I was basically done and for once, I didn't actually have to carry a backpack like I used to, thanks to this HOLO. I felt like a king, walking down the road.

I had a smirk on my face, and my sword and saber hanging down my waist. Life was amazing.

But there was just one problem. I couldn't walk even at half of my speed.

Well, who cared! I could still walk and I didn't have to carry extra stuff, so all was cool.

I reached the gym in roughly ten minutes. Normally this would have been a three or at best four-minute walk. I guess I could sacrifice at least this much. It was my bright idea to jump off the plane in the first place, after all.

Maybe being late wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all.

The doors were closed and strangely it felt like something bad happened inside. And since there wasn't anyone near this place either, things didn't really seem all that great. There was a chance someone had grudges against Merin and did something horrible to him. I wasn't actually that shaken though. After all, I'd seen these kinds of things happen all around me and perhaps a bit more than desired. And unless it involved my family, it never bothered me. But if someone did hurt my friend, obviously, I wasn't going to let him go off the hook with just a few limbs.

I opened the door and went inside. It was a bit dark in here but I could see. There was someone standing in the center of the gym. It looked like he was bound by ropes and barely hanging by it. 'This doesn't look good.' My breathing increased and so did my heart rate. I had a sinking feeling that that might have been Merin.

I released alpha particles and tried to create plasma: since it was so dark in here, and I didn't know where the light switches even were, this was the best I could do. But just as I was about to, I noticed something. And afterward, I just proceeded to walk normally, without actually trying anything or creating plasma for that matter. 'Alright, I'll play along.'

When I reached the center stage, I saw Merin, covered in blood. "He-lio?"

"Yeah, it's me, what's up?"

I tried undoing his ropes. Whoever did this, probably didn't have much time on hand, cause the knots were so terrible, I had to burn them off with my saber.

"They- they took all your chocolate milk. And-" He sniffed. "When I tried to stop them, they did this."

"Uh-huh." I undid everything and he fell on top of me. I didn't catch him and dodged.

"AWW!" He screamed and promptly got up. "What was that for!?" And a second later he cleared his throat. "Anyway, aren't you mad?"

"I'm totally mad, trust me."

This guy was good.

"IN that case, look!" He pointed at the ceiling.

"What am I supposed to look for again?" Because there was nothing up there, and it was awfully dark in here.

He whistled and lights were turned on with some sound. And since they were big and I was looking straight, I kind of got blinded for a second.

'Aww.'

It took me a second to recover and when I did- "SURPRISE!"

There were at least ten people in here.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Next, they started to sing. I kind of wanted to laugh at their faces but oh well.

Merin's blood was mostly just colors, at least he wasn't wearing ketchup.

It was an interesting act though. And I would have fallen for it, if only I hadn't finished all the chocolate milk and replaced the bottles with orange juice secretly.

I still laughed a little though. I was happy.

Merin looked proud as he brought the cake.

There were quite a few known faces here. Eve, Ariel, Robert, Angelmen, Dick- I wondered why, Natasha, Johnathan, and the bunny girl- I guess they finished on time, my mother and Elsa. And then there was the headmaster and his wife. Why were those two here again?

This was great, but something wasn't. I looked at mom and she just looked away.

Apparently, my birthday was next week's Wednesday, not this one. I didn't have the guts to say it to them though. Not after the effort, all these guys put into all this.

So, I just played along.

'Well, let's just enjoy this a little I guess.'

It wasn't a big cake and there were no presents. There weren't even balloons. I didn't necessarily care. To me, the sentiment mattered more than actual presents or parties. Though I wouldn't have minded receiving some chocolate.

Okay, I definitely wanted chocolate!

I cut the cake and let mom take the first bite. "You do realize-" I whispered.

"Your friend kind of overheard me and well- yeah." Mom looked towards Eve

And Eve puffed up her chest and bathed in high self-esteem.

Oh god. Just who was she trying to impress?

Next, I took a bite and just when I was to take another one, Elsa snatched the half-eaten cake from my hand and gobbled it up.

I wanted to smack her but oh well.

And strangely people just seemed to laugh it off for some reason.

Was this normal and I was the weird one? Since when!?

I cleared my throat and cut the cake into smaller pieces. It was a small cake, so I had to. "Please, help yourselves." The cake was actually pretty good though and it was a chocolate cake with chocolate shavings.

"Would you mind, feeding me too?" Eve came close and winked. I actually hadn't seen her in a while.

"Yes, I would mind, so here, take it."

I held a piece held it her way. I had no intention of feeding her, but I couldn't just not acknowledge the fact that she made all this possible. But now, that didn't mean I was going to feed her.

"Of course," she dived in and bit the cake right off my hand and gobbled it too.

Gosh, this girl was dexterous. And not to mention fast. She licked her lips and grinned.

I freaked out and took a step back. But two hands were placed on my shoulder.

Apparently, it was the headmaster.

"Why are you here again?" I looked back.

I got the feeling he wasn't here to offer me birthday wishes. And how'd he know?

"Official business." I doubted that.

"What is official about this again?"

"Eating cake is always official." He looked dead ahead at the cake and nothing else. And yes, he was serious.

I sighed and looked at the woman next to him, she also sighed. I guess this guy really was serious.

"Well, help yourself."

The headmaster's face lit up and he moved towards the cake. "Thanks for keeping quiet-" He whispered and moved on.

I guess that was his official business.

I actually didn't have any reason or desire to make the knowledge about the Nelbound public. After all, even I wasn't sure what to make of it, yet. That reminded me, grandma was supposed to be a kin, right?

Hmmm…. I gave mom a stare and she stared back, curiously. Where the hell was this going anyway?

Everyone else was also taking one piece of the cake.

"Now comes the drinks!" Merin was excited.

This didn't feel like a party, it felt more like a gathering for people to let pass the time.

I wasn't that excited but when I saw the drinks, I was definitely excited. After all, the drinks were all chocolate milk!

And in my case, it was almond milk, sadly.

Well, at least it had chocolate.

No one really said all that much. They had the cake, wished me congratulations and that was basically it.

They were talking a lot amongst themselves though.

I went closer to Merin. "Whose idea was this again?"

"All Eve's. I was just played the co-host."

Yeah, I didn't doubt him. And though it wasn't my birthday, I was still kind of glad. But why would Eve do this? What was she after?

"And why is Dick and the two over there here?" The two being the headmaster and his wife.

"Oh, when they saw us this morning, they just tagged along."

"What are you two whispering about, come over here!" Angelmen called us over and we all took a photo. I was probably the only one who was faking a smile, but my feelings were genuine. Kind of.

***

This was kind of awkward and kind of fun at the same time.

I wanted to know why Eve did this, but of course, I couldn't just ask her directly now, but I kind of wanted to. I did trust her more than I used to. But it almost felt like she was plotting something.

And lately, Eve was being way too mysterious and Marg said something about Eve going through something she did. I didn't know why, but I had a hunch something big was about to go down.

Frankly, I wanted no part of it. But for now, I tried to forget all that and just enjoyed the party.

In the end, we just drank the chocolate and ate the cake. Life was a bliss, for twenty minutes.