Chapter 152
- Third person POV -
It had been 2 weeks since the devastation of doom had ended.
Things have quieted down from the demons and news reports. The city is still bruised from the empty lots, cracked streets, and collapsed buildings. Repairs had already started.
Micah's uncle—the newly appointed lieutenant governor—stood on a temporary stage in the gymnasium.
He organized and hosted a bake-off to help at the community center, opening up the staff kitchen and setting up several pop-up baking stations with long tables stretching to the wall. People from all over the city filled the spaces: parents, teenagers, old couples, and little kids rolling dough with alarming enthusiasm.
"Alright, alright!" Uncle boomed proudly into the microphone. "Hello and welcome, everyone! This is our first city fundraiser. You have three hours; let's bake, laugh, and live again, alright?" All proceeds today will go toward rebuilding our city and supporting displaced families. Let's bake, laugh, and live again, alright?"
People cheered. Small children waved spatulas, and someone in the back dropped a bowl on the floor.
"We have two official teams. The girls' team consists of Baby, Kaysi, Becky, and my sweet niece, Micah. And on the boy's team, we have Duke, Evan, Josh, and James."
Tomo wasn't competing—but he hung around helping Uncle run supplies and making sure people knew he wasn't a villain.
Josh leaned over to Evan. "I feel like Uncle is biased toward the girls!"
"Oh, for sure," James said, walking by with the flour in his arms.
Josh helped Becky tie an apron. "Sooo...I'm thinking we're going to win regardless of the extra point you have with Micah."
She snorted. "You? Win?"
He grinned. "You underestimate my abilities, my dear!"
"HA," Becky laughed. "You burnt a cup of instant noodles."
"That was one time!"
Kaysi caught Beck and Josh's playful banner—she leaned over to Micah. "Are they always like this?"
She nodded with a shrug, "Pretty much."
Micah leaned across the tablet to grab the vanilla, crossing paths with James. They are close but not touching. Becky smirked, and both of them shuffled the other way, continuing their tasks.
Duke clapped his hands. "Alright, let's settle this properly. If the boys win, then the girls' team buys them smoothies, and if the girls win, the boys must pay."
"Deal," Evan said confidently.
Becky smirked. "Get your wallet ready, boys."
Evan walked to his table, looking at Kaysi's station.
"That's too much sugar for cupcake icing." He proudly corrected.
"No, it's not; this is my grandma's recipe!" Kaysi stuck out her tongue. "Worry about your own station before you get beat.
"Well, see." He chuckled.
Baby got to mixing batters for the cupcakes at almost unnatural speeds.
Micah prepped the ingredients and other kitchenware they may need.
Becky used a bit of her ice powers when she thought no one was looking to cool down the first batch.
"That's cheating!" Josh said, glancing over, catching her.
Becky looked back with a lower gaze. "You're imagining things."
Kaysi leaned over her bowl, mixing the icing, folding it, and stirring as the stiff peaks formed from the extra sugar she added.
Evan smiled mysteriously. "Told you too much; it's too thick."
A streak of vanilla icing splattered across Kaysi's cheek.
Before she noticed, Evan moved on instinct.
"Oh, you—hold still," he said softly.
He stepped in close, gently swiping the icing off her cheekbone with his fingers... And without thinking, without a single neuron firing in time to stop him —
He popped his finger into his mouth.
Kaysi froze, looking at him wide-eyed.
Evan was as stiff as an iceberg.
Behind us:
Micah: "OH."
James: "Bro…"
Becky: wheezing
Josh: choking on air
Uncle: whispering, "Lord, give me strength…"
His soul visibly left his body.
"I— It— That— I didn't— That was instinct— Not like— I—forget I exist!" He yelped, his face exploding red.
He spun so fast he clipped an egg carton, sending an egg rolling off the counter.
Josh, one-handed, caught it midair. "Dude."
"I AM NORMAL!" Evan squeaked, nearly hiding behind Josh. "THIS IS ALL NORMAL HUMAN BAKING." Kaysi touched her cheek softly, smiling… then immediately failed at not looking at Evan.
James nudged Micah. "He's basically a puddle."
Baby whispered, "That he is—melted!"
While chaos unfolded, Micah accidentally bumped into James. He steadied himself gently.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"You're good," he smiled softly.
Micah tried to focus on decorating the last few cupcakes, but her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. Tomo passed by and smirked knowingly, earning him an elbow from Micah.
Evan teased Micah.
"You're piping it wrong."
"Are you kidding me? I grew up in a bakery.
Josh discreetly used the faintest flicker of a cyan flame to caramelize the sugar on the cheesecake.
Across the kitchen, Baby raised a brow. "Really?"
He smiled, looking at Becky. "She cheated two nowhere even."
Uncle passed through. "Y'all better not be using power in my kitchen. He scolded.
Everyone: "We're not." (They absolutely were. Just very, very subtly.)
Girls' Table: Frosted cupcakes that looked like tiny angel wing candies on top.
Boys' Table: Duke's style-shocking cheesecake.
People bought everything.
Kids smiled again.
Families hugged each other.
And the city breathed.
A few hours had passed, and the world felt somewhat restored.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen," Uncle announced. We have made enough, plus more, to help our families, and now to announce our winners: by only ten dollars in sales are...
THE GIRLS' TEAM!
The boys groaned. "How? Josh complained.
"While you boys thumbed over there, we were more organized without time and had a chance almost to double our product!" Baby bragged.
Josh laughed, "You had an inside man that told you about this event before it even started, didn't you.
Micah winked at Uncle. "No—I can't say I did or didn't."
"Ha, I knew it. See, James, I told you they would cheat! We were robbed. You should have let me go with my original plan!" Josh barked in James' ear.
Kaysi poked a cupcake with icing on Evans's nose.
He blinked at her.
"Now we are even." She giggled.
Josh got ready to throw a piece of cake at the back of Evan's head when his uncle stopped him, shouting. "If you get a single drop of frosting on the floors, you're scrubbing every tile with a toothbrush!"
Once cleaning and packing were done, Duke came to us to announce something.
"I got a letter yesterday."
He opened it—paper-thin, handwriting elegant.
Kaysi leaned in. "Who's it from?"
Duke smiled softly.
"It's from Chief Cailian and Matilda."
Everyone stilled.
He read:
"To the Waymakers,
Keetoowah and our sister village have been fully rebuilt after the rabbit demon disaster. We wish to invite you to our Spring Reopening Festival. Come as honored guests.
The island awaits your return."
Becky squealed.
Josh grinned.
Evan whispered, "Finally, it's been 2 years."
Kaysi's eyes lit like stars.
Micah clasped James's hand without realizing she'd done it.
Baby just smiled warmly. "Looks like in a few months our springbreak are going to be busy."
Duke folded the letter carefully.
"Guess we're going on a trip."