Preparations

"Remind me why we're going through all this..." Briar asks Ken as they struggle to hang the banner that says 'Happy Birthday Rebecca!!'

"...When we could have booked some venue instead."

"First reason: She would feel guilty knowing we've booked a place; second reason: My home is more welcoming, and she's been here before." Ken lets them know as he inflates a balloon.

"And why do we have to help you if we're the guests?" Briar sighs.

"Also, where's Ghalen with the cake and sweets?"

"He had to pick up Bro from his home first."

"When will they be here?"

"Dude, do I look like a clock to you?"

"They'll be here in about half an hour." Will enters the room, inspecting it, followed by Ken's mom.

"Are you done with the preparations? I don't know how much longer I can keep these little devils contained..." She says.

"We're almost done. You can release them." Ken tells her before inflating another balloon.

"Are you sure, sweetie? Kids can be very... invasive, you know."

"I'm sure, mom. We're almost done."

She sighs with relief. "Thank goodness, because in exchange for them staying quiet, I promised they could eat everything from the buffet." The four kids who heard the conversation enter the living room upon hearing this, totally unbothered by the trouble they've caused.

Upon their mother's words, Ken raises an eyebrow and looks at her, almost annoyed, before turning to his brothers. "Don't touch or eat anything!"

"Hey, kids! Who wants some juice while we watch cartoons?" Briar holds various juice bottles in their hands, having turned on the television.

"Me!"

"Me too!"

"I want pear juice."

"Ew, pear juice tastes like moldy socks!"

"How do you know what moldy socks taste like?"

"Briar, you should help us. Those little pests will end up drinking all the juice!" Ken reprimands both his friend and his brothers.

"It will be fine. I'll help you finish the preparations, and the kids won't drink all the juice." Lisa reassures her eldest son, resting her arm on his shoulder.

"We're out of juice." Some time later, Briar announces while checking each bottle, only to find them all empty. They glance at the kids, who are watching TV, totally oblivious to the mess they've made.

"And Ghalen hasn't arrived yet... What do we do? It's all over, isn't it?" Ken paces back and forth in the room until Will grabs him by the collar and pulls him back.

"Calm down."

"Thanks, I needed that." He thanks his best friend but looks confused for a moment before recovering.

"I'll call Ghalen immediately. I'll tell him to buy some juice." Ken says, taking out his cellphone. But just as he unlocks it, he receives a call from Rebecca. His eyes widen – it must not be good news. He steps away from the others and answers the call.

"Hi, Bibi. What's up?"

"Hi, Ken. I'll get straight to the point. I've been rethinking things, and I think it's better to postpone the dinner at your place."

"W-why...?"

"It's pouring rain outside. It would be better not to go out, at least for tonight. Okay?"

"...Okay."

"Please say hi to your mom and your brothers for me, and tell them I'm sorry. Bye bye." She hangs up.

Ken sits on the edge of the couch, tosses his phone away, and lets his head fall into his hands.

"What's wrong, dude?" Will sits beside him.

"It's all over... it feels like everything we did was for nothing..."

"Do you need something stronger than a pull now? Do you want a slap?" Will raises his hand to emphasize his words.

"I'm serious, Will. Rebecca says it's pouring outside, and it would be better to postpone."

"Is it pouring that hard?" Will asks.

Briar opens the window curtains nearby. "Damn, it's really pouring. We were so immersed in the preparations that we didn't even notice!" What they see is heavy raindrops that paint the sky gray and strong winds that bend the trees. Not a soul in sight, be it people or animals.

"Come on, at least it's not thun-" Briar doesn't finish the sentence as they are interrupted by a loud thunder.

"M-maybe Rebecca is right..." They let go of the curtains, closing them to prevent Ken from seeing the scene outside and getting even more discouraged. But he lowers his head between his hands, utterly disheartened.

"But her birthday is today. I pretended to forget it just to surprise her like this. And now it's all ruined."

"We can reschedule once the flood is over..."

"Yes, and everything we did now will be wasted. Except for the juice."

Suddenly, the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it!" Lisa, who has remained silent so far, rushes to the door.

"Oh dear, you're all soaked!"

"Thank you, ma'am..."

The three friends who are still in the living room hear Ghalen and Brayton's voices and feel slightly relieved. At least they know their friends haven't been harmed in the flood.

The two boys join Ken and the others in the living room, soaking wet up to their necks.

"I got the sweets!" Ghalen raises his thumb, triumphantly. But as soon as he sees the disheartened looks on his friends' faces, his expression darkens too.

"But we don't have Rebecca." Ken says.

"And the juice." Briar adds.

"...What do we do now?" Brayton joins the conversation.

"First, let's take the sweets. I don't want Ghalen's car to get dirty." Briar says.

"And since we have a car, we can go pick up Rebecca directly from her home." Lisa suggests.

"You two stay and dry off; otherwise, you'll catch a cold, while we take care of everything else. Do you trust me to leave your car here?" Lisa asks, taking Ghalen's car keys.

"Sure. Be careful." Ghalen and Brayton nod and head to the bathroom.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on the kids!" Briar calls out to the others as they leave the house, wearing coats and grabbing as many umbrellas as possible.

Once outside the foyer, Lisa lets out a sigh of relief upon seeing that it's not as bad as it seems, and only the roads are slightly flooded.

"How is it, mom? Can we use the car?"

"Good news, Kenny. We can use the car, but it's quite windy, so we need to be careful not to ruin the sweets. I'll go first. You two wait for me here and don't move for any reason. Okay?" She grabs both of them by the shoulders and looks them in the eyes, one after the other.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good boys. I'll be right back."

The two friends watch as Lisa struggles against the wind to reach the car parked right in front of the entrance. They see her get in after a few minutes of effort, and since she is facing away from them, they can't tell what she's doing before she turns back towards them. They notice she has wrapped the cake in a bag to protect it further. Seeing her in difficulty now, with the umbrella between her arm and torso and holding the cake in her hand, Ken rushes to help her.

Back in the hall, Ken immediately opens the cake box to see its condition, and his face brightens as he sees that it's only slightly damaged. It's better than he imagined. Lisa playfully taps his head.

"I told you to stay here. But it's okay, the wind isn't as strong as I expected. Will, stay and keep an eye on the cake while Kenny and I bring in the other sweets."

Once they have brought in all the packages of sweets, Will takes them to the apartment while Ken and his mom get into the car to go to Rebecca's apartment.

"We have to hurry before the weather worsens and the roads are closed." Lisa says as she drives.

"We've come too far to be stopped by a little rain." Ken thinks aloud, now more determined than ever, while his mom looks worried about how far her son is willing to go despite the weather.