afraid_of_marshmallows | Midnight Manor Boarding House Movie Room, Saturday Evening

As soon as Kamala had turned back into a person yesterday, Arden and Eleanor had swung into action. Arden had contacted Mr. and Mrs. Khan to let them know that Operation Birthday Bash was a go and about what time she'd be by to pick up the cake, and then called Mr. Najaf to see if he would be willing to cook up a whole slew of gyros (including some vegan gyros in case Steven or Watts showed up) for Kamala's birthday the next day. She also messaged Bruno and asked Mr. and Mrs. Khan if they could pass the invitation on to Nakia, letting them know about the party and offering to arrange portal service if they could make it out. After that had come ~~handwavily~~ messaging everybody else to let them know that they were celebrating Kamala's belated birthday at Midnight Manor on Saturday evening.

And lo, now it was the appointed hour. Ellie was keeping Kamala distracted upstairs (Arden was not asking how), and she was here setting out drinks (sodas, though Mr. Khan had sent Arden home with a jug of 'sweet tea,' which she had been very appreciative of and had appreciatively poured down the drain once she'd gotten home), gyros, and setting out Mrs. Khan's cake, leaving a spot in case Ellie had somehow managed to find or invent a Squishie cake. Bollywood movies were playing on the TV (though currently with the volume very low), there was a karaoke machine on standby, balloons and streamers were up, the guests ~~Avengers~~ assembled...

Now all they needed was the co-host and the birthday girl!

[Open! If you're a student, a resident of Midnight Manor, or just think Kamala is cool, feel free to handwave yourself an invite!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

what_big_teeth

Shockingly, it was apparently still about a decade until even the high five started to come into popularity in Eleanor's timeline, which just seemed wild, but, okay, internet.

So Arden was getting just a little bit of a shake of Eleanor's confused head with that, as well, but she wasn't going to dwell on it, just commit the fist bump to memory and then look into high fives later, when they weren't too busy patting themselves on the back for being, somehow, miraculously, the best birthday party throwers ever.

"But delegating," Eleanor pointed out, "is an important part of making things work out well, too. Like in a household or a business, sometimes you need the person figuring out who does what to make sure everything runs smoothly. So that makes you sort of...the Party Boss, without whom none of this could have come together so well."

And as the probable future matriarch of what little remained of the Zarrin clan, maybe Eleanor should be taking notes.

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

What even was time, really? (A lie perpetrated by the Exarchs is what.)

"Oooh, Party Boss. I like that. Makes me feel like I should have some kind of badge or something," Arden said. "But that makes sense. Figuring out what needs to be done, and then making sure everything gets done on time. That seems...useful, actually."

The first useful skill she could claim, as opposed to all those useful skills that remained stubbornly out of reach.

"I hadn't thought of it that way. Thanks, Ellie. That actually makes me feel a lot better."

From:

what_big_teeth

And Eleanor smiled at Arden, pleased that not only did Arden feel better, but that she had been the one to help her feel that way.

"I'll have to get you one," she said, trying to be a bit subtle with this next part, knowing that Arden's time as Party Boss was not over quite yet, "sometime next week. You've definitely earned it. None of this would have happened if it weren't for you. I wouldn't have even known it had been her birthday!"

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

The sideways grin and wink - so subtle there, Arden - proved Arden was picking up exactly what Eleanor was putting down.

"Which just means that next year, we'll both know and with our awesome combined, we can throw her a party like no one has ever seen, yeah?"

She made a mental note to have Kams find out when Ellie's birthday was. You know. No reason.

From:

what_big_teeth

And Eleanor would just continue to rest comfortably in the fact that her birthday had been in a convenient spot to have missed them all somewhat recently, leaving it to surely be forgotten about entirely by the time it rolled around again!

Or, at the very least, to still be far enough away that, by the time it rolled around again, it wouldn't have mattered, because if disaster hadn't struck by then, it would be somewhat of a miracle.

And it was that sort of thinking that softened Eleanor's smile, just a bit, as her chest sort of tugged at the idea that she could even manage to still be here for the next one.

"Yeah," she agreed, maybe a little wistfully, as some of those thoughts did turn a little toward the possibility, when her eyes drifted over toward Kamala to see if she was actually enjoying all this, "maybe."

Her attention seemed to somewhat reluctantly shift back toward Arden, but, when it did, she had the full of it, and it came with a speculative lift of her eyebrows. "What about you, though? When do we throw the birthday party for the Party Boss?"

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

Arden's expression definitely shifted towards 'Oh no! Caught!' and she flushed a bit. "Oh. Um. The, ah, twenty-nineth?"

From:

what_big_teeth

And now the lift of Eleanor's brows weren't speculative as much as they were surprised. And maybe a little panicked.

"Of this month?" she asked. "August??"

Well, looks like she was immediately going to have to start collaborating with Kamala on Third Birthday Party Weekend in a Row, then!

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

But that weekend was the Welcome Party for all the new kids ~~and also her mun would be off in the woods~~.

"Um...yeah?" Arden said, rubbing the back of her neck like a beleaguered anime character. "I mean, legally. They weren't really sure how old I was when they found me, so they just kinda picked a day."

From:

what_big_teeth

Well, then, they'd just have to figure something out for it eventually! Because not everyone could have the convenience of finally picking a date just shortly after it had passed!

"They seemed to have picked well, at least," Eleanor offered, as her surprised expression shifted into something quite a bit softer, as her eyes drifted again toward Kamala, but continued over to Cal as well. "You're in good company, anyway.

"Mine's in July, by the way," she added, too, noticing how the topic immediately seemed to make Arden feel a little awkward, so she didn't want to belabor it too much. "The first. So we can at least get a little bit of a breather there."

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

"July first, I'll remember that," Arden said quickly, happy to leap onto the shift in conversation. Explaining her fraught relationship with her birthday just felt like maybe looking for pity, or like she was trying to guilt people into celebrating her. And that wasn't even taking into account that she'd run away from ho--from Callista's house last year on her birthday to avoid her debts.

Birthdays were very complicated.

"Beach party for you next year, huh?"

From:

what_big_teeth

"Maybe," said Eleanor, still cautiously guarded about getting her hopes up too much that, by this time next year, they wouldn't all have turned away from her or that she wouldn't have done anything to drive them away. Or even that she herself wouldn't be drawn away by necessity or obligation to her family. "That'd be kind of a risk, though. Hard to throw a party for someone if you can't even get them out of the water, but I guess, if it was for a birthday party, I could keep on the shore long enough to at least eat some cake or something."

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

Arden considered that for a few moments. "Boat," she said, thoughtfully. "There are lakes all around the Triangle and sometimes I saw them. Not a sailboat, but something like a trawler or a pontoon. Maybe hauling those inflatable rafts or whatever. Have it anchor a couple hundred yards out from the shore, so people can swim or chill on deck or the inflatable thingies. Probably not too expensive to rent for a few hours."

From:

what_big_teeth

A moment of confusion flashed across Eleanor's face, but it was fleeting, as she quickly realized that Arden mentioned boats as a suggestion, and her eyes went a little wide.

"You know," she said, "it's funny. As much as I love the water, I haven't spend much time on boats. But that sounds amazing. I mean, assuming everyone would be okay with it. I know some people don't like water much, and I wouldn't want anyone to be uncomfortable if they don't like boats."

She said everyone, but it wasn't like it would really even be that many people. Probably just herself and Arden and Kamala, maybe Charlie and Lydia and Gray. Hopefully Cal via Arden, but....really, this was so far away from now anyway, that it was all pretty much just an exercise in speculation anyway.

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

It was funny how Eleanor thought that list of partygoers was markedly different than the people who'd show up for hers, or Kamala's.

"I can't imagine people not liking the water," Arden admitted, definitely not having taken that possibility into account when creating a mental file labeled 'Ellie's Boat Birthday' in her brain. "It's so..." She didn't have the right words for it, so a sweeping arm gesture would have to do. "Even when it's terrible, it's wonderful."

From:

what_big_teeth

Well, it was obvious, wasn't it? That Arden and Kamala would just have a whole buzz of people around them. Eleanor was just sort of the weird girl who somehow managed to stumble into being their friends after almost a year of not really having made many at all on her own.

"I don't know about that," said Eleanor. "Storms can be pretty scary over the water, and a lot of people have a fear of drowning. And you don't know what's down there." She took in a small breath. "Most of the ocean hasn't even been explored. That's something that's scary to a lot of people."

And rightfully so.

"I love it, though," she added, the odd distance her voice had taken making a turn toward wistful. Almost longing. "Sometimes because of its unfathomable vastness..."

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

"Oh yeah, like...I don't pretend like I could survive ten minutes out on the sea if it felt like being rowdy, but that's...kinda why I love it? It's wild and untameable, it can be anything at any moment, and those storm that can kill you are kinda .. glorious in their fury. Chaotic and untethered."

Arden, your Elemental was showing.

"Like, have you ever considered a forest fire compared to the ocean?" she asked. "Fire eats and is changed by what it eats. It gets bigger and more ferocious, but when it runs out, it dwindles and dies, leaving signs of its passing and devastation behind. When the ocean eats, it remains unchanged. It could devour a whole fleet of ships and when they're gone, there's no sign they were ever there, and the sea is just exactly as it was before."

She shook her head, realizing that she'd probably come across as a complete weirdo. "Error, I just think that's really cool," she added lamely. "Sorry, I kinda talked over you. You like the mystery of its um, unfathomable vastness? Or something else?"

From:

what_big_teeth

The smile that had started on Eleanor's face as Arden started talking had changed a little (much like that ever-sudden changing sea), like the warmth that had been there for the passionate words had drained a bit, thought the smile itself remained, a bit like a mask of the expression while Eleanor herself seemed to go elsewhere, the light in her eyes changing as soon as she mentioned the ocean's appetite.

So much so that, when Arden apologized, she, too, had to shake her head a little to pull herself back into the conversation, into the moment, into the fact that they were there at Kamala's birthday party, and that was where she needed to be, and anywhere else Arden's words may have led her were just...coincidence, surely.

Weren't they?

"No, it's okay," she said. "You're right. That's what makes the sea so dangerous. It looks fine and safe, maybe even harmless, but you never know how terrible it can be, until it's swallowed you up, and then it's too late."

Her expression faltered a little more, brow creasing with worry. Distress. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head again before tilting it with curiosity. "Could you...I don't remember where the bathroom here is. Actually, I don't think I used it last time I was here, but I..." She trailed off, as if finishing that sentence wasn't really exactly polite to say in company. "Which way is it?"

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

"Oh, sure sure sure!" Arden said quickly. Probably too many Squishy cupcakes, not that she was thinking about the whats and whys. She gave directions to the closest toilet. "I'll cover for you," she promised.

From:

what_big_teeth

"Thanks, Arden," Eleanor said, glad that her relief could easily be presumed to be because of a Squishy-full bladder without even having to mention it like she was ready to and not just because she could now slip away, and hurrying off as fast as she could without making it obvious that she just needed to be anywhere but right there at that moment, because she could feel her emotions catching up to her. But she held onto them tight until she was sure the door was closed and locked behind her and the water running to cover any sounds of her crying if she couldn't keep it all in before splashing the coolness on her face to calm herself down.

And then there was just figuring how long she could stay in there without it being too long, and also wondering if she should just use this as an excuse to slip away without anyone noticing, but she knew she was well past being able to do that, if not with Arden (who, she remembered, would eventually recognize the move if she disappeared, but if she didn't, she might not have noticed anything at all) then definitely with Kamala, and that would be a horrible thing to do on her birthday (party), so, holding onto the sink and taking deep breaths and looking at herself in the mirror, she rallied herself together and got a damn grip on herself.

"Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata," she whispered to her reflection. "Shantih shantih shantih."

When she returned to the room a few minutes later, she did so quietly, slipping over to grab a soda to bring with her to take a seat on one of the couches to just sort of focus on the colors and the performances of the movie playing and being grateful that it was pretty easy to get lost and distracted by the beauty of them.

From:

afraid_of_marshmallows

By the time Ellie came back, Arden had started chatting with someone else, so other than vaguely noting her return, Arden didn't really think much of it.

Some ~~handwavy~~ amount of time later, she dropped onto the couch next to Ellie, completely oblivious to having caused a small meltdown, or even that one had happened at all.

Sorry, Eleanor.

"Hey," she said. She had a cup of soda for herself and a slice of cake she was trying to pass over to Eleanor. "Taking a few to chill now that the hard part is over?"