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

     "Things are... um, coming up very smoothly for tomorrow," Scary stammered. "All we need to do is get the big birthday cake from the Shop Wizard, blow up lots of balloons, and then we'll be all set for the combined party."

     "Did you remember to get all of the necessary things for Dad's half of the party?" Cuddles wondered. "If you really want to please him, then you'll need lots of glitter and a few red Elephantes. And don't forget to get lots and lots of cake and cookies! And Auntie Luann! We need her there, too."

     "Relax," said Sparkles, "we practically invited the whole family! Well, except for Cousin Bill. I think he's still vacationing on Mystery Island. But Auntie Shae and Shannery are coming for sure!"

     "That Bill," Scary tsked. "Will he ever think of anybody but himself for once? And speaking of the party, I think it's best for me and Sparkles to, um, go to bed right now!"

     After she jumped out of her chair and placed her plate in the kitchen sink, Scary said, "Come on, Sparkles! We still have to find the right outfits for the party."

     "Okay," said Sparkles. She immediately followed Scary up the stairs and into their bedroom. Feeling rather confused himself; Cuddles just sat at the kitchen table and stared at the wall in front of him until he got bored. By the time Sparklefrits woke up from his nap, Cuddles was already sleeping in his room.

     ***

     "Where's Scary? Are we sure we're meeting at the right spot, Sparkles?" Lola wondered. The yellow Cybunny and Sparkles were waiting by the Money Tree, just as Scary had instructed them to do yesterday. Both girls had already sung happy birthday to Patricia during Neoschool and Sparkles had given Patricia her birthday card during English class. But now Neoschool had ended for the week, and both girls were anxiously waiting for Scary to arrive in order to hear her 'hijacking' plan for tonight. Although the plan was going to be allot more far-fetched than they could imagine, neither Sparkles nor Lola wanted to back away just yet. They wanted to give Scary a chance before they made their final decision.

     "Here I am!" Scary cheered as she ran towards the Money Tree. "I would have met you guys earlier if it wasn't for that idiotic Simon Fisher! Who would have thought that a green Elephante wouldn't know how to open a bag of peanuts?"

     "Yes, we can," said Sparkles. "So about your plan-"

     "Oh, don't worry about it," Scary insisted, "I got everything under control. Now, Sparkles; in order for this plan to work, I need you to spread the word of Patricia's birthday while you wander around the massive group of Neopians that would probably attend tonight's affair. Do you think you can handle it?"

     Sparkles nodded. "Yep. But what about Dad's birthday? Should I mention that too?"

     "You can if you want to," said Scary. "Now, Lola, I understand that your capacity for working is as thin as a grain of rice, so I have decided to give you an easier assignment. What you will have to do is re-ice the cake so that it says 'Happy Birthday Neopia and Patricia'."

     "And 'Snaw'," Sparkles pointed out. Scary just waved her hand at Sparkles while she waited for Lola's reply. The purple Bruce hoped that her second accomplice wouldn't be a Mallard and back out on the day that she actually needed her.

     But to Scary's relief, Lola replied with a happy, "Oh sure, Scary! I have the perfect piping bag for the job, and I hope that Patricia wouldn't mind if I use purple frosting on the cake. What are you going to do, Scary?"

     "I will do the most important job of all," Scary announced proudly. "I will march right up on the stage and announce Patricia's, and maybe Dad's, birthday to the crowd! I will then ask everybody to sing her, or 'them', happy birthday until everybody's throats are hoarse. Then you two will have to wield the birthday cake up onto the stage, and perhaps before we do all this maybe one of you could bring Patricia over so that-"

     "Why are we the ones that have to do that?" asked Sparkles, who was beginning to consider dropping out of the plan. "What will you be doing while Lola and I wield the cake? Couldn't you at least help us?"

     "You know I can't do hard labor with a wet manicure!" Scary insisted. She proudly showed Sparkles her purple fingernails as proof that she had just painted them. "See? My nails are too delicate to be messed with today. And besides, you and that other girl can do wonders by yourselves. Just believe in your strengths and try not to bother me, okay?"

     Sparkles tapped one of Scary's fingernails and frowned. "These nails are already dry! To think I had actually believed you for half a second!"

     "Well, la-di-dah," said Scary. "You're just jealous that my nails are-"

     "Enough!" Lola exclaimed. Scary and Sparkles gave her questionable stares, but Lola just ignored them and said, "In order for our plans to work, we need to cooperate and calm down for Patricia's sake-although I'm still a bit skeptical about whether or not this whole thing will actually succeed. But we can't just give up now! So who's with me?"

     "...What in Neopia are you talking about?" Scary wondered. "One minute you're talking about the party and the next minute you're talking about not giving up. And by the way, I will never be 'with you' when it comes to ANYTHING!"

     "Scary, please," said Sparkles. "How about we meet each other at the Birthday Bash tonight? Perhaps by THEN Scary will calm down and we'll be able to put things in motion." Lola and Scary nodded and agreed to meet each other at 6 pm. As everybody departed for the rest of the afternoon, Sparkles couldn't help but feel a bit queasy about all of this. What if nothing went right for them?

     ***

     "Uhh, Scary, why did you bring flower pots with you?" Lola wondered.

     "They're not flowerpots, you idiot," Scary insisted. She handed a decorated flowerpot to Lola and said, "These are called 'party hats'. I don't really understand why, but apparently our Dad made these for 'his party' tonight. So I decided to bring these here for some 'Snaw-like extravagance'."

     "Did you tell him to meet us here in a couple hours?" Sparkles wondered, fidgeting with a loose thread on her party dress. "And did you remember to invite Patricia as well?"

     "What? But I thought that you were going to invite Patricia," said Scary. "My only responsibility was to invite our father!"

     "How about Cuddles and Sparklefrits?" asked Lola. Scary nodded and insisted that she had also invited her two brothers as well.

     "Well, that's superb," Sparkles groaned. "We're now short one birthday girl. I guess I can just get her during the party. Did you at least get Shannery and Auntie Shae?"

     "They were gone when I went to check on them," Scary explained. "Now let's go in and set everything up! We only have a couple more hours until our Birthday Bash begins." Lola and Sparkles nodded and quickly followed Scary to the back of a long line. While they waited for the line to move, the three girls saw a massive crowd surrounding the Money Tree. Loud music was playing while bright lights were flashing to the rhythm of the Twisted Roses' version of rock and roll. They also noticed a guard at the end of the line, who was checking everyone's invitations. Those who were allowed were able to get pass his velvet rope, which was the gateway to Neopia's Birthday Bash.

     When it was finally their turn to enter, Scary reached into her red satin purse, only to find a few packs of tissues and a tranquilizer dart. "Oh darn! Now where did I put my invitation?? Hmm... uhh... Say, Sparkles, can you check your purse for our invites?"

     "Okay," said Sparkles. But after rummaging through her purse, Sparkles frowned and said, "I can't find them either! Want to check your purse, Lola?"

     "Okay," Lola sighed. The red Grarrl, who was guarding the Neopian Birthday Bash, sighed impatiently as Lola quickly rummaged through her purse and pulled out a few used tissues and a bitten carrot. "I'm afraid I don't have them either. Maybe we forgot them somewhere?"

     "Oh, how perfect!" Scary exclaimed furiously. "We got all dolled up to go to this giant birthday party, and what do we do? We forget the tickets!!! Oh, why are you two so irresponsible?"

     "We're not irresponsible!" Sparkles fought back. "And besides-"

     "Girls, please," the red Grarrl snarled. "If you three can't find your tickets, then I'm afraid that I can't allow you three to enter. It's the rules."

To be continued...