Amirah tilted her head to the side as she studied the hollow places in the crown. Suddenly, she had an idea. She picked up one of the dull red scraps left from Billy’s invitations and pressed it against the crown. There was a pop of sparks, and when the smoke cleared, a red gem sparkled in its place.
Amirah grinned at Billy and the other B-Buds. “Looks like we can fix that!” she said.
All the B-Buds helped create new jewels on the crown, until it really was good as new.
Amirah held the crown in both hands and presented it to Billy. “For the prince of the Magical Land of Birthdays,” she announced.
Billy took the crown from her and looked at it for a long moment. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he reached out and placed it ever so gently on Amirah’s head. “For the princess,” he corrected her. “I think this crown belongs to you now.”
“But—Amirah began.
“I mean it,” Billy said. “I have to get used to having my birthday magic back, anyway. Besides—you deserve it.”
“Billy! Hey, Billy!”
Everyone turned to look at the edge of the clearing. There were six kids standing there, three girls and three boys. Amirah recognized them right away.
They were Billy’s B-Buds!
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” one of the girls called out. “Come on! It’s time to celebrate our birthday!”
Slowly, a grin spread across Billy’s face. “My B-Buds,” he said. “They’re here!”
“Have the best birthday ever, Billy,” Amirah said, beaming. “See you back in the neighborhood!”
“See you!” Billy replied. Then he ran off to join his B-Buds. Their happy chatter echoed through the Rainbow Forest as they set off for a birthday celebration.
“I guess it’s up to us to crown the princess,” Mei said.
“I just don’t know . . .” Amirah replied.
Olivia smiled. “You might not know—but we do,” she replied. “You’re the one, Amirah! The one from the book. The one with enough birthday magic to stop the Birthday Basher and bring back joy to the Magical Land of Birthdays.”
And without another word, Amirah’s B-Buds took hold of the crown and placed it on her head.
It wasn’t too heavy. In fact, it felt just right. She looked at each one of her B-Buds, all of them smiling encouragingly. They’d been through so much over the past few days. Amirah knew it would take some time for her to process everything that had happened. But that could wait. Right now, they were together—on their half birthday—which could only mean one thing:
It was time to celebrate!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FLOUR SHOP founder and Flour-ist Amirah Kassem is an artist at heart and cake is her medium. Amirah is the bestselling author of The Power of Sprinkles. Amirah grew up baking and sculpting with her mother in Mexico, where she discovered an appreciation for fine ingredients—and mastered the art of multisensory experiences.
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