CHAPTER TWO: Surprise?

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"Ahh," I sighed deeply, stretching my arms miles into the air. The night passed quickly, and I looked outside to see that it was sunny and bright. "Huh?" I exclaimed. "What time is it?" My eyes searched the room for the alarm clock, and when I found it, I gasped in astonishment. "12:14? Already?!"

Using my quick cat reflexes, I brushed my teeth and, with ease, if I may add, threw on my salmon-colored sweater and various other clothing items.
My feet fumbled as I speeded down the stairs, eager to start yet another day working at Cafe Mew Mew. You may think that I despise that place, but in fact, Café Mew Mew is more of a home to me than my real home is. Pretty shocking, isn't it? To be frank, my fellow Mew Mews plus Ryou and Keiichiro are the closest people in my life. I've spent so much time around them, and we got to know each other so well, we could call each other family. Or, at least I could call them family.

Running to Café Mew Mew made me feel refreshed. I was ready to work after jogging to the café. I gently placed my hand onto the pink door handle and tried to turn it lightly to open the door. To my surprise, the door didn't budge. I tried once more, this time applying more force. Yet again, the door didn't move even an inch.

"Hello?" I shouted, trying to get somebody to open the door for me. I banged my fists on the door, yelling once more. "Hello?!"

After a minute or two, I gave up. Just as I was about to turn around and start walking home, I heard an eerie creaking sound. My eyes focused on the door, which slowly opened up. My heart started pounding, and a million thoughts raced through my mind at the speed of light. Why was Café Mew Mew so ominous-feeling today? What's going on? Are the Mew Mews okay?

I took a few steps forward and placed my hand at the center of the door, pushing it to open it up more. "Hello?" I said a third time. No reply came.

I stepped inside completely and searched for the light switch on my right. My hand slid the light switch upward to turn on the lights, and all of a sudden, I heard a loud, "surprise!"

"Nyaa!" I shouted in utter shock. I closed my eyes and felt my cat ears and tail pop up. Someone came over and tapped me on the back. I was curled up in a ball in the middle of the floor and refused to open my eyes. The voices at the Café were recognizable: Minto, Pudding, Ryou. What was happening?

Slowly I opened my eyes and saw a circle of people gathered around me, staring at the ball of Ichigo on the floor. I jumped up suddenly and glared at them, one by one.

"What in the world is this all about?" I yelled maliciously. Pudding shrank down to the size of a pea from the volume of my yelling.

"Relax, Ichigo," Zakuro said coolly.

"Yes, Ichigo," added Keiichiro with an expression of pure joy. "We were only trying to surprise you."

My eyes, full of fury, met Keichiiro's, dancing and gleaming. "What do you mean 'surprise'?"

"Well, since you received a raise, we decided to go celebrate. Plus, it's almost summer, and we thought it would be nice for all of us to take some time off of the Mew Mew project and have some fun. You know, as friends," Ryou explained.

My ears and tail drooped, and I looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

"Oh…" I mumbled. Minto chuckled.

"It's okay, Ichigo," she said. "Now we know not to surprise you in the future."

"Yeah," Retasu stepped towards me and patted me on the back. "All we can do now is celebrate your achievement."

The crowd of people moved away from my view to reveal a table fully covered with plates of delicious food, mainly sweets. Chocolate cakes, éclairs, everything I'd ever wanted in my life. My mouth emitted drool and I bolted to heaven. I stuffed as much food into my mouth as I could at one time, swallowed, and did the same thing over and over again.

"Hey, save some food for me!" Pudding shouted and ran over to join me in my eating frenzy. Everyone else came, too, except for Minto and Zakuro, who decided to have a nice cup of tea instead.

* * *

After the feast, we sat down around the discussion table and talked about the trip we would take as my present.

"I think we should go to Spain," Minto suggested first. "One of my favorite dancers is touring there, and I've always wanted to see her!" She looked shyly at Zakuro, who she was sitting next to. "You're my favorite star, of course," she exclaimed, blushing. Zakuro, who barely paid attention to her, said, "Or we could go to London. I was invited to be a participant in a major fashion show, and it would only be professional of me to attend. And it's likely that you guys would be granted front row seats for the occasion."

Ryou and Keiichiro stared at her with loathing eyes. "You know, Keiichiro and I aren't really into fashion," Ryou stated. Pudding giggled and contributed her idea. "I think we should go to Hawaii!" She was dancing the hula on the table.

"Or maybe," Retasu added, "we could go to the Bahamas. It's such a peaceful environment there." Pretty soon, everyone was arguing about where to go. I sat blankly and watched as everyone yelled their ideas.

After a few moments of havoc in the Café, Ryou slammed his hands on the table and yelled for silence. Everyone quieted down immediately.

"Thank you," he said. "Now, I believe that since it's Ichigo's present, it should be her honor to chose where we go."

I looked around the table. Everyone avoided my gaze and I smirked.

"We… are going to Russia!"

END OF CHAPTER TWO