Chapter 55 - Side Story - Inside the Pearl 2 (1/2)
It had already been 13 months since the official start of the story and Mesa had turned 18 a week ago. Inside the Sky Poison Pearl, Jasmine and Ophis gave Mesa a little surprise. Though they couldn't give him any gifts and they didn't know what to give him, they did surprise when he woke up and he found out they had baked a cake together for Mesa. Apparently they had been learning how to do this by watching YouTube videos and after making sure that Mesa had gone to sleep, they stayed up to make a birthday cake for him and surprised him the next morning at breakfast.
”…..” Mesa yawned and stretched out his body as he woke up from a good night sleep. Putting on some clothes, he brushed his teeth and washed his face before walking out of his room, ready to make some breakfast for the three of them. As he approached the kitchen, he could see a box on the table with a note next to it that said: ”To Mesa.”
Just as he took the note and opened it, Jasmine and Ophis suddenly jumped out from behind the couch and yelled out.
”SURPRISE!!”
And there he stood, right next to the table, in a daze at this sudden surprise. He couldn't help but get a big smile on his face as he approached both of them and enveloped them in a big hug.
”Thank you so much you two. I really love what you've done. So, what is inside the box?” Asked Mesa.
”” That is a surprise!”” Said Jasmine and Ophis simultaneously.
”Well, no arguing that. Let's see what the surprise is.” Said Mesa with a smile as he opened up the box and saw the cake in there. It was a big chocolate cake with a big '18' on it and decorated with candles along the outer ring. Looking over to the two of them, Mesa could see that they hid big smiles on their faces that just screamed 'Well, how do you like it? Tell us.'
”I love it, I really do. But how did you know about this custom of celebrating birthdays? I don't think people in this universe do this sort of thing.” Said Mesa.
”Well Ophis said something about humans celebrating their birthdays back in her universe. And seeing as how your universe and hers are so similar, I reckoned that it was the same in your universe. And so, with these phones that you gave us, I looked up 'celebrating birthdays' and everything that came with it. After that I convinced Ophis to help me, asked JARVIS when your birthday was and then searched YouTube on how to make a cake and that was it. I was gonna try to give you a present, but I honestly had no idea what I could give you, so I decided to just make this cake for you together with Ophis.” Said Jasmine while Ophis was nodding along. Hearing all this gave Mesa a warm feeling inside, so he got up and gave Jasmine a big hug and a kiss on the head who got immediately red before he pulled Ophis in for a hug and kissed her on the head as well who just smiled and hugged Mesa back.
”Thank you. Truly, thank you. The very fact that you two did this for me is already more than enough. Ever since the day that my mother died, I never had a birthday gone by where I wasn't alone and cursed the world. This is seriously one of the best birthdays I have ever had and I have the two of you to thank for. Thank you.” Said Mesa with a genuine heartfelt smile as a tear rolled down his face while he was still hugging Jasmine and Ophis. After some time later he let go of them and they all gathered around the table. Summoning a little flame on his finger, Mesa lit all the candles on the cake and under the gazes of Ophis and Jasmine, blew them out. After dividing up the cake, they ate and laughed until there was nothing left of the cake. After they ate the cake, Mesa suddenly came up with an idea.
”Hey, I've got an idea. There was this game back on earth that was really popular called the Super Smash Bros. It's a really fun battle royal fighting game where we can all fight at the same time against each other and it's really whacky and did I say it was fun.” Said Mesa as he immediately set off for the TV and purchased a Nintendo Switch with Super Smash Bros Ultimate. After that, they were playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate all day long.
”WOOOO!!! I WON!! Alright, time to choose our new fighters. Uhmmmm….. let's see now. I am gonna go with….. uhmmmm….. Ahh, Cloud!” Said Mesa.
”Uhmmm…. I am gonna go with….. Zelda!” Said Jasmine.
”I am gonna go with….. Yoshi!” Said Ophis and they went right back to their battle royal, with Jasmine winning this time.
A week later.
Gotta Catch 'em All!
Gotta Catch 'em All~!!
Pokémon!!
”Come big sis, play it again! Play it again!” Begged Ophis after which Jasmine replayed the Pokémon intro song and they both started singing and dancing along with it. Off to the side was Mesa sitting at the dining table, his face buried in his hands, occasionally releasing a groan of frustration. After they replayed the Pokémon intro song again he stood up abruptly with a visible look of frustration on his face.