Bubba and David the little stranger stop right outside the door of the Pizza Parlour. Bubba quickly grabs the bag of cat toys and elbows David inside and disappears within the crowd. David stands on tiptoe so he can see who is making that god awful music.
KS bends deeply over the mike. Her singing is reaching a dangerous crescendo. Completely indifferent to the cringes and cries of pain in the crowd, KS draws a deep breath to bring the birthday song home when a loose wire in her braces gets caught in the mike. "Happy Bir--ow, ow, ow!"
The Mayor hauls the mike clear and stands up to address the crowd. "Today is an ominous day!" She begins, reading from a tiny scrap of paper without her reading glasses.
"Luminous! The day is luminous!" CW hisses from the front.
"What she said before I was so rudely interrupted," the Mayor glares at CW, who averts her eyes and starts probing her own teeth for loose cat hairs. "Today is the Earth Day of our Friend!"
"-irthday," KS mumbles out of her now sore mouth.
"Exactly. Where's Kande?" The Mayor shields her eyes from the glare of the spotlights. "Oh, Kande!"
The crowd parts as Kande struts proudly down the red carpet running the length of the Pizza Parlor. She is wearing a paper crown from Burger King and a long red velvet cape lined with ermine over her purple bicycle shorts. Stepping onto the stage, Kande motions for the crowd to come closer. "Bring 'em on!"
CW looks at KS. "Bring what on? Are we fighting? Are the two of you fighting?"
KS brightens. "Do you think that's what she meant? Because I've been practicing my round kick lately and I've been wanting to try it out on somebody." She hops onto the stage and promptly knocks her sister down.
Kande lifts her head and motions for KS to lean down. She whispers something into KS's ear and then passes out. KS looks slightly embarrassed.
"What'd she say?" asks the Mayor.
"The presents! She meant the presents!" KS scuffs her toe against the edge of the stage. "Well? What's holding everybody up?"
Bubba is the first to lob his package at KS's feet.
