3rd Floor Common Room, Sunday afternoon

[chasingangela]

Angela was a girl with a plan.

She had two boxes of chocolate cupcake mix, a half-full bag of chocolate chips to make the cupcakes even chocolatier, and tubs of pink icing and sprinkles to make them the prettiest cupcakes ever.

Giggling, she opened one of the boxes of cupcake mix and poured it into the biggest bowl she could find in the common room kitchen. She was very careful and spilled no more than a quarter of it on the table.

Friends would be welcome to help.

Comments

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders was roaming the dorms, halfheartedly trying to keep an eye on as many kids as he could. (Selfish motivations, really. He had to live in the middle of whatever chaos they might cause, after all.) The sight of a wee Angela attempting to bake cupcakes alarmed him somewhat -- and made him realize what he must look like to some people, when doing the same thing.

"Hey! You want some help with that?" he asked, walking into the common room with his hands in his pockets.

[chasingangela]

"I'm a big girl," Angela said, face screwed up in concentration as she opened the *other* box of mix. "See?"

With that, she dumped it toward the bowl. Well, at least half made it in...

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge has his cellphone in one hand and is holding one of Xander's hands with the other. They're up on the third floor because... well, because there were currently no big-people around on the second floor who could help them out.

He pokes his head into the Common Room to see if there's any big-people *here*.

[soldtoarmenians]

There are! There is, that is. There's a big Anders-person.

"Hi Anders-person!" Xander waves with his free hand.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders grimaced at the cupcake-mix spillage. "You are!" he agreed. "You gotta be a big girl to make cupcakes all by yourself. But I like helping. Can I help? It's fun."

[chasingangela]

"OKay," Angela said dubiously. "But we have to be really really careful."

She pointed at the baking instructions on the back of the box. "What's that word say?"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Xander-person!" Anders replies, waving over at them. "Whatcha guys doin' up here?"

[chasingangela]

Angela waved. "Hi Bridgey! Hi Xander! I'm gonna make cupcakes with pink icing for everybody, wanna help?"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Hi Anders!" Bridge says. "We're lookin' for help." He waves the cellphone at Anders.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders peered at it. "Preheat," he said. "That's important, preheating the oven. Otherwise your cupcakes won't turn out right."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"You need help with your phone?"

Even small children can confuse Anders. It's really not that hard.

[soldtoarmenians]

"I like cupcakes!" Xander said, nodding happily.

[soldtoarmenians]

"Arms too short," Xander says, nodding unhappily.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"You don't need long arms to hold a phone," says Anders, even more confused now.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Me too!" Bridge adds. "Is there any green icing or just pink? 'Cause I like pink but green is nice too."

[chasingangela]

Angela smiled and darted to the stove. "How do I pe-heat the oven?"

[chasingangela]

"I only got pink," Angela said, a little sadly. Then her face brightened. "But I got green sprinkles so they can be pink and green both! And chocolate."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Maureen came in after getting Angela's phone call (http://mparker17.livejournal.com/2413.html?thread=940653), bouncing with excitement. "Yay! We're baking! Yay, cupcakes!"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Yes you do!" Bridge insists. "Otherwise things are all *blurry*!" He looks at Anders with wide eyes.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Okay!" Bridge says. "Compra- comp- having both is good."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders's eyes went wide. "You just turn it on," he said, indulging in a brief but desperate internal debate as to whether or not he should be encouraging her to do so. "But it needs to be the right temperature, so hang on."

He grabbed the box of cupcake mix and quickly bounded over to the stove beside Angela, putting a hand on the oven temperature knob. "Okay, it says 350, so . . . there."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Blurry? Oh!" Anders smacks himself in the forehead. "Pictures, right. You want me to help you take pictures, 's that it?"

[chasingangela]

Angela let him turn the knob, secretly glad he had intervened. Stoves were hot and hot things were scary.

"Okay!," she said. "An' now we need to add the chocolate chips and the other stuff to the mix to make it all goopy, right?"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Please!" Bridge says, holding the phone out so Anders can take it.

[chasingangela]

Angela nodded. "Both is good. If they were just one color, it would be way more boring."