The gym buzzed with laughter and slurping sounds as noodles disappeared faster than Lily could serve them. Phones were everywhere—snapping photos, filming videos, and live-streaming.
Within minutes, social media was on fire.
#AmyAndSarahParty
#NoodleFiesta
#BestInstantNoodlesEver
The captions were glowing:
✨ “Who knew instant noodles could taste this good?!”
✨ This party is LEGENDARY.”
✨ “Forget glitter, give me noodles!”
Even the short clips of students laughing with chopsticks in hand went viral among their classmates, making the event look ten times bigger and better than it actually was.
Amy leaned toward Sarah, whispering with a grin, “They don’t even know our entire budget was thirty bucks and a pack of balloons.”
Sarah smirked, lifting her bowl. “Shh… don’t ruin the magic. Let them believe we’re noodle millionaires.”
**********************
Sarah slurped a mouthful of noodles, smacked her lips, and then patted Lily’s shoulder with mock seriousness.
“Lily,” she said dramatically, “this isn’t cooking. This is sorcery. I hereby crown you the Empress of Instant Noodles.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “You guys were literally there while I was cooking.”
Amy leaned in immediately, waving her chopsticks. “Correction—we were busy. Don’t you remember? The balloons?”
Sarah gasped like she was recalling a trauma. “Exactly! Do you know what it takes to blow up thirty balloons? My poor throat nearly tore in half. I was ready to donate my lungs to science after balloon number fifteen. I saw stars, Amy. Stars!”
Amy grabbed her chest, nodding furiously. “She’s not exaggerating. At one point, she blew so hard I thought her head would just pop off and join the balloons on the ceiling.”
Sarah jabbed her chopsticks at Lily. “While you were stirring noodles like some peaceful goddess, I was fighting for my life—gasping, dizzy, hallucinating colors that don’t even exist!”
Amy leaned closer, whispering to Lily, “She was holding her neck like Shakespeare, about to deliver her final speech. I almost called 911.”
Lily just blinked at them, unimpressed. “Right… balloons. Totally forgot you two nearly died while I saved this party with actual food.”
Amy dropped her bowl onto the table with a loud clank, pointing at Lily. “Don’t mock balloon duty. Without us, this place would look like a noodle funeral!”
Sarah lifted her chin proudly. “Yes. I carried this party in my throat. Literally.”
Amy burst out laughing, noodles hanging from her mouth. “You sound like you swallowed a trumpet!”
Sarah shoved her with her shoulder. “Don’t laugh—my suffering made these noodles taste even better.”
Amy flopped dramatically onto the chair, groaning. “I’m still traumatized by your balloon wheezing. It sounded like a dying goose.”
Sarah shot back, “And yet here you are, eating noodles like you don’t care about my sacrifice!”
 Amy nodded seriously, slurping noodles. “She nearly fainted, Lily. She looked like a dying walrus gasping for air. It was tragic… but also funny.”
Sarah glared. “At least I contributed! What were you doing, Amy?”
Amy shrugged, noodles hanging from her lips. “Supervising.”
Lily groaned, facepalming. “Unbelievable. Next time, I’ll cook and blow the balloons myself. That way, I can die twice while you two argue over who faints prettier.”
Sarah gasped. “Excuse me? I faint prettier. Ask anyone.”
Amy almost choked on her noodles, laughing. “Prettiest corpse in the gym. Congratulations.
Meanwhile…
Chloe stormed out of the gym, her heels clacking furiously against the hall tiles. Her glittery phone was clenched in her fist, and her lips were pressed into a thin, angry line.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered, flipping her hair dramatically. “Instant noodles and balloons, and they’re acting like it’s some grand royal banquet? I swear, this school has no taste!”
She reached her dorm, still fuming, and yanked her door open. But then she froze, eyes narrowing.
“Wait… where is Tessa and Bree?”
Her so-called “chicks,” her loyal little sidekicks, were nowhere to be found.
She stomped back into the gym,scanning left and right. Her perfect eyeliner twitched as a horrible suspicion dawned on her.
Sure enough—when she peeked back into the gym, her jaw nearly unhinged.
There they were. Tessa and Bree. Sitting cross-legged on the bleachers, giggling like toddlers, happily eating instant noodles with the rest of the crowd. One of them even had a balloon tied to her wrist like it was a friendship bracelet.
Chloe’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Tessa laughed mid-slurp, waving her chopsticks. “This is soooo good!”
Bree nodded eagerly. “Honestly, best party food ever. Chloe doesn’t know what she’s missing.”
Chloe’s nostrils flared as betrayal stabbed her like glittery daggers. Her own “chicks”… betraying her… for NOODLES.
“This,” Chloe hissed under her breath, “is war.”
      **************************
    Sarah slurped the last strand of noodles from her cup and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She glanced around the buzzing gym. “I don’t see Ethan or Leo anywhere,” she muttered.
Amy adjusted the cups she was holding. “Yeah… I’ll give some to the teachers first. Not all of them though. Just the nice ones. Then I’ll drop a few off for Ethan and Leo too.”
Sarah’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “And maybe Adrian, hmm? You should give him one. Maybe he’ll take the cup and look at you all slow, in that… you know… seductive way."
Amy nearly choked. “Adrian?! No way.”
Sarah leaned closer, grinning. “Come on. Imagine it. You hand him the noodles, all nice and warm, and he looks at you with those eyes—”
Amy cut her off, flailing dramatically. “Please! If I gave Adrian noodles, he wouldn’t even look at me. He’d stare at the cup like it’s some math equation.”
Sarah laughed. “True! He’d probably tilt his head and be like, ‘Hmm. Hydrated wheat in boiling water. Fascinating.’”
Amy held up an imaginary cup and deepened her voice. “‘Is this food… or just a social experiment?’”
Sarah slapped the table, laughing. “Yes! And then he’d eat one bite, pause dramatically, and say, ‘It lacks purpose.’”
Amy groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Exactly! Meanwhile I’d be standing there like a fool, watching him critique instant noodles like it’s fine art.”
Sarah nudged her, still grinning. “Well, at least if he stares at the noodles, he’s not staring at you snoring.”
Amy gasped. “You’re dead.”
Sarah just smirked, twirling her fork. “Maybe. But admit it—you pictured it.”
Amy groaned louder, hugging her noodles. “Ughhh! Why do I have you as a friend?”
  Sarah pointed her fork at her. “Because without me, you’d still be sitting here giving noodles a pep talk.”
Amy threw a napkin at her. “Shut up!”
Sarah just smirked, slurping loudly.