It was amazing how much work was necessary for a small get together, but also how quickly and easily it went with the help of another person. Especially when that person happened to be on staff
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Bobby had finally abandoned the drink table and his ice sculpture to wander over to the second biggest draw of the party: the colorful cupcakes and other sugary baked goods.
When he spotted Xanth halfway through a cupcake, he grinned.
Xanth nodded, then swallowed down his mouthful. With his thumb, he wiped a stray piece of icing off of his lip.
"Y--Yeah. This-- th-this is just m-my first, b-but it-- p-probably won't b-be my last..." He gave a slightly self-conscious laugh. "Do-- d-do you think she m-made all these-- her-- h-herself?"
He grinned at that, nodding his agreement and reaching out to grab one of the cupcakes.
"I can't blame you at all, dude. It's a good thing there's so many, or the rest of the party goers would be having to do without." He was teasing, there. Well. For the most part. "Huh. If she did, she's a much better baker than me."
"E-Even if she h-had help, she's-- sh-she's a better b-baker than me. I-I'd, I-I don't know, b-burn them or-- m-mix it funny o-or something." He took another bite of the cupcake, and now it was nearly gone.
Bobby laughed. "You and me both. I actually got banned from baking back home after I tried to make cupcakes and got cookies. Which wouldn't have been too bad, except they weren't really edible cookies. My friends kept calling it the Great Cupcake Tragedy."
They really, really weren't. But that only meant that no one could be faulted for eating a ton of them.
Bobby was going to use that excuse, anyway, considering he went for a bite of his cupcake and chomped down about three-fourths of it in one go.
Xanth broke out in a grin and laughed in return. Almost immediately after, he covered his mouth, looking slightly sheepish. "S-Sorry. I-I just, um. I can s-see the... the same h-happening to me."
"S-So, did-- did s-someone else t-take over baking, th--then?"
He grinned widely at Xanth's laugh. "Nah, don't apologize. I wouldn't have told you it if I wasn't hoping you'd laugh with me. If you ever do end up doing something similar, I'll totally give it some form of epic disaster name."
Bobby nodded. "Pretty much anyone else was better than me. But we have one student who loves it, and is amazing at it. I still think it's a secondary mutation."
Xanth's grin took a sheepish turn, but he didn't balk at Bobby's suggestion. Doing something worthy of a name like the Great Cupcake Tragedy sounded almost... fun.
"O-Oh-- yeah? C-Could they-- save c-cupcakes from a--another t-tragedy?"
It would be awesome. And then you get to tell stories about your epic baking adventure.
He chuckled. "That was his mission. Bringing non-tragic cupcakes back to the Institute. I still wasn't allowed to help, though. I think it's just because he didn't want to admit that no matter how awesome his skills were, they weren't enough to save anything I helped make."
This time, Xanth didn't bother to hide his grin or hold back his laughter. "Ma-- m-maybe he can't b-because you-- you're his c-- cupcake arch-n-nemesis?"
Bobby's laughter was slightly surprised and entirely delighted. "Oh, man. That's wicked awesome. I've always wanted to be someone's arch nemesis of baked goods. I need some kind of slogan, about how all cupcakes will quake with fear."
"Would-- w-would you need a-a-- a new name, t-too? Like-- a-a-- a t-title o-or something?" Xanth bit his lip, thinking for just a moment. "A--Arch-Duke Char, B-Burner of-- of Cake?"
"Yeah, I'd definitely need a title. What kind of arch nemesis would I be without a title?"
And then another burst of cheerful laughter at Xanth's suggestion. "Dude, Xanth, you are seriously the coolest person ever." He paused. "I'm absolutely stealing that, by the way."
Xanth broke out into another wide grin - in fact, he was absolutely beaming. If he'd known being excessively silly made him cool, he might have tried it sooner.
"G-Go ahead. I-It's, uh-- f-free for the t-taking."
When he spotted Xanth halfway through a cupcake, he grinned.
"I take it that means they're good?"
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"Y--Yeah. This-- th-this is just m-my first, b-but it-- p-probably won't b-be my last..." He gave a slightly self-conscious laugh. "Do-- d-do you think she m-made all these-- her-- h-herself?"
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"I can't blame you at all, dude. It's a good thing there's so many, or the rest of the party goers would be having to do without." He was teasing, there. Well. For the most part. "Huh. If she did, she's a much better baker than me."
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These really weren't large enough.
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They really, really weren't. But that only meant that no one could be faulted for eating a ton of them.
Bobby was going to use that excuse, anyway, considering he went for a bite of his cupcake and chomped down about three-fourths of it in one go.
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"S-So, did-- did s-someone else t-take over baking, th--then?"
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Bobby nodded. "Pretty much anyone else was better than me. But we have one student who loves it, and is amazing at it. I still think it's a secondary mutation."
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"O-Oh-- yeah? C-Could they-- save c-cupcakes from a--another t-tragedy?"
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He chuckled. "That was his mission. Bringing non-tragic cupcakes back to the Institute. I still wasn't allowed to help, though. I think it's just because he didn't want to admit that no matter how awesome his skills were, they weren't enough to save anything I helped make."
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And then another burst of cheerful laughter at Xanth's suggestion. "Dude, Xanth, you are seriously the coolest person ever." He paused. "I'm absolutely stealing that, by the way."
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"G-Go ahead. I-It's, uh-- f-free for the t-taking."
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"Awesome. I'll give you credit when they make the movie about my nefarious plans to destroy baked goods and my nemesis's vain attempts to stop me."
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