Offer

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"I'm tired!" John whined.

"Oh shut up John we all are." JiJi grumbled.

"My feet hurts!" John complained.

"You better shut your trap." JiJi warned.

"I'm thirstyyyyyy-- ow! I'll shut up now!" John stopped struggling from under JiJi. She's not heavy, no, not at all. She's light as a fucking feather. But the impact that made them fall took his breath away.

"If you were thirsty the lemonade is literally on the table behind you." Ryan remarked with a smirk standing under a tree not too far from his best friends that are sprailed across the grass.

"I know, I'm just pushing the right buttons." John cheekily grinned. JiJi looker up at him from his chest.

"You are so annoying, I swear." She huffed before getting up and went to pour herself a cup of lemonade.

"I think he has the right to complain. We have been working all day and it's already 4 PM." Mika said. JiJi saw John's look that said: 'You poured the rest of the lemonade. Give me some' JiJi roller her eyes and gave her the rest of her lemonade. "We've done a lot of work and if I do say so myself we did great."

For a month, the trio have managed to work so hard for the money so they can buy the supplies they need for the deck they have dreamed to build. Of course, Mika helped by doing small works here and there around her neighborhood. After 2 weeks of having to go the abandoned park to at least work for a bit every after school, they have finished making the deck. Today, they were just polishing up and preparing everything for painting and decorating.

"I'm hungry." JiJi quietly said.

"Well, let's pack up and go home then." Mika said with a small smile and started keeping the glasses and empty pitcher back in the picnic basket. "Mum's baking mashed potatoes."

"Aw mashed potatoes?! I haven't eaten those in a while." John said with a sad smile.

"Mrs. Rivers, do make the best mashed potatoes around." JiJi silently added, quietly taking the towels and the boys' shirts off from a branch from the tree.

"I'm sure Elena would beat hers." John smiled at Mika. The girl sighed. The quartet made their way to Mika's car and they drove off to the girl's house.

--

"Mum! We're home!" Mika called, dumping her shoes to the side with the rest of her friends following.

"In the kitchen!" Elena called back. The boys took the equipments back down to the basement while Mika took the picnic basket to the kitchen and JiJi with the laundry to the laundry room.

"How was your day?" Mika asked her mom after kissing her on the cheek.

"Oh, it was fine dear." Elena replied.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Mika added.

"No, not yet." Elena said quietly with a sigh. Mika gave her mother a look as the woman placed the food on the table. Her mother has been looking for two patient files from her former hospital but she wouldn't state the reason why she was looking for them to her daughter. It has been a month and her mother has yet to find what she was looking for. She sighed and placed the plates and the utensils on the table just as the trio walked into the dining room.

"Let's eat!" John exclaimed making Elena laugh and the rest to smile.

In the middle of the dinner, Elena perked up as to remembering something. "Oh, the principal called an hour before ya'll arrived, she said she said she would like a word with you four tomorrow."

The quartet looked at each other before looking back at the mother. "There a time?" Mika asked.

"In your free time." Elena said. "Don't worry, she said ya'll aren't in trouble."

JiJi visibly relaxed. "Oh, I thought we were in trouble or something." She laughed.

"What could she possible want though?" Ryan wondered. "What do you guys think?"

The two girls shrugged. "I think, these mashed potatoes are sooooooo good." John said with a mouthful of mashed potatoes, a bit of gravy dribbling down on the corner of his mouth. The rest of the people around the table laughed.

--

"You called for us Principal Mae?" Mika asked as the quartet stepped into the office. They noticed that their music teacher as well as a young man with a cowboy hat but wearing casual clothes in his early 20's was also there.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, Spirited Away! Glad ya'll could make it, don't worry, ya'll are not in trouble." The principal smiled at the four.

The four looked at each other with confused looks. "Should you start it or should I, Lucy?" The principal looked at the music teacher and nodded at her. "Okay, so I'd like to introduce to you four my twin brother, Stephen."

"Pleasure to be of your acquaintances." Stephen smiled, tipping his hat forward a bit, his southern accent much clearer than his sister's.

"He's opening a new cafe soon. It's the kind where there will be band nights." Ms. Li said with a glint in her eye. "And we were wondering if you guys would be there to present as an opening act for its grand opening."

The four's mouth dropped open before looking at each other. "It would mean a lot to me if you guys will say yes. Opening my cafe with music would help it get known for having a place big enough for gigs." Stephen smiled as the young teens looked back at him. "I heard from my sister that Spirited Away was the best band in the school she's working in and I though that I should check them out."

"You think we're the best?" Mika asked shyly.

"Well, in my opinion." Ms. Li winked.

"Why of course! You are the representatives of Everest High!" Mrs. Mae exclaimed. "I have always admired you four ever since you meteach other. And I never doubt the possibilities that you four can do."

"This is just tiny offer that can help boost your band to the next level. If you won't accept it, it's fine. But I can't find any other best bands out there in a span of a month." Stephen said.

"Oh, it's in a month?" JiJi wondered. The man nodded. "Wow! That fast."

"I'd say we do it!" Ryan said. The other three looked at the boy in shock. "What?"

"You have decided just like that?" JiJi asked with unsureness in her voice.

"I don't think I can do it." Mika quietly said.

"Do we even have enough time to practice?" John panicked slightly. The three adults in the background shared looks of concern and amusement.

"Guys! We can do this!" Ryan spoke up. "We handled a bigger crowd than that which was the Music Festival. We can use the same set we had from that event. Mika, I know you can do it! I am not afraid the face new challenges and so should you guys! We are Spirited Away and we can do this!"