THIRTY: Surprise! (Patreon)

“Reno,” Magia said, looking up.

“What is it?” I said, meeting her gaze.

“Thank you.” She smiled widely, her crystal whites peeking through ever so slightly.

“Again?” I sighed as she nodded care freely. This was about the twelfth time she’d thanked me in a row. Yes—I was counting.

Still… I’d be lying if I said it was annoying. On the contrary, it was refreshing.

“Reno?”

“Yes?” Thirteenth time lucky?

“Do you have any plans for today?”

Plans? Well, I thought I did but…

“No. Why do you ask?”

“N-no reason just…” she twiddled her thumbs, lowering her head slightly. “I want to go shopping with you.”

Shopping? You actually like that sort of stuff?

“I don’t have any money,” I said, shrugging.

“Um, I know—we can just look around,” she countered, doubling down.

When I thought about it I didn’t really have a reason to reject her. Except for my stupid pride and immaturity.

“Alright, we can go shopping,” I said, smoothing her hair.

“Yay!” Magia blossomed into a dance so out-of-character it was hard to believe even for me.

She’s this excited over… shopping? Maybe it was some left over adrenaline.

“Should we invite the others—”

“No!” she cut me off. “We absolutely, definitely cannot invite the others.” She stopped her celebration, now making a cute little ‘X’ symbol with her arms.

“Why not?” I asked, suspicious. Absolutely, definitely?

“I want it to be just the two of us… is that bad?” she looked at me with the same flowery eyes Daphne used.

Well, if you look at me like that...

“No—it’s not bad at all.” I said in the most reassuring tone I could manage. “I’d love for it to be just the two of us.”

“Okay,” she said, holding out her pinkie. “It’s a promise okay?”

I nodded connecting my pinkie with hers before they coiled around each other like snakes. So pinkie promises are common in this world, too.

“We should eat first, right?” I said, pointing to the cafeteria behind us. “You left in a rush so we might’ve missed all the good foods.”

“Um,” she paused, her words hesitating to come out. “O-okay, that’s a good idea.”

Ah—so that’s why.

“Don’t worry, they won’t come back,” I said, flashing a light smile.

“And if they do?” she said, meeting my gaze.

“I’ll chase them away!” I said flexing my right arm ostentatiously.

“You promise?”

I nodded.

“Okay, I’ll trust you.” She said it softly, her shoulders slumping, tension spilling out of her like water from a filled cup.

“How long has it been happening?”

“T-two years…” she stammered.

Two years? She’d been going through all this alone for two whole years?

“At first, it wasn’t anything serious, they’d just point at me sometimes, but…” she paused, her eyes gleaming slightly. “Eventually, it stopped being a joke. They started to laugh… insult… chase me—Reno?” her voice went up an octave.

“It’s nothing.” I said, unclenching my fist. Unknowingly, my heartbeat had sped up and my fingers had started to dig into my palm, marking it a pale white. A quiet rage. One I didn’t want seen, or noticed.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say more,” I said slowly. For both of our sakes. “How come you’ve been in pre-scouts for two years already, we’re the same age, right?”

“Oh that,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “I was put into it early because my Grandpa couldn’t take care of me all the time.”

That makes sense. Her Grandpa, Asim Clevio, was an enigma. Heralded as ‘the silent shopkeeper’ by some, he wasn’t exactly the prime example of an apt caretaker—at least on the surface.

As we walked through the courtyard and back into the school hallways, I reflected on what’d just happened. I’d let my emotions get the best of me.

Flame funeral.

I’d used the intermediate fire spell instinctively, without a care for the consequences. If my control had been slightly off or they’d walked forwards even a bit, they would’ve be severely burnt—possibly for life.

My anger… justified or not, if I couldn’t control it, it’d lead to making irredeemable mistakes. I had to learn to manage my anger before it became a real issue. I’ll have to ask Glyffe for advice in the near future.

“What do you usually get?” Magia said gently, waving her hand around like a wand.

“The special noodle bowl.”

“What? You’re actually early enough to get the special noodle bowl?” she said, her eyes widening. “I thought the special noodle bowl was a myth told by the lunch ladies for us to queue up quicker!”

Oh no, Magia, the special noodle bowl is very real. And man is it delicious. Just remembering it made—

“Um, Reno, you’re drooling.” Magia rubbed her glasses like she was seeing things.

“Oh sorry,” I wiped the corner of my mouth quickly. “What do you usually get?”

“This one.” She pointed in front of us.

“Chicken curry with rice?” I said, surprised. She smiled smugly with a look that said, you’ll see.

“Should I try it?” As an authentic Japanese—I couldn’t say no to rice.

She nodded, picking up a bowl of her own. “You’ll love it—it’s got all the plants you love!”

Plants? I took a second look at the chicken curry dish.

“You don’t mean these right?” I said, raising my eyebrow.

“Yep. They’re plants, right?”

“Well, I think the right word here is ‘vegetables’.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yeah, that’s it! Vegetables!”

While I appreciate the sentiment, Magia, just because I love plants, doesn’t mean I want to eat them. Though, I do.

A took a scoop of the chicken curry. “It’s weird none of the others are here.”

Magia looked around. “Wow, that is weird, have they gone to the fountain already?” I shrugged.

Just as I raised the bite to my lips, I caught a curious stare. “Aren’t you going to eat too?”

“I want you to try it first,” she said, her stare intensifying.

Well, here goes nothing.

“So, how is it?” Expectation bubbled in her eyes like a hot Jacuzzi of hope.

A pause.

Tears streaked down my face. “It’s delicious…”

“Oh please, you don’t have to exaggerate like that,” she said, sighing.

Okay, it wasn’t that good and I certainly wasn’t crying. But it was, delicious.

“Done.” I licked my lips.

“Already?” Magia said, glancing at my plate as I looked over at hers. Half empty.

“See? You should’ve started eating first,” I teased.

“Ah… maybe you’re right,” she looked down. “I should’ve known you’d devour any dish with plants in it.”

I gave her a look.

“Sorry—vegetables.”

That’s better.

“Is there a specific store you want to visit?”

She nodded quickly. “We have to be there for…” her voice trailed off, her stare turning blank as she almost dropped her food. “We’re late.”

Late?

“For what?”

“Ah, um—the store’s going to close soon! We need to be quick, just a minute Reno!” Magia said, suddenly energised.

The store is going to close soon? At midday? Is it a merchant’s stall or something?

Magia gobbled up the food on her plate as fast as possible before getting up suddenly. “Let’s hurry!”

“Wait, it’s not good to run after a big meal!”

“It’s worth it if we make it on time!” Magia said, her voice carrying a rare determination. This must be a really important shop to her then.

We made it through the inner district and ran past all the stalls. We continued on to the entrance of the central district, taking on a lighter pace now.

“Do you think there’s still time?” I said, turning to Magia.

“Haah… haah… there’s still… time…” she said slowly, trying to gather her energy from the breeze, like a wind turbine.

“Right… are you sure we need to be in such a rush? There’s other shops we can visit,” I said trying to help her up from her crouched over position.

Maybe Magia should do a little exercise with me and the others every now and then.

“Yes but…” she looked at the fountain, which was strangely devoid of any of the Little Dreamers. “This shop is really important.”

“If you say so,” I said, gently holding her up. “Let’s rest a bit.” She nodded, leaning her weight on me.

A few seconds passed.

“Okay, that’s enough rest!” she said, jolting up.

“Whoa! That quick?” I stumbled back, surprised.

“Yes—the shop’s right there! We can’t stop yet!” A fire had lit in her eyes. One that wouldn’t be extinguished until she had seen everything through to the end.

“Well… okay then,” I said, not quite buying into her enthusiasm.

“Haah… we’re… haah… here!” Magia said triumphantly, raising her fist into the air.

Well done, is what I was tempted to say but…

“This is the wrong store,” I said instead.

My words seemed to jolt her awake. “Huh?”

“Isn’t it wrong? It says ‘Bridges Clothing Store’. This shop doesn’t close at around this time,” I said, reminding her.

“Oh, that’s what you mean,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “This is the right store.”

It is?

“When you’re ready, go in first.”

What?

“Shouldn’t we go in together?”

She paused. “You first.”

“You know I’ve been here before, right?”

Surprise flickered across her face. “Can you pretend you’ve never been before?”

A pause.

“For me?”

Not the… flowery eyes. That’s cheating, Magia—you know plants are my weakness!

“Fine. From this moment, I’ve never visited this store,” I said turning to open the shop door.

“SURPRISE!”

“Ahh!” I jumped backwards.

What in the floron—

Silvia, Glyffe, Jamie, Rosette, Bill, Phill, Finn wait—even Stox?

Smiles larger than life, posters which draped the walls, confetti which drowned the floor. And big wavy signs which all read the same.

“Happy Birthday Reno!” A cacophony of sounds. Some cheerful, others low and gruff. Some soft, others heavy. Some neutral, others high pitched.

This was all… for me?

I turned to the one who’d guided me here. She wore a soft innocent smile.

“Happy seventh birthday, Reno.”

So you were in on it this whole time, Magia.

“Don’t act like a stranger, come inside,” Silvia said as she waved. “You are the main guest after all.”

Our eyes met; the next instant, her arms closed around me. “Of course I didn’t forget, sweetie.”

Of course you wouldn’t… I shouldn’t have doubted. Not you, or anyone else. I looked around the room, taking in all the effort behind this surprise. A big white cake was at the centre of the room, where the largest banner ran across.

You all… did this… for me…

It felt surreal, like I was walking around a celebration for someone else as a spectating ghost.

“We’ve got gifts. This is from Stox and Glyffe—a joint gift.” I looked up at the two. Stox was neutral but caring, his usual look. Glyffe was all smiles. I hugged them both. “Thanks Dad, Grandpa!”

“Aren’t you going to unwrap it?” Bill said from besides me. I could tell what it was from first glance. What else would a gift from Stox bel?

“This is…” my voice trailed off, appreciating the beauty of what was in front of me. “First Bloom.”

It was First Bloom—but it also wasn’t First Bloom.

My Flore longsword had been remade—reimagined, into a short sword. The green short sword had smooth black lines weaving throughout the blade.

That’s the same metal as Night’s Watch, and that hilt… that’s definitely one of Glyffe’s works.

I looked at Glyffe for a second time. To think Dad had returned to the forge… he must’ve been motivated by seeing me make my first sword. The line work, sharpness, and the sword’s aura. It’s on a completely different level to what I’d made.

I smiled—he really didn’t like being shown up.

“And this gift is from your friends,” Silvia said with a big smile.

“All of us!” Bill said, pointing to everyone—even Rosette.

“Unwrap it!” Jamie said animatedly. “Quick! Quick!”

“Okay, okay.” It’s...

“A book?” I said, confused.

“There’s more to it—open it!” Phill said with a smile.

“Ah, there’s pictures?” I said in surprise. No way, how did they…

“That was from when we first met—look, there’s Bill stuffing his face.” I smiled cheekily.

“And that’s from the time we started The Plant Diaries, there’s Finn’s four leaf and Magia’s five leaf spade!” They smiled reminiscing with me.

“Isn’t that when Phill first saw the Everglow rabbit at the lake? And when I found the crystal tree? No shot—you even got a picture of when Jamie got stuck in the giant frog’s mouth!?” I said, amazed.

Incredible. Memories from the past two years flicked by in a fleeting slideshow. I could feel myself tearing up thinking about how one day we wouldn’t be able to mess around like that again.

“Just… when did you all manage to take this many photos?” I said, beyond confused.

“One word,” Jamie said, raising a single finger. “Finn.”

Ah. That makes sense.

Countless pictures had been cut and stuck together on every page—clearly someone’s personal handiwork. It was nice… a real gift with real thought put into it. It was especially endearing for me, someone who was raised in the age of automation, where low effort gifts thrived.

“Thank you, everyone.” I smiled. This was something I’d treasure—forever. Memories we could all look back on and laugh, cry and smile about.

“Then, my gift should come next. It’s the second last one, joint with a friend,” Silvia said, presenting the box in her hands.

Joint with a friend? And second last? Who else was left?

I opened the box, slowly, slowly. A card fell out.

‘Dear Reno,

Happy seventh birthday. Silvia and I have decided on this gift for you.

From, your favourite magic teacher, Cindy.’

Cindy, huh? I wonder how she’s doing these days. She’s probably graduated already by now, right?

Along with the letter came a wand, elegant and imposing, its tip set with a rotating orb that shone like a tiny globe. A gift no magician could deny—just what I’d expect from my magic teacher.

Intermediate spells are already so powerful—now if I used a wand… just how destructive would it be? My heart sped up.

“Do you like it?” Silvia said with a smile.

“I love it—thank you mum!” I hugged her.

So many presents—I guess seven must be a special age in this world, probably since it was the age you started schooling and pre-scouts.

A sword, a wand and a book.

“That’s everything right?” I scanned the room. Silvia had mentioned her gift was only second last...

I looked at Zecko and Relentia, but, they shook their heads softly. So it’s not them. Rosette? Nope, not her either. I turned towards the shop’s entrance.

By the shop’s door stood a lone girl with a small box cradled in her arms.

Magia.

“Unwrap it,” she said softly, her face flushing pink.

I nodded, holding the weight of her gift in my palm. I unwrapped it, slowly and gently, so as to not hurt whatever delicate thing was inside.

What is this? I inspected it, rotating it curiously until I found a button.

Beep.

Swish!

Two children popped up from the box and with them a flowery banner saying ‘Happy Birthday Reno’.

Aw, a Jack-in-the-box, wait—is that me and Magia?

“D-do you like it?” she said extremely softly, like she was scared to ask. I took in a deep breath, while she held hers.

“I love it.”

She brightened up almost instantly. “I used your favourite flower, look.” She pointed at the banner, which was adorned with artificial Daphne’s.

“Did you make this all yourself?” I stepped back, realising what was in front of me. Had she designed not only the banner but the models too? And the mechanism for the jack-in-the-box?

“Y-yeah,” she said quietly.

“This is amazing Magia! You can make stuff like this already!” There was no toys similar to this at all in Butter Town. The fact she had the ingenuity to not only think of but also make something like this said enough about her potential as an inventor.

“You’re going to be a great craftsman one day!” I said, sure of myself. In my eyes, she already was.

“I-I hope so,” she said, looking away, her face red. “Actually, I wanted to give you something more complicated but it didn’t work, so I made this just in case.”

My eyes widened. This was just a side project?

“What was the original one?” I said, curious.

“Well, that’s…” she blinked. “A secret for your next birthday.”

“Aw, come on,” I said. Well, for today I had more than enough to be grateful for. I turned to face everyone.

“These gifts, I’ll treasure all of them. And once again. Thank you.”

They all responded in their own unique quirky ways. Stox’s low grunt. Jamie’s classic thumbs up. Magia’s glasses adjustment. Bill’s stomach rub. Silvia’s ever-present smile. Phill’s head scratch. Glyffe’s cheery grin.

“Hey, Finn, did you manage to catch a photo of that?”

“Hm. Of course.”

Now I was the one saying thank you for the twelfth time. Yes—I was counting.