Sweet Berries {Tokyo Mew Mew}

26) Birthday Bash

Exactly one week later, it was Saturday again and I was getting the house completely clean and ready for Luka’s birthday party. I had told her, although without mother’s consent, that she could invite as many people as she wanted, and thankfully that only counted to about eighteen kids from her school.

     The first time I saw mother was early that morning when I had set my alarm for early so I could set up decorations I didn’t have the energy for the night before. She looked quite frightful but this was the last morning shift she had to do before she would go back to her usual hours. I told her everything that I had planned for the party, and that I didn’t mind paying for it all because I had worked and saved up so much during the holidays, as I set up and she ate a quick breakfast, okaying it before she left straight out the door.

     ‘Hey!’ Ichigo chimed as I opened the front door after hearing her hurried knocks. ‘Where’s the birthday girl?’ She said, holding up a wrapped box with a card sitting on top.

     ‘You and your family might get up a bit earlier than us,’ I replied, closing the door behind her. ‘Luka’s still asleep and I’m only awake to set up decorations before she gets up.’

     A few hours later, it was about time for Luka’s friends to arrive and start the party. I had set up balloons out front, back and inside only to have Luka say that she thought she was too old for balloons, but I recognised that look on her face that told me she was lying. I had set up tables of hot food and junk food I bought with my own money outside, hoping her friends would spend most of their time out there, instead of inside where me and my friends were going to hang out.

     Kisshu popped back into my mind as I was leading the kids outside and telling their parents what time to pick them up, but I tried to shake the little stalker out. Minto and Pudding were the only other ones to have the day free to attend Luka’s party and keep me company inside but that was all I needed to keep my mind off the continued shouting of kids playing outside.

     The one time I went up to my bathroom to get away from some of the noise, my panda ears popped out as I got a fright from someone standing in the doorway.

     ‘Sorry to keep scaring you like this, Panda, but I just can’t help myself,’ said Kisshu, flashing his sharp teeth behind his grin and staring at my fluffy ears.

     ‘What are you doing here? You do realize I’m extremely busy?’ I said, pushing him out of my way so I could get to my bathroom to comb my hair and fix my low hanging pigtails.

     ‘I didn’t know you were having a party here until I saw you buy a whole trolley full of junk food. I could have thought you were having a girly slumber party and was going to let me watch.’

     I paused, disgusted at the mental image. ‘Ew, no! I hardly have people over, anyway. If you would have asked me like a normal person, you may have even received an invitation to my little sister’s birthday party.’

     ‘Really?’ He said, obviously excited at my hospitality.

     ‘No,’ I said ‘If you’d have taken a second to tear your eyes away from me, you would have seen Ichigo, Minto and Pudding down there, as well,’ I set down the brush and turned to Kish. ‘You’re the enemy and I feel like a fool even talking to you like this; like nothing has ever gone wrong between us.’

     I stopped and the silence between us was heavy. I just wanted to run back down to the party and forget Kisshu ever came by but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. He was a hard cyniclon to get rid of and I had to fight hard with that little part of me, which was getting bigger, that wanted to keep him next to me forever.