“I know this is easier than blowing them up by mouth,” Dad said from where he leaned against the helium tank, fingers working another knot, “but my hands are killing me from tying these damn things.”
“Agreed,” Boink and Pipe said at the same time.
I snorted and stretched my fingers for a second before grabbing another balloon.“At least this is the last graduation,” I said.
“Yeah,” Dad replied, not even looking up, “but weddings and eighteen years of birthday parties for the grandkids are just around the corner.”
Pipe froze mid-knot.“Jesus,” he muttered.
“Lock in and get those balloons done!”Alice called from across the room.
I glanced up.
She was at the big table by the couch, cutting strips of colored paper and gluing them together like she was building something that could either be decorations or a weapon.Hard to tell with her sometimes.
“Maybe we can just have all the kids’ birthday parties at Chuck E.Cheese,” Pipe said.
I laughed.“Yeah, that’d be great if we actually had one within two hours.”
Dad’s head snapped up, eyes narrowing at me.“I don’t want to know how you know that information.”
I shrugged, grabbing another balloon.“Just something I know.”
He didn’t need to know that Oliver and I had driven two hours last year just because we wanted that weird, greasy pizza that tasted like childhood and regret.
Worth it.
Still.
Carnie had taken over the kitchen like a general running a war zone.Calla, Mayra, and Bell were packed in there with her, moving around each other in a space that should not have fit that many people but somehow did.Pots clanked, cabinets opened and slammed, and every now and then Carnie’s voice cut through the noise with instructions that got followed immediately.
The smell alone told me whatever they were making was going to be worth all of this.
Across the room, Alice was still at her table, completely in her element, gluing paper chains together like she was on a mission.
Wrecker, Fox, Kingston, and Clash were gone on a beer run.Apparently, the normal stock wasn’t going to cut it with the number of people Alice had invited, which was a number no one actually knew.
And outside… yeah, I was glad I was inside.
Freak, Brinks, Slayer, Cole, Ender, Clove, and Basil had drawn the short straw and were dealing with three bounce houses, a massive pool, and a stage for some singer Eden liked.
I tied off another balloon and tossed it onto the growing pile.
“How many is that?”Boink asked.
“Too many,” I said.
“Not enough,” Alice called without looking up.
I rolled my eyes and reached for another one.
We kept at it.
Balloon after balloon.
Knot after knot.
My fingers started to feel like they didn’t belong to me anymore, like they were just tools I was using without really having control over them.
