The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Ten: Happy Birthday

The cake was just as good as Sam remembered. Better, even. And Veronica seemed to have enjoyed making it.

Sam had hung out in the kitchen with her while she baked, attempting to power through his latest algebra assignment. It was the last thing he wanted to do on a Saturday morning, but the more work he got done now, the easier it would be to focus on fighting Scorpion in the coming weeks.

Then again, it'd be pretty sad if he wasted hours of his life on math only to get killed by a gun-wielding murderbot. Or a superpowered teen with anger issues.

"Damn," Veronica said. "I almost forgot the eggs."

"Didn't you do that last time?" The laptop screen flashed red, informing Sam he'd gotten the problem wrong. Again.

"Ugh, yes. I was up till one in the morning remaking it."

Sam started another attempt. Almost done, he reminded himself. With high school. With living in uncertainty. With being away from the rest of his family. He wasn't sure what waited on the other side of this mess, but it had to be better than this.

Neither he nor Veronica acknowledged the bittersweet nostalgia that came with Veronica's old baking routine. Occasionally while she worked, when his frustration threatened to boil over, Sam closed his eyes and pretended the smell of baking cake was coming from their own oven back home.

Once the cake was done, Veronica and Sam took it to the cafeteria.

Summer, Eric, and Adam were already waiting at a table. Trays of pizza were laid out in front of them. "We grabbed you guys lunch!" Summer exclaimed as she waved them over.

"That cake looks great," Eric said as Veronica set it down in the center of the trays. He reached for a butter knife.

Summer smacked his hand. "Eat your pizza first, you weirdo."

"It's my birthday. I can do what I want."

Veronica pulled her cake back toward her as she sat down. "You probably shouldn't cut it with a butter knife, anyway."

Sam laughed. Eric resigned himself to picking up a slice of pizza, though he eyed the cake as he took bites. Adam finished a story he'd been telling about one of his friends from Tyche Point. While the five ate, other altered in the cafeteria dropped by their table to wish Eric a happy birthday, including Raveena.

Finally, Summer left to fetch a large enough knife to cut the cake properly, along with extra plates. She held the knife out to Veronica when she returned.

"You wanna do the honors, chef?" Summer asked.

"Oh, uh, sure." Veronica stood up and carefully took the knife. As she cut slices, Summer slid them onto plates and set them out. Sam eagerly took his piece and dove in.

"Wow, Veronica, this is great!" Eric exclaimed through his first mouthful.

Summer grabbed a fork and gave the cake a try herself. Her eyes widened. "Incredible." She swallowed and grinned. "Seriously, that's good."

"It's nothing special," Veronica insisted. "But thank you." The smile she tried to hide tugged at her lips as she sat back down.

"Thanks for this weird little party, guys," Eric said. "We really didn't have to do this, though."

"Well, we were already going to eat lunch," Adam replied.

"You're lucky I didn't throw you a surprise party." Summer pointed her fork at Eric. "But I don't care what you say, I am getting you a gift for this year eventually. It'll come when you least expect it."