"It's what?" Max cried, flinching as his car did a flip off the track and exploded in a fiery fanfare.

His mother stopped reading and eyed him with disappointment. "Max you can't have forgotten again. She always gets you something. I'm not going to buy anything. I told you before this time you're on your own.

Dumping the controller on the couch Max whined. "Awww, but Mum, I ain't got any money.

"Well, I suppose you could get your allowance early this week." Relented his mother eyeing his smile. "But only if you go and get it now."

"Yeah, but I'm only just on the championship track. If I quit now I lose my trophies." Max evaded. Truth be told he had already passed it but he really didn't want to be bothered with girls right now.

Mum answered him with a well used, patented parent glare. "Steph has been your friend since we first moved here. I know she's a girl and you've got other friends you would rather hang out with now. But she is nice and your getting her a present wether you like it or not. Now move it mister." She spoke in a strict, no nonsense tone of voice.

Mrs. Cotter then walked over and calmly pressed the various buttons until the screen went blank. She then grabbed her complaining son by both his shoulders and steered him out the front door. Opening her wallet she shoved $10 into his grasping hand. Watching her son skulk slowly down the street she called out. "And put some thought into it this time!"

Max grumbled his way along the sidewalk. The shops were so far away. She could of at least drove him there. It was all Stephanies' fault anyway. If she would just leave him alone for once. It had been nice to have a friend just next door when he was younger but he was older now. Boys his age weren't supposed to hang around girls. He wasn't like Kurt. He didn't want a girlfriend.....yet anyway. If he gave Steph a birthday present all the kids at school would tease him. Shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, he meandered along. It just wasn't right for her to do this to him. Didn't she get it? Probably not she was a girl after all.

After an hour of roaming around the shops for a while he was in no better mood. He wasn't any closer to a gift yet either. Life was too hard sometimes. Picking up some fairy statue he absentmindedly considered it. Then he recalled Steph saying she didn't particularly like fairies, they looked too human. He dumped it on the shelf in a fit of frustration. Only to see to his horror that it was tottering dangerously. Reaching out to steady it he knocked over a delicate water ball. Max slowly saw his day getting worse as the water dissipated into the carpet, from amongst the shattered glass.

"You'd better have some money on you kid."

Max turned to see several people staring at him and one offended girl roughly his age with a store badge. Her black hair pulled back in a tight bun and her height succeeded in making her intimidating. Her well-rounded breasts in a tight white top succeeded in punching his heart to the ground to shatter much like the water ball had. Seeing the direction of his gaze her expression grew darker than a starless night. Max gulped and switching his gaze to the ground, handed over the money.

Now most other boys might have given up at this point. Grateful for an excuse to justify their own ends. But not Max. Once things started to go wrong he wouldn't give up. It had become just like another obstacle in any video game. Something to be overcome before he could move on. Of course with no money whatsoever this wasn't just any obstacle this was the towering cliff of doom. He began to eye the shopping centre floor avidly. People lost all kinds of this in shopping centres. All that reaching into purses to hand over money knocked other things out of purses. Just sitting down to take a break was dangerous also. You might forget to pick up one of your many bags. Of course if you have ever lost anything you know how easy it is to do it. Thus the only problem for Max now was beating someone else to it -- whatever it might be.

After a good while of picking up nothing but stray buttons and loose change Max finally hit paydirt, of a sort. A silver engraved pen. Well it appeared to be silver. Maybe it was platinum, that would sound better to Steph. He was extremely lucky the inscription didn't have a name just some odd phrase. It was written in a bizarre type of curly writing so it was difficult to make out. Max found if you cocked your head just slightly and held it up to the light. It was barely legible.
"Abolish what purports to prophesy, Caution as to what purports to prescience"
The words didnt any sense to Max but he was sure Steph would get a kick of trying to work them out. He would have to pretend he wrote them of course. Then he could tease her about not understanding them. The day was certainly beginning to look better.

Now all that was required was a card. Max could make it himself at home and then it would look like he had put some real effort in because it was hand made. The wrapping paper could just be some old stuff that was lying around at home. Mum was like that. She never threw away anything that might be useful. He just had to be careful not to wrap it in some paper that Steph had given him. Thrusting the pen into his pockets, Max whistled his way home.

**********

A heavy knocking broke Steph out of her dream world of castles and dragons. Putting the book down on the wicker table beside her. She ran to the door calling out to whomever was there.