Chapter 5
"The Fall's Farewell Dinner Party: Part 3"
Forcefully being told to dump a bucket of sherbet over my head, Sunni hesitantly hiked the skirt of her long dark green gown and climbed onto the table as all of the Gummies watched eagerly. Being someone who was always being the one that had to follow what a princess is supposed to do, I could not help but feel a sense of sympathy for Sunni. But I was looking forward to having a bucket of sherbet dumped on my head, so I closed my eyes and smiled as Sunni picked the bucket up as the other Gummies continued to push her.
"Gummi Tradition!" they cried, closing in on her like a pack of wild dogs. Sunni raised the bucket high over her head and her arms began to shake with nervousness and knowing that getting me covered in sherbet was something that she would never do in any sense of the word. After a few moments, the pressure finally got to her.
"I can't" she cried, slamming the bucket down on the table and burying her face into her hands, trying to hold back tears of shame and embarrassment. Of course, this began to concern me greatly and I opened my eyes to see my best friend racked with guilt.
"Does this mean I am not your best friend?" I asked sadly as Sunni turned away for a second, before pulling her face out of her hands. I could hear the sense of sadness and guilt in her voice as she confessed to me and the other Gummies.
"I wanted to impress you by turning this simple party into something special," she confessed. "But it got out of hand. I'm really sorry."
Sunni then walked over towards Grammi, knelt down and hugged her tightly. At that moment, I realized that Sunni did indeed go too far to impress me. Yes, I am a princess, but that didn't mean that I should be given any special treatment as much as any other princess. I am a human being and much like the Gummies, there will always be moments where I will want to do things that didn't involve anything fancy.
"Well, let's make it simple again," I said happily, trying to help Sunni out as I took my gold tiara off of my head and tossed it away.
"That's all I wanted to hear," added Gruffi, pulling the white ruffled collar off of his neck and laying back in his seat, kicking his legs onto the table. "Everyone, relax."
With the formalities dimmed a little, I quickly turned to Sunni who had now climbed off of the table and was back in her seat. She still was a little unconvinced that I wasn't having a great time, but I wanted to prove her wrong. After all, I did need some down time after my first grand ball the previous night. It was nice to put on my blue and white gown and gold tiara only to just go over to Gummi Glen and relax. Perhaps maybe I could convince Father to do something similar one day.
"This is great, Sunni," I said to Sunni as she turned towards me. "And I'm having a wonderful time."
"You are?" she asked, shocked that I was having a good time.
"Yes," I replied happily. "And to show everyone that we are now and always will be best friends…"
Sunni was confused for a moment, but that confusion quickly went away when I bent down and grabbed the bucket of Gummiberry Sherbet from the floor and dumped it all over Sunni as all the other Gummies began to laugh at the sight of her being covered in sherbet.
"Now that's a grand Gummi tradition!" called out Gruffi as he and the other Gummies laughed at Sunni who was now covered in sherbet. She wiped away some sherbet from her face and finally getting the message, began to laugh with the others.
After a while, I placed my gold tiara back on my head and we continued the evening with various games and activities that the Gummies had always done. It was a good way for me to understand Gummi custom and tradition, as if I would one day be someone who would forever be associated with the Gummi Bears. A few hours later, Sunni and I returned to Dunwyn still dressed in our formal clothes as I didn't have time to change and then return to Dunwyn without being noticed before sunrise.
"I'm glad you had a good time, Calla," said Sunni as we walked back into my bedroom. "Sorry if I had pushed the others too far to make this special for you."
"That's all right, Sunni," I replied as I grabbed my pink nightgown from my dresser. "Remember that just because I am a princess, it doesn't mean that I should have big elaborate parties every time I come over."
I then brought my nightgown to my bed and then walked back to my dresser and sat down whereas I removed my gold tiara from my head and my white high heels from my feet. After being on them for a long time, I could sure use the warm bucket of water again.
"Well, this was important for me, Calla," said Sunni as she removed her dark green slippers and then slid her sherbet covered dark green gown over her head and off of her body. "We've never had any humans for Gummi traditions before and I wanted to make this important for you."
As I listened to what Sunni had to say, I walked over to my bed and slid my blue and white gown off as well as my white shift that I wore underneath the gown as Sunni looked away. I then grabbed my pink nightgown and slid it over my head. It actually felt good to be in loose fitting clothes for once and I know Sunni felt the same way. We like to wear fancy dresses and gowns just as much as any other girl or woman, but it felt even better to get comfortable.
"I know, Sunni," I sighed happily as I laid down on my bed, while Sunni placed her aqua green nightgown on as well as her white slippers. "This was probably the best two nights I have ever had in my life and part of it was thanks to you and the Gummies."
Sunni was happy to hear that as she walked over to me and we hugged each other tightly. We were both tired and were eager to get back to our normal routines.
"Thanks for a great night, my friend," I whispered as Sunni and I hugged. Sunni then got down and grabbed her dark green dress and slippers as she made her way out of my room.
"Anytime, Calla," she replied, turning towards me as I fell asleep. "Anytime."
So, Sunni left my room wondering how she was going to wash the sherbet out of her holiday dress as I fell asleep in my bed, having just experienced the best two nights of my life. Yes, it was true that Sunni did go overboard and was very forceful towards the others, but it was all for the better and I looked forward towards the future where I hopefully would more nights like this.
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THE END
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