Something's Wrong With the Different Realms

Ten: No Cowardice

Jasper Jennings

"Come on, come on, come on!" I tapped my foot impatiently on the polished wooden floors as I waited for the printer in the upstairs office to spurt out my page.

"Finally!" I exclaimed when my page finally printed out.

Before I lost any nerve, I folded it up and shoved it in my pocket.

"Are you ready to go yet?" my mom called out.

I made sure that my phone was in my other pocket. "Yeah, I think so," I called back as I rushed downstairs.

"Don't forget the gifts," she reminded me.

"Yeah, I got them."

I took the box that was on the stairs, wrapped in plain matte blue wrapping paper. In it, was a boxed set of the entire Legend series. There was even a signed copy of the newest book, Rebel. I'd waited in line for hours to get it signed. It was worth it though, I cared for my friends and I made sure they all got the gifts they wanted. Actually, everyone in the group poured their money together. I'd just been the one to order the gift.

"Oh," my mom disappeared, then returned with a bottle of non-alcoholic Italian grapefruit soda, "don't forget to bring gifts."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Just do it," my mom shrugged, "it's the polite thing to do."

"Okay," I grabbed the soda, put on my jacket, then opened the door. "Let's go."

"I'll pick you up at 8:30, okay? That way, you'll be able to get enough sleep. It's good for your health," my mom said as she stopped the car in front of someone's lawn.

"I'll help you carry the Italian soda," she said, "your hands are probably full with the presents."

Really, my mom just wanted an excuse to talk to Ms. Daher, or Caspian's mom. After all, they were best friends. They had gone to university together and had taken the same neuroscience course. It made sense since my mom worked on MRI technologies and Ms. Daher was a psychologist. They probably bonded over brain stuff. And even if they weren't already well-acquainted with each other, all moms just seemed to have some sort of an innate bond. They'd know each other for less than a minute and be chatting the whole night away. Bonus points if the mom's children were friends or something. It was something I'd always found strange and fascinating.

I rang the doorbell and tried not to think about the task at hand. I pinched my skin to check if this was really happening as the door opened. As usual, the moms started chatting as soon as they saw each other while I went inside and greeted the rest of my friends. I was the last one there.

"Do you want to open your gift first?" I asked as I set it atop the marble countertop.

"Aren't we supposed to open it after dinner?" Kailan supplied.

"Uh, whatever Caspian wants," I said, "it's his birthday after all."

"We can open the gift now," Capsian shrugged, then cast a glance towards the moms who were still busily chatting. "Besides, it looks like those two will be chatting for a while. Might as well do something."

We moved towards the couch and sat down. I handed Caspian the box while the rest of my friends glanced at him eagerly, waiting for his expression. When he tore off the wrapping paper, his face erupted into a beaming smile. I smiled as well because when you saw someone happy, you couldn't help but smile as well.

"H-how did you guys do this?" Caspian started.

"Amazon duh," said Caleb.

"Most of us do have a bit of money, you know," interrupted Kailan.