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Part 4: The Party

          The doorknob turned slowly. We all watched in excitement. Finally, Wally entered the dark house. Julie switched on the lights, prompting us all to jump out and greet him. Wally looked surprised, but very, very pleased.

"A surprise party?" He laughed heartily. We all nodded and continued to cheer.
Wally grinned. He looked around, his gaze falling on the cake. It was shaped like an apple and had small, icing apples all over it. He gasped and picked it up by the handles attached to the platter it was on.

"Apple cake!" He yelled. Julie swung her arms around him and giggled. Barnaby patted Wally's hair gingerly. He did not want to ruin Wally's hair. No one did.

The party went on and on and on. It was full of music and dancing. Wally was overjoyed with his cake, and was extremely satisfied with the decorations. He blinked at his cake slice, taking small bites out of it.
Poppy sat by him, holding a player with her slice of cake. She wasn't a particular fan of sweets, but she still took a thin slice just to try it.

However, as I watched her, I noticed Wally staring at her slice. His was gone. He blinked at her slice. A bite was taken out. She stared at the slice, confused.

"Did I take a bite? Have I forgotten already?" Poppy gasped. Her wings quivered. She looked worried. Wally looked around the room, trying not to look suspicious. I suppressed a surprised laugh.

The rest of the party was incredibly relaxed. We drew some pictures with Wally, made stickers with Julie, and listened to Frank explain all sorts of complicated things to us like fractions and the meaning of life.
At 3 P.M., the party grew quiet. We were all growing tired. Before I knew it, we had all fallen asleep.

At 8 P.M. I awoke. I was still in Barnaby's house, surrounded by my friends. Everything was far too quiet and, much to my surprise, Sally was gone. I looked around briefly, but I felt something gently grab my face.
Wally turned my face toward him. He closed his eyes and sighed quietly. He looked exasperated, a look I never expected from him. He was always so sleepy yet excited.

"You should be asleep," he whispered slowly in his oddly comforting voice. His tone was flat and tired.

"Sorry, Wally. I just-". Wally cut me off.

"No. No apologies right now. You must sleep," he squished my fuzzy face. I was extremely tired. He saw that and raised an eyebrow.

  "You don't know about her?" he tilted his head. I shook my head quickly. I was far too delusional to comprehend what he was saying.
I flopped back deeper into the couch. Wally sat against the front side, propping his head on his arms, looking up at me.
         I did not enjoy the unsettling ticking of the clock in the dark room. I especially did not like how wide Wally's eyes looked. He must have noticed my uncomfortable expression, for he relaxed his eyes and offered my his signature sleepy "three-shaped" smile.
         
"Your eyes are going to have to be the cameras for a little while. I like it when the cameras focus on me.. and me only," he added the last part hesitantly before continuing. "I like attention," he confessed sadly. By then, he had gone one a whole tangent, but I had fallen asleep again. I did not like making eye contact with Wally for fear he would blink and take a bite. I wish I was smarter.

          When we all awoke, the house was filled with bright sunshine. The cameras were still off. I thought it was cool how Wally liked using cameras to check in with us... at least, that's what I thought the cameras were for. I figured one of us had placed them.
         
Sally was still missing. I walked over to Barnaby, who was eating another slice of cake.
        
"Have you seen our dear neighbor Sally?" I asked softly. Barnaby was still transitioning into his awake state, and I did not want to upset him by having a jagged tone.
         
Barnaby was about to say something, but his gaze briefly shifted from me to something or someone behind me, and he stopped himself. He rubbed his paws together.
       
"Can't say I have, lil' friend. She doesn't usually stay the night, anyways," he responded while yawning. I nodded absently. I wasn't particularly satisfied with his answer, but I knew better than to pry. Perhaps Sally wasn't feeling well. Yes, that was the answer.

"Gooooooood morning everyoooooooone!" Julie sang. She spun around in her frilly dress, her heels making a fun thudding sound against the carpet.

Everyone replied with a slightly sleepy but otherwise please good morning. I looked over at Wally, who was staring into the corner of the room where a camera was. For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that we had had a conversation last night. However, I failed to recall what was said, so I dropped it.

I bid everyone goodbye and made my way out the door, continuing my bouncy walk back to my lovely little house with its lovely little flowers, excited for the very next day that would be filled with fun and laughter. I hoped so, at least.

*[Note: I apologize for the odd indent/paragraph separation style in today's chapter. I cannot add indents for some odd reason!]