Vernon’s Birthday Party

Everyone at Bento High School was getting more and more excited. Vernon’s birthday was approaching and his parties were the most popular among students, because he always came up with the coolest themes. The vampire was not keen on anything and was often negative about things, but he loved his friends and was hoping to cheer up from parties, that’s why he organized them with unusual enthusiasm.

Of course, Ollie the octopus provided the music and he made special sets to impress the guests. The food and drinks had to be red and garlic was totally forbidden at these parties. Or actually, anywhere near Vernon.

About a month before his birthday, Vernon started to get nervous. ‘What should be the theme this year? Will they like it? Can I come up with new snacks that are red?’ he wondered. Whenever he couldn’t find the answer to such questions, he talked to Rosie the rabbit. She always had the greatest ideas. Also, she was enthusiastic about everything, which was in total contrast to how Vernon felt about most things.

‘Rosie, please help me with planning my birthday party. I already have some ideas, but I’m not sure about them,’ the vampire said.

‘OK, tell me what you’ve got,’ Rosie replied.

‘Actually, I think I’ve come up with a great theme: Welcome to the dark side! And everything would be black and Ollie would make a slow mix,’ he said.

‘Er…Vernon, it’s totally not OK to be so depressed about your birthday. You have to enjoy every moment of it and honestly, your guests should like it, too. Just think how embarrassing it would be to see your friends standing around, feeling sad. You don’t really want that, do you?’ Rosie looked at him kindly.

‘I don’t even know how to feel good myself, how could I figure out what makes others happy?’ the vampire said miserably.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you. First of all, Ollie should make a set full of energetic songs. Just let him do what he usually does and it’ll work,’ Rosie explained.

‘Fine, I can do that,’ the vampire agreed.

‘Secondly, the theme should be exciting, but inviting at the same time. You mustn’t scare your friends away. And absolutely no dark or black.’

‘Rosie, but then it’s not me. Everyone knows I only love black. I can’t have a pink flamingo party! They would laugh at me!’ Vernon said.

‘OK, I have an idea then. Let’s combine your darkness and your friends’ colors, to make everyone happy. How about a “Glow in the dark” theme? Everything will be dark, but we will have these bright neon lights all over the place and guests should come in neon-colored dresses.’

‘Genius! I don’t hate it,’ Vernon enthused.

‘Perfect!’ the rabbit smiled.

‘Rosie, thank you so much for your help. You’re a great friend, you never let me down,’ Vernon said.

‘You know I’m always happy to help,’ Rosie replied.

They immediately got down to the details and arranged everything for the big day. The invites were sent, the cake and snacks were ordered and the party hall was beautifully decorated. Even Ollie managed to finish the mix, even though just the night before the party. ‘Why hurry?’ as he always said.

The day of the party arrived and when the guests entered, their jaws dropped in amazement as they looked around. With the bright lights and all the glowing decoration the party hall was mesmerizing. Even Blake and Benjamin the bulldog twins who would never get off their skateboard just stood in awe. Harper the horse also stood still, which was not typical of her. Sloan the shark kept turning his head from Rosie to the glowing balls, clearly unable to decide which one appealed to him more.

Vernon was sitting in a corner with his sunglasses on.

‘What’s wrong? Why are you sad?’ Blake asked him.

‘This place looks so cool,’ Benjamin added.

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Vernon said. ‘But have you seen the buffet? The catering company mixed up my order! Hardly anything’s red!’ The vampire was clearly devastated.

‘It’s not such a big deal,’ said Blake, but his twin brother Benjamin quickly started shaking his head and mouthing: ‘Don’t’.

‘I mean, I know it seems like a disaster for you right now, but I’m sure we’ll figure something out,’ Blake continued.

‘Sure! At least the guests can eat any color, so half the problem’s solved,’ Benjamin smiled. ‘Come on, Vernon. Let’s see what we can do,’ and they walked over to the buffet table.

‘See?’ Vernon whispered. ‘It looks terrible.’

‘Wait a sec! We just have to find something red to put on the food,’ Benjamin said.

‘I’ve found the solution!’ Blake arrived running. ‘There’s ketchup next to the fries that we can put on the salty meals and I saw some cranberry jam for the pancakes that we can use on the sweets. Problem solved,’ he said proudly.

‘This way everyone can eat from everything,’ Benjamin added.

‘Fine, it’s not the worst thing I can imagine,’ said Vernon.

‘Why? What’s the worst thing you can imagine?’ asked Blake.

Benjamin shook his head again and mouthed: ‘Don’t’.

‘I mean, I’ll go and get the ketchup and jam,’ Blake corrected himself and jumped on his skateboard to reach the other side of the hall.

Sloan appeared. ‘Come on, Vernon! Let’s check out the red tuna sushi.’

Harper arrived trotting. ‘Vernon, come dance with me. The music is fantastic.’

‘See, everyone’s enjoying the party. Join us,’ Benjamin told Vernon.

‘Sloan, OK, I’m coming to try the red tuna, but Harper, no way I’m going to dance.’

The horse looked disappointed.

Benjamin looked at Vernon and mouthed ‘Go!’

‘But I’m going to stand next to you and listen to the music,’ Vernon said.

The party turned out to be a huge success. Vernon really liked his red velvet birthday cake and even managed a smile while the others cheered him. Everyone danced late into the evening and all the food was gone by the end of the event. Guests had an amazing time and they continued to talk about the fabulous Glow in the Dark theme, but only until news spread about Vernon organizing his next party.