April was hyped beyond reason. Her birth giver violated custody agreements and “kidnaped” her little brother. In reality she told him to get in the car and she only took him to her rat and roach infested apartment when she, her dad, and the police were waiting for them. She and Nate were sent to the fancy schmancy Grand Nexus for Leo’s twelfth birthday while her daddy and egg donor were in court.

April had a big box filled to the brim with unicorn stuffed toys. Nate’s present was a magic show he planned to perform and sparkly blue and lilac assistants uniform in Leo’s size. April was in a burnt orange blouse, a nice pair of black jeans, her signature green coat, and ankle boots. Nathaniel was in his favorite sea foam green shirt, blue jeans, and simple sneakers.

They were riding the elevator up to the party area, aka the office lounge. As soon as the elevator opened, Nate had fainted. Anthropomorphic animals ran around the office and stared at them. April could see a giant, or petite lady sized, moth chick, a wolf girl around her age, and a turtle kid.

“Um this is Leo’s party right? Are you guys friends of his? I’m -”

“Hi April!”

The turtle kid, Leo, ran up to her. He wore his favorite unicorn onesie that sorta matched the wolf girl pegasus onesie.

“Hey Leon! I didn’t know you were a mutant. That’s so cool!”

“Mutant? I’m not whatever that is. I’m a Kappa! A turtle yokai!”

That was a term she hadn’t heard since her old mythology class in school; she probably should’ve paid attention more. April had three mutant friends, but she never heard them use the term yokai.

“Hello Miss O’neil.”

April looked up and met the warm, maternal gaze of Opila Nexus.

“Hi Ms. Nexus! Thanks for the invitation! I’m sorry about Nate.”

“It’s not a problem. I’ll have Maria take care of him until he wakes up.”

A cheetah lady in a medical coat stepped out from somewhere in the room and lifted Nate into her arms.

“Hello April. Are you feeling okay? Dizziness, headache, anything out of the ordinary?”

“No, I’m fine. Thanks tho Mrs. Davies.”

Nate was carried to one of the couches and was tended to by Maria and Abigail.

“Miss O’neil, I must say my curiosity has peaked. Why are you so unfazed by our true nature?”

“I have three mutant…er, yokai friends. They’re cool, but don’t interact with humans other than me and, until only last week, Nate. To be honest, y’all are the first group of non-humans I’ve actually interacted with. Which reminds me.”

April scooped Leo into a tight hug and spun him around.

“Happy twelfth Leo!”

Leonardo laughed and hugged April back. Suzie grinned wolfishly and jumped on top of her friends. She turned sixteen on January fourth and officially started her two year bout in the Battle Nexus. She had a few days before her next fight so she was spending time with her brother and her engaged parents.

Abigail, surprisingly, proposed at midnight on New Years and Big Mama happily accepted. Both mothers watched their kids tussle and roll around with the fifteen year old human girl.

“Miss O’neil, are you able to introduce these “mutants” to me in any way? I’m ever so curious.”

“I’m sure it’s no problem at all! I’m actually hosting a sleepover for me, them, and my brother. I’ll bring them around to say hi. They’re shy though, so it’ll be a nighttime visit. Three days is a good time, right?”

“Heck yeah it is! I get to meet April’s friends!”

“I agree with Leonardo. It’s more than enough time to get things ready. We really should continue the party. Sweet wing!”

Abigail blushed and hit play on her phone. Fun upbeat music filled the room and everyone started dancing. Even /nate was awake and jamming out with Leo. Suzie was dancing with April and just having a grand time. It didn’t take long until April and Nate switched dancing partners. The older sisters spun the smallers around in small circles.

Soon after that, they all took turns break dancing. Suzie was by far the best with her flexibility. Leo knew how to do some from watching his sister, Nate was okay, but April failed. She wasn’t able to do much, but she made it a point to purposefully clown around to make the birthday boy laugh.

“Okay children! It’s time for cake!”

A large carrot and orange cake with dyed orange cream cheese frosting, and pomegranate seeds sprinkled over the top. The center of the cake had thinly sliced orange peels spelling out “Happy Birthday Leonardo.”

After the traditional birthday song, they all enjoyed the citrusy cake and only Abigail and Big Mama were aware of the hidden vegetable. After cake April broke out her mini make-up kit to touch up on her eyeshadow and lipstick.

“Ooo! April! Can you do my make-up?”

“Heck yeah I can. Close your eyes buddy.”

April gave him dark blue eyeshadow, matching nail polish, and clear lip gloss.

“All done!”

“Lemme see!”

April giggled and held up her compact. Leo was flapping his hands in excitement as he ran up to his moms.

“Mom! Mom! Mom! Look! Look!”

“Wow, you look adorable! Wonderful work Miss O’neil.”

“Ms. Nexus, you can just call me April.”

Big Mama gave her a knowing smile and led the two stray kids to the present pile. Godrick wasn’t able to attend, having to train some new security guards, but he did send his present in advance. Bootyyyshaker9000 and his brothers also sent him presents (through the library drop-off point) and he even got a present from the heads chefs as a thank you for him defending them to Swaggart. His Tio Hueso stopped by before the party started and gave him a small “Run of the Mill” uniform for when he showed up for lessons. He was pretty fluent in Spanish at that point, but they still kept up their lesson and started guitar lessons and his Tio started helping him become suave and more charismatic.

From Suzie he got a large blue unicorn hoodie for everyday use. From Abigail he got a whole new wardrobe. When he opened April’s gift a shower of unicorn stuffed toys burst forth from the box and buried him. He should’ve been suspicious of why she was recording him.

Big Mama gifted him a piece of paper. It was an approval form for a small skatepark by the pools outside. Leonardo was starting to show an interest in skateboarding. The park wouldn’t be finished for a long while, but that gave him time to practice skateboarding and get the proper gear.

Godrick had given him another sword catalog and a black and neon blue striped skateboard with a matching helmet, knee pads, and elbow guards. He and Big Mama might have colluded.

Bootyyyshaker9000 sent him a new laptop with custom blue pineapple stickers, and ninja themed stickers. Bootyyyshaker9000’s older brother had sent in candy and a blue bandana. Leo had the bandana covering the top of his head and had Suzie tie it off for him. April had a look of recognition, but he was already opening the bright orange gift covered in fun stickers and paint.

The orange gift, from Bootyyyshaker9000’s younger brother, was a handmade birthday card with the signatures being a D, R, and M at the very bottom. The abstract drawings on the inside were really pretty and Leo loved them. April was sipping on a pineapple juice hiding a smirk. No smirk was hidden from Big Mama’s sharp eyes.

Leo loved being in Nate’s magic show. He was in the sparkly outfit for the rest of his party. The bandana never left his head. It was a great birthday, and he was excited to finally meet April’s friends.

Vote, comment, and have a fantabulous day 😊😊💖💖
1340 words
Enjoy

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE NEXUS HOTEL