"Hey, Jess. Hey Julian." Autumn greeted meeting up with Jess and Julian at lunch
"Hey, Autumn." they greeted her without stopping what they were doing.
"So, I was thinking of a way more students can be recruited to the school. How about throwing a party?" Autumn suggested.
"A party?" Jess repeated.
"A party is a good way for different people to come together and have fun. And it's also a good way to meet new people and convince them to join the school." said Autumn
Julian agreed. "I agree. It's easier to get more diversity around here that way."
"Hmm... I don't know. I mean, I'm all for the idea but I'm no party planner." Jess said.
"That's fine by me, Jess. On the party planning part, I know someone who can help you on that end." Autumn said.
During lunch break, Autumn came by with a dark skinned girl with curly brown hair and in a purple dress and heels. "Hey, guys. This is Payton. She goes to Hearst High with me," Autumn introduced her to them.
"Hey. So I heard you want to throw a party." She said happily. "I kinda owe Autumn a favour, so I'm all yours from here."
"Hi, I'm Jess." she offered her hand in greeting to Payton, who gave her a hug instead. They offered Payton and Autumn a seat at the lunch table.
"So, any ideas for what kind of party you wanna throw?" Payton enquired.
"Ideas?" Jess frowned quizzically.
"Um, yeah! Ideas, themes...whatever you wanna call it. This is your school's first party and we need to do something a-ma-zing!" Payton said with a flourish of her hands.
"Hmm... How about a masquerade ball? I've always been into wearing masks and such." Jess suggested.
"Ooh...sounds good! It'll be a nice change to go to a classy party for once," Autumn said.
"Yeah, hot girls love classy things." Julian agreed.
"That's not..." Autumn trailed off with a sad look on her face.
"A masquerade ball it is!" Payton interrupted. "We can totally do this thing!"
"So what happens next?" Jess asked.
"Well, I need to take a look at the venue, not to mention getting the word out. There's also decorating."
"Ugh, decorating? Do I look like the type to get all colour-coordinated for a party?" Julian groaned.
"Was that even a sentence?" Autumn giggled.
The group ate lunch as they plan the details for the party with Payton's guidance. After they had eaten their lunch, Jess led the group to where the party would be held. "Well, here we are. This is the Party Central." she said as they entered the spacious building. It had a DJ booth, a large podium, a snack bar, a gaming area, couches, a photo booth, a snack bar, neon lights and a dance floor. "It was built for having social events, especially for stuff like Prom and Homecoming." Jess explained.
"All we need now are decorations. The best parties have decorations." Payton said.
"I can order for some decorations. See if they are willing to bring them over," Jess offered. She called and ordered for the required decorations and they were delivered in thirty minutes. "How's that, Payton?" Jess asked as they looked through the decorations.
Payton squealed in delight and replied. "Aah! I think we're all set! This is perfect!"
"Ummm... I don't think so... Hello?" Julian pipes in. "We still need to get the streamers hung up, not to mention the lighting set up to get the mood right!"
There was a silence as everyone stared at Julian. Jess mouth was open and she put her hand over her mouth. She began giggling as Julian's ears turned red from embarrassment.
"Someone's excited for this party." she commented, Payton and Autumn giggled
"Be quiet." Julian grumbled.
"There's no crime in getting in touch with your soft side. Maybe later we can bake cookies shaped like animals." Autumn teased.
Julian's face turned a bright red and he declared. "Okay. It's official... I am never going to decorate again." His face then softened. "For real though, are we baking cookies?"
"So, what say you, Autumn? What do you think?" Jess enquired.
But Autumn wasn't paying attention as she was too busy checking her phone with a sad expression on her face. "Autumn?" Jess worriedly asked.
Autumn looked up and said, "Um... It's all good...it's nice." and gave a watery smile.
"Ahem! Now, we need publicity and lots of it! It needs to appeal to everyone on campus..." Payton took out her laptop and began showing them an Event page. Julian looked around and noticed that Autumn wasn't with them.
"Hey, guys. Anyone see Autumn?" He asked. Jess lifted her head and noticed that Autumn was gone.
"Hmm... She was acting a little bit strange earlier." Jess noted.
"Hey, Prep. Let me check something on Facebook." and he typed something and exclaimed, "Oh crap!"
"Wait, it's Autumn's birthday? Why didn't she say anything?" Jess wondered.
"She thinks that we forgot," Julian added.
"Maybe that's because we did?" Payton said sadly.
Julian sighed, ran his hands through his hair and bites his lower lip. "Damn. Her dad is out of town and I bet he didn't even call her."
"That explains why she was so distracted looking at her phone." Jess remarked with a grimace.
"She's all alone. It's not like anyone at Hearst will celebrate with her." Julian said.
"Aww!" Payton pouted. "That's sad and really, really true. Most of the people there hate her."
"Jess, we need to do something for her. I know we're busy but a birthday is only one day and I know that will mean a lot to her. So what do you say?" Julian asked, a pleading look on his face.
Jess nodded and said, "I'm in. No-one should celebrate their birthday alone. Autumn's a great friend."
"Thanks, Jess. You're...you're pretty okay." He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Jess smirked, "Save the sappiness for Autumn's birthday."
"So what exactly are we doing for her?" Jess asked.
"Hmm... From what I know about her, Autumn is a 'quiet night with friends' kinda girl.
"That's shockingly sensitive of you, Julian."
Julian scowled. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." His demeanor changed into a sad one. "If I know Autumn, she's off somewhere trying to act like everything's okay, and pretending she's not actually all sad inside." He sighed. "I figure, we should surprise her when she gets back with a nice, happy birthday get-together!" He continued.
Jess said to herself. "Yeah, she'd like that."
"That mean SHOPPING!" Payton squealed
"Payton it's Autumn birthday not your birthday." Julian pointed
"I know the present will be for Autumn she always wear the same sneaker she need new shoe I'll buy her art supplies I know how much Autumn love art."
They arrived at the car park and entered Julian's car. "We should also get her a present while we're at it. She's always taking these pointless black and white pictures. I figure that a nice camera will do."
They arrived at the mall and bought a camera at one of the shops there. Payton met with Jess and Julian carried several shopping bag.
Jess asked. "So what now? We surprise her with the gift when she comes back?"
Julian shrugged. "I figure that's good, right? I mean, what else do you need on a birthday besides a gift?
"Well, there's usually a cake..." Jess piped in.
Julian's face lit up in shock and exclaimed, "Crap! A cake! It's not a real birthday without a cake!"
"We can grab one from the store," Jess said.
"No, not just any cake will do! It has to be from her favourite bakery, For Goodness Cake, which is two hours away!" Julian insisted.
Jess gulped, "Really?"
Julian nodded. "It might be corny, but they're the best cakes I've ever had! And Autumn loves them. Come on, Jess. I'll keep you company!"
They entered the car and began the two hour drive to For Goodness Cake. After thirty minutes of silence, Jess commented, "Wow. It's kinda quiet in here."
Julian said with sarcasm underlying in his tone, "True. I actually have some Disney songs I copied on my phone so that we could have a sing-along."
Jess and Payton gasped, "Really?"
"No! What is wrong with you? We are going to listen to some SportsChat!"
Jess and Payton groaned.
Once they arrived, Julian grumbled. "We're here. Can you go in and grab the cake?"
"Too cool to be seen in a place called For Goodness Cake?" Jess teased.
Julian uncomfortably shifted in his seat and replied, "No. Maybe. Yes. Shut up."
Jess giggled and gave him a wink as she headed inside the shop. Jess ordered a banana cake with chocolate frosting, remembering Julian mentioning Autumn's favourite type of cake. The clerk asked what she wanted written on it. Jess replied, "Another year for our favourite artist!"
The clerk nodded and had the cake prepared. After a few minutes, Jess headed out with a box of cake in her hands. She hopped into the car and gave Julian the box and he took a peek inside.
"Aww, that's cute!" Julian and Payton remarked.
"Thought you'd like it, " Jess said as she put the car in drive and began heading back to the school. The car rumbled down the highway. Meanwhile, Jess pondered something and decided to ask Julian, "Can I ask you something?"
"You can try," Julian said with a scowl.
"What's the deal with you and Autumn anyway?"
"What deal? There's nothing between us," Julian replied defensively.
"Dude, come on. I haven't seen you care this much about something that didn't involve catching a ball or throwing a punch."
Julian bit his lip and sighed, "Okay. It's just... when things got bad at Hearst... Autumn was the one who looked out for me. She's got a good heart. I feel like... like I owe her this much."
"You really care about her, don't you?"
"Yeah, that's one way to put it."
Jess nodded and she drove on in silence, thinking about what Julian had said.
Jess and Julian had no objections to this and they set up the cake box at one of the tables. Julian said, "Now, it's time to call Autumn up and make sure she has a good birthday."
Julian called Autumn on his cell and asked her to come by Party Central. "Okay, she's on her way. Now what do we do? Just yell surprise when she comes in? Does that make sense? Is that a thing people do?" Julian rambled.
"Wow, Is it just me, or is Julian more nervous than he is before a game?" Jess remarked.
"Sure seems that way, " Jess said.
Payton and their classmate giggled.
Julian's ears turned red and scowled, "Could you all just shut up and hide? She'll be here soon!"
They did as they were asked and they hid. Soon, a pair of footsteps could be heard and Autumn called out, "Hello? Julian? Are you there? I know you wanted to talk, but today's not the best day. It's no big deal, just some personal stu-"
They leapt out of their hiding spots and shouted, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUTUMN!"
Autumn jumped up in surprise and asked, "What... what is this? You... you guys are all here for me?"
"Of course we are," Jess beamed.
"And hey! That's not all! Open your gift!" Julian said as he handed her the gift bag with the camera.
"OMG! Is this a vintage Furiyama film camera with fisheye lens and 200x zoom?!" Autumn gushed. "I love it!" Autumn smiled.
"Open my present." Payton handed the gift bag inside are art supplies and new sneaker.
"Art supplies, brushes, paint, canvas, plastic cup and sneaker. I love it I needed new shoes." Autumn smiled
"Oh, we're not done!" Julian told her and he led her to the table where the cake box had been set.
"Is that a For Goodness Cake box?!" Autumn exclaimed.
"Yep! And read what the cake says!" Jess said excitedly.
She opened the box and sighed in delight. "Aww... Am I really your favourite artist?"
"Are you kidding? You're the only artist I can stand!" Julian said with a chuckle.
Autumn began tearing up and hugged Jess, "...this is... the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me..."
Jess hugged her back but told her. "Julian's the one you should be thanking."
Julian looked down to hide the blush that was creeping up and cleared his throat. "Um... You know... It was no big deal..."
Autumn went up and gave him a hug...one that lingered a bit too long. "Thank you, Julian. Thank you so much!" she whispered.
Payton said. "Let's eat some cake!"
They all laughed and began celebrating and eating cake. The other students began arriving after classes ended at Party Central, dressed in masks and gowns. They all sing and danced to the music, and in the process, met and made new friends from other schools who decided to make a transfer to Berry High.
After the party ended, Payton cheered. "Whoo! Now that was a some party!"
"And look at that. We are going to have a cheerleader joining us soon!" said Jess
Payton nodded and enthusiastically said, "You guys did great. I was worried this schools was crawling with emo kids but you guys are pretty awesome." Payton's phone buzzed off with a text and she gasped. "Oh! I've got to go. Just remembered something important. See you guys later!"
Jess frowned. "What was that all about?"
Julian brushed it off. "Eeh, Payton's always running around like that."
Jess doubted it, since she noticed Payton looking panicked but she mumbled. "I'll take your word for it."
They began cleaning up and dancing to the music that was playing on Jess's phone to make the time go faster. Once they were done, they left the building. Julian's phone buzzed with a text and he said, "Hey, Jess... I just got a text from Autumn. She said something's going down at Hearst High, and Payton could use some backup."
"We do owe her one. Let's go see what's up," Jess said flippantly. "And I have a feeling that I won't like it." she added with a mutter.