Fifth Floor Common Room, Friday Evening

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"No, really," Marshall said, balancing his phone between ear and shoulder as he measured sugar into his mixing bowl. "I'm baking. Like, the common room on each floor has pretty much a full kitchen, it's totally cool."

"I didn't mean that," Corrine said, on the other end of the call. "I was surprised that you're baking, not that there's a place at your school you can do it. Since when do you bake?"

His timer dinged; Marshall turned around and pulled a pan of orange-flavoured cupcakes. "Well, I mean, it's just applied chemistry," he pointed out. "Besides, it's not that hard to follow a recipe. Just like doing a lab, y'know? Anyway, I should go, I don't want to be distracted while I'm making the ganache. Tell Vaughn and Z that I said hi, okay?"

"Sure. ... What's a ganache?"

Marshall laughed. "Goodbye, Corrine. If Lucas asks, yes, I'll be online later tonight."


[Totally open and distractible. There are tasty things! Come and get some.]

Comments

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Is there any diet coke up here?" Quinn asked, swinging the fridge open to poke at what was inside.

Then she remembered to at least be vaguely pleasantly social. It might get her a cupcake. "Hi, Marshall."

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Quinn, how's it going?" Marshall turned from his melting chocolate to wave vaguely at the fridge. "I think I saw some diet Pepsi? If you don't mind that instead of Coke."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"It tastes funny," Quinn groused, but took the Pepsi anyhow. "I'm good. Grateful this week that I already did my time in ethics. I'm not in a mood for a fake baby. How are you?"

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

Marshall blinked. "Suddenly very glad that I'm not in Ethics. Are we talking, like, the egg-baby things? Or dolls?"

Someone hadn't been listening to radio the last few days, no.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"They're these robot doll things," Quinn explained. "They look like real babies except their eyes are kind of ... you know. Glassy."

She shrugged. "Professor Skywalker thinks he's funny."

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"Those sound freaky," Marshall said, wrinkling his nose.

He turned back to his chocolate, pouring the cream over top and slowly stirring.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"I know," Quinn agreed. "You should see them around."

She eyed the cooking for a minute. "... what are you making, anyhow?"

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"Cupcakes!" Marshall replied, grinning. "Chocolate orange cupcakes. The cupcake itself is orange, and there's a ganache, and then candied orange zest."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Fancy," Quinn approved. "I'm probably going to ask you for one when you're done. I haven't had a cupcake in forever."

[walkswithcoyote]

"Oh wow, those smell good," Mercy said, appearing in the doorway.

[wasthecuteone]

"Hey, Marshall," Petra said as she came into the common room. That was his name, right? She brushed off the brief moment of uncertainty in favor of rounding up dinner. Dinner was going to be scrambled eggs and toast. Some voice of responsibility inside her suggested that vegetables might be a thing, but she didn't have any vegetables so, whatever.

"What are you making?" she asked as she searched for a frying pan.

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"Not since the election?" Marshall asked, grinning.

The ganache mixed, he set the pot to the side it was off the heat. "It's not hard, anyway," he continued. "It's all just chemistry, really."

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"Thanks! They'll be a little while yet," Marshall explained. "They still need to cool."

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

It would help if Marshall actually came to meetings on a regular basis, really. Reinforce the whole name thing.

"Cupcakes," he explained. "I figured, y'know, baking's just applied chemistry, how hard can it be? And hopefully they'll turn out all right and I can bring some to Pride this week."

[wasthecuteone]

"Really freaking hard," Petra muttered, still digging through the cabinet. Too big...too small...just right. She emerged clutching the frying pan and said, "The first, like, three or four times I tried to make cupcakes without adult supervision it was a total disaster." And that had been with a mix. "And let's not even talk about the pancakes." They'd had to buy a new griddle, but her parents were still oblivious to the cupcakes disasters because her mom had been in the hospital then, and she could usually get the kitchen cleaned up before he came home to notice. Also, the cupcakes had been intended to be dinner.

She regretted nothing but the part where they were inedible.

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"... Oh," Marshall said, looking down at his pretty-close-to-perfect ganache. "I guess I'm just lucky, maybe? I dunno, I have lots of practice following directions really closely. It's a chemistry thing."

Cupcakes were totally the best dinner. Inedible cupcakes could at least be used for makeshift ammunition?

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Since parents' weekend," Quinn corrected, with a little smile, since there had been a handwavy sorority bake sale. "Chemistry? I never thought about it like that."

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's like, the baking powder releases CO₂ bubbles when it gets wet? And the fat content helps hold those in place, which is what makes it fluffy, and the eggs act as a binder..."

Marshall shrugs. "Chemistry. Delicious, delicious chemistry."

[Okay, so the lecture is half-stolen from Lost Girl. Sue me. ;) ]

[wasthecuteone]

"Chemistry. Right. Tell that to all the scientists who can't cook." She was thinking of Shanti here. Genius with makeup. Not so great with fish on the solar grill.

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"Well, cooking's kinda different from baking? Like, it's all chemistry, but some of it's more chemistry than other parts."

He thought back to the last few things Lucas had tried to cook. "... But I guess I know what you're saying. A couple of my friends are kinda useless in the kitchen. I dunno, it just seemed to make sense to me the way chemistry does? So I figured it couldn't hurt to try. And it looks like everything's working out so far."

[wasthecuteone]

"I think I'm getting a C in online chemistry. So I'll, like, take your word for it," Petra said, cracking a couple of eggs into a bowl. "I mean, nothing smells burnt or anything, but the oven in here hasn't screwed me over the last couple of times I used it, so...that's good."

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

"I could totally help you with chem if you want," Marshall offered, grinning. "Get you up to a C+ at least."

Marshall eyed the ganache before setting it aside to continue cooling. He grabbed a knife and started cutting holes in the top of the cupcakes. "Hmm," he said, popping one of the tops into his mouth. "These... are pretty good. Wanna try a piece?"

[wasthecuteone]

"Nah, I'm not planning on going to college so it's not like I'm real worried about it, anyway," Petra said with a shrug. Which was code for 'I don't have any money to go to college with, and if I did it would be going to other things anyway.' Not that she was going to tell him that. "Why are you cutting holes in perfectly good cupcakes?"

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

Baby Isabella was still with Annie, so Toby was taking advantage of the respite to actually, you know, go be social.

"Hey, man," Toby greeted. "What'cha making?"

[wheeler-360.livejournal.com]

Marshall grinned. "Because that's where the buttercream goes," he explained. "And then the chocolate on top."

He would totally get the 'money for college' thing. Really, it's a surprise he hasn't come close to blowing up the school while trying to make some money; that's what usually happened to him at Blake Holsey.