“Are you guys finished with your homework already or are you just being nosey?”
asked Lauren as she walked toward the door, hiding the item behind her back.
“Just being nosy,” said Destiney with a sly grin, moving this way and that
to see what was behind Lauren’s back. Lauren, who noticed what Destiney was
trying to do, moved against the wall so that she couldn’t see.
“Well, you’ll all see what I bought Cleo at the party. Now, go finish your
homework and don’t come downstairs until you’re done,” Lauren said as she edged
toward the door with her back still against the wall. She slipped through the
door and disappeared. Cleo, Destiney, Ty, and Celest walked back up the stairs
to finish their homework.
Time slipped by like grains of sand, and an hour later, they had finished their
homework. Cleo looked at the clock on the wall, which said that it was 4:30
NST.
“Thirty more minutes until my party starts,” said Cleo with a smile. “We should
go downstairs and help Lauren finish getting ready.” They all walked down the
stairs and entered the kitchen. They each picked up a bowl full of treats and
carried them into the living room. There they found Lauren placing a present
on the gift table. Cleo walked up to her and tapped her shoulder. Lauren jumped
and turned.
She smiled when they saw them.
“So, you finished your homework?” asked Lauren with a smile.
“Yep!” Cleo answered gleefully as she placed her bowl on the table. The others
did the same. “Do you need anymore help?”
“No, I think that’s it. You had better go see if your rooms are clean because
I don’t think your friends want to see messy rooms," Lauren said as she smiled
at her pets.
Cleo, Destiney, Celest, and Ty went upstairs and checked their rooms. Each
room looked like a disaster area. Toys, books, Battledome items, and magazines
littered the floors. They started to clean their rooms putting everything in
its place. After about ten minutes, there was a shout from downstairs.
“Cleo, guests are arriving!” shouted Lauren from the bottom of the steps. Cleo
ran out of her room and down the hall, tripping on the rug. She jumped down
the steps and landed on the kitchen floor with a thud and raced through the
living room door.
“Who’s here?” asked Cleo who was panting heavily.
“Kay and Pete have arrived," Lauren said staring out the window. Cleo walked
toward the door and opened it. Standing there were Kay and Pete, both holding
presents.
“Hello Cleo,” said Kay with a grin.
“Hello you two. Come on in, I’m waiting for the others to arrive,” said Cleo
as she backed up to allow Kay and Pete to step inside.
“The gifts go on the table over there," Lauren said, pointing at the table.
The two pets walked toward the table and put their gifts down. They then walked
toward Cleo.
“Can we talk with you upstairs? It’s important,” whispered Kay into Cleo’s
ear. Cleo nodded in response and they walked through the kitchen and up the
stairs. Kay told Pete to get Cleo’s sisters because this involved them too.
They all went into Cleo’s room and shut the door.
“What’s this all about?” asked Destiney curiously.
“Do you guys have any idea what Lauren bought for Cleo?” asked Kay with a questionable
look.
“No, not a clue. She kept the item behind her back when we saw her,” said Ty
shaking her head.
“Well, we saw her coming out of somebody’s shop earlier today and she was carrying
a large bag. We don’t know what she bought but it has to be pretty big," Kay
said with a serious voice. Cleo, Destiney, Ty, and Celest looked at each other.
The gift that Lauren had placed on the table hadn’t been big. It was relatively
small in size.
“The gift couldn’t be that big because the package we saw her place on the
table was kinda small but not actually small,” said Celest in a matter-of-fact
voice. “She must have been buying some other things there too. Probably some
more food items for the party.”
“Hmm, I’m not so sure…” Kay said with his face screwed up in thought. “Well,
I guess we’ll find out later tonight.” Kay then shrugged and opened the bedroom
door. “We should go downstairs or Lauren will get suspicious.”
Everyone walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. They entered the living
room, got some food and sat down on the furniture. They ate and talked about
what Cleo’s friends were going to get her and soon other friends began to arrive.
Parkaya and Joobie arrived at around the same time. Cleo was surprised that
Joobie was able to get to her house so fast since she just got out of detention.
“Well, when I got out of school I ran home, got your present, and then came
here. I may have fins but I can run fast,” Joobie said with a grin.
Within the next ten minutes, all the seventh graders of Griffin Junior High
had arrived. Among them was Sweet_fluffy_pluff, a new pet that transferred from
Mystery Island. Sweet was a very strong blue Kacheek. Her owner was Melimelimeli
but everyone knew her as Mel. Cleo and Sweet instantly became close friends
from the day they met.
When everyone had arrived, Lauren cleared her throat loudly so everyone could
here her. At that moment, everybody in the room went quiet.
“Okay, now that we have all had a chance to talk to each other, I think it
is time to play some games. First, let’s have a karaoke contest. The first person
to sing will be Cleo since it’s her birthday.”
Cleo walked up to the stereo and picked up the microphone. She then thought
for a moment about what she was going to sing. After a couple of seconds, she
turned her head to Lauren.
“Could you play ‘I’m Bananas For You’ by M*YNCI?” asked Cleo. Lauren nodded
and she placed a cd in the stereo. When the music started, Cleo began to sing.
It had a fast beat and some of the pets began to dance. Cleo sang the song perfectly
and when she finished, everyone clapped and a few of her friends whistled. Everyone
took a turn, each singing their favourite song. There were a couple of mess-ups
but none to bad. After 30 minutes, everyone had had a turn.
“Our next game also has something to do with music. It happens to be a dancing
contest,” said Lauren as she started to clear the center of the room. Everyone
parted into two groups, each standing to one side. Lauren started the music
and Parkaya jumped into the center of the room. Parkaya was known for making
up new dances. She began to do the Gelert Shuffle and Twist. She moved like
a paintbrush on canvas. Next it was Sweet’s turn. Sweet did an impeccable presentation
of Michael Jetsam. She had obviously mastered the Moon Walk and began to do
back flips and front flips. Everyone cheered when she finished with a front
split that went all the way to a floor. Everyone was imitating their favourite
singer. After an hour, everyone had finished dancing.
“I’m starving,” said Ty holding her stomach.
“I guess it’s time to have some cake then,” said Lauren as she walked over
to the food table and set out plates. She lit the candles on the cake and everyone
began to sing:
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday Dear Cleo
Happy Birthday To You!
Everybody clapped as Cleo blew out the candles. Lauren passed out cake, ice
cream, and Neocola to everyone. They began to eat and drink. Some of the pets
started to show off their moves again until everybody had finished eating.
I think it is now time to open presents. Everyone gather around the table but
don’t push," Lauren said as she got her camera. Lauren always took pictures
of her pets’ birthday parties.
Everyone crowded around the gift table as Cleo stepped behind it. She picked
up the one from Sweet and opened it. She got a big surprise when the gift let
out a tiny roar and it started to jump. Inside a little cage was a Gruslen,
a Tyrannian PetPet.
“Thanks Sweet! I’ve been wanting one of these for a long time!” Cleo gave
Sweet a tight hug and Sweet began to blush a deep red. Cleo decided to name
the Gruslen Siberia. Siberia began to lick Cleo and Lauren had to place her
back inside her cage.
She then picked up the presents from Pete and Kay. She tore back the wrappings
of Pete’s present and it glowed a bright blue. It was an Air Faerie. She unwrapped
Kay’s parcel and it glowed a bright red, which meant that it contained a Fire
Faerie.
“Oh cool! I’ve been needing some abilities,” said Cleo as she thanked Kay
and Pete. Lauren popped open the containers that held the faeries. The Air Faerie
granted Cleo the ability Spark and the Fire Faerie granted the ability Smoke
Screen. They then flew out the open window and disappeared.
To be continued... | 
