Besting Blunders

[DaCoSim]

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

The tinkling of the alarm sounded promptly at 1PM. Celeste yawned loudly, not used to waking up this early, but she had been tasked with a very important job for the big 20th TBT birthday bash at 4pm. After she designed the invitation for the party, Isabelle begged her to come up with the cake design. So now Celeste was in charge of picking up the cake that she had specially ordered for the momentous occasion. She had ordered the cake two full weeks ago with very detailed and specific instructions. The cake would look like a night sky with lots of stars and shooting stars. Some of the stars would be star frags that were to spell out Happy 20th Birthday TBT and be connected dot-to-dot style like a constellation. She knew without a doubt that it be beautiful. She got out of bed and got the coffee started and went and picked out her best party bow. While she waited on her coffee, she finished wrapping the birthday presents that she was bringing and texted her brother, Blathers, to make sure that he was awake. (He had had an early shift at the museum and was kind of known for falling asleep at work on occasion.) Luckily, he was already awake and on his way to pick her up so they could go pick up the cake.

10 minutes later, her brother was at her door, looking all spiffy in his new party tie. Normally, on a beautiful day, like today, they would just walk to wherever they were going, but since they had gifts to bring and a cake to pick up, they had opted to take Blathers’s luxury car. After loading his car with gifts, they were on their way. Meringue’s bakery wasn’t far, so it only took a couple of minutes to get there. When Celeste opened the door to the bakery, she was engulfed with a cacophony of delicious aromas. She had always loved going to Meringue’s because of this. They could see dozens of small and medium undecorated cookies on pans and it looked as though, fresh muffins had just been taken out of the oven. Meringue’s assistant, Zucker greeted them cheerily as they came in. Celeste asked him if their order was ready, and he replied that it absolutely was. As he walked over to the cooler to get Celeste’s order, he gushed over how excited he was that Meringue had let him decorate the cake, after she had baked it and did the base icing. With the TBT birthday bash being so big, Meringue had been baking like a mad woman to get all the birthday bash orders finished. Laughing, Zucker told them, this place had been wall to wall cookies and scones and cupcakes everywhere for the last 2 days. He had helped Meringue load all of it into her catering truck just a bit ago to deliver it to the party. He carefully pulled out the ginormous box from the front cooler and set it on the counter. He proudly lifted the lid, so Celeste and Blathers could take a peek. Celeste’s face fell immediately. This was NOT what she had wanted. While the night sky for the cake turned out GORGEOUS, (Thank you Meringue!), the wording was not right at all.

Celeste closed her eyes and sighed heavily. There were so many beautiful details, with teeny tiny glittering stars and shooting stars and the stunning aurora borealis in the corners BUT, although the star frags did spell out Happy 20th Birthday TBT, they were not connected and underneath it, were the words connected dot-to-dot. With tears welling up in her eyes, and the feeling of having a frog in her throat, she asked Zucker if she could see her order form. He could see that something was wrong, and anxiously shuffled through the completed forms at the counter. He found hers and handed it to her.


Pick Up Date: 8/25 Pick Up Time: 2 PM


Name: Celeste Phone Number: 555-0907


Flavor: Vanilla Filling: Lemon


Frosting: Cream Cheese


Order Details: Night sky background with aurora borealis in the top 2 corners and lots of stars, shooting stars, with star frags that spell out Happy 20th Birthday TBT connected dot-to-dot.


There it was… in black and white

Zucker did the wording verbatim.

It was an honest mistake that Meringue would have surely caught had she been the one decorating the cake. Or she would have called Celeste to confirm. Alas, with all the other orders, they didn’t catch it.

After taking a few deep breaths, Celeste looked at Zucker and told him what she had wanted. His eyes grew wide as saucers as he “connected” what the wording meant. He looked down at the cake, seeing the mistake for what it was. He felt TERRIBLE. Celeste, being the sweet owl that she is tried to comfort him, explaining that part of the fault was her own. She wasn’t mad, but she knew she couldn’t take the cake to the birthday bash like this. She asked him if there was any way to try to fix it without ruining the beautiful background. Zucker, anxiously shaking his head, explained that while he could definitely connect the frags the way she wanted, there was no way he could take off the words connected dot-to-dot without ruining the beautiful background underneath it.

All the while this was going on, Blathers had been surprisingly quiet, though he’s normally a chatterbox. When Celeste turned her head towards him, she could see he was deep in thought. With question marks in her eyes, she asked her big brother what he was thinking. His eyebrows furrowed and told her to give him a moment. He stood there, with his wing feather tips tapping the air back and forth for a minute. All the sudden, he stepped back, his wings feathering out with shock, and you could almost see an ! above his head.

Blathers, then asked Zucker if the cookies that they had seen on the pan when they walked in were already promised to a customer. Zucker told him that they were extra that he was planning to maybe decorate and put in the window display later. Still deep in thought, and trying to find words for his idea, put conflicting expressions on his face. It took Celeste right out of her melancholy state and she burst out laughing, making Zucker jump, and taking the intense faraway look off of Blathers’s face. What if, he voiced, they could decorate the cookies to look like the 12 different zodiac star frags and placed them over the middle 12 letters, leaving the first 2 letters and the last 2 letters for something else. Celeste’s eyes grew wide, immediately seeing this idea in her head. She asked Zucker if they could purchase the cookies they would need if Blathers’s idea worked. Zucker told her, there would absolutely be no charge for the cookies, but as they were on a time crunch, he wasn’t sure if he could get them all decorated in time, but he could certainly try. He did have another possible idea to add to their solution, which was to use white and iridescent edible spray and edible fine glitter in a few colors that he could try to create a type of nebula over the existing letters to help hide them. He expressed that it might work, especially if they were planning to cover most of the letters with the decorated cookies. The only problem, was TIME.

Blathers and Celeste looked at each other, both of them thinking the same thing, and blurted out that they could help! Blathers, told Zucker that he had helped restore some of the fine art that came into the museum so he might be able to help decorate the cookies. Celeste, also chimed in telling Zucker that she had some digital skills, and had created the invitation to the party but she wasn’t sure if that could help. Zucker told her that she could absolutely help! His boss, Meringue had had a new software installed not too long ago that allows you to print digital or photo images on edible paper frosting so if Celeste could design one on the computer, and then just edit the colors to make the 12, then they could print it out and add them to the cookies. Zucker then told them, if Blathers could be in charge of icing the cookies and Celeste in charge of creating the 12 frags, then he should have plenty of time to be able to make the nebula on the bottom of the cake while they do that.

They went to work straight away. In no time, Celeste had drawn up a nice frag, and was busy replicating it, to edit in the 12 different colors. Blathers, loving to play with paints, had an even better idea, and was busying himself on icing 24 cookies now, instead of 12. Zucker, with a very intense look on his face, was hunched over the cake using 2 aerosol cans at once. Then he grabbed a blue and purple can and did a few short sprays, and then changed to pink and turquoise with even shorter sprays. Next he grabbed the big tub loaded with different beautiful edible glitter colors. Those ranged from super fine, to chunky. He got to work using some of the super fine first and then sprinkled a bit of the chunkier glitter in as well. When he stepped back to look at his work, he felt such a relieving feeling of accomplishment. His idea had worked. You could still see some of the letters, but only some of the ones that were to be covered up anyways.

He then went to check on Celeste and she was almost ready to print. She only had two more frags to color. Then, he went to check on Blathers and saw how many cookies were in front of him and asked what in the world he was doing. Blathers than explained that he was going to use two different sizes of cookies on top of each other to almost look like a little pedestal for the frags. He still had a bit of a ways to go before he was finished, but Zucker jumped right in and helped him. Once Celeste had hers printed out, she brought her frags over to add to the cookies and was delighted at Blathers’s clever pedestal idea. She started adding the frags at once, while the boys finished icing. A few minutes later, they were all finished and were ready to put everything together and fix the cake.

When Celeste and Blathers saw the nebula that Zucker had created, they were blown away. It was beautiful! They almost hated to cover it up! They each started carefully laying the 2 tiered frag cookies down and in no time, they were finished. The cake looked out of this world fantastic! Celeste thanked Zucker over and over for all of his help. Slightly embarrassed, Zucker told her she was more than welcome and apologized again for his blunder. Blathers pulled a twenty out and handed it to Zucker, as a tip for all his hard work and told him with a wink that if they ever needed another decorator, feel free to call on him. With only 15 minutes left until the party officially started, they loaded up the cake and headed that way. Celeste, feeling so grateful for the collaborative teamwork, could not wait for the guests to see how beautiful the cake turned out. But Hootie-HOO did she sure feel like she needed a nap now!

 

[skarmoury]

Question!

Spoiler

Am I allowed to add the phrase "He grabs the knife and swings."? I'm not detailing any violence in the story at all and that is the last sentence of my story, meant to be open ended and maybe a little light-hearted, I'm just wondering if it's not for the forums. :] thank you!

edit: found a way to write it better i think so it's not an issue anymore!! hehe

 

[Snowesque]

Spoiler

Everyone was excited more than usual as today was a very special day, the mayor's birthday!
In preparation over the months, the whole town had planned a surprise party, pitching in their own presents, decorations, and treats. This of course was all orchestrated by the mayor's wonderful assistant, Isabelle! The villagers eagerly awaited lifting the surprise on Isabelle's cue. No party is complete without a cake, of course! No expense was spared and a very grand, elaborate cake was made to celebrate.

Isabelle had to come up with a sneaky way of surprising the mayor. She had thought about making everyone hide behind a bush, but ultimately decided on going on a short walk to the beach as she realized everyone's heads keep peaking out of the bush in practice. With everyone in place at the square, Isabelle then set out for her walk with the mayor. It wasn't long before Isabelle had noticed a glaring issue; there was no cake to be seen on the birthday table!

While Isabelle was feeling her face drop, she was still keeping a relaxed expression in front of the mayor. In trying to observe the situation, she was able to see Marshal with a anxiety stricken expression on his face. Isabelle quickly had the mayor distracted with something else and then made her way over to Marshal.

"Marshal! What the heck happened to the cake?" she exclaimed calmly, yet with a sense of urgency.

Marshal then looked at her with a sorrowful expression. "I'm sorry... It was just a little heavier than it looked and I fell trying to hold it up. It unfortunately got ruined..."

Isabelle tried to maintain her composure to this troubling news. The cake is integral to the party and most certainly wouldn't be as impactful without it. She needed to think of something fast, but what? Looking from afar, she could already see the mayor waiting with a puzzled look on their face. With that, Isabelle started to think of some ideas of what to do.

"Brewster!" the thought came to her in a flash. Maybe he'd know what to do? In an instant, Isabelle had scurried her way over to the Roost. Barging in the door, Brewster was seen making his usual brews in his usual calming manner.

Isabelle then hurriedly exclaimed what was happening in a polite but rushed manner. Brewster, nodding in silence quickly gathered the state of the situation.

"It's no cake, but I've some pastries I've been practicing making for the shop. It's not what you're looking for, but they're good." He trailed off into another nod.

Isabelle's expression finally began to relax. The situation certainly wasn't what was intended, but would be a great outcome nonetheless. Brewster signaled her over the cookies, cupcakes, and various other pastries and helped her to start carrying them out of the shop. Making their way over to the square, the villagers waiting about took notice and began helping as well. Eventually, a cake-shaped pasty tower began to take form.

With all the pastries now in place, Isabelle's face glimmered with contentment. She quickly collected the mayor and headed back over to the square. Then villagers hiding then yelled "Surprise!" The mayor was absolutely delighted, totally unware of the snafu that has occurred.

"What a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much everyone!" exclaimed the mayor. The villagers all smiled and cheered in response. Everyone had a great time at the party, making wonderful memories. Isabelle also smiled with glee, as knowing everyone's teamwork would able to make this party one to remember.

 

[Sheando]

​

To create a short story between 500-2000 words using the following prompt:

While preparing for (or during) a social event something goes wrong. Show how your protagonist overcomes this obstacle and saves the day.

I'm editing my short story and realizing that it is a slight twist on the prompt--my protagonist is experiencing a social event gone wrong and other characters would be the ones who do the most "saving the day." Do I need to throw my 2,000 words in the bin? (Please say no haha.)

• My island rep features in the story from a distance--can I frame the story so that she takes an action that saves the day?
• If my protagonist is mostly experiencing internal change, can I have her "save the day" in terms of a perspective shift that allows more good things to unfold, even if other characters are taking the concrete actions?
• Anything else you would suggest? I do see a couple of other submissions that seem very broadly similar to mine - protagonist experiences unfortunate events and is surprised by meaningful help from others that changes their perspective. Is this an acceptable interpretation of the prompt?

Thank you for your help! I promise I read all the instructions multiple times, my story just ended up going in a direction that I was really enjoying and when I returned to the thread I was worried it might have strayed from the prompt requirements if staff are interpreting it more strictly. (I can also PM the story if that's helpful but I didn't want to bug anyone.)

 

[skarmoury]

I'm editing my short story and realizing that it is a slight twist on the prompt--my protagonist is experiencing a social event gone wrong and other characters would be the ones who do the most "saving the day." Do I need to throw my 2,000 words in the bin? (Please say no haha.)

• My island rep features in the story from a distance--can I frame the story so that she takes an action that saves the day?
• If my protagonist is mostly experiencing internal change, can I have her "save the day" in terms of a perspective shift that allows more good things to unfold, even if other characters are taking the concrete actions?
• Anything else you would suggest? I do see a couple of other submissions that seem very broadly similar to mine - protagonist experiences unfortunate events and is surprised by meaningful help from others that changes their perspective. Is this an acceptable interpretation of the prompt?

Thank you for your help! I promise I read all the instructions multiple times, my story just ended up going in a direction that I was really enjoying and when I returned to the thread I was worried it might have strayed from the prompt requirements if staff are interpreting it more strictly. (I can also PM the story if that's helpful but I didn't want to bug anyone.)

Oohh now I'm getting a little worried for my entry too (haven't submitted yet) but I'll ask staff as well just in case

My story involves (1) a special occasion/social event (or two to be specific), (2) each with a conflict, both externally and internally, and (3) the protagonist "saves the day" to some extent by changing his mindset and saving the victim/s. The "saving" part might not be typical because it mainly comes in the form of saving himself (internal conflict) and saving others (external conflict), but the saving himself part is more pronounced.

Hope it was okay to interpret the prompt like that I can PM my story too if that helps.

 

[Nika]

September 23rd

That day is Lono’s birthday. Coco always kept that date on her mind and knew what would be the best gift to give her. This year, Coco planned to gift Lono a plush based on Celeste when she was a baby chick. It was very cute and soft, made with the best quality materials. It was hard to obtain since it’s rare and pricey but Coco managed to get a plush online and it arrived before the special day. She thought this would be the perfect gift for her friend Lono since she loves cute and huggable plushies plus she loved Celeste. Coco wrapped the Celeste chick plush and looked forward to gifting it when the special day came. Some time went by and September 23rd was here. Coco was very excited and she was daydreaming of running to Lono’s house to say happy birthday, celebrate with fun games, delicious food and finally give her the gift and watch her reaction from unwrapping it, she’s surely going to love it very much. But enough imagining it all, it was time to set things in motion. Coco went over to Lono’s house and sure enough the birthday party has just started. The celebrations went on as one would expect. There was dancing, singing, and fun games like pin the tail on the villager and musical chairs. Coco, Lono and the other guests were having an amazing fun time with the birthday celebrations.

Finally, it was time to bring out the cake and open up the presents. After the candles were blown and slices of cake were eaten, Lono made her birthday wishes and it was time for her to unwrap her presents. Coco was eagerly waiting for her gift to be opened. One by one, Lono opened her presents and was very happy with them all so far. Finally, she got to the present from Coco. Lono was unwrapping the gift and Coco was eagerly awaiting her reaction. Lono finally opened the gift but immediately chaos erupted somehow. For whatever reason, the Celeste chick plush came to life! Lono and Coco were in utter disbelief as the baby chick plush flew around the house causing mayhem. It was chirping wildly as it was flying and knocking over chairs, glasses, signs, decorations and even popped some balloons. It was causing quite the destructive mess in Lono’s house. Coco then realized she couldn’t just stand there so she attempted to capture the living chick plush with her hands. Unfortunately, the chick plush was way too quick for her to catch. The flying chick plush managed to go upstairs into Lono’s bedroom where it also made a huge mess there. Seems like Lono will have a long cleaning day after this is over. Lono and Coco made their way upstairs and saw that the chick plush has calmed down and was resting on Lono’s bed. Coco then thought of an idea and slowly walked towards the chick plush. It was slightly panicking and jumped backwards but Coco made sure to look very friendly and gentle. She then got very close to the chick plush and it was staring at her, unsure what to think. Coco very slowly but surely got her hands on the chick and grabbed it. The chick plush was chirping but Coco gave it a hug and cradled it like a baby. Several minutes have passed and it seemed like the chick plush has trusted Coco. She was very relieved and went over to Lono to apologize for what just happened and for the mess in her house. Lono accepted her apology and that nothing was her fault, nobody could have expected this to happen. Coco handed over the chick plush to Lono and immediately she fell in love with it, with how cute and rotund it was. Lono told Coco that the plush is a very sweet and cute gift and that was wanting one for a while. Upon hearing her comments, the chick plush looked at Lono and Coco and chirped happily. Lono then said that something good came out of this, she now has a very unique plush and that this will be a birthday nobody will forget. Coco laughed and promised she’ll help clean up the mess. Everyone got together for a photo, the chick plush included, resting on Lono’s head. It gave one last chirp before it drifted off to sleep, happy to have a home and sweet friends like Lono and Coco.

 

[Liz!]

Spoiler: The TBT Cake

The Villagers had spent weeks preparing for the biggest bash ever. It Was TBT's 20th year.
Kid cat was doing all the preparations. Giving everyone their role to ensure the day went without a hitch.

Kid cat was in charge of decorations and the cake. Maple was taking care of balloons.
Agent s and Bill were ensuring the Island was prim and proper for all the guests. New flowers planted.
TBT banners adorned the shops and streets.
The town was a buzz of birthday excitement.

The villagers of Heaven couldn't believe that Jerry had chosen their town to host the most important event in.
They were so proud to be hosting. Kid cat more than anyone.

Jerry was due to arrive on Monday to check how things were going, they had two days to get everything finalised.
Kid cat knew he couldn't let anything go wrong. The town and Jerry were counting on him.

The days quickly past. It was Monday morning the day of Jerry's visit.
All of the villagers had been working hard daily and into the night waiting, for this day.
All Kid cat had left to do was go check with Isabelle that the cake was ready.
He meant to check the night before, but with the rushing about he'd forgot.

It was 9.40am, Jerry was due at 11am, So he scooted over to Isabelle's, excited for the cake reveal.
"Come on Isabelle, let me see the cake" Isabelle was super excited to show it.
"TADA" she said excitedly as she pulled it from the box.
Kid cat couldn't believe his eyes with what he saw. The most beautiful cake he had ever seen.
With edible bows and bells, it was delightful, But........... he was horrified, on top of the cake it said
"HAPPY 20TH Birthday TCP"
Kid cat screamed "WHY does it say TCP Isabelle?"
Isabelle says "Oh I mustn't have had my glasses on."
Kid cat proclaims "you are such a silly dog, what am I supposed to do."

Kid cat had a hour to fix this, what can he do!?
He spends some time thinking about it and then remembers Dodo airlines.
He needs to fly to another Island, one that has a bakery.
They can fix the cake. What a rush it would be, but he had to do it before Jerry came.

Off went Kid cat, soaring through the skies with cake in hand.
This had to work out he thought. All the hard work from everyone couldn't go wasted.

At 10.50am Jerry landed in Heaven. No sign of Kid cat, but Isabelle knew that with her error she had
to put on a good show and delay Jerry noticing Kid cat was missing. Jerry was super impressed and thought
the Island looked perfect for TBT's 20th. He could visualize all the members having a fabulous time in Heaven for
TBT'S 20th and couldn't wait.
Come the end of the Island tour, unbeknown to Isabelle Kid cat had indeed landed back in Heaven
and appeared beside Jerry and her.
Pronouncing that he still had the biggest surprise to show Jerry.
Directing him to the Town hall to show off the saved, marvelous cake which now said.

Happy Birthday TBT.

Come the day of the Party, Everyone had the best day and hoped TBT lasted another 20 years.

 

[The Pennifer]

How Raymond Averts A Disaster Of Epic Proportions

Zoe anxiously surveyed the party preparations. Everything seemed to be in place. The decorations were tastefully hung. Colourful party garlands and glowing star garlands graced the walls, The beautiful dinner table, borrowed from Harvey’s anniversary studio with Cyrus and Reese’s kind consent, was centred under a crystal chandelier. The sparkling light danced and reflected in the lovely place settings and table centrepieces. Covered entree dishes were in place sending off inviting aromas.
Tomato curry in a soup tureen, veggie quiche on a covered platter, baskets of warm organic breads, croissants and buns under linen cloths, grilled sea bass with herbs and barred knifejaw carpaccio under domed fish-shaped platters! This was to be an incomparable feast celebrating an amazing twenty-year anniversary!
The side tables contained piles of presents with pretty gift wrapping and artfully tied bows and ribbons. On one side table draped in white linen were two crystal cake stands covering delicious cakes: Carrot cake, everybody’s favourite, and the marvelously tiered and decorated Anniversary cake!
In a crystal ice bucket, a large bottle of champagne was chilling.
The guests would be arriving soon, a large party, including all her long-nosed anteater friends, Annalisa, Annabelle, and Olaf. Also coming were Gala, Judy, Chèvre, Audie, Sherb, and of course, Raymond!
A knock at the door announced their arrival, and in trooped the happy, noisy guests! All on time with eager anticipation of the festivities to come.
With everybody settled into their places around the table, Zoe suggested that this was the perfect time to open the champagne.
Sherb jumped eagerly to his feet offering to do the honours, confidently stating that he could pop a champagne bottle like a boss!
Grabbing the chilled bottle he braced it against his legs and masterfully loosened the foil and wire cage. Pointing the bottle towards the ceiling he firmly pressed upwards on the cork.
With a resounding POP, the cork shot upwards, the force of its trajectory hitting the crystal chandelier which shattered and rained down pieces of crystal glass on the dinner table to the horror of the shocked guests!
Zoe let out a piercing scream! This was a disaster of epic proportions!
Sherb froze in incredulous disbelief!
Raymond leaped to his feet shouting “Don’t anyone move! I believe I can fix this!”
“Oh, Raymond! I truly hope you can fix this, but I can’t imagine how!” said Zoe through her tears, and everyone else at the table, gazed doubtfully but hopefully at Raymond.
Going to the end of the table, Raymond grabbed the ends of the tablecloth firmly with both hands and giving a sharp strong downward pull he yanked the tablecloth clean off the table, leaving all the dishes firmly in place. He had skilfully and deftly made a small pouch as he did so in which to collect all the shattered crystal pieces.
“Now look”, he said, “all that remains are a few scattered pieces of crystal on your plates and glasses. We don’t have to worry about the food because it was all completely safe under covered dishes.”
All the guests looked and saw that this was indeed true, so Zoe got up and busily hurried around, brushing off all the plates and cups, and the disaster was totally averted!
Everybody stood up to come and hug the modestly, blushing Raymond, and first in line was grateful Sherb.
“Dear Zoe, I am going to replace your beautiful crystal chandelier, and now let’s have that champagne!” Sherb cheerfully announced.

And so that is how Raymond saved the day with his amazing Tablecloth Whip-off trick!!

 

[The Pennifer]

Question @Chris … I noticed that some are including the official word count at the end of their entry, should I edit my entry to add The official word count? Mine is 593

 

[Foreverfox]

Bubble-gem K.K.

As the sun pours into her breezy bedroom window, Bubblegum K.K. starts playing at the same time it does, every day - 8:30am. A perfect time, not too early, not too late, Chrissy bounces out of bed with a little more hop to her step than usual. It’s birthday party week! Even though her and her older sister, Francine, are not twins, they’ve always felt at heart as though they are. Every year, they share a birthday party, and decide on a theme together. Ironically, they never really need to discuss the theme. This was one area where they were one mind.

Knock, knock knock knock knock, knock, knock.

“COME INNNNN!!! Heyyyyy Franny!! I’m so excited to get decorating, sparkles!!”, Chrissy said through boxes of clanging holiday and celebration decor. Francine never let ANYONE but Chrissy call her, “Franny”. She allowed it after coming to an agreement that Chrissy wouldn’t use, “Franny-pants” ever again.

“Sisssss, what are you doing!? We have to hurry, the bakery is going to close soon. We have to pick up the cake and other goodies or we’ll have no party at all!” Chrissy knew Francine was right. “Okay, let’s divide and conquer! You go to the bakery, I’ll go to Harvey’s Island and decorate - got one of the bigger rooms reserved for us!” Francine, almost visibly relieved, replied as she headed towards the door, “Thank you, karat, that is splendid.”

Francine made her way to Brewster’s. He dabbled in small baked goods for regular visitors, but decided he preferred to stick to what he did best - coffee. He hired a renowned baker, Merengue, who had taken over everything from the daily scones and muffins to custom cakes.

*DING’LING* The bell on the door to Brewster’s was so calming, somehow. He was against adding a bell, but Merengue insisted she needed one to help her keep track of customers coming in and out. He was okay with this particular bell though, after hearing it, and let her put it up.

“Meri, karat, I’m here for the cake and goodies!” She sat at the coffee bar, Brewster already bringing her favorite drink: Kilimanjaro, little milk, one spoonful. “Thank you, Brewster, I’m looking forward to seeing what Merengue put together. She puts beauty into everything.” Brewster silently agreed with his eyes closed and a slow nod. V

The silence was broken by the sound of the kitchen door swinging out and in, repeated in short succession after Merengue appeared from the kitchen, cake in her hands. “Here it is! What do you think, Francine?” Francine’s eyes lit up, “Oh karat, it’s divine!” Francine had given Merengue an invitation to the party as a reference to use in designing the cake. It just so happened that invitation had Merengue’s name on it too. “I put in extra hours on this”, she said as she explained her cake, almost as you would a piece of art. And it WAS art. She created hard candy gems, and placed them on pearlescent puffs of frosting, so delicate you’d think the gems were floating. Even the minty colored base was shimmering with its own slightly rosy pearlescent glow; one that changed colors ever so slightly when you turned. She wrote Happy Birthday in a special font that Francine requested. It was her first time using that font, and it turned out perfect. “Meri, karat, would you mind bringing the other goodies with you when you come to Harvey’s Island? I am too nervous to bring them with the cake.” Merengue was happy to feel so needed, even after her professional task of creating the cake for the party. “Sure thing, shortcake. I will have them there 30 minutes early.” Francine flashed a grateful smile and headed to Harvey’s.

Meanwhile, at Harvey’s Island, Chrissy was running around like a mad-rabbit, trying to get all the decorations together. She had a tendency to bite off more than she could chew. Several villagers had offered their assistance, but she hastily declined and said she had it all under control. “OKAY! Gumdrops gooooo…here, big poofs go heeeere, oh sparkles, where am I going to point the big banner?!” Harvey just stood in the doorway, thinking about how or if to offer to help. He ultimately decided it was best to stay out of Chrissy’s way. As soon as he had come to that decision, Chrissy asked him for help. “Harvey, would you mind putting these GIANT lollipops at the doorway to this room? I am just SO SO SOOO busy and I don’t think I can drag these things over there! Thank you so much, sparkles!” Before he could even answer, Chrissy was off, tending to other decorations. Luckily, he wasn’t too far from where she wanted them placed. Chrissy had gone all out for this party. She had gumdrops hanging from the ceiling, and scattered across all the tables, candied nuts and cherries all over the place, an ENTIRE SUNDAE STATION filled with all the toppings imaginable. She had candy cane table runners on the head tables and peppermint swirl table cloths on the guest tables. Jars of hard-coated chocolates and other candies were placed strategically, so that there was nowhere without food in reach. Harvey started to smell sweets wafting all through the building, “I gotta say, this room is feelin’ groovy. Smellin’ groovy too…” “You really think so, sparkles?! Oh I’m SO relieved to hear that!!”

“Harv, shortcake, are you around? I’d love some help!” Just then, Harvey turned the corner and met Merengue at the door. “Hey Merengue, those cookies and cupcakes are lookin’ tasty.” Merengue wanted to just stop and relish the compliment, but she pushed it out of her head and kept on task. “Thank you, Harv, where should I put them?” Just then, she saw Chrissy run by, “Nevermind, I know where to go!” Merengue walked into the party room and paused, her jaw dropped. “What do you think, Meri?!” It took Meri a minute to come up with an answer, “It’s…larger than life!”, she finally said, “It’s like, walking into a dream world!” Merengue turned around to get one more tray of desserts, and as she turned around she let her breath out, as if she’d been holding it for a long time. Just as she was about to grab the last tray of desserts, Francine and Coco pulled up, Francine with the cake on her lap. Merengue quickly abandoned the tray to help Francine. “Francine! Oh, here, let me get that for you.” “Oh thank you, karat.” Francine gladly handed the cake to Merengue.

Merengue walked in front of Francine into Harvey’s. She found herself holding her breath again, walking silently, somehow. As they reached the room, she slid in and went straight to the dessert table to set the cake down. Francine dropped to her knees. “Karat! What in heavens is this?!” Chrissy was still speeding around, but stopped as she noticed Francine on the floor. “FRANNY! You’re here! Well, what do you think?! It’s perfect, isn’t it?!” “No Chrissy, karat, it’s the opposite! What is this stuff? This is…Bubblegum K.K. Paradise, but this is NOT what we decided on!” Chrissy’s eyes popped, “What do you mean?! I thought we were doing a mix of Bubblegum K.K and Candy Land!” “Francine repeatedly shook her head in disagreement, “No, no, not at all, karat, we decided on GEMS. Gems, jewels, pearls, glamor. The very opposite of this!” Seeing that her two favorite people were near tears, Merengue stepped in, now that she was at least confident her cake was safe. “Oh shortcake, it seems there was a big misunderstanding. Let’s see what we can do.” Francine and Chrissy, both in sniffles at this point, sheepishly shook their heads in agreement. “I’ve got it!! Girls, do you trust me?” Francine and Chrissy looked at each other, then back at Merengue and simultaneously nodded in agreement. “Okay, then leave and come back in 30 minutes, and not a minute sooner.” Both Chrissy and Francine took a breath, as if to speak, but they knew it was a wasted breath. They turned around and left.

“Sparkles, I’m so sorry, I don’t know how this happened, we’re NEVER this way!! We’re always on the same page! I feel so bad! This is your party too!” Francine put her arm around Chrissy, “It’s okay, karat, I’m sorry too, I had the cake made with only myself in mind.” Chrissy put her arm around Francine, “I wonder what Meri is going to do?” Francine shrugged, “We’ll find out soon enough, karat.” They turned around to find guests coming up the dock. “Oh no, what do we do, do we try to stall them?!”, Chrissy asked frantically. “Let’s just greet them and go from there, karat.” They smiled at each other and went to work, greeting every party guest and being perfect hosts. They were just finishing greeting the last guest when Merengue came out, “Thank you all for coming, please, come in!” Chrissy and Francine all but pushed everyone aside to get in to the room. They gasped when they saw what Merengue had done. “MERI!! H-HOW…HOW DID YOU DO THIS?!”, they squealed in glee. The sisters ran all around the room, inspecting everything. Merengue had taken down half of the giant gumdrops hanging from the ceiling and carved them into the same gem shape as the hard candy gems she’d put on the cake. She also took the scraps and shaped those into little gumdrops and put those on the cake and other desserts. She’d fused the themes and it WORKED.

Chrissy and Francine both leaped into Merengue’s arms, giving her the biggest hug they possibly could, “Thank you, Merengue, you’ve really outdone yourself. You saved our party from utter ruin and we couldn’t be more grateful to you for it. Thank you.” The three of them shared a smile, and then Merengue got them moving, “Alright, shortcake! Let’s party!” The three of them, along with the other guests, laughed, danced, and ate all through the evening, with the sounds of Bubblegum K.K and laughter carrying the night away.


The End.

 

[themysterybidder]

My entry focuses on a certain jock horse!

Spoiler: Buck's Big Birthday Blowout!

Buck's Big Birthday Blowout!

There was an atmosphere on Hazzard Island that could only be described as electric. The residents of Hazzard Island were busy preparing for the biggest event of the year, Buck's Birthday! I had the important task of keeping Buck in his house for the evening so the villagers, Tom Nook and Isabelle could put the final plans in place for the birthday celebrations. After a long day of exercising, it wasn't long before Buck was heading to bed. I left Buck's house to complete my contribution to the party. I spoke to the villagers, Tom Nook and Isabelle and thanked them for all their hard work. 'I cannot thank you enough for all your hard work this evening. You all deserve your bed! See you in the morning and remember it wouldn't be possible without you to host this party.' The balloons were ready. The cake had been made and especially iced with Buck's face. The island was decorated and ready for a party! K.K. Slider was even booked to make a special appearance, and it wasn't even the weekend! After their departure I started to work on the Birthday Boy's banner. A few hours past and it was nightfall, the only light was the nearby streetlamp and the mysterious glow from the moon. Even though I was extremely tired, it was well worth it as I kept thinking about Buck's face in the morning. I hung the banner across Resident Services with Mr. Nook's permission.

The next morning, I was up early to make sure I was the first to wish Buck a Happy Birthday. I watched the warm sun rising with the most beautiful combination of orange and pink. I approached Buck as he left his house for his daily 6am run. I exclaimed 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUCK!' Buck turned and smiled 'Thank you, Jenny! How did I know you would be the first to congratulate me?' I said to Buck 'Once you get back, please head over to Resident Services, I think you'll get a surprise'. Buck replied 'Thank you, Iron J! I'll need to get a shower and change of clothes first as some of the villagers moan about my sweat stained clothes!' As Buck quickly disappeared for his daily 100 laps of the island, I thought it was a little odd as no-one else seemed to be awake. I started to knock on villagers doors. To begin with I thought maybe they've slept in after their late night of preparation. First, I went to Julian's house. Julian croakily invited me in. Julian was still in his pyjamas and night hat. 'What's wrong, Julian?' I asked with concern. Julian weakly replied 'I don’t feel well at all. I don't think I'll be able to make Buck's birthday party. Please tell him how sorry I am.' I left feeling disappointed. However, it couldn't be helped. I continued to knock on every door. Everyone was ill! I couldn't believe it. Buck shortly after turned up outside Resident Services admiring my banner and told me how excited how was to see the birthday decorations around the island. I explained the situation to Buck about how illness had struck Hazzard. He was disappointed, but he could see I was heartbroken as I wanted his day to be perfect. Buck shouted 'Iron J! Do not fear, Buck is here! I have a muscular plan to get this party back on track! I need your help. Are you in, Iron J?' Without any hesitation, I replied 'Of course!' 'Right, Nook's Cranny isn't opened as Timmy and Tommy are also ill, so let's get on! We need to shake those trees and grab some weeds. It's going to take sometime but WE CAN DO IT! Let's go! We'll meet in half an hour at the Island DIY Workbench.' We separated to speed the process up. After 30 minutes we met at the DIY Workbench. We pulled our resources together and made lots of medicine. Buck exclaimed 'Whew! That was hard work! Time to dispense it to the villagers and get this party back on track!' We split up again to distribute the medicine. Buck and I headed to my house for a coffee and a chat. We were rather tense as we hoped his plan worked. After about an hour we decided to head out. As we left my house, we turned around and looked over to Resident Services every villager was there! The icing on the cake was K.K. Slider had arrived and dedicated K.K. Birthday to Buck! I didn't often see Buck with a tear in his eye, but I did today.

We partied throughout the day and into the night. It was time for Buck to make a speech. He thanked everyone for their hard work and couldn't believe everyone came together for him. Buck added 'However, a party isn't a party without the people you love. You aren't villagers or residents to me, you're family. However, don't think that makes you all Kings and Queens. You can't take away my Royal crown or Iron J's Queen of Hazzard status!' The crowd laughed. Buck continued 'Seriously, you have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you everyone and I hope I can return the favour for each and every one of you when your birthdays arrive.' The party guests cheered and clapped. As the party drew to a close and villagers made their way back to their houses. Buck insisted on walking me home. 'Thank you, Jenny. Without your help today the party wouldn't have gone ahead, but even more importantly my friends would still be ill.' Buck's voice began to break. I replied 'Maybe, but it was your plan that saved the day. I've always called you King Buck but I can add hero to your status now!' A smile beamed across Buck's face and we both entered our respective houses.

The end.

 

[BetsySundrop]

Spoiler: Countdown to KK

Countdown to KK

10
​

"I know we're all excited for KK's birthday party," Isabelle raised her voice over the chatter in the town square, "but we have a lot of planning to do. Boots, can you handle the party entertainment?"

"You bet!" Boots responded.

Isabelle continued, "Étoile and Puddles are on the invitation, Norma and Yuka doing the cake, and Benjamin on music. Walt, can you supervise?"

"I certainly can. Excellent choice." Walt replied.

Isabelle smiled. "Great. Any questions or problems, go to Walt for help everyone. If there's nothing else-"

"Oh wait!" Puddles shouted, "While you're all here, I have free samples of my very own brand of skincare products! Plenty for everyone!"

The villagers headed off to prepare for the party, grabbing free samples on their way out.

9
​

"I know you've been busy promoting your new products," Étoile said to Puddles, "so I went ahead and sent KK the party invitation."

"Oh," Puddles laughed, "I sent him one, too! KK Slider will get a chuckle out of that I'm sure."

Étoile looked confused, "KK Slider? I invited DJ KK!"

" Oh, no. We invited both of them then. Let's ask Walt what we should do," Puddles suggested.

Puddles and Etoile finally tracked down Walt.

"Don't be ridiculous," Walt grumped, scratching his ear, "Everyone knows they're the same person." And he walked off.

"Well, they do have the same birthday, " Étoile said.

"But that's impossible!" Puddles protested. "They can't be the same person!"

Étoile looked thoughtful, "Have you ever seen them in the same place at the same time? Let's ask Isabelle what to do."

8
​

Isabelle called a town meeting to discuss the invitation issue.

"We've hit a slight snag in our party planning. Both DJ KK and KK Slíder have been invited."

"Same person," grumbled Walt.

"Are not!" Annalise insisted.

As the villagers started to argue, Isabelle interrupted, "Benjamin, what on earth are you doing?"

"I can't help it," Benjamin whined. "I'm all itchy and I can't reach to scratch my back!"

Walt shouted angrily, "You dirty dog! You probably gave me fleas at the meeting yesterday. I've been itching all day!"

"All right, settle down everyone. We're planning a party, not a melee!" Tom Nook intervened. "We should hear back from the KK team - or teams - later about the arrangements, and then we'll know more. Meanwhile, both Benjamin and Walt can go home, have a good scrubbing, and take care of those fleas," Nook finished, absently scratching his leg.

7
​

"Can you believe we have to make two cakes?!" Norma swished her tail, agitated.

"I know! And look at the cake requests- DJ KK wants chocolate cake with vanilla icing, and KK Slider wants vanilla cake with chocolate icing!" Yuka replied. "You don't suppose- Norma, why are you rubbing on the wall?"

"I can't help it. My whole body itches. It's not fleas!" Norma shouted as Yuka took a step back. "I checked all over, not a single flea!"

"I believe you," Yuka said, dropping the subject, but staying back. "And the KKs simply cannot be the same person. He would have to be some kind of opposite alter ego thing, like Jekyll and Hyde."

"Exactly," Norma agreed, still scratching on the wall. "Two cakes it is! Boy it's nice Tom Nook had the extra ingredients for sale."

6
​

Gathered in the town square, the itchy villagers were all wondering why Nook, who seemed to have a few patches of missing fur, had called an emergency meeting.

"As you may have noticed, we seem to have a problem with fleas. Some of you are missing fur or scales, and everyone is itchy."

The villagers grumbled in agreement, fur floating in the air around them, scales softly hitting the ground as they scratched themselves.

"We also have other problems," Nook continued. "Zipper has canceled, so we have no party entertainment."

"And the music," a shame-faced Benjamin mumbled.

"Yes, the music," said Nook. "Benjamin was planning to hire both DJ KK and KK Slider to provide the music. But as they can't work their own party, we'll have to come up with something else."

"Sorry, everyone," Benjamin sniffled, pulling off a loose patch of fur.

"Don't worry. I'll come up with something," Nook consoled Benjamin. "Meanwhile, everyone must go to the Paradise Medical Clinic today, so we can get these fleas taken care of before the party. We only have five days left to get ready!"

5
​

The villagers gathered in the town square like a hive of angry bees.

"Listen, everyone, let's all calm down, yes?" Nook pleaded. "We have the results from the Paradise Clinic and -"

"It wasn't me or my fleas!" Benjamin shouted happily.

"It was me!" Puddles wailed. "I'm so sorry!"

"Yes, yes," said Nook. "Apparently, the new skincare line from Puddles was responsible. The medicine from the clinic will get rid of the itching, but the fur and scales may continue to fall off for several days, and the rash may last a bit longer."

"I never should've trusted that Redd!" Puddles cried.

"But how are we supposed to have the party?" Yuka asked. "We look like diseased zombies!"

"I will think of something," Nook replied.

4​

The disheartened villagers gathered in the town square, hoping Nook had some good news for a change.

"Good news!" Tom Nook exclaimed. "I have solutions. Our party is now a costume birthday party, so nobody needs to worry about patchy fur or rashes. Just cover it up. And for the party music - I have for sale in my shop a high-end stereo. It's perfect for our party."

"It's also expensive," complained Walt.

"Ah yes," said Nook. "That brings me to my next announcement. Puddles has graciously volunteered to cover the extra expenses for the party, as well as the cost of everyone's costumes!"

"It's the least I could do," Puddles said.

"Indeed," Nook said. "And the Able Sisters have a wonderful line of Nook Co brand costumes for sale in their shop!"

The villagers cheered, once again excited and looking forward to the party.

3
​

"You were right!" Zipper shouted.

"Yikes," Boots winced, quickly reducing the phone volume. "What was I right about?"

"That Puddles Skincare product!" Zipper declared. "Nasty reaction, but the medicine you recommended is helping already with the itch."

"Excellent! So you'll make it to the party?" Boots asked.

Zipper responded, "That might be a problem. Half my fur is still gone."

"Aren't you just wearing a bunny costume?" Boots queried Zipper.

"Aren't we all just wearing costumes when we walk in the world?" Zipper mused.

Creepy. "Well the party is now officially a costume party. So you can wear whatever costume you like and cover your patchiness."

"Oh, nice!" Zipper exclaimed. "In that case, I have the perfect clown costume!"

2
​

Étoile tried to comfort Puddles while putting up party decorations together. "It was really nice of you to volunteer to pay for the party expenses. A second mortgage is a big responsibility."

"I know," Puddles sighed. "But Nook is giving me extra time to pay it off. And now we have plenty of bells for the party."

"Which is good," Étoile chuckled, "because I got another request from DJ KK's team. He wants a special Nook Co branded candy jar filled with green candy."

"No way," Puddles laughed. "I got a special request from KK Slider's team for a jar filled with green candy."

"You don't think-" Étoile began.

"No, no," Puddles said firmly. "They're definitely different people. KK Slider's team wanted candy in any jar except a Nook Co brand jar, which is, and I quote, "not even strong enough to contain tiny green alien babies."

"What the heck? Alien babies?!"

"I know, right? I have no idea," said Puddles. "But I'm pretty sure they're different people. Probably cousins or something."

1
​

The excited villagers all gathered in the town square, everyone looking around at all the beautiful decorations.

"The town looks wonderful!" Tom Nook proclaimed. "Beautifully decorated, and not a tuft of floating fur in sight!"

The villagers laughed as Nook went on, "We have two perfect cakes, two amazing gifts, excellent music, stunning costumes, and even a party clown!"

"Thank god it's a clown and not that creepy Zipper," someone muttered.

"Ahem, yes," Nook continued. "Great work everyone! We are officially ready for our fabulous costume birthday party!"

"One last thing to mention," Isabelle added. "The results from our town poll are in! Are DJ KK and KK Slider the same person? The results were - a tie! 50-50. So I guess we'll find out at the party tomorrow, and I can't wait to see how it turns out!"

Lift-off!​

The party was excellent.

 

[.: Meri :.]

New Growth

It was a beautiful, clear day on Lostglade—a perfect day for Deli to go exploring. A butterfly fluttered just past his nose, and as he sped up to chase it, he spotted Leopold carrying a box full of jars that glowed softly in a rainbow of colors. The butterfly now forgotten, Deli ran up to Leopold. “What’cha got there, Leopold? Can I have one? Can I eat it?”

“Um, well, you definitely can’t eat them—we have no clue of what kind of weird effects glowing moss might have on the body. And I’m sorry, Deli, but I’m actually gonna need these jars in a few days,” Leopold began to explain, “Tom Nook has been inviting a lot of folks to Lostglade for a fundraising event. There’s gonna be a tour of the island, then we’ll all gather around the plaza for some good food—Sylvana’s already volunteered to handle the catering—and then Petri, Blathers, and I are going to do some presentations on our island’s scientific potential, and really try to wow them. If we can impress our guests and raise enough funds, it’ll be a huge help to our research, and maybe even the island itself! My presentation is going to focus on the various types of glowing-moss that grow here, so I’m going to need all of these jars.”

With his usual innocent smile, Deli blinked his big round eyes at Leopold. “I don’t really get it, but it’s okay if I give the jar back before the fun-raising thingy starts, right?”

Leopold sighed in defeat. “...Okay, you can borrow one jar,” he took a jar of yellowish-green moss from the box and offered it to Deli, “but don’t open it. Just admire its shimmering beauty from afar, and return it the day before the fundraiser—so, in four days.”

“Okay, I promise! Thanks, Leopold!” Deli took the jar and held it up, beaming. Even on a bright day, the moss shined. He shook it gently and watched as tiny yellow dots floated around inside. Holding the jar carefully, Deli made his way back home.

--

After he’d shown the jar to all of his bug friends, Deli looked around his room for somewhere safe to keep it. He made a promise to Leopold, so he didn’t want to break the jar or lose it. One of his bug friends skittered back into the shadows underneath his bed. “That’s it!” Deli kept all the weird and cool things he found there, and plenty of snacks too. If he stored the moss jar there, it wouldn’t get knocked over or forgotten. Deli crouched down and gently slid the jar underneath his bed. “Okay, see you later, moss jar!”

--

It was a few nights later that Deli awoke to his stomach growling. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, blinking in the dim light that shined from under his bed. He didn’t have a nightlight anymore, so it took him a moment to remember what it was. “Oh yeah, that’s gotta be my spaghetti jar...” It didn’t usually glow, but his spaghetti jars did lots of weird things when he left them down there long enough. Leaning over the edge of the bed, Deli felt around until he found the source of the glow. He yawned as he sat back up, sleepily twisting the jar open. The earthy smell of pesto sauce met his nose, and he scooped up the contents of the jar with his hand before shoving them straight into his mouth. Feeling full again, he set the empty jar on his nightstand and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Deli’s first thought was that his head felt heavy, kind of like he was wearing a bopper. Curious, he touched the top of his head and was met with a soft, fuzzy ball that wobbled and swayed as if held up by a spring. Giggling, he smacked it around, catching glimpses of its yellow-green color as it briefly bounced into view before disappearing again.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization. “But I wasn’t wearing boppers last night!” Alarmed, Deli rushed to his mirror. The softly glowing, fuzzy ball atop his head was suspended not by a spring and a hairband, but by an antenna of the same, weirdly familiar yellow-green color, growing straight out of his head.

“The glow moss!” Deli gasped. He realized today was the day he was supposed to give the jar back to Leopold, too. “Oh no, no, no...” He dove under his bed and desperately felt around the floor, until finally, his hand touched cool glass. With a sigh of relief, he crawled out from under the bed with the jar in his hand. The jar of... pesto spaghetti.

“Uh-oh... what am I gonna do? I promised Leopold and everything...” Deli turned to his nightstand and spotted the now mostly-empty moss jar. Only a few shiny specks remained, stuck to the bottom and sides. He picked it up and turned to his door with newfound determination. “Fine. If I ate all Leopold’s moss, I’ll just get him some more!”

He suddenly remembered his new “bopper” and his confidence deflated. Crawling under his bed again, he found a conical party hat from a few birthday parties ago. He carefully placed it over his antenna and checked the mirror—the hat hid it perfectly. Nodding to himself, he marched out the door, empty jar in hand.

Glowing moss could be found scattered all over Lostglade, but the best place to find it was in the ruins just beyond Leopold’s house. As the lion’s home came into view, Deli held his breath and ducked down, tiptoeing quickly by and using the fence as cover. Just a few more steps and—“Oh, good morning, Deli!” Leopold stepped out the door. Deli swiftly hid the empty jar behind his back. “Did you bring the mo—wait, don’t tell me I forgot someone’s birthday!”

“N-no, no one’s being born today! I mean, it’s just, um, a new trend!” Deli stammered.

“You mean I’m behind on trends?! That’s almost more uncool!” Leopold smacked himself on the forehead. “Well, I need a party hat posthaste! You can just drop the jar off anytime!” The lion waved and took off in the direction of Able Sisters. Once he was out of sight, Deli sighed at the empty jar in his hands and made his way into the ruins.

It didn’t take long for him to find another patch of the same yellow-green moss Leopold had given him. He sat down and started pulling some from the dirt, but quickly realized he didn’t have any idea how he was supposed to harvest it. Deli shook his head vigorously, as if shaking away the doubts, and kept trying. Finally, he’d filled the jar up to the same level it had been before. But...

“Leopold can’t use this...” Tears formed in Deli’s eyes. He could tell it wasn’t the same as Leopold’s jar—that was all glowing moss, and it looked great. But his jar had dirt, grass, and maybe some regular moss mixed in, and parts were squished where he’d grabbed it too hard. He shook it. Only a few yellow dots floated up.

“Deli? Is something wrong?”

Deli looked over his shoulder to see Petri tilting her head at him in concern. He sniffled and showed her the jar. “Petri... I-I ate Leopold’s glow moss, because I thought it was my under-the-bed spaghetti jar, and I was gonna try to get him some new moss for his present-thingy tomorrow, b-but I can’t do it as good as him, and—”

“Wait a moment, Deli. That thing you said about the ‘spaghetti jar’ also concerns me, but did you say you ate the glowing moss?!”

Deli nodded and took off his party hat, staring down at the ground.

Petri slowly removed her glasses. “My god...” She put her glasses back on so she could actually see Deli’s new growth. “The presentation isn’t important now... Are you feeling okay?”

“I feel bad, but it’s sorry-bad, not sick-bad,” Deli said.

“Okay,” Petri took a breath to compose herself. “Wait here. I’m going to get Leopold; he knows more about this than I.”

--

A few minutes later, Petri returned with an equally-worried Leopold, now also donning a party hat. Deli looked away, “I’m really sorry...”

“No, don’t worry, Deli,” Leopold turned to Petri. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“...How am I meant to answer that? Well, in any case, I’m thinking we take him straight to the hospital.”

“Oh yeah, for sure, but also... Deli, the moss jar isn’t a big deal. In fact, I think you’ve given me an even better presentation subject!”

Deli’s eyes lit up. “R-really...?”

“Yes, really,” Leopold replied. “But, uh, yeah, we need to get you to a hospital, like, now.”

--

To everyone’s relief, the doctor determined that Deli wasn’t in any danger. Once they returned, Leopold went straight to work redoing his presentation—now starring Deli as the main focus.

The next day, the guests arrived and were taken on a friendly tour of all Lostglade’s best points and key historic locations, led by Tom Nook and Isabelle. Afterwards, they and the residents of Lostglade all gathered in the plaza to enjoy Sylvana’s (thankfully moss-free) cooking. As Petri began her presentation focused on the fossils and other archaeological findings made on Lostglade, Deli looked around nervously for any sign of Leopold. He was the only one absent, still working on the finishing touches of his new presentation.

Soon, Petri finished and stepped aside to enjoy the event herself, allowing Blathers to speak at length of the variety of fauna present on the island. While guests exchanged odd looks as Blathers became sidetracked by how viscerally unpleasant some of the local wildlife were, Deli saw Leopold running up, smiling with papers in hand. Before the lion even had a chance to catch his breath, it was his turn.

“I’ve been studying the glowing moss found on Lostglade for some time now, but it’s thanks to a friend that I’ve recently made a surprising discovery.” He waved towards Deli, who made his way to the center of the plaza... and removed his party hat.

--

And so, thanks to Deli’s mix-up, the fundraiser was a far bigger success than anyone had anticipated, and Lostglade soon became the forefront of glowing moss research. Additionally, a new species of mould was discovered in Deli’s spaghetti jar. While he was disappointed that Petri forbade him from ever eating food stored under his bed again, his life had mostly returned to normal. Except now, whenever Deli felt bored... a bopper to play with was never out of reach.

--

Deli chuckled as he stared out his window, remembering Leopold’s presentation and how amazed all the guests had been. “I’m real glad it all turned out okay,” he murmured to himself. He started to think about all the other pretty colors of moss Leopold had collected... but he knew he shouldn’t ask for another jar.

A whisper startled Deli out of his thoughts. “Huh? Did someone say something?” He looked around for any of his bug friends, but didn’t see anyone. In fact, it kind of sounded like the whisper came from above him somewhere.

The voice repeated itself, louder now, “Let them out.”​

 

[Asarena]

Spoiler: A Hailish Party

"One, two, three..."

"Asarena!" Asarena jumped as she turned to see Lily peeking her head through the door. "Are you counting the chairs again? You've counted them ten times already!"

Asarena sighed, sinking into one of the chairs she'd been counting. "I know, I know... I just want everything to be perfect for Eunice's birthday. She's always been so kind to me, and this is my chance to finally do something for her."

Lily walked over and wrapped her arms around Asarena. "Look, I know how you feel, but you've been planning this party for weeks and gone over every detail a million time already. It's going to be fine! There's nothing to worry about, toady."

Asarena rested her head on Lily's as she returned the hug. "Yeah, you're probably right. I need to relax a little."

-

As the last of the guests arrived to the party, Asarena glanced out the window at the darkening sky. It was a good thing she'd decided to host this party indoors.

Once everyone had settled down and finished exchanging greetings, she called Eunice to the center of the room where the birthday cake was resting on a table. "Hello everyone, and thank you for coming to celebrate Eunice's special day!," Asarena said. "Please join me in singing happy birthday!"

As everyone began to sing, the sound of singing was soon joined by the sound of the roof being pelted by something. Some of the villagers stumbled over the words as they glanced at each other. Once the song was over a few of them went to the window to look. "It's hailing!" exclaimed Peck.

Asarena cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back to the center. "Nothing to worry about! Just a spring storm! It'll pass." She grabbed the lighter and began lighting the candles. "Now Eunice, time to blow out the candles and make a wish!" Eunice tore her eyes away from the window, where she too had been watching the hailstorm, and leaned toward the cake, closing her eyes as she began to blow. As the last candle went out, the lights flickered out and came back on a second later.

Asarena took a deep breath and let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, that was a close one-" The lights went out again, and this time they didn't come back on.

Plunged into total darkness, some villagers let out fearful squeaks and shrieks. "I hate the dark!" someone yelled.

Asarena froze for a moment, before snapping herself out of it. She wasn't going to let Eunice's party be ruined so easily. She pulled her phone from her pocket and headed to the kitchen by the light of the phone screen, offering words of comfort to the villagers as she passed by. "Don't worry everyone! It's just a power outage! I'm sure the power will be back soon, but in the meantime the party must go on."

Once in the kitchen, she pulled open a drawer and retrieved a few flashlights. After handing them off to a few villagers, she moved to a cabinet and took out some candles. She ran around placing them here and there, lighting them as she went. With the last candle lit, she returned to the center of the room, where she found Eunice already cutting the cake. "Chocolate or yellow, lambchop?"

Asarena smiled, feeling the tension leave her body. "Chocolate please!"

-

With everyone full of cake and other snacks, Asarena returned to the center of the room once more. "Well, I planned for us to all play video games together, but with the power out... I was thinking maybe we could play board and card games instead. If that's okay with you guys...?" She smiled as she was greeted a chorus of "yes"s. "Okay, let me just grab the games! Be right back!"

"I'll help!" Lily hopped up from her chair and followed Asarena to the closet where the games were stored. "I told you there was nothing to worry about, toady."

"Well... It did hail, and the power did go out." Asarena reached up to the top shelf and began taking down games.

"Yes, but you overcame that challenge perfectly. You lit up the room with what you had, and you helped keep everyone calm. And most importantly, Eunice and everyone else seem to be having a great time." Lily hugged a couple of board games tight to her chest.

"I guess you're right... as always. I'm just glad everyone's still having fun."

"Yep! Now... let's get back to the party. I have to show everyone my Monopoly skills!" Lily began skipping back down the hallway as Asarena laughed and chased after her.

Here's my entry! It's somewhat inspired by the time I was attending a family reunion as a child, and there was a tornado warning in the middle of it. And on the way to the reunion we got stuck for a bit due to a fallen tree blocking the road that had been knocked down due to the storm. Except in this story there's no tornado warning or tree, just a storm. And the power didn't go out at the family reunion. The tornado warning expired, and we were all fine. It was definitely a stormy day though. "Hailish" is a play on "hellish"~

 

[IonicKarma]

Pin the Tail on the Birthday Party (1,328 words)

Adjusting her seat belt nervously, Rosie continued to look down at the island as the plane passed a seemingly endless row of houses on its way to the airport.

“We'll be making a water landing, but that's OK, because this is a seaplane.”

“Willbur really is fond of that line huh...” Rosie thought to herself, as she made a mental note of her tasks to do once they landed. It was almost time for the birthday party! Just a few last minute preparations to make.

Once the plane finally landed, Rosie shuffled off the plane and stared at the daunting row of houses. How was she supposed to find Kiki's house in that? Rosie pulled out her map as she made her way towards the housing district, scanning the names on the houses as she went.

“Zucker... Zeli... Yuka... oh right! Kiki mentioned the houses are in alphabetical order!” Rosie exclaimed to no one in particular. With her sudden realization, she jogged on until she reached the K letter houses, quickly finding Kiki's orange house after that.

Rosie knocked on the door three times quickly, and stood back as a black cat opened the door.

“Kiki! Happy Birthday!” Rosie quickly embraced her friend before stepping into the home, allowing her friend to shut the door.

“Thank you! So glad you could make it! We are just waiting on Twiggy and Graham now! Twiggy said she was going to grab some berries for the cake so she will be here a bit later. Graham is still on his way in with the frosting as well. Raymond's here already though!” Kiki pointed at the gray cat at the kitchen currently laying out some ingredients.

“Perfect!” Rosie clapped her paws together excitedly, “We can get started then! You did mention you wanted to bake your own birthday cake, we have enough ingredients for now!”

The trio made their way over to the kitchen and began preparations for a ocean themed cake, engaging in lively small talk and gossip as they worked. However, an air of uncertainty hung over the group, only intensifying into uneasy tension as time passed on.

“What happened to Twiggy and Graham? I hope they are ok... Maybe they couldn't make it after all?” Kiki mentioned sadly, glancing at the empty chairs she had set aside for them at the table.

“It has been awhile, maybe we should get on them?” Raymond added, “She said she was going to the forest right?”

“I can go check up on her, maybe she got lost or something.” Rosie set aside the baking mix she was working on and made her way to the door. “Keep her company ok Raymond, I'll be right back!”

Rosie hurried down the street and made her way towards the expansive forest, before stopping at the edge to catch her breath. Now that she thought about it, the forest is rather big and she didn't really have the faintest idea of where to start looking. After a bit of pondering, she stood still and perked her ears up, trying to scan for any unusual sounds past the normal sounds of bugs in the forest.

After awhile, she thought she heard something strange and made her way there. The sounds were becoming more distinct, definitely bird like, but sounded quite muffled, it sounded sort of like, screaming?

As she got closer, it definitely sounded like screaming, Twiggy's screaming. When Rosie rounded a corner, she saw a basket of berries on the ground next to a tree, and two orange bird feet sticking out from a hole of a tree kind of flailing around.

“Hellllp!” Twiggy's muffled voice came from inside the tree as her legs flailed around some more.

“Twiggy?? How did you end up in there?” Rosie exclaimed, trying her best to hold back laughter.

“Rosie? Is that you? Oh thank heavens, help me out of here first then we can talk!” Twiggy pleaded with an additional feeble attempt to dislodge herself.

Suppressing a giggle, Rosie grabbed a leg with each paw and pulled as hard as she could. After a bit of effort, Twiggy finally was ejected forcefully from the tree, sending them both backwards violently into the forest floor.

Rosie couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing as Twiggy sighed, resigning herself to her fate. “So, going to tell me how you ended up in there?” Rosie chortled, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Well, there was some berries in there, and I wanted them for the cake!” Twiggy said indignantly. “But... I might have gone a bit too far... Hold on.”

Twiggy dove right back into the tree and after a few seconds, returned with a few berries in her beak. “See?”

“Ya ya, we were worried about you though! What if I didn't find you?”

“Umm... That's not important, I got the berries didn't I?” Twiggy responded, avoiding Rosie's gaze. “Come on, lets head back!”

With the basket in hand, the pair made their way back to Kiki's house, passing by Graham's house just as the sky turned overcast, blanking all the surrounding houses in shadow.

Once they arrived at Kiki's home, they spotted Raymond waiting outside for them.

“Oh good, you made it!” Kiki approached Twiggy and gave her a quick hug before adding. “Graham still hasn't shown up, I know he went off island to go get some frosting, but haven't heard from him since, Raymond's just inside setting up the party decorations.”

“I'll go ask around the airport and see if he made it back if you wanted to go help Raymond!” Rosie chattered, before dashing off towards the airport.

After a bit of a journey through the sea of houses, Rosie spotted the airport, with the seaplane still in the water, what what sounded like the voice of a certain hamster in the distance, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

“Graham? Is that you over there?” Rosie called out and approached the plane to scan the surroundings for her friend.

“It's me! Hold on, I dropped the frosting somewhere over here... it's gotta be here somewhere.”

“Where even are you? I can't find you!” Rosie continued to look all around the airport but seeing nothing.

“Oh! I'm down here!” Graham called back from in the water.

“You're down there?? I couldn't even see you behind the plane! Hold on I'll come help!” Rosie dove into the water with a resounding splash to aid Graham in his search.

“It's gotta be here somewhere... I must have dropped it when the plane landed... It was kind of a rough landing...” Graham pondered, continuing to swim around the plane.

After a few moments of searching, Rosie spotted something colorful nestled within some seaweed below the plane. She took a deep breath and dove down to grab the item and surfaced, holding up what looked like a soggy bag of frosting.

“This it?” Rosie asked, showing Graham the bag.

“Yes, that's it! It looks like it got a bit wet though... hopefully its still usable...”

“I'm sure its fine, come on, we are late for the party!” With an impressive jump, Rosie leaped out of the water and onto the deck and then helped hoist Graham out of the water.

The pair made their way back to Kiki's house and knocked on the door, which was quickly answered by Kiki, who rushed over to hug Graham.

“Graham! You made it! Rosie you too! Thanks for finding everyone! Come on in, the party's just getting started!”

 

[Chris]

silly question, does the protag have to be the one preparing/hosting the event? have an idea where a villager is struggling to prepare a party because things go wrong and the protag would find out and step in to help, just want to check if that's okay before i start writing lol.

Nope, it doesn't need to be the protagonist.

Question!

Spoiler

Am I allowed to add the phrase "He grabs the knife and swings."? I'm not detailing any violence in the story at all and that is the last sentence of my story, meant to be open ended and maybe a little light-hearted, I'm just wondering if it's not for the forums. :] thank you!

edit: found a way to write it better i think so it's not an issue anymore!! hehe

I know you've said you're no longer doing this, but for anyone else wondering, it would have been fine.

Question @Chris … I noticed that some are including the official word count at the end of their entry, should I edit my entry to add The official word count? Mine is 593

I'll be checking them all anyway so it doesn't really matter.

 

[The Pennifer]

Nope, it doesn't need to be the protagonist.


I know you've said you're no longer doing this, but for anyone else wondering, it would have been fine.


I'll be checking them all anyway so it doesn't really matter.

Yes, I figured you would! Thank you! Happy reading! lol

 

[river]

One from the heart

Birthday’s aren’t always cheerful. We can try, but thinking about time and how it’s always, forever going to keep passing through us all can make a person blue like the night sky.

On her birthday last week my friend Hazel was very gloomy. She tried, too, and had Eunice, Erik and I over at her house for some birthday cake. It was the saddest slice of cake I’ve ever had. Don’t get me wrong, it was absolutely delicious, Hazel’s a great cook. But my poor friend, seeing her so down broke my heart a little.

We all have different ways of pretending to be okay. I usually tell people I just need a snack. When Hazel got up to take the dishes to the sink, I went after her and asked her how she was feeling. “Maybe I’m just tired”, she said. So I told her we should stop by the café near the trolley station, grab some coffee to go and breathe in some fresh night air. She nodded, “Sure”.

We made our way to The Roost. Eunice and Erik stayed outside ‘cause they saw a weird bug or something.

It was almost empty inside, it was late. An old turtle was half asleep on a stool in the corner, the pigeon behind the counter quietly wiped a cup clean, and a lonely performer strummed his guitar in the back. They always have live music there on Saturday nights.

We sat down and asked for two cups of coffee to go, but Hazel sat down anyway. The pigeon got us our coffees and she lifted the lid and took a sip. “I hear it’s better piping hot”, she looked at me and tried to smile. We drank our coffees in silence, but my brain was rushed trying to come up with a way to cheer up my friend.

Then the performer on the back started singing. He was singing one of those songs that everyone knows, you can’t even remember when you must’ve learned the words, it’s almost as if you’d always known them. As if they’re written on your heart somewhere: “Oh na mi ohh, oh na mi ohh, na mi oh... Kweh kweh kwehh...”

The old turtle woke up and smiled at the bartender. Then he began singing along to him. The pigeon seemed to smile back with his eyes, and gently swayed his head with the music, as if he couldn't help it.

I looked up at Hazel and she was watching the scene, emotional. Then I started singing at her too, and she turned and smiled, surprised, maybe a little shy, a little embarrassed.

Then she let out a big laugh! And, soon, we all joined in the most earnest sing-a-long to that old song. I glanced at the window and Erik and Eunice had bright smiles on their faces and were singing loud into the night.

Silly, out-of-tune, from the heart.

When the song was over Hazel gave me a big hug. We both laughed, and she wiped away a tear.

One thing about getting older is that it does get easier to sing your heart out as if no one could hear you. Getting older can do that, sure, but having friends to sing along with you can also do the trick.

 

[Suguri]

Okay, so this one is a short and cheesy love story inspired by my life on the spectrum and other recent personal experiences! The prompt clicked with me, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! <3 BTW, The title is taken from a line in one of my favorite songs, "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica!

Spoiler: Never Opened Myself This Way

It was November 7th, 2024, and the small and bustling Bell Tree Town was celebrating its 20th anniversary. Many of the residents were invited to the mayor’s mansion to commemorate the occasion.

The moment they stepped inside, two party-goers, Julie and Casey, were met with an assault to the senses. There were crowds of people in elaborate, formal, silly, and colorful outfits. Some were chatting with friends, others were off to the side playing a racing game on the living room TV, and a few shyly stuck to the buffet table, which smelled of sugary sweet desserts and other savory meals. The house was lively with talking, shouting, and laughter.

Julie almost froze, her pupils widening. Casey flinched as well but kept their cool and rested their hand on her shoulder.

“It’ll be fine, J,” they calmly assured her.

She had barely focused on what Casey said, for an unusual feeling was brewing inside: her face began to warm, and a tingling sensation ran all across her body. She tilted her head down and adjusted her long hair to hide her rosy cheeks.

“R-right,” muttered Julie, barely making eye contact with them. “We came here ‘cause this party’s only gonna happen once. I better make the most of it, but how can I when I can’t even get around to socializing with most people?”

“Just take it one step at a time, OK?” Casey responded. “Let me know if you need anything.”

I don’t know, Julie thought, still covering her face.

They patted her shoulder twice and let go of her. The two went their separate ways, with Julie heading straight for the food.

She took a plate and grabbed a few vanilla cupcakes and frosted cookies shaped like bell bags. Now she needed a quiet space to contemplate what happened earlier.

There was another smaller living room to her left. The lights were out, and it looked empty. After looking around to make sure no one was staring at her suspiciously, she carefully tip-toed to the room.

---

As she munched on her food, Julie let her thoughts take her away.

She mused on Casey. They had been kind to her for the past few months, which led her to open up to them. The two would spend their free time sharing art pieces and music, playing video games, and supporting each other in times of need. She found everything to be surprising since she had gone without a friend for years and was wary of most people anyway.

Because of this, she would always question their true motives: what if they were planning on manipulating her? What if their generosity was a facade, a ploy she unknowingly fell for? That would make sense; after all, people had been put off by her diminished social skills and overall awkwardness for a long time.

Or perhaps they just wanted to take their friendship to the next level…

Julie blushed and smiled to herself.

Even with her skepticism, she enjoyed Casey’s company and was certainly in love with them. She figured that the party experience for her would go in a whole new direction if she went and admitted that to them. But whether they would say those three words back or not was beyond her control. Besides, how was she going to approach this properly?

Julie remembered what her parents once told her: “Just be normal! If you can’t fit in, you’re not going to get anywhere in this world.” Even her family was put off by her characteristics sometimes, even though they loved their daughter.

This should be easy… All she needed to do was to find Casey, bring them outside, and talk to them about the personal stuff the normal way. Or through her interpretation of the normal way, at least.

With her plan set and her snack finished, she got up and tossed her now-empty plate into the nearby trash bin.

---

The party had yet to die off.

Combined with the rowdy crowds, there was now music everywhere. Julie could barely focus in an environment like this. And to make things worse, she recognized the current song as an annoying (to her, at least) pop track that would play regularly on the TBT3 radio station. Its only lyrics, which repeated itself a few more times, were:

Will you still love me, even when I’m weird?
Will you still love me, even when that’s clear?
What would be the point of all that we went through,
When you can’t take the time to see my point of view?

She couldn’t let that get in the way of her one goal: to track down Casey. After all, if everyone else can tune it out, she could do the same, right?

So she tried. She squeezed through the masses with her mind on Casey and their head bopper, but her focus shifted instinctively to a tight-knit group not too far from her arguing about something.

“…As a proud owner of the bird plush, I say it’s your best pick. It’s so popular, they call it the ‘Bluebird of Happiness’!”

“But you’re not always happy with things…”

“To hell with that! My point is, the bird is better.”

“How about you get the owl? Since it is rare, there’s a chance you might not be able to buy one that easily again.”

“Same goes for all the stuffed toys available.”

“Why don’t you consider the sheep, then? That’s valuable too!”

“But not as much as the dog.”

“Yeah! Coney’s Collectibles is selling the dog for way more than the sheep.”

Soon the group was yelling and throwing inappropriate words at each other.

Julie’s hands balled up into fists. She found this type of conduct unsuitable for a party that’s supposed to be fun and wholesome, but couldn’t bring herself to let them know about that.

The music kept on going.

Will you still love me, even when I’m weird?
Will you still love me, even when that’s clear?

She had been scanning and bumping into people for about five minutes, and Casey was nowhere to be found. Stuck in the middle of the crowd, she felt herself beginning to sweat and panicked.

Soon, the music grew louder and the talkative party-goers became just as deafening.

What would be the point of all that we went through,
When you can’t take the time to see my point of view?

The clamor was too much for Julie: her heart was pounding, her fists tightened, and her mind kept jumping from one auditory
observation to another. She had almost forgotten about them until…

Bump!

“Oh, J! What’re you doing here?”

There they were. Casey with their distinct voice, their short, brown hair, their vivid outfit straight out of a music festival.

Time froze, and so did Julie. It felt like the whole party was in slow motion.

Yet the cacophony worsened. The voices and the pulsating song had morphed into a total sounded mess. She had forgotten about why she wanted to see them.

Her eyes watered, and a single tear rolled down her face.

“You alright, J—?” Casey said.

She turned her back to them and ran swiftly.

Julie pushed through the crowded maze, crying out, “Sorry! Excuse me! Coming through!” She could barely hear a voice calling out her name, and her face was wet from shedding more tears. She wanted out of this party, this hellhole people somehow enjoyed without a care in the world.

Most importantly, she didn’t want her crush to be burdened by an embarrassment like her.

Before she knew it, she was face-to-face with the front door. She swung it open and slammed it shut before sitting on the front steps.

She frowned and let out a heavy sigh. Her tears continued to stream down, and they dropped to the ground like raindrops.

Julie knew without a doubt that this was her biggest social blunder yet.

---

The door clicked open.

Julie turned around and was surprised to see Casey peeking outside. They stepped out and closed the door, looking downbeat.

“What happened?” they murmured slowly as they took their seat next to Julie. She scooted away, unable to bring herself to face them.

“I just wanna help,” they whispered.

Casey slowly moved towards Julie and placed their hand on top of hers.

Julie felt the warm and tingly sensation again. She was glad it was about to be dark because she didn’t want them to see her crying and blushing intensely at the same time.

She remained silent. There was nothing but the wind blowing gently.

Finally, she began to speak.

“Casey… I’m so sorry…” she whimpered.

“For what? You did nothing wrong, J.”

“I did! You just couldn’t tell…! I went to you because…”

As she talked to them, her mind cleared up, and she remembered the reason why.

“It’s because I wanted to tell you something. But it was too noisy and I got overwhelmed and chickened out! See? I’m not normal!”

Casey turned to Julie. They let go of her hand and began rubbing her back.

“It happens to me too. Being overstimulated by noise, I mean. You’re not the only one.”

Julie blinked, her tears slowing.

“You’re fine, alright? People can get stressed in different ways, and this is just one of them. Whoever told you it’s not normal probably didn’t get it.

“You know yourself more than anyone else knows you, J. Even I have a long way to go,” they chuckled, scratching the back of their neck.

“How about we take a break together? I’m honestly drained from all this partying.”

Julie’s stream of tears had come to a halt. She wiped her face with her arm, her cheeks still in the pink.

“Thank you…” she smiled. “Thank you so much, Casey… Yeah, let’s do that right now!”

She hugged their arm affectionately.

Casey smiled at Julie as she began nuzzling their arm, causing them to blush too.

“Y’know, bud?” she continued. “You’re the only person I know who’s been so sweet to me, and I appreciate it a lot. I didn’t get it for so long because I wasn’t sure you were good enough for weird ol’ me…”

She felt their arm move, signaling her to let go. She did just that, and she immediately found herself being embraced.

“Aww… You’re not weird, you’re just being you. There’s nothing wrong with improving yourself little by little, but I wouldn’t like it if you became a completely different person just so you could be more accepted, especially when it makes you uncomfortable.

“Some people would do anything to fit in. Even when that means going too far… So keep doing what you enjoy, okay?”

Julie wrapped her arms around her best friend. She heard them take a deep breath as they caressed her back.

“I love you so much, Julie,” breathed Casey. “I mean it.”

This was it…it finally happened! A surge of ecstasy hit Julie; she could feel her heart slowly beating as she heard the first three words. Her mouth curved into a grin and she hugged tightly.

“Dear…?” she breathed. “This was what I was going to tell you earlier… I love you too!”

Casey’s arms tightened around Julie in response.

She looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful shade of orange, and nothing was covering it save for only a few thin clouds in sight. The ever-tired sun was a glowing yellow disk gradually making her way down the horizon and out of sight.

Behind her, the music blared. However, it was now a different song.

As the sun set and day transitioned to night, Julie was proud to have Casey, her best friend—and now her love—by her side.

She patted their back. “Let’s make the most out of this party before it ends, alright, dear?”

“Heck yeah! I’m ready when you are!”

 

[You got mail!]

Spoiler: my entry

The Secret Ingredient


“My birthday is coming up tomorrow, coooooool. Got any surprises for me? You don’t have to spoil what it is, I just want to know if you have anything planned.” Cole asked Jerry. Jerry responded by saying “Of course I won’t spoil it dude! But I might be coming up with something sweet and tasty just for the both of us. You will see in due time my friend.” Cole quickly became excited and said “Sweet! You know how much I love food, especially sweets, coooooool! I can’t wait to see what you’ll be cooking up and deliver. Thank you so much! I’ll be seeing you at my birthday party!” The pair said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Jerry has been planning this for a while now, a big, tasty and delicious cake for his dear friend Cole. They’ve been best friends since forever. Both had a lot in common, they’re lazy, chill, have the love for food and both go with the flow. Jerry was very excited to show how much he appreciated his best friend with one thing they very much love, CAKE! Jerry went to various shops and bought the ingredients he needed to bake a delicious birthday cake. When all was said and done he laid out all the ingredients on a table in the kitchen. Jerry began the process step by step from pouring the ingredients, to mixing and finally baking. Jerry was excited to see the cake finish baking but when he took it out of the oven, it didn’t look like. Like it was all crumpled up and sad looking. Jerry was very confused, he was sure he followed instructions very closely and yet the cake came out all messy and sad. “Maybe I missed a crucial step somewhere.” He thought. There was plenty of ingredients left so Jerry attempted to bake the perfect cake once more. He made sure to follow instructions down to the last minute but when it came to taking the cake out it looked sad and messy again! “How could this be?!” Jerry thought as he became more and more frustrated. With the remaining ingredients, Jerry attempted to bake more cakes but each and every one of them turned out not to be so good. He became disappointed that apparently he couldn’t bake a good and presentable cake. In his mind, Jerry was thinking. “Oh no, what would Cole think? I’ve promised I would make the best cake ever for him and I’ve got nothing despite my best efforts…” There were enough ingredients to bake one more cake but Jerry decided it was time to give up. He dreaded the thought of telling Cole the bad news as he went to sleep for the night and the next day came, Cole’s birthday. Jerry slowly went over to Cole’s house and entered it where the party was undergoing. Jerry hesitantly told Cole what he had planned for him and the bad news but to his surprise, Cole told him that it’s alright and that he has an idea. “Could I come over to your house and help out? Maybe you need a little assistance from a friend coooooool. There is no shame in that.” Jerry welcomed Cole’s idea and so the pair went over to his house. Cole saw all the ruined cakes from Jerry’s attempts and said “I see… sorry about this especially since you’ve done it all for me and for my birthday but hey now that I’m here, let’s give it our best shot!” Both of them cleaned up Jerry’s mess and thus they began the process of making a cake step by step. Along the way, Cole told Jerry “You’re doing great, coooooool! You do it like this and like that and finally, you can’t forget about the most important ingredient in any dish especially cake! That ingredient is and time with your friends.” Jerry understood what Cole was saying and so after everything was said and done, it was time to put the mix into the oven and wait for it to bake. After what felt like forever, it was time to bring it out. Jerry and Cole were very happy to see the cake came out perfect! Both of them were filled with joy especially Jerry who was very happy to see the result after yesterday. Finally a worthy cake for his lazy best friend! Jerry told Cole “Thank you so much! I thought I could do everything by myself but I supposed I missed the most important ingredients ever, love and friendship! Again, thank you for your help and happy birthday!” The two then put frosting on the cake and Jerry wrote “Happy birthday Cole! Here’s to more years of us being lazy :D” Cole appreciated it and told Jerry the time spent together baking was an amazing gift on top of baking the cake itself. The pair went back to Cole’s house and continued to have an amazing celebration and by the end of the day, their bellies were full of cake and precious memories.



The end.