drew shook his head. "The pizzas already came."
They watched as the butler, having checked the visitor through the security camera, went to the front door and opened it. There was a boy standing on the other side, looking fidgety and anxious. He was an older boy, about eleven or twelve, and he had blue hair and green eyes like Drew. From his attire, it was clear he was rich too.
"Master James," said Drew's butler with a little bow. "Come in." He stepped aside, letting the boy named James enter.
James's eyes landed on Drew and he gave him a nervous little wave. "Hello, Andrew."
"Hello," said Drew.
"Who's that?" May asked Drew in a loud whisper.
"Oh, that's James," said Drew. "His family just moved to this neighbourhood a few months ago. He's my cousin."
"Your cousin?"
"Well, we're not really cousins-cousins," said James. "We're very distantly related, but, well..."
Drew remembered being told exactly how they were related, but it was in an obscure, complicated way that he hadn't exactly been able to keep track of.
"And what brings you here, Master James?" Drew's butler asked.
"Uh, well, you see..." James swallowed. "Can I stay here for today?"
The butler raised his eyebrows. "Well, I suppose you could, but you see, today is Master Andrew's birthday and—"
"Yes, I remember!" said James, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a little gift box. He walked over to Drew and said, "Happy birthday, Andrew! Sorry for crashing in on your party, but I hope I can stay."
Drew took the box, a little taken aback. "Thank you. And yes, you can stay. I didn't know you were thinking of coming too."
"Oh, you came as a surprise!" May shrieked in delight. "You're really nice, Drew's cousin!"
"Just James is fine," James mumbled. He glanced at Drew. "You go by Drew, then?"
Drew shrugged. "You can call me that if you want."
"All right then. Drew." He awkwardly shuffled to a chair in a corner. "I'll just sit here and mind my own business."
"You're not gonna play with us?" May asked.
"Oh no, I don't want to get in your way. I'll let you guys have your fun."
"Why did you even come if you weren't gonna play?" Gary demanded.
"Well, um..." He cleared his throat, his forehead starting to glisten with sweat. "Well, you see..."
"Actually, I am curious as well," said Drew's butler. "I recall your parents mentioning something about having commitments today."
The pressure of having Drew's butler and Drew and his friends all leering at him was enough to make James break. "Okay, I admit it," he cried. "I didn't come as a surprise guest!"
May gasped. "You didn't?"
"No," James said guiltily. "You see, my parents just told me they invited Jessebelle over to spend the day with me and I really don't want to see her right now. I remembered from a while back that you said your birthday was going to be today, Drew, so just now, I told my parents I told you I'd come for your birthday and, well..."
"Who's Jessebelle?" May asked.
"My fiancée," James mumbled.
"Your money?" Paul asked in puzzlement.
"No," James said, equally confused. "The girl my parents say I have to marry."
"My brother says finances mean money."
"Ah, no not my finances. My fiancée. My betrothed, my wife-to-be." James hung his head. "At least, my parents want her to be..."
"So you've come here to avoid Lady Jessebelle, then," Drew's butler said before Drew's friends could bombard James with more questions.
"Yes," said James gloomily. "I know they'll probably just move the day, but... I just want today to be Jessebelle-free."
The butler sighed. "We've already said you could stay and Master Andrew doesn't seem to mind your joining his party. I suppose it won't be any trouble to have one more guest, though most of the activities were arranged with kindergartners in mind."
"Oh no, it's no problem," said James. "I can just sit here. I doubt Drew wants me interrupting things with his friends."
"You can play with us," said Drew. "It's okay with us... right?" He turned to his friends. May nodded enthusiastically, clapping her hands.
"Yes!" She took hold of one of James's hands, to James's surprise. "Now we have another friend!"
"Yeah, I don't mind," said Gary, smirking and standing to make himself look bigger in front of their much older addition.
Paul just shrugged as if he couldn't care less.
James looked at all of them and smiled widely. "Wow, Drew, you have really great friends. You all know each other from school?"
Drew nodded. "We sit at the same table in kindergarten."
"I wish I had friends like these," James muttered. "Everyone at my school is so uptight and snobbish. And then there's Jessebelle... Maybe I can transfer to your school, Drew. My parents might let me if I tell them you attend it too."
"Yeah, yeah," said Gary dismissively. He turned to Drew's butler, eyes eager. "What're we gonna do next?"
Drew's butler cleared his throat. "Next on the schedule is riding the Ponyta."
"We're gonna ride Ponyta?" Gary exclaimed.
"Yeah, we brought some in the backyard," said Drew as if he were something he did every day. "Come on."
Drew's "backyard" ended up being even more massive than the front yard, with trimmed hedges and colourful flowers and beautiful fountains. In an area covered mostly by lawn were several Ponyta, each fitted with a saddle and all set for riding. Handling the Pokemon was a man, a woman, and a girl who looked a little older than Drew and his friends, but younger than James.
"Hey, Alfred," the man said to Drew's butler. "Right on time! We just finished setting up."
"Mister and Missus Laramie," said Drew's butler. "Thank you very much for coming."
"I hope you don't mind that we brought our daughter Lara as well," said Mrs. Laramie. "She was so determined to help out."
The young girl, Lara, adjusted the orange headband she wore over her blue hair and gave everyone a bold smile. "Hello, everyone!" she said, standing tall. "I'm gonna teach you all to ride Ponyta!"
Drew's butler nodded. "Yes, it is quite all right. We could always use an extra hand."
"When can we ride the Ponyta?" Gary asked. "My grandpa has lotsa Ponyta and even Rapidash at the lab, but he doesn't let me ride them."
"We first need to get a few rules out of the way," said Mrs. Laramie. "First of all, the three of us" - she gestured to herself, her husband and Lara - "will be helping you ride them, but it is very important you listen to and follow all our instructions."
May, who'd been looking a little nervous ever since Drew's butler mentioned the Ponyta, looked even more worried as she asked, "How do we ride them? They're covered in fire."
Mrs. Laramie nodded. "Yes, that brings me to my second rule. Ponyta are able to control their flames so they do not burn the rider. Our Ponyta are all trained, so they won't let you get hurt; however, it is important that you are gentle to them and treat them with respect. Just because they won't hurt you doesn't mean you can tease them."
"Because then, they might burn you," Lara piped up.
"That's unlikely," said Mrs. Laramie. "Like I said, our Ponyta are well-trained and are used to children. There shouldn't be any problem."
That only got May more anxious, though, and her nerves didn't improve as Mrs. Laramie listed all the instructions they had to follow. When it was time to ride the Ponyta and they began to head to the Pokemon, May stayed back.
"Come on, May," said Drew. "Let's ride the Ponyta."
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I-I don't want to!"
Drew stared. "But... but why? It's gonna be a lot of fun!"
"I don't wanna get burned!"
"But you're not gonna, remember? They said it's safe!"
May's eyes brimmed with tears. "I don't wanna go near the scary Ponyta!"
"The Ponyta aren't scary! See? Gary and Paul are already climbing on." James was halfway there, but had stopped to watch May and Drew worriedly.
May just shook her head.
"But—!"
"You do not have to if you do not feel comfortable," said Drew's butler. "If you want, you could just watch."
"I think I'll just watch," said May in a small voice.
Drew frowned. He didn't want to leave his friend alone while everyone else was on the Ponyta. "I can stay with you, then," he said.
"No need," said James. "It's your birthday, Drew. You should be riding the Ponyta with your friends."
"But then May will be alone."
"You can leave that to little ol' me." He turned to May. "We can hang out together, right?"
May nodded, brightening up. "Yes! We can be best friends too!"
With that arranged, Drew went off to ride the Ponyta with Gary and Paul. They got the hang of it fairly quickly; they weren't supposed to go too fast, but at some point, riding around sparked a competitiveness in Paul and Gary, and it wasn't long before they were trying to outdo each other.
"I'm a better rider than you!" Gary insisted.
"No you're not," Paul said dismissively. "I've been going faster than you the whole time."
"No you haven't!"
"Yes I have."
Drew was getting tired of hearing them argue, and he wanted to take a break from riding anyways. With a little help from the Laramies, he slipped off his Ponyta and headed to where May was pointing out flowers to James.
"And this one is purple with a yellow middle," May was telling James. "Mommy likes planting flowers like these in our garden, so I know it, and I know it's name too because Mommy always tells me but right now I forgot a teeny-tiny bit and I forget it lots of times too so I just call it the purplish flower."
"How nice," said James, who looked like was starting to get a little tired of having every present flower described to him by a five-year-old.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes..."
"Which petal is your favourite one?"
"Um, well..." James pointed to a random petal. "This one."
"Really? I like this one." She pointed to a different petal. Then her eyes fell on another flower. "Oh look! Let's go see that one!"
"What are you guys doing?" Drew asked, coming up to them.
"Hi Drew!" May chirped. "We're looking at flowers. Wanna look at them with us?"
"Okay."
"Weren't you riding the Ponyta?" James asked.
"I did. I wanna take a break now," said Drew.
"Oh, in that case..." James quickly straightened out. "I can go ride them while you two play with each other."
"Okay! Bye bye!" May said, waving as James scurried away, eager to get away from May's incessant description of every plant in Drew's garden.
"What flowers are you looking at?" Drew asked May.
"Lots of them!" said May. "We looked at the purplish flowers, and the yellowish flowers, and the reddish and blackish flowers, and lotsa more!" She walked up to the flower she'd been about to investigate before Drew had shown up. "I know this one's name. This one's a rose."
The deep red blossoms were roses indeed.
"Don't go too close," Drew warned. "The rosebushes have thorns that can poke you."
"But they're so pretty," said May. She looked around. "You have lotsa rosebushes around here, Drew."
"My mother really likes roses, so our gardeners always make sure we have a lot," Drew explained.
"Really?" said May. "I really really like roses too!"
"Me too. We have a lot of different colours over—"
"All right, it's time to wrap up the Ponyta-riding," Drew's butler announced. "It's time to go inside for lunch!"
"Yay, lunchtime!" May cheered, grabbing Drew's hand and pulling him to the butler. "Come on, let's go eat!"
Gary, Paul, James and Lara (who'd gotten on the spare Ponyta) were dismounting too. Apparently, Gary and Paul had bullied James into racing them, claiming that whoever could win against an older kid like James was clearly the superior rider, and Lara had joined in. James looked exhausted (the younger kids were way too intense for his liking) and he'd left Gary and Paul thoroughly unimpressed with him by coming in last place. But Lara, the most experienced rider, had come in first while Gary and Paul had tied for second, which was for the best, perhaps, because if one had beaten the other, he probably would have bragged about it the rest of the day.
Inside, they all washed up and had lunch from a large selection of pizzas and veggies and chips and drinks. Then they sang Happy Birthday as Drew blew out the candles of his massive cake - a red velvet cake with chocolate frosting, topped with fresh strawberries. Drew, May, Gary, James and Lara dug in, and Drew had known from Gary's birthday party that Paul wasn't a fan of overly sweet stuff, so he'd gotten tangy orange cheesecake bars for him instead, which Paul found he actually liked. There were other cheesecake bars too - chocolate, strawberry, peanut butter - all arranged beautifully on a three-tiered crystal serving stand, and the rest of Drew's friends tackled those after they had their fill of birthday cake.
Soon, Lara had to leave with her parents, who had to get the Ponyta back to the ranch, and Drew's butler packed cake and cheesecake squares and other goodies for them to enjoy at home later.
"What are we gonna do now?" Gary asked when they were all done eating.
"We have a pinata!" said Drew. "We're gonna do the pinata now... right?" Drew looked at his butler eagerly. Out of all the things, Drew was most excited for the pinata, to be honest. He'd done all the other activities before, but he'd only seen kids hitting a pinata for candy on TV. He'd especially asked his butler to make sure there was a pinata for his party this year.
"Well, I was going to wait for a bit," his butler muttered. "But I suppose it doesn't make a difference. Yes, we can do the pinata now."
"Yes, a pinata!" Gary cheered.
"Is it gonna have a lot of candy?" May asked.
"I think so," said Drew. He himself hadn't seen what goodies had been filled in, but they always showed pinatas being filled with candy on TV.
They eagerly followed Drew's butler to where the other butler - the younger one who'd taken the presents May, Gary and Paul had brought for Drew when they'd arrived - was setting up the pinata. He seemed a little irritated when he saw them, however.
"You said you'd bring them later," he muttered to Drew's butler.
"They seem to want to do it now," Drew's butler muttered back.
"Yeah, well I'm not done."
From the younger butler's tone, May felt that maybe he and Drew's butler weren't that good of friends after all.
The kids waited patiently while the pinata setup was complete, James showing them magic tricks with a couple of bottle caps he had in his pockets in the meantime. Finally, the younger butler finished suspending the pinata and presented it to the kids with a touch of a sneer on his face and grandiose mocking gesture (earning him a stern look from Drew's butler), but everyone else was too fixated on the pinata to notice.
To prevent the kids from accidentally whacking each other, Drew's butler explained that they would take turns trying to hit the pinata open. He also opted out of covering their eyes, so as to prevent hitting the wrong target.
Drew went first, but no matter how hard he hit it with the wooden rod his butler had given, he only managed to make a small dent. Gary went next, and he make more of an impact, but only a few pieces of candy fell out. Paul scoffed at him, so he challenged Paul to do better. A strong hit or two from Paul widened the crack Gary had made, and more candy, as well as a few small toys fell out, but they could tell there was more inside. With a little persuasion, they convinced James to give it a go, though James pretended not to be able to hit very hard so the younger kids would get the satisfaction of breaking it open. (He regretted not trying harder afterwards, though, when Paul coldly called him pathetic and Gary laughed that a big kid couldn't do better than them.)
"Has everyone had a turn?" Drew's butler asked.
"No, I didn't! I didn't!" May said, bouncing on her feet and reaching for the wooden rod.
"All right, then," said Drew's butler, handing it to her.
She held the rod firmly in her grasp and walked right under the pinata.
"Okay, candy," she said with such a determined fierceness it caught her friends off guard. "I am going to get to you to come out no matter what it takes!"
With a fire in her eye, she struck the pinata with such power it split wide open, spilling candy and all sorts of trinkets and small toys. Her friends gawked at her in amazement.
"Yay!" May cheered, both hands in the air. "I'm the Queen of the Candy!"
Once the others recovered from the surprise, they all dove at the treats, rowdily stuffing their pockets with as much as they could fill until Drew's butler managed to convince them to leave it because he would be splitting up the remains equally for all of their goody bags.
The younger butler, who'd decided to hang around to watch the demolition of the pinata he'd so painstakingly set up, looked on with exasperation.
"How do you deal with them, Alfred?" he muttered to Drew's butler. "I'd much rather spend the day scrubbing toilets than trying to get these brats under control."
"Noted," Drew's butler said coolly. "I'll let the Master know so he can have you reassigned."
"Don't you dare."
"Then don't insult Master Andrew's friends."
The younger butler pressed his lips into a prim line and said nothing.
"By the way," said Drew's butler. "Has the bouncy castle arrived yet? It was supposed to arrive hours ago."
"I'll go see."
As the younger butler left, May skipped up to Drew's butler, beaming. "I heard you say 'bouncy castle'. Is there going to be a bouncy castle?"
"There's going to be a bouncy castle too?" Gary exclaimed.
Drew's butler shut his eyes, exhaled, then opened them again. "Well, that is the plan," he said. "Unfortunately, it seems there was an issue with the company we ordered from, so it's a little late. Your families are supposed to arrive to pick you up soon, however, so I am not entirely sure—"
Before he could continue, the younger butler came dashing back. "It's here," he said. "They just finished setting it up."
"Yes, let's go to the bouncy castle!" May shrieked, running the way the butler had come to where the bouncy castle was set up.
"I'm gonna get there first!" Gary hollered, running after her. "I'm gonna be the King of the Castle!"
"No, I get to be the queen 'cause I'm the Queen of the Candy!"
Drew turned to his butler. "Are we allowed to go there yet?"
His butler sighed. "I suppose you could," he murmured. "There's still time before everyone's parents come to pick them up."
Drew turned James and Paul. "Come on, we gotta hurry, or else everyone's parents will pick them up and we won't get to go on the bouncy castle."
"Well, all right," James said, though he wasn't sure how fun it would be to bounce around with a bunch of kindergartners.
Paul was too busy unwrapping an orange lollipop and sticking it in his mouth to respond, but he followed Drew and James when they headed outside too.
Outside, May and Gary had found the humongous bouncy castle, which nearly reached a second floor window, set up in the front yard, and they were already competing with each other to see who could jump the highest. Drew took off his shoes and climbed in as well, and soon he was bouncing too, outdoing Gary with his jumps (he'd been to enough rich kids' birthday parties to know the best way to bounce in a bouncy castle). Gary didn't let up, however, and May could jump higher than both of them ("Candy gives me super-powers," she announced, and no one could refute that).
"Aren't you going to go in too?" James asked Paul.
"Don't feel like it," said Paul, twirling his lollipop in his mouth and eyeing the castle up and down.
James honestly didn't know how to make more of a conversation with him, but before he could think of anything, a car's arrival caught his attention: it was one of his servants coming to pick him up. James paled - there was still enough time left in the day for his parents to force him to hang out with Jessebelle - and he quickly took off his shoes and dove into the bouncy castle as well. If he looked like he was having fun, they would probably let him stay a little longer. When James began jumping around with the others, however, he really did start to have fun, and he began to wish he'd come in sooner.
More cars pulled up on the driveway, and soon, a servant from James's house, May's mother, Gary's grandpa, and Reggie were all standing outside of the bouncy castle, waiting for them.
"Everyone, it is time to go," Drew's butler announced. And, reluctantly, Drew, James, Gary and May came out of the bouncy castle and put on their shoes.
"Hey, where's Paul?" Reggie asked.
Drew's butler frowned. "He was standing right here a moment ago..."
The younger butler came outside with goody bags for everyone - one for James too, despite his unexpected arrival - and passed them around until he was left with Paul's.
"Isn't there supposed to be one more?" he grumbled.
"Yes, we cannot seem to find him," Drew's butler said as he looked around. "Maybe he went inside...?"
Before he could go to check, however, the younger butler squinted up at the top of the bouncy castle. "Is that... is that a kid up there?"
Everyone's attention turned to the top of the bouncy castle and sure enough, Paul was sitting on the edge, looking relaxed as he sucked on his lollipop.
"Oh my..." said Caroline.
"What the... Get down here right now!" Drew's butler called. "That's dangerous!"
"I like it here," said Paul sullenly.
"How did you even get up there?!"
"Come on, buddy," said Reggie, looking thoroughly unconcerned. "We gotta go."
Paul reluctantly climbed down and joined his brother. The younger butler handed him his goody bag too.
Then, it was time to say goodbye.
"Oh well," said James when he saw he couldn't avoid going home anymore. "Thanks for letting me stay here, Drew. You do have good friends, though. Maybe if I transfer to your school, I can make some of my own friends too." He looked a little less gloomy at the thought. "Anyways, I suppose I'll see you some other time."
"Yeah, I gotta go too," said Gary. "But your house is awesome! Invite us here more!"
"Yeah!" May said. "I love it here!"
"I might come too," Paul said casually, though he couldn't hide the eager spark in his eyes.
"I will," Drew promised, exceedingly pleased at having impressed even Gary and Paul to such an extent.
"Your birthday party was very cool too," said Gary thoughtfully. "I'll ask Gramps if I can have a birthday just like it next time. No, mine will be even awesomer! Mine will be the ultimate birthday party!"
"How can you make your party better than Drew's?" May asked. "Drew's is already the ultimate!"
"You'll see when I have my party next year!" Gary insisted, sticking his nose in the air.
James begrudgingly left with his servant, and Gary headed off (Gary rambling to his grandpa about how he wanted a bouncy castle for his next birthday), and Paul and Reggie got into the car driven by one of Drew's chauffeurs (Reggie rambling to Paul about he and the chauffeur had apparently become friends).
"Bye bye, Drew," May chirped as she went to her own car with her mother. "See you at school again! And thank you for inviting me to your ultimate birthday party!"
"Bye!" Drew waved back as his friends left one by one. As he started to make his way back to his house, he thought about what the others had said about this being the ultimate birthday party.
Honestly, the ball pit and the Ponyta and the bouncy castle weren't all that different from what he'd seen at the birthday parties of other kids in his family-friend circles; his own birthday parties had had these kinds of activities in previous years too. But one thing set this year apart from all the others. This year, he'd been able to spend his birthday with his friends - not acquaintances his parents pushed him to get along with, but his own, actual friends, the ones he'd chosen and made himself.
And that, he felt, really did make it the ultimate birthday party.
And done!
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Bye bye for now! Stay safe and happy, and have a great day, and be sure to smile all the way! :)