The Moonwalkers

Kayla's Place

Should I wear my birthday dress or just a casual outfit? My birthday dress is casual enough to pass as a party dress, but I'm also not planning to stand out too much.
In the end, I decided to just go with some jeans and a nice blouse. Nothing too fancy, yet nothing not fancy as well. I did some light makeup, just simple stuff with slight eyeshadow. I don't think I need Charlene's help for this since I'm not the birthday girl.
I just hope nothing goes wrong in the party. Luna still gives me the heebie-jeebies, though she's being nice now. I don't know why, but her nice is still suspicious.
Very suspicious...
As soon as I was done with myself, I sprayed on some perfume and headed out. Just in case, I'm bringing a storybook for backup. You never know if the part is gonna be boring or if anyone ends up ditching you. I wish I can bring Charlene with me, but she thinks it wouldn't be a good idea. Chris is willing to come, but that's out of the question.
I don't want fangirls lingering around him.
I shuddered at the thought and went downstairs.
"I'm ready," I announced, gesturing towards myself. "What do you think?"
Mom smiled as she came to me. "You look lovely, Charlie."
"Thanks," I smiled back. "I think we should leave now. Barbie sent me the address."
Dad got up and grabbed the keys. "Alright, let's go, Cupcake."
"Can I come?" Chris piped up, raising his hand as he got up.
I immediately shook my head. "Chris, no. You're not coming."
"Aww!" Chris looked so sad.
Mom chuckled. "Just let her deal with this alone."
"But can you guys like linger nearby so that I can make a quick exit if needed?" I requested. "Maybe... hang out in some mall or a restaurant? I'm not planning to stay long..."
"Sure, I guess," Charlene said. "The mall isn't all that far away from her place."
Ah, yes. Good idea. Good to know that my folks would be nearby.
We got into the car and went straight to Kayla's, the wrapped gift clutched in my hands. It was a little hard to wrap, especially because of that bag. But we somehow made it do, placed the notebook set in the bag and wrapped it as one.

Kayla's place wasn't all that far. We arrived within three songs on Mom's radio. I sighed and fixed my hair a little before reaching for the door handle.
"Alright, bye," I said. "Please tell me that you'll hang out in the mall and will be ready to whisk me out?"
"We will, we will," Dad sighed. "Darn, you must be nervous."
"I am," I admitted in defeated. "You know, it's not too late to drive directly to the mall. I'd love to come!"
"That does it," Chris said, grabbing my arm. "Charlie, I'm coming with you."
I gasped. "No!" This isn't good. I don't want Chris to come, it would be worse. "Okay. I'm going."
I sighed and got out of the car. I know they won't drive away until I'm inside so that's exactly what I did. It was a nice house, a simple and cozy one-storey home with some room for a garden, which I can't really see much in the dark besides the silhouettes of some bushes. At least the house was well-lit.
Kayla was literally at the door, excitedly awaiting guests.
"Gurl, you made it!" Kayla hugged me. "I was looking forward to you being here!"
I smiled and hugged her back before pulling away. I held the gift out to her. "Happy Birthday, Kayla." I wished.
"Aww, thank you!" Kayla smiled and took the gift. "Why don't you make yourself at home? Barbie and Liddy are already here."
"Oh," I nodded. "Thanks again for inviting me."
"Thank you for coming," Kayla countered with a smile before showing me where the seats are.
I made my way to the couches, plush white couches that blended well with the golden-lit living room, and I could see Barbara's blonde head and Lydia's red one seated on the settee.
"Hi!" I greeted in an effort to seem friendly, and sat down on the loveseat. "The rest coming?"
Barbara nodded. "Yes, they're on their way."
"Great," I smiled. "Is Pris coming?"
Lydia chuckled. "You bet she is."
"Nice," I grinned. At least she's coming.
Still shudder to think of what Luna might do...
"Hey!" Kayla greeted cheerfully as she joined us with a few plates of snacks, which she placed on the coffee table before seating herself. "Since we are the only ones here now, why don't we feast a little?"
I gladly reached for the mini cakes and took a bite, the others helped themselves too.
"This is really good," I complimented, placing a hand in front of my mouth to avoid bits and pieces to fly out. I swallowed my mouthful before speaking again. "So what's on the agenda today?"
Kayla snorted. "Agenda? Nah, gurl, we just gonna have some fun."
"That sounds like a better idea," I mustered a chuckle, which I hoped didn't sound nervous.
I was hoping there'd be an agenda so that I wouldn't be dealing with Luna alone. But maybe I won't have to deal with her at all...
Priscilla soon arrived, dressed in a simple floral dress, with her hair still done in pigtails, though unbraided this time. Everyone visibly perked up as soon as she walked in.
"Hi, Pris!" I greeted, grinning.
"Hi!" Priscilla grinned back and sat herself beside me. "Hey, Kayla. Happy Birthday."
Kayla chuckled. "Thank you!"
"I left the gift on that table over there," Priscilla said. "I'm guessing it was the right place since it was filled with other gifts."
"Oh, thanks," Kayla said. "Yeah, that's where I kept all the presents."
Sure hope Luna doesn't try to steal anything. Then again, I don't think she's a kleptomaniac...
Maniac, yes. Just not the klepto part.
Priscilla started talking about this and that, mostly joking around to make us laugh. No sign of Luna yet, can we just cut the cake so that I can make an exit?
"Where's the cake? I hope you didn't leave it out," Barbara said, turning in her seat to look around.
"Nah, I never took it out," Kayla said. "It's still in the fridge. I'll wait for everyone else to come in first."
"Where are your parents?" Priscilla asked. "I don't see them around?"
Kayla shrugged. "They're out with my brother. He's got some tournament, martial arts. My mom wanted to stay behind, but I managed to send her off too." She chuckled.
Darn, so no control. If Luna goes unruly, we'll have to deal with it ourselves.
A few of Kayla's classmates arrived as well. At this point, I was already on my phone, texting my people to update them about what's going on here. Apparently, they're indeed kicking it in some mall, sending me pictures of them having drinks from Posiden Coffee with grins. I'm just hoping that it isn't coffee that they're having. Otherwise, it's just insomnia city tonight.
Not for me at least.
Gosh, this party is boring. It would be fine if I do make an exit now, with how little is going on. Honestly, I'm actually wishing Luna would show up just so something would happen.
I let out a bored sigh and leaned back as I started scrolling through videos on my phone.