celebrate."
"My birthday's in September though," Alice genuinely replied.
"That was a lie!" Mia and Miya concluded.
"Why is that, actually?" I pondered. "Mine is in November."
"To be honest, I think my mom did that to protect me," Alice replied. "Also, Ms. CloverSpell mentioned something about time shifts if you teleport incorrectly. It may have happened with my mom or whoever brought me to my universe, but I guess when you think about it, I'm a November baby."
"I don't think it really matters." I shrugged and inched the gift closer to her. "You’re alive, I'm alive, we're all alive, so let's just celebrate that and Christmas."
"Yes." Alice laughed before accepting the gift. "Thank you!"
She began to open it, and she gasped at the number of items in it. She began to pull them all out, the various items making her eyes grow wide as she took everything in.
"No way these are all for me?" she questioned and looked at us hesitantly. "We...don't have these where we are. They all look expensive! Skincare stuff. Jewelry. O.M.G. This was expensive, wasn't it?!" She paused to lift the cross-body bag up. "This is one of those high brand bags!"
"Yes, it is." I laughed at her shock. "We quickly went shopping the day before our trip to make sure you got a bunch of stuff you may not be able to get in your universe. Connor's mom has a hotel that hosts various individuals from different universes, so we asked her to let us know what your universe didn't have so we could get you something so unique that no one else could get it."
Her mouth was hanging open as she looked at all the stuff and noticed the gold box with a pink ribbon. Lowering the bag, she reached for it before she tugged at the silk ribbon and opened the box.
"This...this is a charm bracelet?"
I smirked as she looked up at me, and I revealed mine I'd been hiding with magic. It morphed into view, the golden chain carrying various charms that twinkled in the light.
"I figured that as sisters, we should have something we could share. Plus, it's a good way to remind ourselves that no matter the distance, there's someone in another world who remembers your worth."
Alice's eyes watered as I gave her an appreciative grin. "You've helped us a few times Alice, and I just want you to know that you're really powerful and an amazing role model. You may not see it, but you're someone I look up to and I can't wait till we can actually hangout as well so we can enjoy a good time of celebration."
"Plus, you're loyal," Mia acknowledged. "You didn't need to aid Brianne, or anyone for that matter, when you arrived here, and yet you did. You always asked Professor Phoenix if we were okay and if we needed assistance."
"You wanted us to still be able to do our own thing yet were willing to stop your own conquest to ensure we and our student body were safe. That selfless act deserves recognition. And you're an amazing friend and deserve to be treated with a few gifts from our hearts," Miya concluded.
"So Happy Birthday Christmas, Alice," I cheered.
"Happy Birthday Christmas, Alice!"
"You guys..." she whispered as tears streamed down her face. The lights dimmed then, and my smile widened before I looked at the door as the golden flames of candles caught our attention.
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Alice. Happy birthday to you." All the guys emerged from their hiding spots, Westley holding a large cake. The flames illuminated his face as his eyes were directly on Alice, who was completely shocked as they reached where we were crowded on the couch.
"We couldn't celebrate your birthday the way we wanted to this year, so we figured a Christmas Birthday celebration was in order," Westley revealed with an appreciative smile. "Happy Birthday Christmas, my love."
"You sneaky peacock," she muttered with tears streaming down her face. "Thank you. Thank you, everyone!"
We all clapped and cheered before the festivities began. We'd finished eating cake and catching up with the others when Professor Phoenix made a melodic whistling sound that got our attention.
"Dinner's ready."
"Wait, what?" All of us looked at her from head to toe, completely shocked to see her wearing an apron with her hair up in a ponytail.
Ms. Electra's laughter came from behind her before she wrapped her arms around Professor Phoenix and hugged her. "You've been blessed this Christmas holiday to