[Wingardia] No. 501

[The Razz]

Rayna watched as the fourteen year old walked away. She didn't answer her, at first. "Well, you could be our friend, if you want." she told her, grinning. "I don't think it's sad. And....thank you." she said quietly. She was lucky to have friends, and she was grateful. She then laughed when Nobara asked the question. "Hard." she said almost immediately. "I mean, it's not just taking care of a child, but Andi's a handful." she said, smiling. "I'm lucky that my mom sends me a little money every month, or else I wouldn't know how I'd make it." she told her. "But....she's worth it." she added softly, nodding to Andi. The little girl did look very happy as she begged Charlie to give her a piggy-back ride. The fifteen year old boy smiled, hoisting her up on her back and running around, Andi squealing in delight.  

[Misao]

Upon noticing Andi enter the room, Hikaru sprang up excitedly from where she was sitting. Dashing over to the table, she grabbed the poorly wrapped gift she'd brought in, running over to Andi and shoving it excitedly toward her.

"Happy birthday, Andi!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I know we haven't started the presents yet, but I really want you to open this!" Her eyes were shining with excitement - she really wanted to see what Andi thought of her gift. whee  

[The Razz]

Andi slid off Charlie's back when he stopped running, looking up to Hikaru. SHe looked down at the present, beaming. "Thank you so much, Hiko!" she said, lunging at Hikaru and giving her a hug. She had heard Rayna and Kylie use the name for her, so she decided to join in. She looked at the gift and took it, biting her lip. She really was happy. She ripped through the wrapping paper to see a really nice, new soccer ball sitting in front of her. She windened her eyes, beaming. She looked up to Hikaru, grinning fron ear to ear. "Thank you so much!" she cried, hugging the ball. "I love it! I've never played soccer before!" she said, placing it on the floor and ready to test it out. Right before her foot hit the ballCharlie pulled her away, laughing. "Not right now, Andi. Maybe later." he said. Andi pouted for a moment, but then smiled, leaning against him. "Okay, Charlie." she said softly, grabbing the ball and throwing it up in the air, and catching it. Charlie smiled at Hikaru. "Heya, Hiko." he said, nodding at her.  

[Misao]

Hikaru grinned back at Charlie, giving him a thumbs up gesture and winking. She seemed absolutely thrilled that Andi was pleased with her gift. Turning back to the little girl, she patted her on the head, smiling widely.

"I'm glad you like it!" she said, pumping a fist in the air excitedly. "I'm gonna teach you how to play soccer with that sometime soon! I'll make you good enough to beat all the boys!" Putting her hands on her hips, she leaned back and started laughing heartily.  

[The Razz]

Andi looked up to Hikaru and grinned, dropping the ball and putting her hands on her hips like her. Modeling Hikaru, she leaned back a bit as well, a curious expression on her face. She then laughed like Hikaru, copying her. Charlie laughed at the scene, lunging at the small girl and throwing her over his shoulder, twirling around in circles. Andi screamed in glee, kicking her legs and laughing. Kylie watched this and smiled, laughing herself. Once Charlie put Andi down, Kylie stood up, walking over and handing Andi a medium sized, square present. It was wrapped in a light pink wrapping paper. "Here you go, Andi. Happy Birthday." she said cheerfully. Andi gasped, taking the present. "Thank you, Kylie!" she squealed, ripping the wrapping paper off much like she did to Hikaru's present. She found it to be a shoebox, and when she opened it, she gasped. Inside were a pair of white, all-purpose tennis shoes, with pink soles on them. She grinned, hugging Kylie. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried.  

[Shunko]

Ayame smiled, feeling happy for Andi. She went back to the window seat and sat alone, wondering who her real mother was. She didn't even know her father. She sighed, feeling a little bit jealous of Andi. At least she knew her biological mother, mabey the father too. "You're so lucky.." She whispered quietly. She looked down at the forest, singing the song from earlier again. It made her feel good inside.

"Shizuka naru ame no megumi furu.." Ayame sang quietly. she felt she stuck out a little bit, and didn't quite fit in, unlike her sister. On the topic of her sister, she realized that she hadn't been playing with her lately. She hasn't even been around her mom. Sadness glimmered in Ayame's eyes, regardless of her efforts to be happy. She took in deep, slow breaths, trying to calm down. Why do I feel so sad? She asked herself.

 

[The Razz]

Andi whirled around to see Ayame sitting at the bay window alone. Tilting her head to the side curiously, she trotted over, sitting next to her. She smiled, having heard the young girl whisper. "You are, too." she said, tapping Ayame's nose. "And do you mean I'm lucky for having all these people here? Because I'm very lucky for that." she said, laughing nervously. She looked at the small gift in her hand- the one that Ayame had given her. She looked up to Ayame and grinned. "Yours next!" she said, carefully unwrapping the present and opening the small box to see what was inside.  

[Shunko]

Ayame smiled, blinking when she was tapped on the nose. She giggled, and just shook her head. "Aww, never mind about that. I was just grumbling." She said cheerfully. She couldnt wait to see Andi's face when she saw the heart-shapped locket with the ruby embedded in it. It had cost Aytame quite a bit of money and working aroung the room. But in the end, she deciced that if would all be worth it. Andi was Ayame's best friend, and she deserved the best birthday she could get. Ayame grasped the small star charm that she had recieved from Andi a while ago, a little bit nervous.

 

[The Razz]

Once she saw the ruby-embedded locket lying in the box in front of her, Andi immediately gasped, her eyes wide. It was so beautiful- she hadn't ever gotten anything as pretty in her life. How much did it cost?! She took it out of the box, beaming. "It's...so pretty! Thank you!" she said, engulphing her in a huge hug. She really was grateful that she had such a friend. Did she really deserve such a pretty thing, though? She pulled away from the hug, smiling at her. She looked over to Rayna. "Mommy, could you help me put it on?" she asked.

Rayna, also a little disappointed, smiled happily, nodding. "Of course." she replied, walking over. She also had gotten Andi a locket- it didn't matter, though. As long as Andi was happy. Rayna got down on her knees, placing the necklace around the little girl's neck, working on the clasp. It was a good thing that Andi had short hair- Rayna didn't want to fuss over getting her hair caught in the clasp. Once she finished putting it on, she took a step back, smiling at Andi, who fingered the locket. Andi then opened it, seeing the pictures of her and Ayame inside. She looked up to Ayame, smiling. "Thank you!" she repeated.  

[Shunko]

Ayame looked up at Miss Rayna, seeing the dissapointment in her eyes. Ayame instantly felt guilty, noticing that look meant that Miss Rayna had also gotten Andi a locket. Mabey it wasn't the same though, she hoped. This made Ayame nervous, though. What if Miss Rayna was really upset? What if Ayame had hurt her feelings? The "What ifs" went on and on, and Ayame felt more and more guilty. It was almost hard to hide the guilty feeling from everyone else, but she was kind of managing... kind of.

 

[The Razz]

Rayne glanced over at Ayame, sensing guilt from her. She smiled softly, shaking her head, as if telling her that it was alright. Andi was happy with the locket Ayame had gotten her, and that was all that really mattered. Charlie stood up from where he was sitting, walking over to the closet, disappearing inside of it for a moment. He came back out a few seconds later, a large box in his hands, covered in yellow wrapping paper. Andi's and Rayna's eyes widened- what had he gotten her? Charlie set it down in front of her. "Happy Birthday, Andi." he said, grinning widely. Andi immediately, began tearing through the paper. What she found made her widen her eyes.

Fireworks. A large box of fireworks, sparklers, firecrackers, and anything you can light up that will make loud noises and bright colored sparks. Rayna gave Charlie a shocked look and hit him in the arm. "What are you doing, giving her that?! She's SIX." she said. Charlie laughed. "Of course she'll be under supervision." he said. "I can't believe you." Rayna stated, crossing her arms. Andi just looked at the present in shock. "This...is SO COOL!" she exclaimed, looking over at Ayame. "If Mommy lets me, do you think that me and you could try them sometime?" she asked, grinning.  

[Shunko]

"Wowee, Andi-chan!" Ayame said in amazement. She had never seen sparklers or fireworks, but they looked so cool. "Yeah! Lets try them out sometime!" Ayame chirped excitedly. She then remembered her curiousity about Charlie. She looked up at Charlie and asked , "Are you Andi-chan's daddy?" She looked at miss Rayna, then at Charlie. They looked cute together, in Ayame's opininon. She then looked back at Andi. It seemed that she did have some of Charlie's facial featues, but mostly looked like Miss Rayna. She then re-directed her head towards Charlie.

 

[The Razz]

At Ayame's question, Charlie, Rayna, and Andi grew quiet. Rayne blushed a light pink. Charlie shrugged. "We don't know who the dad is." Charlie told her. Rayna furrowed her eyesbrows. 'Why is everyone asking if Charlie is the father?' she asked herself. 'Well, now that I think about it, she does look like him a little...' she added, examining Andi- her eyes were blue like Rayna's, but had a hint of brown and green in them, too. Her smile was a bit like Charlie's also- slightly lopsided. And it looked as though she had the same nose, as well. She could also be a little blunt from time to time, but mostly, she acted like Rayna. The fourteen year old was puzzled. Andi looked up at Rayna and Charlie, then back at Ayame. "Nope. We dunno who's my Daddy. Future Mommy never really told me." she said, smiling a bit. "Only that he was a human. And I remember him being tall. Ooh, sparklers!" she said, rapidly changing the subjects as she looked at the sparklers in a corner of the box.  

[Shunko]

"Have you ever thought of a DNA test? Just to see?" Ayame asked bluntly. this was a very interesting subject. But then again, why was Ayame meddling around in their business. It seemed a little bit rude. In realization of this, Ayame bowed, saying over and over again, "I'm sorry! That was rude!" When Andi exclaimed "Sparklers!" Ayame instantly turned her head towards Andi to look at the sparklers as well. "Wow... you got a lot of cool stuff, Andi-chan!"

 

[The Razz]

As Andi and Ayame Stared and giggled in awe over the sparklers, Rayna thought about what Ayame had just suggested. 'DNA test? It doesn't seem like a bad idea....' she thought to herself, unknowing that the thought had been sent into Charlie's mind, also. He looked over to Rayna, giving her a knowing look. Though she would have been worried that the telepathy was getting worse, her mind was currently on getting a DNA test. She bit her lip, shrugging. She wasn't sure if she wanted one or not. Of course, she wanted to know who the father of Andi was, but...Rayna sighed, shaking her head. She would think about this later.

"Okay, Andi, now for my present." she said, smiling. Andi looked up from the box that was nearly taller than her and beamed. "You got me something too, Mommy?" she asked. Rayna laughed, nodding. "Of course I did." she replied, taking a gift from oput of her pocket. It was small- narrow and long, wrapped in light pink wrapping paper much like Kylie's. Andi walked around the box, taking the present from Rayna and ripping off the paper, looking at the white box in her hand. She looked up to Rayna, who smiled and nodded to the box. "Open it." she said. Andi nodded, looking back to the box and taking off the lid, gasping. Inside was a pretty, gold chain necklace, with a small, golden oval locket attached to it. It was simple, yet pretty. She beamed, looking up to Rayna. "Thank you, Mommy!" she exclaimed, lunging at her and hugging her tightly. Rayna hugged her back, laughing.