“I’m in a June aisle!” Elvis called out. “Halfway through the year!”
“Thanks for the update!” Amirah called back—but her voice sounded a little hesitant, a little unsure. They were almost halfway through the Hall of Birthday Cakes and still had not found the Birthday Basher’s cake.
What if he doesn’t have a cake at all?
Amirah tried to push the idea from her mind as soon as it popped up, but it was a stubborn one. Even as it nagged at her, though, it also inspired her to search harder. And to search smarter.
Amirah glanced over at the nearest cake. She was still in the last week of May, but she could hear the other B-Buds had joined Elvis in combing through the June aisles.
She reached into her pocket and touched her container of sprinkles. As her fingers brushed the vial, she thought she felt it vibrate just the tiniest bit.
Amirah paused. The sprinkles were trying to tell her something. She removed the container from her pocket, unscrewed the cap, and popped a few sprinkles in her mouth.
What if I skipped June altogether? she thought as the familiar sweet taste filled her mouth. I could leave June to the other B-Buds and go straight to July.
Amirah knew what she had to do. She passed all the June aisles, which had an unusually large number of strawberry cakes and rose-covered cakes, and moved straight into July.
Cakes with watermelons. Cakes with cherries. Cakes with frosting fireworks and sparkler candles. She moved quickly but carefully, not wanting to miss something important. Amirah didn’t want to accidentally pass by the Birthday Basher’s cake—especially if, as she suspected, it might not seem as special as all the others.
As it turned out, Amirah knew it the moment she saw it. Even from ten feet away, she could tell it was the one.
Amirah almost wished that she could avoid the cake altogether. But that wasn’t possible, Amirah knew. She’d made a promise to her B-Buds—and to Cara—and to the Magical Land of Birthdays itself. She didn’t want to let any of them down.
So, step by step, inch by inch, Amirah crept closer.
The glass case was dark and shadowy; there were silvery cobwebs hanging from the corners. Even so, Amirah could clearly see the horrible cake that was housed inside. At first, she thought it was covered in an unappetizing gray-green frosting topped with spun sugar. But then, with a sick feeling, she realized that fuzzy tufts of mold had spread across the cake. There was a smattering of dark wormholes along the side of the cake, and she shuddered to think what she would find if she sliced into it.
“B-Buds,” she called. Then, again, a little louder. “B-Buds! I think I found it!”
She could hear their footsteps clattering through the Hall of Birthday Cakes as Mei, Elvis, Ziggy, Lacey, and Olivia hurried to join her.
“Ew!” Lacey said, wrinkling her nose. “That’s disgusting! Are you trying to tell me it’s a cake?”
“Yes,” Amirah said, nodding. “Or, at least, it used to be a cake.”
“That’s the grossest thing I’ve ever seen,” Mei said bluntly.
The rest of the B-Buds loudly agreed.
All except for Amirah. Sure, she thought the cake was gross too. But the feeling it most inspired in her wasn’t disgust.
It was sadness.
How terrible, she thought sadly, to hate your birthday so much that your cake becomes this . . . this . . . this monstrosity. How—how heartbreaking.
Suddenly, despite all the damage he’d caused, Amirah couldn’t feel angry at the Birthday Basher. Instead, she felt pity. And maybe even compassion.
That was when Amirah realized she wasn’t just determined to help the Magical Land of Birthdays.
She was determined to help the Birthday Basher too.
Amirah tore herself away from the rotting cake to look for the card. It was shrunken and smudged, but she could still read it:
Amirah gasped. She knew that name. And the Billy she knew lived in Mexico.
It couldn’t be a coincidence . . . could it?
“Amirah?” Lacey asked, placing a hand on Amirah’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“Um, yeah,” Amirah said. “I just—I think I know him.”
“You know him?” Elvis exclaimed. “You know the Birthday Basher?”
Amirah nodded. “I think he’s my neighbor,” she replied. “But I have to go home to check. I can’t remember his exact birthday, but I know I’ve got it written down.”
“You have your neighbor’s birthday written down?” Olivia asked in surprise.
Amirah grinned at the B-Buds. “I write down everybody’s birthday,” she said.
Elvis stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Amirah,” he said, pretending to introduce himself. “When’s your birthday?”
All the B-Buds laughed—especially Amirah!
Just then, the low lights in the Hall of Birthday Cakes went out—all at the same time. The B-Buds were plunged into darkness, their laughter turning into shrieks.
“I guess the Hall of Birthday Cakes is closing,” Mei said.
“How are we going to find our way back to the entrance?” Olivia asked, sounding worried.
“I have a light on my watch,“ Ziggy said. “If I could just find the right button to push . . .”
The B-Buds waited in the darkness while Ziggy fiddled with his watch. Then, suddenly, a thin beam of light shone out of the screen. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for them to find their way through the long corridors back to the entrance.
Cara was waiting outside, just where they’d left her. Even in the growing darkness, though, Amirah could tell that she was anxious.
“It’s okay,” she whispered close to Cara’s ear. “We’re getting closer to fixing everything. I’m sure of it.”
Cara whinnied softly, and Amirah reached out and gave her a hug. Then she turned to the B-Buds. “We’ve got to get home, but the carousel is all the way back at Celebration Shore,” she said. “It will take us hours to walk that far. Plus, it’s so dark now!”
“What carousel?” Lacey asked.
Amirah turned to look at her. Instantly, her whole face brightened. “Last January, we took a carousel to get home,” she said. “How
