Usuki Singing Stars #10: The BIG Birthday Blow-up - Part Two

     "And how will it do that?" Sparkles wondered. "We'll just combine Dad's party theme with Patricia's. It won't be that bad, Scare."

     "Oh yes, it will," Scary insisted. After a quick shiver, Scary asked Sparkles, "Do you, by any chance, remember last year's 'Glitter Ball Extravaganza with a Touch of Random Extravagance'? Remember all of those feather boas, masks, glitter, cupcakes and random socks at the party? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO CELEBRATE ANOTHER 'SNAW' PARTY???"

     "Well, no," Sparkles began, "but I'm sure we can add some 'extravagance' to the Shenkuu tea party theme. What do you think, Cuddles?"

     Cuddles thought quickly before he responded. Finally he said, "Combining both parties doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. I'm sure you guys can find a way to add some 'glamour' into Patricia's party. How hard can it be?" While Sparkles clapped her hands with delight, Scary gave Cuddles an unsure glare.

     "Do YOU know how tacky it would be if we have a traditional Shenkuu tea party with feathered masks and sock puppets?" Scary wondered. After face-palming herself over the thought of this mixed up theme, Scary said, "If you guys want to go ahead with this horribly stupid plan, than please be my guest. I'm sure that neither of you can think of a way to turn both parties into one big party by Friday."

     "I'm sure we can think of something," Sparkles insisted. "Lola and I can get the party supplies while you help us out by decorate the lawn. The cake won't be an issue for us, since I saw it on display at the bakery today."

     "What can I do?" Cuddles wondered, still feeling proud that he had helped his sisters.

     "You can help with distributing the invitations," Sparkles explained. "Just read the front of the cards and give them to everybody who has a name on one. Then we'll see what else you can do."

     "Deal." Cuddles grinned. "This will be the best birthday party ever!"

     ***

     "Do you think Scary is still mad at us for doing this?" Lola wondered. "She didn't seem too happy today at Neoschool. Maybe we should just go back to the Shenkuu tea party idea instead?"

     Sparkles shook her head. "Scary's just going through one of her melodramatic phases again," she explained. "So as long as I don't need a giant net and a doctor, then I'll just leave Scary alone and continue with my life; which is actually what we need to do today!" Lola sighed and followed Sparkles into the Bakery. As soon as she stepped inside, Sparkles took a deep breath in to inhale the sweet smells of freshly baked bread and spicy cinnamon buns.

     "Shouldn't we be looking for that cake you saw?" Lola wondered. Sparkles nodded and lead Lola to the back of the store, where all of the other cakes were displayed in beautiful glass cabinets. "I don't see any Shenkuuan cakes," said Lola. "Maybe somebody bought it?"

     "Impossible! Who else would be planning a Shenkuu tea party on the same day we are??" Sparkles exclaimed. She was starting to feel a bit pressured after she realized that the party date was just two days away.

     "Perhaps we should go talk to the clerk? I'm sure he'll know where the cake is," Lola suggested. Sparkles sighed and followed Lola to the front desk, where a short blue Kacheek was busy eating a slice of bread.

     "Yo," he said in a mumbled voice. After listening to Lola's question about the Shenkuuan cake Sparkles saw, the bread-master said, "Oh that old thing? We had to throw it away this morning."

     "WHY!?!?!?" Sparkles exclaimed in agony.

     "Because it was getting too old for display," the bread-master explained between bites. "It was getting so old and so crusty that not even the usual petpetpets who come to nibble on our bread wanted to touch it. It was as dry as the Lost Desert itself! So I had no choice but to throw it away."

     "Don't you have any other Shenkuuan style cakes?" asked Lola. "We really need to find one by Friday for-"

     "Can't," said the bread-master. "Every single baker here is busy baking for the big Neopian Birthday Bash thing, which is also conveniently happening on Friday. Our bakers are trying very hard to make the 60,000 cupcakes needed for the party, and we also need to finish the giant birthday cake we're preparing as well. So I'm afraid you two are out of luck today. But maybe next week-"

     "No, thank you," Lola sighed glumly. She and Sparkles left the bakery with hung heads and flip-flopping stomachs. Once they were outside, Lola asked Sparkles, "So now what? I bet every bakery in Neopia Central is busy preparing for the Neopian Birthday Bash."

     "I guess we can just skip ahead and look for decorations," Sparkles suggested. Lola nodded and followed Sparkles to the Gift Shop. But by the time they reached it, they noticed that the Gift Shop had a "Closed" sign on their window and a note pinned on their door.

     "We regret to inform you," Sparkles read, "but the Gift Shop is unfortunately closed for the time being. As it turned out, we were so preoccupied over our duties as the main decorators for the Neopian Birthday Bash that we had completely forgotten to save some of our best décor for our beloved customers. Our deepest apologies are with us today and we hope that by next week, our shelves will be completely restocked again. From Fred."

     "Maybe we should go to the furniture store instead. I'm sure that they would have stringed lanterns or a really nice rug," Lola suggested. Sparkles agreed happily and skipped toward the Furniture Warehouse with Lola. When they made it to the store, Sparkles opened the door and looked around for any party décor.

     "I don't see any party stuff," Sparkles said as she inspected the whole store. The only things that she saw were lots of beds, tables, and chairs in different colors and creepy patterns. As soon as she saw a salesclerk checking the price of a bright yellow chair, Sparkles asked him if they sold any party décor.

     The yellow Wocky shook his head in dismay and said, "I'm terribly sorry, but we had just donated all of our party decorations to the Gift Shop. They're the official decorations for this year's Birthday Bash. Maybe you should ask them for something. I'm sure they'll give it to you... or at least sell it to you for half price."

     "But we already tried them, and they said they were closed!" Sparkles insisted. The salesclerk just shook his head again and suggested that the girls go try the Money Tree instead.

     "I'm sure you girls would find some wonderful decorations from last year's bash if you're lucky," the salesclerk insisted. With a final sigh of regret, Sparkles shook her head and lead Lola out of the shop. Now that they had checked out all of their must-see stores in the bazaar, neither girl knew what to do about the party and its décor.

     "The bazaar may be a bit busy right now, but what about the plaza? I'm sure that they'll have something for us," Lola suggested hopefully.

     Sparkles shook her head. "We don't need school supplies and hand-me-downs for the party. And if the bazaar's busy, then I'm positive that the rest of Neopia Central's busy as well. Want to go back to my house and see how's Scary's doing?"

     "Okay," said Lola. "Maybe she has had better luck than we had!"

     ***

     "What do you mean nobody's going to come? I thought you were in charge of the invitations!!" Scary shrieked. While Sparkles and Lola tried to find party decorations in the bazaar, Scary was busying preparing the tables and chairs for the Shenkuu tea party. Because they had to celebrate Snaw's birthday on Friday with Patricia's, Scary decided to move the party from Patricia's house over to hers. This was a great idea, since their lawn was bigger than Patricia's backyard, and Scary had wanted to add such things as a traditional Shenkuu rock garden and a miniature waterfall with an attacked pond. But unfortunately, Scary was now finding herself getting flustered after Cuddles told her that their party guests weren't planning on coming to their party since it was happening on the same time as Neopia's Birthday Bash.

     "Not even Aubri wanted to come to our party," Cuddles explained. "She said that she wouldn't be caught dead at-"

     "You ACTUALLY tried to invite Aubri??" Scary demanded. "She didn't even have her name on an invite-Oh hey, back so soon?" Sparkles sighed and hung her head as she approached Scary. Lola gave her a nervous wave as she stood behind Sparkles.

     "Well, did you get anything? Huh?" Cuddles asked anxiously. "Because Scary wasn't very successful in getting that waterfall she wanted for the party."

     "You tried to get a waterfall?" Sparkles wondered. "I thought that you were just sticking with Shenkuuan flowers and incense sticks? Why in Neopia would you want a fountain?"

     "For that serene feeling you get when you travel to Shenkuu," Scary explained. "That was something I really wanted to project here."

     "But Scary," said Lola, "you've never been to Shenkuu before. So how would you know what this 'serene' feeling is like?" Scary glared at her while Cuddles filled Sparkles in on what else happened while she was gone.

     "WHAT! Nobody's coming?" Sparkles exclaimed. Cuddles nodded and listened while Sparkles told him about their décor hunt. "Now what will we do about the party?" Sparkles moaned.

     "How about give up?" Scary suggested. "There's nothing that we can do now."

To be continued...