Third Floor Common Room, Sunday Morning

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

After leaving a note for Cally to tell her to come up and find him when she gets up, Anders clanks his way up the stairs to the third floor, baking paraphernalia and cupcake makings in hand (well, in bags really). There's actually nobody in his common room for once, but he's not taking the chance on the huge audience that inevitably seems to congregate in there anyway.

Because there is cupcake baking about to happen here, and he doesn't feel like having his floormates witness his humiliation. Which of course means some of them will probably find their way up here.

Anders sets out all his ingredients, unpacks the brand new mixer, washes the mixing bowl and cupcake tins, and then settles in to stare at the baking directions for a while.

Maybe they'll make sense after a bit.

Comments

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

Blair stopped by on his way downstairs and waved. "Hi Anders! Whatcha doing?"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Blair! Hey, dude." Anders looked up from the cupcake box and waved back. "I'm, uh, making cupcakes. Or at least I will be. In theory. Eventually."

He grinned. "Alphonse's idea. Figured it'd be a little cheaper than buying 'em all the time. If they come out edible, that is."

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

Victor came out of his room to microwave a bowl of ramen. Seeing Anders, he smiled and waved with his free hand. "Hey, dude!"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Vic! Hey, man." Anders waved at him with one of the two mixer blades he was now trying to snap into place. "Got your message about the video footage, and yeah, I'm definitely gonna have to take a look at that sometime."

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

Blair peered at his supplies. "Have you ever baked cupcakes before? Is it hard?"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"I have never baked a damn thing before in my life," replied Anders, eyeing the mixer with extreme trepidation. "So safe to say that for me, at least, it's gonna be hard this time."

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

Blair leaned against the counter and grinned. "You never know, maybe you'll discover that you have a secret talent for baking and then you'll grow up to be a world famous pastry chef who entertains kings with your mad pie skills!"

Or, Blair thought as he watched him stare at the mixer, you could fail miserably and possibly hurt yourself in the process. But he kept his thoughts to himself and just grinned.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders laughed, and did Blair but know it, was thinking the exact same thing about miserable failure and self-injury. "You know, on the list of things that probably will never happen to me, that's pretty high up there. But is probably way more likely than, like, me being a commando leader or something crazy like that."

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

Blair tilted his head. "Yeah, sorry man, I just don't see you as a violent guy."

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

Cally wanders up, knowing full well where her boyfriend is making cupcakes.

She has their toaster in her hands. And she's smiling.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders tilted his head too, just the opposite way. "Well. I guess I can be? But that's all on the Pyramid court, dude, you know? Well, except for that one fight with Kennedy, and that other time with Thrace, but, um. Honestly, I don't really like real violence."

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

"A lover, not a fighter, huh?" Blair bounced and grinned. "Pyramid court? Is that a sport that's played here? I haven't heard much about sports, I've been hoping to get to play some basketball."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Hey, coach." Anders grins over at her.

He's a little too preoccupied with measuring out the oil and water into the mixing bowl to notice the toaster, though.

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

"Hey champ," Cally says, and sets down the toaster, and leaves the room, coming back a minute later with a bag of bread. "I think we need some quick fixes before the cupcakes are ready. So I'm gonna make some toast."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I guess that'd be me," agreed Anders, grinning back but without the bouncing. "Pyramid is a sport from my world. Haven't played much basketball, but there's a few people here who do. Cam, Victor, I think Bridge. Not enough for a team or anything, but probably enough for a few pickup games."

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

"So does Pyramid involve actual pyramids? Because I like those!" He looked over the kitchen. "Sorry, am I keeping you from baking?"

[cyclopeanmerc.livejournal.com]

Pip sticks his head in. "My finely trained senses tell me that something is being cooked. Or at least attempted to be cooked."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Naw, no actual pyramids. People keep asking me that." Anders shook his head. "The court is a triangle, see, and with the goal and boards sort of angling up around the edges, it's sort of an invisible pyramid, I guess. And, um, don't worry about it. The company is keeping me from freaking out over cracking the eggs."

NFB for a moment

[anole-x.livejournal.com]

"I can arrange it for you, but I need your help with something. Do you think you can make it so the tape plays on all the dorm lobby TVs at the same time?"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders nods absently and wonders why eggs don't come with some kind of pull-tab device. This cracking thing is way too difficult. "Good idea. Can't live on cupcakes, right? Might have some eggs left over when I'm done, too, if we wanna have those."

He hasn't yet realized, of course, that Cally actually plans on making the toast. Because he's too busy squinting at the eggshell and trying to figure out if there's some special angle or something he should be using to aim it at the edge of the bowl.

Okay, and he's also just learned that you really don't have to hit the egg that hard against the edge of the bowl to get its shell to crack. He sighs and stares at the egg yolk all over the counter and his hand. "Got any paper towels?"

[sogothcally.livejournal.com]

Cally hands him a paper towel. "There ya go," she says, before taking another one to clean off the counter. "Gentle is better when dealing with eggs."

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

"Wow, that sounds pretty cool! Maybe you should teach people how to play or something." Blair looked at the eggs and smiled. "Naomi and I once stayed with this guy in Italy who could throw an egg at the edge of the bowl and it would crack perfectly! You should try it that way!"

Re: NFB for a moment

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Me?" Anders tapped the mixer blade against his lips in thought. "If you mean, like, me me, probably not, 'cause I couldn't even hook up my own TV. Bet the other two thirds of ABC DC could manage something, though.."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Pip." Anders waves at him with the mixer, which he fortunately hasn't yet stuck into the bowl. "Attempt is the right word here."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Sorta did that when I was running gym class on Thursday," said Anders, looking thoughtfully at the bowl and then the eggs. "Throw it at the bowl? Whoa. Sounds cool, but I better not risk that this time. I only got a dozen."