Three years later

Milly and her friends slammed open the school's exit doors as they walked out sighing and stretching. 

"Aniya: Yes! Grade ten is finally over! I miss the days when we used to learn what five plus five was," she says with a sigh of relief as they walk towards the area students would wait to get picked up.

"Rex: Yeah, grade ten was a nightmare. Milly, I feel bad for you."

"Aniya: Feel bad for yourself, douche. You were walking on thin ice all year. You barely passed the final exam."

"Rex: Yeah well, you weren't that amazing yourself," he says, rolling his eyes.

"Milly: Guys! Stop fighting. I think you both did awesome, so be happy! I…I also have a huge surprise for you guys."

"Rex: Really!" he exclaims, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Casper: Lower your voice," he says coldly.

"Aniya: You, shush it," she snaps at Casper.

"Casper: That's not even a word?"

"Milly: Guys, I can't exactly tell you right now since it won't be a surprise then. But you'll see in a few days. It's a little summer gift for you guys!"

"Aniya: Awww... Milly, I'm not sure what you planned but you really didn't need to. You're too sweet."

Aniya hugs Milly and Milly smiles brightly and hugs her back.

"Rex: When has she not been sweet to us?" he sighs, dabbing at a nonexistent tear.

"Milly: It's the least I can do for you guys."

Casper, who was looking at his book till this point, finally looked up to glance at Milly. 

"Rex: I might actually cry."

"Casper: Thank you for giving us live updates on your emotional state."

Milly and Aniya laugh.

"Rex: Bold of you to say when you interact with like three people a year."

"Aniya: Rex isn't wrong…Your face is in a book twenty-four seven."

"Casper: My bad for having a hobby," he says with a bored expression.

He looks back down and continues reading. Just then, they hear a honk. Milly’s dad was here to pick her up

"Milly: Okay guys, when I get home, I'll call you and give you all the details of where to meet me for the surprise."

"Aniya: Fine by me!"

"Rex: Same here!"

"Milly: Alright, see you guys later!"

She waves at them while running towards the car.

"Aniya: Bye, girl!"

They wave back and Milly hops into the car, putting her seatbelt on right away. "Arnold: Hey sweetheart, how was school?"

"Milly: Great Dad. I told them about the surprise! I'm so excited to see their reaction."

"Arnold: That's wonderful, sweetie! You are going to have such a great time together."

"Milly: Thanks, Dad. By the way, there's something very important I have to ask you," she says, fidgeting slightly.

"Arnold: What is it?"

"Milly: It's been three years and I still haven't told them about, you know, the curse thing."

"Arnold: Is there something wrong? Did they figure it out?" he asks, his voice suddenly worried.

"Milly: No, no! It's just…I want to know if it's a good idea to tell them or not."

"Arnold: Hmm... That's honestly up to you, Milly. If it's unnecessary, there's no need to say a thing. But if they ask about the necklace or something strange happens, it wouldn't be a bad idea. I think they'll love you regardless and wouldn't judge you for something like that," he says thoughtfully.

"Milly: The thing is… I don't know. What if they don't like me as much as I think they do?" she says, her voice growing small.

Arnold glances at his daughter before looking back at the road, his heart aching at the sad look on her face.

"Arnold: Milly, if they leave you because of something like this, you shouldn't be sad about it. It just shows they weren't the best people to begin with. You have such a beautiful soul, Milly. I doubt something like this will scare them away," he says gently.

"Milly: Thanks, Dad,” she says with a small smile.

"Arnold: No problem, sweetheart."

They continued talking until they arrived home. Once they were inside, Milly said hi to Rina before running upstairs, taking a shower, and got into her home clothes. She sat down on her bed and took off her necklace, throwing it towards the end of the bed. Then, she carefully picks up a tissue, before touching it with her cursed finger. In the blink of an eye, the tissue turned into dust, which slowly started to disappear.

"Milly: What is this? Mom and Dad say it's a curse, but... It feels like...."

She looks at the necklace and sees that half of it turned purple. Curious, she picks it up, wanting to examine it further. However, as soon as it's in her hand, it shifts back to all pink.

"Milly:…something more."

She puts the necklace back on and continues her day, but she is in deep thought, wondering about what she could do to get some information on this topic. Milly began going to the library every day, looking through all the books on science and ancient history in hopes to find something correlated to her situation.

"Milly (in her mind): There's only a few days till the surprise and I still haven't found anything useful."

Eventually, there was only one day left till the surprise and Milly decided to call her friends to see how they were doing.

"Milly (on the phone): Hey guys! How's everything going?"

"Aniya (on the phone): Great girlie! How are you?"

"Rex (on the phone): Heyo! Wassup."

"Milly (on the phone): I'm good, Aniya. Hey Rex."

"Aniya (on the phone): Hey Rex, where's Casper?"

"Rex (on the phone): I don't know. Reading a book, probably. By the way, I saw the name of the book. It was so weird. I think it was Criminal Punishment or something like that."

"Aniya (on the phone): I don't think there's a book called Criminal Punishment, Rex."

"Milly (on the phone): Guys, make sure to pack the things I told you to and be ready."

"Rex (on the phone): Will do. By the way, Casper and I are both coming."

"Aniya (on the phone): I almost couldn’t make it because of my little brothers, but I convinced my parents to let me come. I’m so excited!"

"Milly (on the phone): Me too! Uh, guys, my mom's calling me. I gotta go. I'm so sorry."

"Aniya (on the phone): It's fine, girl!"

"Rex (on the phone): Yeah, no need to apologize at all."

"Milly (on the phone): Thanks both of you. Tell Casper I said hi, Rex. Bye!"

"Both of them (on the phone): Bye!"

Milly puts down the phone and runs over to help Rina. Rex also puts down the phone and runs to Casper's room.

"Rex: Caspyyy! I was just talking to Aniya and Milly."

Casper looks at him for a split moment before continuing to read his book.

"Rex: You're reading criminal punishment again?"

"Casper: It's called Crime of Punishment, idiot. Now, would you mind leaving me alone?" he says with an eye roll.

"Rex: Ugh fine. Milly said hi."

"Casper: I honestly couldn't care less. Now leave!" he snaps, pointing at the door.

"Rex: Okay, okay!"

Rex walks out of the room and closes the door. Casper’s lip then curves into a small smile before he quickly catches himself and goes back to reading his book.

The next day, Aniya, Rex, and Casper got ready for Milly to pick them up for the surprise. They were confused, since she told them to pack some clothes and a few essentials into a suitcase or backpack. They had an idea of what it could be, but didn't want to jump to conclusions. Once Aniya was ready, she grabbed her mini suitcase and waited outside her door for Milly.

"Aniya: Where is she?"

Finally, a car pulls up with Rina and Milly inside. Aniya runs over to them, a big smile on her face, as Rina gets out of the car

"Aniya: Hello Mrs. Colmin!"

"Rina: Oh hello, darling. Let me help you put your suitcase in the trunk."

"Aniya: Thank you, Mrs. Colmin," she says, handing the suitcase to Rina. She hops into the backseat, still smiling.

"Aniya: Hey girl! So…can you give me a hint about the surprise?" she asks with a mischievous grin.

"Milly: I'm sure you've already guessed what it is," she replies with a chuckle.

"Aniya: Well, I know that we’re going somewhere for a while. But I don't know where, how, or why."

"Milly: You'll see soon enough," she says with a playful shrug.

Rina closes the trunk and heads back inside the car. They head over to Rex and Casper's house, who are waiting outside with their backpack and suitcase. When they arrive, Rex notices and waves.

"Rex: They're here. Come on," he tells Casper.

Rex takes both the suitcase and backpack and walks over to the car. Casper follows him, a book in hand.

"Rex: Hello Mrs. Colmin. How are you?"

"Rina: I'm great, darling, thank you. Let me help you with the luggage."

"Rex: It's alright, Mrs. Colmin. You're already doing so much by driving here and picking us up. I've got this," he says politely, placing their things in the trunk.

"Aniya: Okay, Mr. Charming!" she replies with a chuckle.

"Casper: Hello Mrs. Colmin."

"Rina: Hello, Casper. Take a seat in the back, Aniya is already there.

Casper opens the car door and climbs in, with Rex following after he closes the trunk. "Rex: Let's go!"

Rina starts the car and they begin driving to the location of the surprise. After about an hour and thirty minutes, they finally arrived.

"Aniya: I didn't think it was going to be this long of a ride," she says with a yawn.

"Rex: Yeah I'm tired already."

"Casper: You didn't sleep at all last night. No surprise!"

"Milly: It's okay guys. Take your stuff and follow me."

They grab their luggage and follow Milly into a building that looks like an airport.

"Rex: I told you, we were going on an airplane," he whispers to Casper.

"Casper: For your information, this isn't an airport," he says, his brows furrowing slightly as he takes in the location.

"Aniya: Then what is it?"

"Milly: Okay, let's just get through security, and that's it. Thanks, Mom, for bringing us all the way here."

"Rex: Yeah, thank you Mrs. Colmin."

"Aniya: Thanks!"

“Casper: Thank you.”

"Rina: You're all very welcome. Have a safe trip, you guys. Milly, call me when you're on."

"Milly: Okay. Love you."

Milly hugs her tightly before pulling away. Once Rina leaves, Milly and her friends head through security and eventually make it to the waiting area.

"Milly: Alright guys… the surprise is-” 

"Aniya: What?! Say it already!" 

Casper pinches the bridge of his nose as Aniya’s yelling was attracting unnecessary attention. 

"Milly: Look behind me guys,” she says in excitement. 

They turn to look behind her, their jaws dropping.

"Rex: (Gasps) HOLY MACARONI!”

~ 

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