Today is the big day, and the time is almost here.

The school day is over, and I've gathered Skye, Jason, Eddie, and some of Sierra's other friends outside of the school. Before coming outside, I peeked in Mrs. Winski's classroom. As promised, our English teacher was asking Sierra about our latest book report to keep her from getting home right away. Now, we wait for the rest of the party guests to meet. Once everyone has arrived, we hurry towards Sierra's house.

"Well, the plan seems to be working so far!" says Jason.

"I just hope Sierra will forgive us, " I wish.

"Once we explain what we were really talking about, she'll be able to believe us," assures Skye. She takes her hand that isn't holding Jason's and squeezes mine. The three of us walk like that the rest of the way to the Brooks' house.

Upon arrival, we put up the last of the decorations (including Eddie's posters, which look fabulous) and hide behind various pieces of furniture. There are about ten of us, so it's a little tricky to find a spot for everyone.  I'm behind a large, fluffy chair with Skye near the back of the room. Jason sits behind a coffee table, while Eddie lies underneath it. Mrs. Brooks stands by the front door, watching for Sierra. 

A minute goes by. What is Sierra going to say to us when she sees all of this? I can't help but wonder what is going on between us. I work up the courage and call out to her mom. "Mrs. Brooks?"

"Yes, Ava?" she responds, keeping her eye on the street.

"Has... has Sierra mentioned anything that has happened between the two of us? Did I do something wrong?" I hope the answer is no, but I need to know the truth.

She glances back at me with a surprised gaze. "No, nothing. Actually she hasn't mentioned you at all, lately." Then, as if she just remembered something, "Is she acting different at school?"

"Yes, very much. I haven't seen her all day today, and yesterday she was in a bad mood. Is she feeling okay?"

A sad smile flits across Mrs. Brooks lips. "I'm afraid you'll have to ask her that question. I should let her talk to you."

Before I can respond, she says to the rest of the group, "She's coming! Quiet down!" The whispers die away and are replaced by a couple stifled giggles. I'm left to wonder what could be going on in Sierra's life. Mrs. Brooks walks into the hallway to be ready and give us our cue.

The door opens. "Mom? I'm home!" The door slams shut, and I hear the sound of a backpack dropping to the ground.

"Sierra, honey? Oh, some friend's dropped by looking for you-"

"SURPRISE!!!" everyone screams as they pop up from their hiding places. Eddie rolls out from under the table and jumps into his best super hero landing pose.

Sierra lets out a squeak of surprise. "Oh my gosh!!! What is all of this?! And the decorations? Is that Ravenclaw?" she giggles. 

Her other friends, plus Jason and Eddie, run up to her and excitedly explain that it's a birthday party. Once the excitement dies down and people have started chatting with each other, Eddie nudges me. "You ready to talk?" he asks.

"I'm ready. I need to do this." I reply. Skye steps up next to me while Jason and Eddie melt into the crowd. We look at each other and take a deep breath to calm our nerves. Then, I step towards Sierra. 

She is talking to a friend from school, when she looks up at us. She starts, then relaxes her muscles and says "excuse me" to her friend, who glances between us and starts talking to someone else. Sierra turns towards Skye and I, waiting for us to speak.

"If you are still wondering, this is what we were talking about at lunch the other day," I begin, not exactly sure where to start. An instant later, I am pouring all of my pent up thoughts and emotions into my words. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you then, it was a stupid choice on my part. We were planning this surprise party for you for weeks and I didn't want to tell you then because it would ruin the surprise which we have all worked so hard to make, and I didn't think about it at the time but it broke our friendship apart which I never wanted to do but I guess I was just worried you from yesterday morning-"

While I talk, a smile slowly creeps onto Sierra's face. The next thing I know, Sierra pulls me and Skye into a big hug. My surprise cuts off my rant, but then I wrap my arms around the two of them, squeezing hard. "It's okay, it's okay," Sierra sniffled. "I'm sorry that I've been weird lately, as well. I've missed you guys." 

We pull apart and look at each other. Skye and Sierra's eyes are wet, and my vision is certainly blurry. "So you forgive us?" I ask, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Of course! I think I overreacted. I know that you two would never talk about me like that. You're too nice of people." She smiles, wipes her eyes, then continues, "Honestly, I doubted what I had heard you two talking about immediately after you walked out of the bathroom, Ava. And I'm really sorry that I snapped at you yesterday morning. I just haven't been myself lately."

"Speaking of," Skye chimes in, "was has been going on lately? You've been fairly elusive."

"It's just..." She bites her lip, then sighs. "My grandmother had cancer a couple years ago. She went through chemotherapy and got better, but it freaked out my family because she was losing so much weight and they thought that she wouldn't make it. Yesterday we discovered that it's coming back and my entire family has just been out of wack."

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, I wish you had told us. We will always be here for you," I cry, pulling Sierra into another hug. 

"Is it okay for your parents to be hosting? I mean, with all of this going on it seems like chaos would ensue if you added a birthday party, " Skye remarks, her brow furrowing.

"I guess I don't really know, since I haven't heard them planning it. But they haven't seemed any more stressed than normal lately. Besides, I think we need this to bring some fun into our lives." Sierra hesitates, then asks, "I am curious. What were you two talking about when I thought you were gossiping? Evidently it was funny."

A smile appears on my face and Skye and I share an amused look. We start to laugh. "You're doing it again!" Sierra giggles. "What is it?!"

"It- it involves a game I made up called- 'Hide the Teaspoons,'" I stutter through giggles.

Sierra's eyes narrow slightly. "Does this have anything to do with a certain mischievous, tiny, fluffy creature?"

"Maybe." As if on cue, Mrs. Brooks pokes her head into the room. A brown hoodie with a tan beak hides her hair, and when she waddles into the room, all the guests begin to laugh at the fuzzy suit that covers the rest of her.

Sierra looks on, at first in horror, then the corners of her mouth perk up. Soon she is laughing just as hard as the rest of us. "Ok, I think I get it now. Gosh, I don't know how I'll stand going to school tomorrow to face the embarrassment!"

"We'll be there for you!" Skye promises. "Ava made it, actually. It was quite impressive to watch it come together."

Sierra gasps, looking between me and the costume. Mrs. Brooks is now sniffing the guests, looking for pieces of jewelry. "You made it?! That's awesome! So what's the game?"

"You want to play?"

"Sure!"

And we play. We hang out, eat too much food, and laugh until our cheeks hurt. Sierra loves the Luna Lovegood wand we got her, and begins casting "spells" immediately. It's just like it used to be, before our misunderstanding and before the secrets. I hope to keep it that way. Yes, I know that disagreements are inevitable, but I know that we will sort it out. No matter how many "troubles in friendships" we experience, we will always stick together, and nothing can change that.

***

So this was the last part! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please share, comment, etc. I appreciate it!