“Here’s the thing, though—we’re not far apart right now,” Amirah continued. “We’re together, and that doesn’t happen nearly enough. We’ve all come to the Magical Land of Birthdays, not on our birthday but on our half birthday. I think that’s important. I think it matters. I think we need to find Billy—together. ”
Lacey twisted her new friendship bracelet around her wrist. “But, Amirah—how do you know it’s safe?” she asked.
“I don’t,” Amirah said simply. “Sometimes, you just have to believe. And I’ll never stop believing in birthday magic, never, no matter what. If we don’t at least try to fix things, we’ll be giving up on birthday magic—just like Billy.
“So . . . who’s with me?” she finished.
There was a pause.
Then Elvis clapped his hand on Amirah’s arm. “I am,” he said.
“Me too,” added Lacey.
Ziggy stepped forward. “And me.”
Finally, Mei and Olivia spoke at the same time. “Me too.”
Amirah felt a surge of gratitude in her heart. “Let’s do this,” she said. “B-Buds together—forever!”
The six friends set off for the Rainbow Forest. Overhead, the clouds grew thicker and more threatening. Thunder rumbled so close that it made the ground tremble. Not far away, the edge of the Rainbow Forest waited. The colors were completely washed out. All Amirah could see were different shades of gray.
The B-Buds were silent as they stepped into the woods with Amirah in the lead. Deeper and deeper into the forest they traveled until Amirah stopped suddenly.
Just ahead, there was a clearing that glowed with otherworldly light. It was hard to see the gathering storm that was brewing through the thick trees, but if Amirah had to guess, she would say they were right under the heart of it.
“There,” she whispered to the B-Buds. “I think Billy’s in there. Come on.”
Amirah took a few steps before she realized she was walking alone. She turned around to her B-Buds in surprise.
“Aren’t you—” she began.
Elvis’s smile was a little crooked. “We’ll be right here,” he promised, “if you need us. But I don’t think you will.”
“But—” Amirah said.
“It’s you. Don’t you know that? It was always you.” Mei spoke up. “You’re the one from the book—the one with enough birthday magic to stop the Birthday Basher. You’re the one with the power to fix this.”
Amirah nodded slowly. In her heart, she hoped they were right.
Then she reminded herself one more time: Believe.
She took a few more steps into the clearing. As she got closer, she saw a lone figure sitting in the middle of the strange light. The light was shifting, changing. She realized that there wasn’t just one source for it but hundreds—maybe even thousands. It was one of the most enchanting sights she’d ever seen.
“Billy?” she asked.
The figure turned around.
It was him—the Birthday Basher.
It was Billy!
A shy smile crossed his face.
“Hi, Amirah,” he said. “Thanks for the cake. It was delicious. Carrot cake is my favorite. And that gold bar shape—it was truly special.”
“I’m so glad you liked it,” she replied, smiling back. “Happy birthday!”
Billy took a deep breath. “I thought I’d lost it,” he said. “My birthday magic. I thought it was gone forever. But look—look at this!”
Amirah stepped closer and realized that Billy was holding something in his hands: a ball of light. No, it wasn’t a ball of light, but a ball of rainbow sprinkles that shifted and danced on an unseen current, casting a rainbow glow that spread throughout the whole clearing.
“Wow,” she breathed. “That’s incredible!”
“I didn’t think it would ever come back,” he said.
“All you have to do is believe,” she told him.
Billy’s smile faded a little bit. “Sometimes that’s not so easy to do,” he replied.
Amirah sat down across from him. “Listen, Billy,” she began. “I have to tell you something. Your B-Buds didn’t skip your party on purpose.”
Billy didn’t say anything as he stared at the ground.
“They never even got the invitations,” Amirah continued.
Billy looked up, a startled expression on his face.
“Somehow they came to the Magical Land of Birthdays instead,” Amirah explained. She held out a handful of the faded red confetti that she and her B-Buds had been gathering throughout the land.
“My invitations were bright red,” Billy said slowly.
“Yes, they were,” Amirah replied. “A year ago. But since then, they’ve been fluttering around the Magical Land of Birthdays, exposed to rain and sun and wind.”
“The paper faded,” Billy realized.
“Yes,” Amirah said again. “I have something else for you too.”
She gave him the last friendship bracelet from her pocket.
“I know you have your own B-Buds,” she said. “But I was thinking—since we’re neighbors and we share half birthdays—maybe you could be one of my honorary B-Buds. I made these bracelets for all of us.”
She gestured back toward the edge of the clearing, where the other B-Buds waved.
“An honorary B-Bud,” Billy said, trying out the words. “I guess that means we could celebrate birthdays every six months.”
“The more celebrating, the better!” Amirah declared.
This time, when Billy smiled, it was bigger and brighter than ever. He slipped the bracelet onto his wrist—
The swirling ball of glowing sprinkles that Billy had been holding suddenly exploded, scattering sparks of light and color throughout the Rainbow Forest—and all over the Magical Land of Birthdays!
The B-Buds rushed into the clearing, shrieking and cheering in celebration. They were making so much noise that at first none of them could hear the clattering of hoofbeats across the ground.
Amirah could feel them, though. She turned away from the group just in time to see Cara the Unicorn enter with a gift box balanced on her back.
“Another present?” Amirah exclaimed. She turned to Billy. “You’d better open it. It’s your birthday, after all.”
“Okay,” Billy replied. Everyone crowded around to watch him open the present—and gasped when they realized what was inside: a golden crown!
The same one, Amirah realized, that Billy had thrown at the wall. She recognized the crack. As he lifted it out of the box, the crack disappeared like magic. Birthday magic.
“It’s like new!”
