As Teto had suspected, Haku drove right past her street, and she knew they were headed for Neru's house. Her house was the biggest out of the four of them, the closest to a mansion as it could be in the city.
It had begun to rain, but only a slight drizzle for the time being. Haku pressed a button on the dashboard and the roof of the convertible automatically began to slide into place. A short time later, they pulled into Neru's long driveway, and Haku ushered Teto out of the car and to Neru's front door. They waited as Neru pulled her house key out of her golden snakeskin purse and stuck it in the lock, turning it slowly. She then stepped aside.
"Teto, you open it!" She exclaimed, smiling.
Teto nodded and stepped forward, grabbing the doorknob. A little nervous for what was going to be on the other side, she opened the door slowly. On the other side, there was complete darkness. Haku filed in next to Teto and flicked the light switch.
Teto gasped as she took in what she saw. The huge living room was lavishly decorated with red streamers, red balloons, even a huge red banner with the words Happy 25th Birthday Teto! painted on in gold.
"And that's not all," Neru said, grabbing Teto's wrist and leading her to the dining room.
Sure enough, waiting in the dining room was the most elaborate decoration of all. Sitting on the large and beautifully set dining table was a triple-decker cake, iced with red icing and decorated all over with golden roses, much like the ones on Teto's dress.
"And, it's completely chocolate." Haku added.
Teto finally found the words to say.
"You guys! This is beautiful!" She squealed, embracing Haku, Neru and Tei in a group hug. "How did you get a cake this big? The four of us won't be able to eat all this even if we were at it all year!"
They all laughed.
"My cousin was here for a little while, and she helped me make this. She's an amazing baker." Neru replied.
Teto felt like she might cry. She could never have asked for better friends.
"Well, tell her it's amazing and that I said thank you so much!" She said.
"As for the predicament about eating the whole thing, I invited a couple more people to come help us with that. They should be here-" Haku was cut off by the doorbell ringing.
"Ah! They're here! You guys stay here, I'll go answer it!" She exclaimed as she rushed out of the dining room.
Neru turned to look at Teto.
"Well, let's take our seats in the meantime. Teto, you get the head of the table!"
Teto chuckled as she made her way to her seat.
"Why, how generous of you!"
Teto sat at the head of the table as Neru had instructed, and Tei sat immediately to her right. Neru sat down at Tei's other side. Teto noticed the table was set with golden-rimmed plates and golden silverware, Neru's prized dishes.
"Neru, you really wanted to use these? What if they break on accident?"
Neru shrugged.
"Try not to break them, but if you do, it's not a big deal. I'm the only one who lives here anyway." She chuckled a little, and Tei and Teto chuckled too.
Just then, Haku came in, and Teto was shocked to see Len and Rinto following her. Len caught her eye and smiled at her. Rinto immediately piped up.
"Whoa, Neru! This place is huuuuge! Maybe I could move in someday!"
His statement caused Neru to blush, but she pretended like she wasn't.
