"Jake, can you do me a favour?" Crystal said to her son.

"Sure, mother. What is it?" He asked. For some reason he had a feeling this would be something important, something exciting or fun...

"Can you go into town and get some more bread?"

...Or it would be a trip to the bakery.

"Er, okay..." He said, taking the coins and setting off, with a lingering feeling of an anti-climax weighing on his mind.

There were two reasons that Jake had been sent on this most simple of quests. First, his parents and friends had decided to arrange a surprise birthday party for him. The second of course was that there was no bread.

"We need to hurry!" Bianca said, rushing around. It had been her idea, of course. Crystal and Mordan had agreed, and somehow Mia and Saren had been dragged into it, and had been hiding outside waiting for Jake to be well out of the way before being brought in to help hang up some decorations.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Saren asked.

"Well, it's like this, since you forgot. At these things called parties, you see, you give the person whose birthday it is a present..." Mia began to explain with some sarcasm.

"I know that! How could I forget that?" Saren replied.

"You forgot my birthday."

At this, Saren knew to be quiet on that subject.

"Er, no, what I mean is, is there a cake, presents?"

"Yes, there's a cake." Mordan said, carrying the object in question through to a table.

"And presents, too. What did you get him?" Bianca asked, as she placed a wrapped-up box on the same table.

Saren looked at her in surprise.

"Um, nothing. I forgot."

Everyone glared at him for a brief moment.

"Well, luckily, not everyone forgot," Mia noted, placing her own wrapped gift beside Bianca's. Mordan and Crystal had brought their own gifts out, leaving Saren feeling a little embarrassed.

"Is there time for me to run off and get something?" He asked, as Bianca went to the window.

"Nope. He's coming back!" She said, excitedly.

"Oh. Oh well. What no...w?" Saren asked, confused to see everyone was now hiding.

"You hide, you idiot, and we jump out and say surprise," Mia fumed.

"I knew that. But I already will surprise him."

"No present you mean? That's a terrible surprise." Came the whispered response.

However, before Saren could retort, the door opened, and the four leapt out, proclaiming their birthday wishes to a startled Jake. It took him a few seconds, but he grinned, having received more of a surprise than everyone had expected.

"Wow, thanks, everyone... But, my birthday is in four days..."  He grinned, placing the bread on the table, as everyone else wondered how exactly that happened...