“Hi, Amirah,” he said. “Thanks for the cake. It was delicious. Carrot cake is my favorite. And that gold bar shape—it was truly special.”
“I’m so glad you liked it,” she replied, smiling back. “Happy birthday!”
Billy took a deep breath. “I thought I’d lost it,” he said. “My birthday magic. I thought it was gone forever. But look—look at this!”
Amirah stepped closer and realized that Billy was holding something in his hands: a ball of light. No, it wasn’t a ball of light, but a ball of rainbow sprinkles that shifted and danced on an unseen current, casting a rainbow glow that spread throughout the whole clearing.
“Wow,” she breathed. “That’s incredible!”
“I didn’t think it would ever come back,” he said.
“All you have to do is believe,” she told him.
Billy’s smile faded a little bit. “Sometimes that’s not so easy to do,” he replied.
Amirah sat down across from him. “Listen, Billy,” she began. “I have to tell you something. Your B-Buds didn’t skip your party on purpose.”
Billy didn’t say anything as he stared at the ground.
“They never even got the invitations,” Amirah continued.
Billy looked up, a startled expression on his face.
“Somehow they came to the Magical Land of Birthdays instead,” Amirah explained. She held out a handful of the faded red confetti that she and her B-Buds had been gathering throughout the land.
“My invitations were bright red,” Billy said slowly.
“Yes, they were,” Amirah replied. “A year ago. But since then, they’ve been fluttering around the Magical Land of Birthdays, exposed to rain and sun and wind.”
“The paper faded,” Billy realized.
“Yes,” Amirah said again. “I have something else for you too.”
She gave him the last friendship bracelet from her pocket.
“I know you have your own B-Buds,” she said. “But I was thinking—since we’re neighbors and we share half birthdays—maybe you could be one of my honorary B-Buds. I made these bracelets for all of us.”
She gestured back toward the edge of the clearing, where the other B-Buds waved.
“An honorary B-Bud,” Billy said, trying out the words. “I guess that means we could celebrate birthdays every six months.”
“The more celebrating, the better!” Amirah declared.
This time, when Billy smiled, it was bigger and brighter than ever. He slipped the bracelet onto his wrist—
The swirling ball of glowing sprinkles that Billy had been holding suddenly exploded, scattering sparks of light and color throughout the Rainbow Forest—and all over the Magical Land of Birthdays!
The B-Buds rushed into the clearing, shrieking and cheering in celebration. They were making so much noise that at first none of them could hear the clattering of hoofbeats across the ground.
Amirah could feel them, though. She turned away from the group just in time to see Cara the Unicorn enter with a gift box balanced on her back.
“Another present?” Amirah exclaimed. She turned to Billy. “You’d better open it. It’s your birthday, after all.”
“Okay,” Billy replied. Everyone crowded around to watch him open the present—and gasped when they realized what was inside: a golden crown!
The same one, Amirah realized, that Billy had thrown at the wall. She recognized the crack. As he lifted it out of the box, the crack disappeared like magic. Birthday magic.
“It’s like new!” Billy said in surprise. “Almost new. It’s just missing some jewels . . .”
Amirah tilted her head to the side as she studied the hollow places in the crown. Suddenly, she had an idea. She picked up one of the dull red scraps left from Billy’s invitations and pressed it against the crown. There was a pop of sparks, and when the smoke cleared, a red gem sparkled in its place.
Amirah grinned at Billy and the other B-Buds. “Looks like we can fix that!” she said.
All the B-Buds helped create new jewels on the crown, until it really was good as new.
Amirah held the crown in both hands and presented it to Billy. “For the prince of the Magical Land of Birthdays,” she announced.
Billy took the crown from her and looked at it for a long moment. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he reached out and placed it ever so gently on Amirah’s head. “For the princess,” he corrected her. “I think this crown belongs to you now.”
“But—Amirah began.
“I mean it,” Billy said. “I have to get used to having my birthday magic back, anyway. Besides—you deserve it.”
“Billy! Hey, Billy!”
Everyone turned to look at the edge of the clearing. There were six kids standing there, three girls and three boys. Amirah recognized them right away.
They were Billy’s B-Buds!
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” one of the girls called out. “Come on! It’s time to celebrate our birthday!”
Slowly, a grin spread across Billy’s face. “My B-Buds,” he said. “They’re here!”
“Have the best birthday ever, Billy,” Amirah said, beaming. “See you back in the neighborhood!”
“See you!” Billy replied. Then he ran off to join his B-Buds. Their happy chatter echoed through the Rainbow Forest as they set off for a birthday celebration.
“I guess it’s up to us to crown the princess,” Mei said.
“I just don’t know . . .” Amirah replied.
Olivia smiled. “You might not know—but we do,” she replied. “You’re the one, Amirah! The one from the book. The one with enough birthday magic to stop the Birthday Basher and bring back joy to the Magical Land of Birthdays.”
And without another word, Amirah’s B-Buds took hold of the crown and placed it on her head.
It wasn’t too heavy. In fact, it felt just right. She looked at each one of her B-Buds, all of them smiling encouragingly. They’d been through so much over the past few days. Amirah knew it would take some time for her to process everything that had happened. But that could wait. Right now, they were together—on their half birthday—which could only mean one thing:
It was time to celebrate!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FLOUR SHOP founder and Flour-ist Amirah Kassem is an artist at heart and cake is her medium. Amirah is the bestselling author of The Power of Sprinkles. Amirah grew up baking and sculpting with her mother in Mexico, where she discovered an appreciation for fine ingredients—and mastered the art of multisensory experiences.
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The Mystery of the Birthday Basher Page 8
