A week had passed and students had been streaming into Avalon at a slow but steady rate. Cassandra was in the Jock hangout, punching away at a wooden dummy practising her martial arts while Julian was lifting weights. Autumn then came in and found Cassandra kicking and punching away.
"Hey, Cass. Hey Julian," Autumn greeted.
"Hiya, 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?" Cassandra repeated.
Cassandra and Julian stopped what they were doing and gave Autumn their full attention. Autumn nodded and elaborated further, "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."
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 that's for sure," Cassandra said. "And we also need to alert the powers that be about this before it happens."
"That's fine by me, Cass. On the party planning part, I know someone who can help you on that end. But you get permission first," Autumn said.
Cassandra went and took a shower to rid her body of sweat and got dressed in simple jeans, sneakers and a black shirt. She then called her uncle to inform him of what Autumn had suggested, to which he had no objections as long as the parties were civil. She then called Autumn and asked her to bring her friend over to plan the party.
During their lunch break, Autumn came by with a dark skinned girl with curly brown hair and in a purple dress and flats. "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."
Cassandra gave her a once over and decided that she liked this girl already. She had this whole bubbly, cute and charismatic air about her.
"Hiya, I'm Cassandra," 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?" Cassandra 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," Cassandra 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?" Cassandra 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 to their fill, Cassandra led the group to where the party would be held. "Well, here we are. This is the Party Spot," 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," Cassandra explained.
The others 'oohed' and 'aaahed' over the place. Payton squealed and gushed, "I love it! But I think it should be called 'Party Central'.
"Hmm...true. I like it. I wasn't digging the name 'Party Spot'," Cassandra said thoughtfully.
"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," Cassandra offered. She called and ordered for the required decorations and they were delivered in thirty minutes.
"How's that, Payton?" Cassandra 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. Cassandra's 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.
"Be quiet, Sage," 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.
Cassandra cackled at this and gave him a wink. 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?"
The crew chuckled at this and they started sprucing up the place, making small talk all the while. Cassandra got to know Payton more; her love for animals, parties and music. They were soon done and they took a step back to admire their handiwork.
"So, what say you, Autumn? What do you think?" Cassandra enquired.
But Autumn wasn't paying attention as she was too busy checking her phone with a sad expression on her face. "Autumn?" Cassandra 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. Cassandra lifted her head and noticed that Autumn was gone.
"Hmm... She was acting a little bit strange earlier." Cassandra noted.
"Hey, Prep. Let me check something on Facebook," and he typed something and exclaimed, "Oh crap!"
Cassandra looked over his shoulders and saw what made him say that. "Wait, it's Autumn's birthday? Why didn't she say anything?" she 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." Cassandra 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."
"Cass, 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.
Cassandra nodded and said, "I'm in. No-one should celebrate their birthday alone. Autumn's a nice girl, a good girl and a better friend."
"Thanks, Cass. You're...you're pretty okay." He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Cassandra smirked, "Save the sappiness for Autumn's birthday."
Cassandra called in Eric and Brianna to help Payton with the rest of the preparations. Cassandra and Julian then walked out of Party Central and towards the carpark.
"So what exactly are we doing for her?" Cassandra 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.
Cassandra said to herself, "...yeah, she'd like that."
They arrived at the car park and entered Cassandra's car, a black 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe. As they entered the car and sat, Julian made a suggestion, "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."
Cassandra nodded and drove to the mall. They arrived and bought a camera at one of the shops there. As they walked back to the car with their purchase, Julian remarked, "Wow, 200 dollars seems like a lot for some fancy camera but if it makes Autumn happy, then it's worth it."
Cassandra 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..." Cassandra piped in.
Julian's face lit up in shock and exclaimed, "Crap! A cake! It's not a real birthday without a cake!"
"Chill, relax! We can grab one from the store," Cassandra 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.
Cassandra gulped, "Really?"
Julian nodded, "It might be corny, but they're the best cakes I've ever had! And Autumn loves them. Come on, Cassandra. I'll keep you company!"
They entered the car and began the two hour drive to For Goodness Cake. After thirty minutes of silence, Cassandra 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."
Cassandra gasped, "Really?"
"No! What is wrong with you? We are going to listen to some SportsChat!"
Cassandra laughed and Julian tuned in to the SportsChat podcast as Cassandra drove. The drive was a quiet one apart from the occasional remark on some of the sports teams mentioned in the podcast from either Julian and Cassandra.
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?" Cassandra teased.
Julian uncomfortably shifted in his seat and replied, "No. Maybe. Yes. Shut up."
Cassandra giggled and gave him a wink as she headed inside the shop. Cassandra 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. Cassandra replied, "Another year for our favourite artist!"
The clerk nodded and had the cake prepared. After a few minutes, Cassandra 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 remarked.
"Thought you'd like it, " Cassandra said as she put the car in drive and began heading back to the school. The car rumbled down the highway. Meanwhile, Cassandra 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."
Cassandra nodded and she drove on in silence, thinking about what Julian had said.
A little while later, they arrived back at the campus. They went back to Party Central and found that everything had been finished and Payton and the other preps counter checking everything. The nerds were looking through the wiring, ensuring it was done well. Payton saw them and ran up to them, "Oh, good. You're here. The party starts at five. Meanwhile, we can have Autumn's birthday before the other students leave class."
Cassandra 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?" Cassandra remarked.
"Sure seems that way, " Nyla said.
Payton and the other preps 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," Cassandra 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.
Cassandra said, "It's whatever they gave us when we asked for an artsy camera..." Julian elbowed her in the side and shot her a glare. "I mean, yes!"
"I love it!" 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!" Cassandra 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 Cassandra, "...this is... the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me..."
Cassandra 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, y'all!"
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. A DJ girl began...well.. deejaying and music pounded. They all danced to the music, and in the process, met and made new friends from other schools who decided to make a transfer to Avalon High.
After the party ended, Payton cheered, "Whoo! Now that was a some party!"
"Preach it, sister!" Cassandra agreed as she took off her mask.
"And look at that. We are going to have cheerleaders and band members joining us soon!"
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!"
Cassandra frowned, "What was that all about?"
Julian brushed it off, "Eeh, Payton's always running around like that."
Cassandra 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 Cassandra'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, Cass... 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," Cassandra said flippantly. "And I have a feeling that I won't like it," she added with a mutter.
Author's note: So, this was kind of a difficult chapter to write. Sorry if it isn't my best. And I apologize if has grammatical errors or typos. Reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames please. Thanks for reading this! Bye bye! Canary out! : )