The Birthday Aisha: Picky as Pie... Or Really?

     My name is Sweete, and I'm a baby Aisha. Well, the Birthday Aisha, to be exact. What is it that I do that made me earn that title? For starters, I have a sparkly wand. It's really colorful and has many stars attached to it - it even glows, too!

     And the next fact: I live in a bakery of some sort, though I have no idea where I am. Somewhere in Neopia, that's for sure. But whenever I step out of it, I appear at a birthday party every time - and it's always a different one, too. How crazy is that?

     Eventually, I found out who I really was - the Birthday Aisha, as I said before. I'm supposed to remember everyone's birthdays, bake them the tastiest treats, and even give them the perfect presents. Sometimes it isn't easy, though.

     Once, I thought this one party was going to be the absolute worst - the kid was spoiled, changed her mind often, and even sometimes had temper tantrums. Even though I was frustrated and tired, I still had to plow through - but doing that, I realized that it wouldn't be as bad as I thought, after all. It just goes to show you how people really act if you manage to get through their hard exterior!

     I'm going to introduce you to Liesel, the girl who (almost) couldn't be pleased.

     ---

     "This must be it," I say to myself, mentally reciting the address in my mind. There were three birthdays today, but I decided to go to Liesel's first - after all, her name was first on the list, and she sounded like a nice girl.

     Liesel's house wasn't a small and humble one, but it wasn't a grand mansion, either - it was somewhere in between, really.

     "Hello! I'm Sweete, the Birthday Aisha. I believe you asked me to come to this party," I say, speaking over the present I was holding. It was taller than me, but of course, most everyone and everything were.

     "Why, hello, Sweete! Welcome to the party. I'm Liesel's mom, Kelly, and we're glad to have you here." She plops a birthday hat onto my head. "I've already sent some neopoints to your bakery as a thank you. I'm hoping you can bake for us, too, if that isn't too much trouble."

     "I could, ma'am!"

     "Great! The party is Mystery Island-themed, if that helps any."

     "It does, thank you!" I say, entering the house and waving Kelly goodbye. I sniff my way to the kitchen and find a few other people already hard at work.

     "Oh, you must be Sweete, the Birthday Aisha!" somebody remarks, smiling at me. She sees my confused face. "Your reputation has grown."

     I nod as I wander over to my favorite part of the kitchen, the place where I bake all of my goodies. I take a recipe book and flip through the pages.

     "Wow, there are so many yummy island-themed treats," I say, looking at the colorful pictures. There are glasses of lemonade, bouquets of Twirly Fruit, and bowls of tropical salad. "But there aren't many desserts in here."

     I close the book and decide to use my own recipe for mini fruit tarts. Instead of the fruit on top, I decide to stuff them inside, and spread some cream cheese and jam on top. I shape the delicate crust for the millionth time, and cross my fingers.

     "Let's hope these turn out well," I mutter to myself, pleading the fruit to not explode and make a sticky mess.

     ---

     "Alright, Liesel! Let's open these presents," Kelly says, reaching for a glittery silver and pink box. I see Liesel swatting her hand away - I'm not sure how much more I can take. She already criticized all of the birthday treats just a few minutes before!

     "Mine!"

     "Honey, I told you not to behave this way in front of other people," Kelly whispers, though I can still hear her. Liesel seems to ignore her and opens another box, a green one. Inside is a chubby and adorable Island Elephante Plushie. But instead of hugging it like a normal child would, Liesel tore the flower from the plushie's ear, and put it on herself.

     "My beautiful flower," she says to herself, placing it on her own ear. "Thank you!"

     I facepalm myself and watch in agony as she opens the rest of her gifts - most are already on the floor, and some things already have dents in them. I shudder as she gets to my gift.

     "Wow! A princess hat!" Liesel takes off her current tiara and puts on the hat I got her. It is tall, cone-shaped, and in shades of lavender. It's adorned with glitter and frills, which I was afraid would be too girly. But it seemed to be the perfect present, and I'm glad I let my plushie Miamouse, Stitches, come shopping with me once. She was the one who picked this hat out.

     Suddenly, I feel a wave of disgust rolling over me, and I can't help but speak out. "Don't you enjoy your other presents?"

     Liesel stops playing with the hat and looks at me. "What?"

     "Your other presents. Don't you appreciate who got them for you? Why are they all scattered on the floor?"

     "Sweete..." Kelly begins, but abruptly stops. She doesn't know what to say.

     To my surprise, Liesel drops her hands down to her sides and starts crying. Tears glisten her face, and there are black smudges of makeup on her cheeks.

     Oh no, oh no, oh no... did I just make someone cry on her birthday?

     "I do love them. I love them all," she says between sobs. "But I didn't get the one thing I always wished for..."

     "And what is that?" I ask, hesitantly.

     "A friend."

     My heart breaks. This little girl was just trying to get everyone's attention - she was hinting all this time. She just wanted a friend, and yet, no one noticed.

     "Liesel... aren't you my friend?" I ask, and she looks up in surprise.

     "I don't know... I was behaving so badly, and you're so much cooler than me. What would you do with a crybaby like me?" Liesel's sobs reduce to sniffing.

     "I love friends. Talking and playing with other people is so much fun, and when you bond, you get to know who they really are. So, what do you say, Liesel?" I stretch my hand towards her, and she takes it.

     "I agree to that. Let's play some games, everyone!" Liesel announces to the crowd, and they cheer in unison. She really had more friends than she thought - as I look around the room, all I see are supportive smiles and happy faces.

     "Hey, Sweete, just one more thing..." she whispers, pulling me aside. What could it be now? I turn to her and nod, listening carefully. "Sorry for making fun of your tarts earlier. I really loved them, and I plan on asking my mom to order some from your bakery!"

     I let out a laugh, and Liesel does, too. "With that face, I thought you were going to tell me something serious and life-changing! But thank you for the compliment. If you ever happen to stop by, I'll have free samples ready just for you."

     Liesel winks at me. "I know you're the only person who knows where your shop is located, but I'll explore every inch of Neopia until I find it."

     "Good luck with that," I say, thinking of the things she'd have to go through to do so. Dark caves, cascading waterfalls, and double rainbows was going to make one heck of an adventure. Maybe I can go with her one day. I then hear a popping sound, and turn backwards. "Hey! Someone broke that pinata."

     The person with the stick removed their blindfold, and I saw that it was Kelly. She had on a silly grin. "Whoops, sorry about that!"

     "Mom!" Liesel yells, then scrambles over to the pile of candy accumulating on the floor. I laugh and run after her, picking up a chewy Flatfruit Lollypop and taking a bite out of it.

     Life sure is sweet.

The End