Arlo's Birthday!

Part 1: The Arrivals

Arlo stood, looking out the window in anticipation. It was a very special day, but he wasn't necessarily happy about it. 

July 30th, his birthday. And he could already foretell it was going to be chaos. 

He already regretted inviting the entire school. Half of them most likely wouldn't even show up, and preparing for that amount of students wasn't easy work. Holden agreed to help, and so did Isen, although it wasn't totally voluntary. The tables in the cafeteria were all set up, the food was all placed on the tables, and there were decorations. Maybe he was getting too paranoid about this. What if no one came? 

Laced up in his own problems, that he had to admit were pretty dumb and unnecessary at the moment, he didn't realize it was 4:30 pm, the start of his birthday party.

*Squeak... tat tat...*

He heard the door open and turned to face the people who just came. He saw a short, pink-haired girl accompanied by Seraphina. He was pretty sure he had seen the other girl before but couldn't recall where. He really needed a better memory. But he greeted them both anyway.

Arlo: Hello Seraphina and... ah yes. Hello.  

The girl seemed timid yet so happy that she was receiving his attention. 

Pink Haired Girl: H-Hello! I'm Evie. T-This place is so pretty!

Arlo nodded in her direction and she held out a large, pink package. 

Evie: Your p-present! 

Seraphina also held out a small package. He blinked, undoubtedly dumbfounded. He wanted to smack himself upside his head. Of course they would bring gifts. It was his birthday, for heavens sakes!

Isen toppled over right behind him, making Evie look at him with concern and Arlo to look at him with contempt. 

Isen: Jeez Arlo, you couldn't use cheaper, plastic forks?  These things are killing me! They have got to weigh more than you do, which is a lot, to be honest - 

Arlo merely rolled his eyes and helped Isen carry the box over to the table while calling out the two girls to put the presents in the corner. They walked over and tentatively placed down their gifts. He vaguely heard the thumps of presents and more people trickling in, mostly people he didn't know. In mere minutes, the cafeteria was packed. He suppressed a smile. 

 At least a lot of people came, regardless of if they know me or if they're scared of me.

Around 10 minutes had passed, where everyone seemed to be cowering under his gaze. Maybe he was a bit intimidating, even if he didn't mean it. He sighed. His King reputation was not doing him much good. Would he need to smile more? Did he need to act like Rei, upping everyone's spirits?

Would it have been better if he used Rei's ways to lead?

Would people like him better?

Probably the lower ranks would. But like before, the higher ranks would disagree. Cecile and Zeke would bash him over this behind his back. It would be chaos all over again. He slapped himself in the face for thinking about such a possibility, making some people give him some weird looks.  

He watched the rest of the people start to loosen up and relax. People seemed to be enjoying the party now, not acting all awkward. Remi and Blyke walked up to the stage, thanking everyone for coming. Pretty ironic, if you realized this was Arlo's birthday. 

After making both their speeches, because they were the Jack and Queen, made the spotlight move over to Arlo. He groaned, not wanting any more attention.

Remi: And here is our birthday boy right here!

Arlo glared at the word boy. He was not a boy. If anything, Remi was the child here. Remi grinned at his annoyed look, and threw him the mic. She mouthed at him to do his speech. 

Arlo: Uh... I thank you all for coming here. Happy birthday to me. 

A moment of silence followed, everyone waiting for him to say something more. Then, everyone cheered so loudly, Arlo thought his eardrums were going to rupture at any moment. 

People started to disperse, moving to the food corner or the dance floor. A few bold first years were moving to the gift section, but Doc stopped them. Arlo smirked. It had been a good idea to make him the guard. Doc muttered to himself, most likely something about not being paid enough. 

*BAM!*

Nearly everyone turned around to see who it was. 

Arlo nearly felt a heart attack. 

John stood in the doorway, nearly 30 minutes late with a stoic face like always.

Why was HE here? To celebrate his birthday??