Veronstone Senior Society Stories

Birthday Cake

Birthday Cake

Kyle never celebrated his birthday.

Year after year, without fail, Kyle slept through his October birthday. In the eyes of the redhead, there was nothing to celebrate. With his glass half empty mindset and necromancer outlook, he believed your birthday was just another reminder that you were one year closer to the inevitable end of your life.

"Don't ask me again." Kyle spat towards his cousin, Alexander the Alchemist. "I don't have any plans and I don't want any plans."

"But Kyle!" Alexander whined, following behind him the best he could to their homeroom class. Kyle's pace was always swift. "You'll be eighteen this year! You have to do something! Anything!"

"I'd like to get some rest."

"You always sleep through your birthday!"

"For good reason."

"What reason?"

"I'm practicing for my eternal slumber."

"Oh, come on!!"

"Leave me alone, Alex!"

Slouching in defeat as they entered the lecture hall for Professor Evillene's class, Alexander sneakily peered over Kyle's shoulder and shook his head towards their already seated group of friends, who looked to him for a sign of an answer. They'd tasked the alchemist with figuring out what Kyle wanted for his birthday, but after a straight week of protest from the conjurer, they were starting to give up.

"He doesn't want to do anything at all!" Alexander whispered to Ivan the Inquisitive after taking the desk beside him. The warlock leaned over to tune in to Alexander's complaints.

"He doesn't want a party or a weekend trip or anything! Nothing at all seems to interest him!"

"Okay then..." Ivan nodded. "We'll just have to take things into our own hands."

"He says he wants to sleep in."

"Absolutely not! Not this year! I'm not letting him rot away in bed again."

Pausing in conversation, Ivan smirked to himself and turned to his notebook to jot down ideas that came to mind. Glancing over from his spot beside the warlock, Nicolai the Nightcrawler, the mutant of the group, eyed Ivan's scribbles. In the dimmed room, his glowing yellow eyes were able to make out the words "birthday cake" on Ivan's quickly growing list.

"Where are you gonna get the cake from?" Nicolai questioned, leaning in to whisper as the professor lectured on.

"Not sure yet." Ivan shrugged, giving the mutant a hopeful smile. "But I'll figure it out."

"Don't go stressing yourself out." Nico warned. "I know how you get when things don't go to plan."

"I'll be fine."

"And I know how much you like Kyle, so—."

"Huh?!" Ivan choked, covering his mouth quickly when his outburst caused a couple peers to eye him from their seats.

Beside him, Nicolai covered his own mouth to suppress the laughter that wanted to escape him. Especially when he noticed the bright flush taking over Ivan's expression.

"Fuck off with your bullshit!" Ivan finally growled under his breath, concealing his notebook.

Though he'd never told anyone about the way he felt about the conjurer, somehow, Nicolai had caught on. Best friends since primary levels, Ivan figured his friend was just better at reading him than the rest of their group. Still, he'd never admit to having a crush on the redhead. At least not anytime soon. At the moment, he just wanted to be the one to put a smile on his grouchy, freckled face. Ivan wanted to make Kyle's birthday a memorable one.