"It's my birthday! I get to pick where we're gonna eat. Silence please! Thank you!"

Lay gege sounded bossy and all hyped up. We were walking towards the parking lot of the school. Students who watched the tryouts were making their way into their own cars or going out the gate to take the school bus. There was a school bus scheduled at this time in instances like students going home later than usual. Xiumin, Suho and Kris led our group, while Baekhyun, Luhan and Lay were at the rear. The rest of us were flanked in between. I was in the midst of all of them. Yo oppa was holding my hand and his other hand cradled his skateboard. His backpack was slung over one shoulder. Tao had managed to tie his skateboard to his backpack so both of his arms were free to move. He was picking something from my hair. A twig caught up in the tangles of my hair, he said.Sehun was thinking out loud where he wanted to eat, but Lay gege heard him and told him he was supposed to decide because it was his brithday. Chen had said that the new FISSKT members should have a say too, because it was a double celebration.We were noisy all the way to the parking lot. I didn't really join in the chatter, but I happily grinned at each and everyone's suggestions. In the end, it was Lay ge who won. He chose to eat at the Banana Leaf in Haidian. Luhan was hesitant at first because it was a little far off from the new house.The other option was Prego, and go Italian. But Lay insisted. He had said that the distance was not a problem since most of the oldies had cars anyway.

Tao: Isn't mama arriving home tonight? We should just go for take out and eat at home.

Luhan: No, tomorrow. I called her earlier. She couldn't get a ticket for tonight so she just booked a flight for tomorrow.

Tao: Did you tell mama I got in the team?

Luhan: No. I called before the announcement.

Tao: I'm gonna call her now, then.

And he did call mama to tell her the news. Sehun and Baekhyun quickly got beside Tao and tried to grab his phone away to talk to mama. But Tao held on to the phone tightly and pushed the two away.He could get possessive over his time with mama, so he acts all greedy when he talks to her.Especially from Sehun.

Baekhyun and Sehun waited until Tao finished talking to mama and went into a contest on who'd get to call mama next. Baekhyun got through first and smirked at Sehun who gave a defeated look. We reached the parking lot by this time and was now edging toward the cars. Luhan pulled me toward his car and waited until I got in and buckled up before he got in the driver's seat.He looked in the rearview mirror and counted the boys at the back. Sehun, Tao and Kai were seated comfortably at the back and making no more noise. Luhan smiled and started the car.He had asked Xiumin ge to call the restaurant to make a late reservation, to make sure that there was enough space for all 13 of us.

I think Lay gege was nostalgic and wanted Thai food, that's why he chose to eat at the Banana Leaf. I just learned it was a Thai restaurant when we were already seated inside. Lay must have remembered their "vacation" in Phuket just recently.Xiumin and Suho told the maitre d' that it was Lay's birthday and if they could please have something special to offer the birthday boy.

Suho: So, who's paying?

Kris: You, of course.

Suho: Why me?

Kris: Treat it as your first "major" purchase.

Suho: No.

Luhan: I'll pay.

Suho: Cool.

Luhan: But next time, you pay, Suho.

Suho: Lu ge...

Lay: Dessert's on me. I'm craving for ice cream. Who wants ice cream?

"I want ice cream!"

"Me! Me! Me!"

"Vanilla chocolate for me!"

"Green tea for me!"

"Strawberry!"
"Mocha and cookies n cream!"

"Heyyy! Why two flavors?"

"Because I want to."

"Me too! Me too! I want Vanilla and strawberry!"

Lay:Okay, I'll buy whatever you choose...provided that it's ice cream. Okay?

Baekhyun: What if I want something that's not ice cream?

Lay: Buy your own. You got your own money anyway.

Baekhyun: Not fair.You said dessert's on you.

Lay: Ice cream for dessert, and that's final.

Baekhyun: Ughhh fine. If there's butterscotch. Yummm...

The waiter had given us the menu and was just waiting to take our order. It was about 35 minutes past 7 PM. As we were busy choosing our food, Luhan's phone rang. He quieted us down and answered his phone. It was papa.

Luhan: Papa. Shi-ah. We are out...dinner...yes. Double celebration for the boys pa. Yes. All of them. Hao, hao...hao...zhen bu liao... Okay. Yes. Mama shi bu shi...oohhh...haoba... Yes pa. Straight home after dinner. Dui, dui, dui...Xiexie ni. Bye-bye.

Xiumin: What was that about?

Luhan: He was just checking up on us. He called the construction site and they told him not one of us showed up there.

Xiumin: Whose turn is it to check the house?

Luhan: Whoever is free, I guess?

Suho: Was papa mad?

Luhan: Nope. He remembered the tryouts.

Sehun: Did papa say anything about giving us something for a job well done?

Luhan: No, he didn't.

Sehun: Oh...

Kris: What do you need that something for?

Sehun: I just want my accomplishment to be recognized...

Tao: Papa will probably give us something when he gets back.

Sehun: I hope so.

Kai: I want new shoes.

Tao: Me too.

Sehun: I need money to be able to go with my class to a field trip.

Luhan: What field trip?

Sehun: For my social studies class. We are supposed to visit a community in Chao Yang.

Luhan: Have you even asked permission?

Sehun: No. Because I haven't gotten the slip from my teacher yet.

Kai: I have that class too. But I'm not going.

Kris: Why aren't you going?

Kai: Because I told the teacher I'll just do an individual project. I told him I couldn't go because I'm not sure if papa will allow us to go.

Kris: What makes you so sure that papa won't allow?

Kai: Because you guys can't go. It's on a school day and you oldies have classes. So you can't chaperone...?

Kris: Good one.

Sehun: But I wanna go.

Luhan: I don't think mama will allow that, either.

Sehun: Why?

Luhan: For some obvious reasons.

Sehun: It's not really obvious when you say it...

Luhan: First and foremost, when is that taking place?

Sehun: 2 weeks from now.

Luhan: Okay, secondly, has your teacher filed the trip with the school administration?

Sehun: Not yet, I guess.

Luhan: There is your obvious reason.

Sehun: It doesn't mean it's unofficial.

Suho: If it doesn't have the school seal, it's unofficial.

Sehun: Grrrr...

I wanted to say something but thought the better of it. I didn't dare cross Luhan at this time. He looked every inch the "da ge" of the family. Compared to Xiumin, he looked scarier. Xiumin ge was all smiles tonight. He sat beside Soo and was fussing over the state of Soo's school uniform. His jacket was all crumpled and his shirt was crumpled underneath, too. Probably from crouching too much. Soo managed to crouch like a furry ball on his seat. He had both feet up and hugged his knees. Suho scolded him and told him to put his feet down because it was improper. Chen and Chanyeol were playing rock-paper-scissors and Baekhyun ticked the ear whoever lost. Lay kept taking pictures of the place and us. After which, he smiled handsomely, his dimples showing and then making a theatrical wave with his hand, he acted as if he was a conductor of an orchestra. If I didn't know better, I thought he had a melody in his head and was composing a new song.

The other boys were chattering loudly and doing a play-by-play on the just concluded tryouts. Baekhyun and Chanyeol the noisiest. Soo rolled his eyes again and rested his chin on the table and played with the table napkin. Chen described the many "poker" faces of Sehun when he did his routine. Everyone laughed, even Sehun... and of course, Soo and me. All five of them were excited for the upcoming competition with our rival schools. Tao kept asking about the bra girl and it made Baekhyun snort loudly. Sehun glared at him and asked Tao to stop asking anymore. He wasn't happy hearing about a girl wanting to get just to make him notice her.

As I listened to their happy chatter, I scanned the place too. It was a nice place. I wondered if the Phuket resort had a restaurant like this one. I nodded in appreciation at the fixtures and lighting and at the people who served the customers. They looked nice and friendly.

Then our food arrived. Before we ate, we sang a happy birthday song to Lay. The maitre d' managed to serve a round chocolate cake with cherry and icing on top. Luhan winked. He probably placed an order at the bakeshop adjacent to the restaurant through the maitre d' earlier.

I admired the wit of my brothers. Especially the oldies. How on earth could they do these things? I mean, it's like they planned it days before. I think papa really trained them well. I wondered how life would be once the three of them go to college. Suho, Lay and Baekhyun would be in-charge by then. Will we survive like how we do now? I tugged at Luhan's arm as we ended the birthday song and Lay blowing his candle.

Me: Lulu...

Luhan: Hmmm?

Me: When you leave for London, will you still check up on us?

Luhan: Uhm...check up on you...what do you mean?

Me: I mean like call us and make sure we are home, if we ate breakfast, lunch or dinner. That kind of stuff.

Luhan: Hmmm...maybe. But not often. It's a long distance call, you know. It costs a lot.

Me: Then just do skype?

Luhan: You're smart. Yeah, I will do that.

Me: So, you will still help Suho ge take care of us?

Luhan: There's Lay, Baekhyun...to take care of you.

Me: But the other boys don't listen to Suho.

Luhan: They will, when he finally takes charge.

Me: Papa will make them follow Suho ge. Right?

Luhan: Yes, he will. And you know that all of them follow papa, right?

Me: Yeah...okay. Thanks Lu ge.

Luhan: You are too young to wory about these things. Sheeshh...let us, the older ones, worry about it. You enjoy yourself. Don't think too much.

I nodded and smiled. Luhan smiled as well and pushed the plate of mojo potatoes toward me and placed some on my plate, before he got some for himself. The table was well jolly for a birthday dinner. After eating, Lay was grinning from ear to ear. He didn't expect to receive birthday gifts from us. But each one of us had a little gift to him. Much like on Chenchen's birthday. He had thought that the birthday gift we had for him was the MV, but we had gifts wrapped specially for him. This night, Lay was surprised when we took out our gifts from our bags.

I gave him a harbound notebook where he could write down his song compositions. Luhan and Xiumin pooled their money and bought him new headphones and a handy recorder. Suho bought him a gold phone chain that looked like a piano. Kris was extravagant. He bought a pair of shoes for Lay, but as it was a big box, he just showed the picture to Lay and promised to give it to him when we get home. Tao, Sehun and Kai also pooled their money and bought him 2 new lenses for his DSLR camera. Kyungsoo bought him a recipe book that had spaces for personal notes. Lay immediately opened that and started reading. Chanyeol pulled the book from him and gave his gift. It was the newest cd from his favorite artist. Baekhyun gave him a gift cheque to one of the music shops in Fengtai. He shrugged when Lay asked him how he got it. But I saw Baekhyun gave a smug smile. He was starting to be extravagant like Kris ge. Tsk tsk.. LOL. And Chenchen gave him a pair of Ferragamo shades.He was kind of extravagant on this one, too.

As the gifts were all opened, we got ready to go to the ice cream shop just near our new home. We were helping stuff Lay's gifts in his backpack when Chen froze. He was facing the door. Chanyeol, who was beside him, waved his hand in front of his face.

Chan: Hey! Wake up! *snaps his fingers*

Chen: Ooops...

Chan: What?

Chen: Ding Dong alert... At my 12 o'clock.

Chan: What?

Chen: Ding Dong...Ding Dong...Bell...

Luhan heard him and swiftly turned his head toward the door. And indeed, there were the Dong brothers and their families. The girl who I saw in Hong Kong and the one on Facebook were approaching. I had hoped they didn't see us and just walk past. But no. They all saw us. How could you miss out 12 tall, handsome boys and one little sister? Ughhh... I moved closer to Luhan.

Luhan: Okay, guys. Let's go. Do not make eye contact.

Kris: Of course. My eyes are way above their head...

Chanyeol: Ahahahaha...mine too, actually.

Sehun: As is mine.

Suho: Shut it.

Kris: Don't worry Snow White, I got your back. You go first.

Suho: Aish...You lead, Li Shang.

Luhan: Guys, pass on the other side. Now.

And he grabbed my arm and led me toward the other side. But before we can move, the elder Dong had caught sight of us and smiled at Luhan. He looked like he singled out Luhan from the rest of us, and he was looking straight at him. The other boys who were fast enough to move to the other side, was already almost at the door. Suho led that group. I was left in the middle of the line of fire with Luhan, Chanyeol, Chen and Tao.

Mr. Dong 1: Ahhh...Wu Luhan? Nice to see you here.

Luhan: Uhm...hello Mr..Dong?

Mr. D1: Yes, yes. Dong Li Zhen. Where is your papa?

He reached out his hand to offer a handshake. Luhan shook his hand out of respect.

Luhan: Business travel, sir.

Mr. D1: Oh, the one in Thailand or with Mr. Soo Kui?

Luhan: I...both, I think, sir.

Mr. D1: Busy man, your papa, eh?

Luhan: Yes, he is.

Mr. D1: Oh..by the way, you having dinner with your family?

Luhan: Already done, sir.

And as he answered, he pushed Tao to move along. Chanyeol and Chen started to walk slowly away as well. Luhan held my hand firmly and I felt he was just looking for an opening, so he could drag me away.

Mr. D1: Your mama not with you?

Luhan: No, sir.

Mr. D1: Ah. Uhm..by the way, I'd like to apologize for what my daughter said before. Mistaking you for your younger brother and all.

Luhan: It's alright, sir. Papa already clarified everything.

Suddenly, his brother moved forward and joined in the conversation.

Mr. D2: Good evening, son.

Luhan: Good evening, sir.

Oh. My. God. He called Luhan his son? Aaaaaaaaaaarrrggghhhhh! I wanted to pull my hair at that moment and throw a tantrum. But Luhan's firm grip on my hand prevented me from doing so. I stole a glance at the others who were already by the door. They haven't gone out yet, probably waiting what would happen next and if their help were needed for a get away.

Mr. D2: Do you remember my daughter? Dong Hua Chen? You met in Hong Kong.

Luhan: Oh...hi. Yes.

The girl I saw in Hong Kong stepped forward. They haven't taken a seat on any table, but instead, they stood behind the patriarch Dongs who were talking to Luhan. If I may say, I think they are trying to matchmake Luhan with Hua Chen. Her name meant "east brilliance," but all I could see was darkness. (Darkness in my eyes, but lights up in the sky). LOL.

So yeah, now we have names for the two wicked witches of the East. Because that's what their family name meant. Dong as in East. They were cousins.Dong Hua Chen was older than Luhan, Xiumin and Kris. Dong Zi was the same age as Kai and Sehun.

Mr. D2: It is just unlucky that you already had your dinner. I would have asked you to join our table.

Luhan: No, it's alright sir. We are expected to be home soon, actually. It was uh..nice meeting you.

Mr. D2: And you, too.

Hua Chen: Take care, Luhan.

Luhan: Thanks. We'll go ahead now.

Mr. D1: You do look alike. You and your younger brother, I mean...

He was looking at Sehun who was eyeing them by the door. I had the feeling that Mr. Dong was stalling. He wanted to keep Luhan from going anywhere. I had to do something. I tugged at Luhan's arm forcefully.

Luhan: Xiao Yi...owww...

Me: Gege, I'm sleepy. I still have homework to do. Let's go home now.

Luhan: Yes, let's go.

And he made a quick bow to the elder Dongs. I smiled triumphantly and smirked at Miss Darkness. I flipped my hair and pulled Luhan with me toward the door.

Luhan: Mei-baobei... Thank you!

He hugged me as soon as we were out the door and out of sight.

I didn't get lazy. Here's the double update I sort of promised. Okay. LOL. Anyway, this concludes Lay's birthday. ^^ The Dong family made their appearance again. I'm kinda cooking up something for the future chapters, but I'm torn between two plots. It involves Luhan, Hua Chen, Xiao Yi and Jungkook. The other plot involves JungYi and Dong Zi and Sehun...with Luhan and Hua Chen. Ahhh...Let's leave it to the fates to decide. How about you? What do you think? Anyway, I'm kinda wondering how Tao is doing in the jungle. LOL. xD I hope my baby boy is alright and no longer afraid of bugs. I volunteer as his personal fly-swatter. Hahaha xD Special thanks to EXO's Heart Attack as my background music so I won't get lazy ♥♥♥ 吴爱你们！我爱你们！(Wu Ai Nimen! Wo Ai Nimen!) ☺