"And you told us a day before, why?" Kai questioned, rolling up the seaweed wrap. Mago shrugged, stealing one of his chips. Kai didn't seem to mind it. "Because that gives us time to plan. It's his birthday, we have to do something special." Mago explained, however, Yoshi was already on it. He was on the local bakery's webpage, designing a cake. Yoshi took birthdays very seriously. To others, it's cake. But to him, it's a celebration of life.
Yoshi looked up at Mago. "How old is he turning?" Yoshi asked, his voice rushed. He needed to get this cake order in as quickly as possible! He knew Hisoki was extremely young for a teacher, which was probably why he was so cool. He remembers what high school used to be like. "I believe he's turning twenty-one," Mago answered. Yoshi nodded, looking down at his phone and writing in age. "We need colors. He only has the last period class, meaning we can decorate it while he's gone." Wafi said excitedly, now also on his phone.
"Black and white. Let's have a black and white party." Baker suggested. He wasn't on his phone, his nose stuck between a book. Yoshi nodded, looking at the color wheel. He picks black and white, making sure no one disagrees before clicking submit. Yoshi places his hand out towards Kai. He sighs, grabbing his bag and taking out his debit card. "You guys are going to make me have no allowance for the week." He mutters, placing the card in Yoshi's hand.
"Thank you!" Yoshi cheered, starting to type in the digits. All of their parents were more on the wealthy side, that's one of the main reasons they all can go to Yokosa, however, Kai's family was always the wealthiest. Plus he had an unlimited debit card. Yoshi, having registered the cake order, gave back Kai's card. He didn't ask how much it cost, instead simply sliding it back into his backpack. "We need to go to a party store if we're going to do this." Wafi plans, his voice lowering to a whisper. Mago nodded. "We do. But not all of us can go, that's going to be suspicious." Mago explained, his voice leveled.
He takes one of Yoshi's yakiimo, but Yoshi doesn't say anything. He pushes the plate of sweet potatoes towards the middle. "I can go, I'm the decorating king after all," Wafi says, taking one of Yoshi's sweet potatoes. Yoshi gives him a look. "Ok, fine. But you have a job, don't get sidetracked. Baker, can you go with him. He'll listen to you." Yoshi commands, turning to the blond boy. He looks hesitant but sighs at Yoshi's hopeful look. "Yeah, I can go," Baker mumbles, going to stand. Kai starts to grab his wallet, but Baker stops him.
"I can pay. Let's go."
_____
Baker stood in the store, looking at the different aisles of party supplies. "What exactly are we supposed to get?" Baker asked, turning to Wafi. He put his arm around the blond boy, smiling. "Black and White colors, remember? You're the one who came up with the idea." He says, as Baker silently nudged his arm off. He looked down, as a soft pink rose on his cheeks. Why did Yoshi have to put the two together?
Wafi grabbed the blond's hand, pulling him towards the birthday supplies. Baker quietly allows him, his slow walk turning into a light jog to not fall. They stopped at the different colored streamers, party poppers, and deflated balloons. Wafi turns to Baker, a serious look on his face. "I'm going to give you a mission, but you have to take it seriously." He says, placing both hands on Baker's shoulder. He hesitantly looks at him. "Um, what?"That makes Wafi smile. "Go around the store and look for supplies that are white and black, ok? Yoshi should send you a list if you ask him, but he's in Hisoki's class, so be careful." Wafi sounded like the Japanese version of James Bond, and Baker couldn't tell if he liked it or not.
"Yeah...ok." He mumbles, stepping away. He nods at Wafi once more, before walking away towards the other aisle. "Thanks, Bakery!" Wafi said happily as Baker turned. He didn't know much about parties, at least birthday parties. He never went to them, since he usually stayed alone. He would go to a party with family members, but he would always stay in a corner. However, he liked watching everything play out, it was like a movie to him. People would say he would eavesdrop on their conversations, and he would agree. He walked into another random aisle, pulling out his phone to text Yoshi. I am dyyyyiiiiinnnngg what do I buy?
"What are you doing here?"
Baker's eyes widen as he looks up, putting on a fake smile. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. "Oh uh. Hey James, just buying stuff for a party. What about you?" He kept his voice stable as they talked, crossing his arms. James laughed, turning around to side hug Baker. Baker leaned away. Even if it was his cousin. "Come on, Baker. We have been through so much together, using James just sounds like you hate me." That's because he does, but he would never actually say that. He isn't that stubid. James steps away from the hug.
"Yeah, but I like to respect my family. So I tend to use their real names." Baker shrugs, his polite voice differentiating between James's ill-mannered one. James and Baker never grew up together, only actually meeting when James's family had enough money to move to Tokyo with the rest of the family. However, James had already graduated, being a year older than him. He went to an average high school, also has applied for Yokasa when he was eligible, however, his grades weren't high enough to reach the minimum.
"That's what they got you in? Oh jeez, you look so…. Preppy." He laughed, clapping his hands. Baker stayed silent, looking down at his uniform. He thought it looked nice. He places his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing out of school, you're lucky I am nice enough not to tell your mom. However, I'm disappointed in your skipping." He shakes his head, before laughing. Skipping was always one of the worst things someone could do at Yokosa, however, he knew that Hisoki wouldn't care as much as any other teacher. If Yoshi and Mago try hard enough, they might even get him to change the attendance.
"I'm just helping a teacher. He sent me to come here." He lied, his voice quiet. He didn't know how believable it was, but the look on his face made him think that James believed it. He knew he didn't have to lie about why he came to a party store instead of going to his last class, but it was better safe than sorry. His phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket.
A list? Of party supplies? I sent one to wafi to give to u….
Nope, he didnt give it... I think I'm gonna kill him, you wanna help?
He usually didn't talk like this, especially about his friends, but he knew that Wafi wouldn't care. He was happy that he could act like himself.
Pfffffff you already know it…
Baker laughed quietly, looking back up at James. "Sorry, I'm just talking to my friend." He mumbled softly. He felt someone wrap their arms around him. He tried to turn, but the mysterious person held him so he couldn't. He looked down at their hand. Yellow sleeve, with a blue edge. Just like his.
"Hey Bakery, whose this?"
Shit.