Bella's Big Birthday Bash

Bella was turning seven! She sat at the kitchen table with her mom's tablet. It was time to make the invitations. She typed: "You're invited to Bella's 7th Birthday Bash!" She added balloons. She added sparkles. Perfect! Now to send it to her three best friends. She tapped Emma's name. Ping! She tapped Sofia's name. Ping! She tapped Lucas's name. Ping! Then she saw it. A big, shiny blue button. SEND TO ALL. "Ooh," thought Bella. "That must mean send to all the people I selected!" She hovered her finger over the button. She pressed it. WHOOSH! The tablet made a loud joyful noise. The invite flew to everyone in Mom's contact list! "Done!" Bella smiled. Oops. Saturday arrived - party day! DING DONG! Emma, Sofia, and Lucas arrived first. They held out bright presents. "Happy Birthday!" they cheered. "Let's play Musical Chairs!" announced Bella. Mom set up seven chairs in a circle. The music started. Bella marched around happily. But then... DING DONG! DING DONG! Kids from Bella's class poured in! Then kids from other classes! Then kids Bella had never even seen before! "Wait..." Bella's eyes went wide. "I only invited THREE people!" "We need more chairs!" called Mom, looking panicked. Soon TWENTY kids were circling NINETEEN chairs! The music stopped. CHAOS! Kids dove for seats! THUMP! CRASH! BUMP! Someone's grandma did a victory dance when she got a chair! "Still got it!" she cheered. Two kids squeezed onto one chair like sardines. One kid sat on the floor pretending it was an invisible chair! "This is not what I planned," whispered Bella. "How about Pass the Parcel?" suggested Dad nervously. Everyone tried to sit in a circle. It looked more like a giant, wiggly snake. The music played. The parcel started going around. But then... DING DONG! DING DONG! DING DONG! Now the ADULTS were arriving! Mr. Patterson the mailman! "Wouldn't miss it!" Mrs. Chen from the library! "I love a good bash!" The baker with flour on his apron! "Did someone say cake?" Then Bella saw a white coat. Her dentist walked in! "Hope you're flossing!" he said with a smile. "MY DENTIST?!" squeaked Bella. "How did he even get invited?!" Now FIFTY people were trying to pass ONE tiny parcel! A firefighter with huge hands fumbled with it. "It's so small!" he said, almost dropping it. The parcel took FOREVER to go around. "My turn was five minutes ago!" complained a kid. "Okay, OUTSIDE! Jumping castle time!" Bella announced. She felt a little dizzy. The massive crowd rushed to the backyard. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! The ground shook like an earthquake! The big bouncy castle stood ready. Five kids jumped on. Bounce, bounce! Then ten kids! Getting crowded! Then TWENTY kids! Squishing together! But THEN - random people started showing up! The whole soccer team in their uniforms! A juggler from downtown! (Still juggling!) Someone's pet parrot! "SQUAWK! PARTY! SQUAWK!" Three puppies in party hats! WOOF! WOOF! THIRTY people crammed onto the castle! WHOOOOOOSH! PFFFFFFFFFT! It deflated like a giant whoopee cushion! Kids bounced into each other! BOING! BONK! BUMP! "There's an elbow in my face!" yelled Lucas. "Is that a puppy on my head?!" shouted Sofia. The castle was completely FLAT - just a colorful pancake on the grass. "EVERYONE OFF!" Dad shouted, waving his arms. Bella stood there, mouth hanging open. "This is COMPLETELY out of control!" "One last activity!" Mom called weakly. "Face... painting?" She set up a small table with paints and brushes. Bella turned to look at the line. Her heart stopped. The line stretched down the driveway. Around the corner. Down the ENTIRE street. Past the neighbor's house. ALL THE WAY TO THE STOP SIGN! There must have been a HUNDRED people! Her teacher! The principal! The crossing guard! Someone dressed as a pirate! "ARRR! Paint me face!" Someone's grandparents from three towns over! "Can you paint me like a dinosaur?" asked the mailman. "I want a unicorn! With GLITTER!" demanded the dentist. "Make me look like a pizza!" said the baker. The face painter looked like she might faint. Bella felt frozen. People EVERYWHERE! Talking! Laughing! Running! Shouting! The noise was SO LOUD! She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even see her own birthday cake! Then, through all the chaos, Bella spotted something. Emma, Sofia, and Lucas. They were sitting quietly on the porch steps. Just the three of them. Away from the madness. They were giggling at the pirate trying to do the limbo. And they had saved a spot for Bella right in the middle. Bella squeezed through the crowd. "Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through!" She plopped down between her friends. "This is the CRAZIEST thing I've ever seen!" Emma laughed. "A pirate! And a juggler! At YOUR birthday!" Sofia giggled. "Look! That puppy is eating the blue paint!" snorted Lucas. The four friends sat together. They watched the absolute madness swirl around them. And suddenly... this became the best part. Not the hundred people. Not the crazy activities. Just sitting with her three best friends, laughing at the chaos. After a while, people started leaving. The firefighters rushed off! The soccer team jogged away! The pirate sailed home! One by one, everyone said goodbye. The crowd got smaller and smaller. Until the backyard was finally quiet. Except for Emma, Sofia, and Lucas. "Let's help clean up!" said Emma. The four friends picked up plates. They folded the flat castle. They laughed about the crazy dentist. Mom brought out the birthday cake. They sang together - just Bella, her three best friends, and her family. Perfect. "Next year, I'm triple-checking that button!" Bella laughed. "But you'll still invite US, right?" grinned Lucas. "Always," Bella promised. "You three are all I need." Because Bella learned something important that day. The BIGGEST party isn't always the BEST party. The best party is with the people who stay. The End