1 - Almost (the end of) Winter Break
I knelt down and opened my bag. It contained a coupla notebooks and pens, my CCA-issued chef's jacket and a box. Good thing the box only had the smaller knives, though, as I didn't want to imagine a large knife poking out of the box an' the bag and scarin' people.
I adjusted my beanie and gloves, then hid my face behind my scarf. I made sure that the box was safely secured in my bag and set off for my destination: the bus stop across CHS, my old high school. Faust was principal until my freshman year there, where she up an' left to become the superintendent.
"Yoohoo~" A bubbly voice broke the silence.
I scratched my ears for earwax and sighed. Another yell prompted me to look around and flinch. I covered my eyes with my gloved hands, squinting against the light and saw pink blob with her five friends, including a baconhead. I brought my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was two o' clock. Seeing as I had nothing better to do and the bus wouldn't come for an hour forty-five, I decided to cross the street and follow the voice.
"Hiya! My name's Pinkie Pie. What's yours?" She stretched out her hand and cracked a smile. I stared dumbly at her, then returned her hand shake and introduced myself as Char Broil.
"Pinkie Pie?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I go to school here, Charlie." Pinkie giggled. "You shouldn't stay in the cold by yourself." She grabbed a chocolate bar from her hair and took a bite.
"That's because I'm waiting for the bus." I chuckled and felt a chill on my spine. "Eatin' chocolate in this weather's not a good idea. It'll freeze and your tongue will stick." Pinkie paid no mind and continued to munch on the bar. I heard a faint growl, but it came from my stomach.
"...Want some?" She offered. I shook my head and clung to my sweater.
"Didn't you see today's news?" Pinkie said with a concerned look. I shook my head.
"Don't you have a ride?" I shook my head. "Well I'm going to fix that, Charlie, because you're riding with me!"
"I can't do that. Isn't there somesorta rule against underage drivers and older people?" I protested, but to no avail. Pinkie bounced along with a tight grip on my arm. Snow piled up on my bag and hood, adding weight. Pinkie stopped bouncing for a moment and turned to her right. I trudged along but my legs felt cold and heavy.
"Where... Huff... Are we going?" I groaned.
"C'mon, the car's not gonna start itself!" Pinkie beckoned.
"Here we are!" Pinkie beamed at the building in front of us. I stared at the car. It was pink all over and the doors were bedazzled. I felt my masculinity die a little.
"What?" I stared at her dumbly.
"Sugarcube Corner, silly!"
"You do realize I can just walk there, right? It's three blocks away from the bus stop." I coughed.
"But it's cold outside." Pinkie pouted. I sighed and shook my head. I could have told her that I wanted to go home, but it's cold there, too. When we exited the car and entered Sugarcube Corner, the only people here are the Cakes. It was almost clean, save for some confetti on the floor and a coupla balloons on top. The booths were clean and the windows were cleared of mist. Looks like the Cakes recently hosted a birthday party.
"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner. What can I get you?" Mrs. Cake intoned in a motherly voice.
"Uh, I'd like a large cup of joe and an apple turnover." I licked my lips.
"That'll be ten thirty-nine." She walked over to the display counter and handed over the apple turnover. I turned back to Pinkie, who floated down with a balloon in her hand. "How did you- forget about it."
"Have you heard of butterscotch-cinnamon pie?" Pinkie asked in a serious tone and leaned closer to me. Her eyes bulged as she waited for my answer. "No." I replied in a flat tone.
"WHAT!" I covered my ears as her loud shrill echoed. Her hair puffed up for a moment. "You should try some right now!"
"Well, I don't pay too much attention to the Internet nowadays. Trade school and wha'not." I shrugged. Mrs. Cake looked up towards us with an interested look.
"This pie's on the house, Charlie. It's okay." Pinkie reassured. "It's almost like the time I totaled your car."
"What was that?" I raised an eyebrow at her comment.
"Oh, nothing." Pinkie shook her head and quickly thrust a slice of said pie into my face along with my order. I groaned and followed her into a nearby booth. I sat down and looked at the pie in front of me. Knowing that this pie took the internet and swept many hearts away filled me with... determination.
The plate was adorned with a pie with a dull brown filling and a braided crust, topped with powdered sugar, a generous drop of whipped cream and a lone cinnamon stick. I drooled at the scent of butterscotch and cinnamon wafting through the air. The slice called out to me, seducing me with its... saccharine wiles. I wiped off the drool hanging from my mouth and my right hand trembled as it reached out for the fork. Alarms rang in my head and my mind screamed loudly. Thoughts of my first driving exam and the sight of my new apartment plagued my thoughts and filled me with unease.
As I held the fork, my arms and eventually my face was enveloped in a comforting warmth. Even my back felt warm as small jolts flew up my spine. I saw a glimpse of a child waking up to the embodiment of a mother's love and that was more than enough for me to take a bite. A trifecta of flavors assaulted my senses as thick caramel flowed down my lips and mixed with the sweet and nutty pecans, merging into the pale brown butterscotch that ran down my throat. I found myself choking from the cinnnamon, but wanting more as if overwhelmed and possessed.
Filled with adrenaline, hunger drove me to take larger bites and I tore into the rest of the pie like a slab of meat. The crisp texture of the apples and the soft dough joined the butterscotch and the cinnamon and I could swear my stomach screaming "More" in a fitting way.
"So, what do you think?" Pinkie leaned closer. "How is it?"
"I don't like it." I set down the fork, drank the coffee and stood up to and faced Pinkie with a serious look on my face. "I love it. " I said in hushed awe.
"That was a close one." Mrs. Cake gave a relieved sigh. She was about to say another word when the bell chimed and the door opened, announcing the arrival of a baconhead clad in a pink sweater with a red and yellow sun emblem on her chest. Two-toned purple stripes ran down her orange skirt followed by sky blue leggings and a pair of purple-tipped boots.
"Hey, Pinkie." The baconhead greeted her friend and turned towards me. "Charl!?" We flinched and gaped at each other.
"Pinkie!" Pinkie joined in.
I groaned then my eyes rolled backwards as my body fell forward. The last thing I tasted before blacking out was floor ice cream.
Author's Note
It's been a while since I've written anything and not writing is starting to discourage me from writing. I really dunno what I'm doing this time and I'm sorry if I didn't get anyone right.
1A - Snowbound with Bacon and Cotton Candy
"So you drove Charl all the way to Sugarcube Corner.... just so he can try this pie?" Bacon Head asked her friend with a furrowed brow. Pinkie nodded. "Without us?"
"It was a spur-of-the-moment, Sunny." Pinkie grinned. "Of course I wanted to!"
I blinked and groaned at the fast-talking voice. Sunset blinked and turned to me. I groaned once more and closed my eyes, rubbing the back of my head. She pulled me up and watched me dust off my arms.
"I'm fine, thanks." I grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "You don't hafta apologize."
"Oh." Sunset wilted at my answer and asked, "What were you doing at the bus stop, Charl?"
I told the girls my reasoning behind staying at the bus stop for an hour. Clearly, unlike the girls, I've had to live a frugal life including living in an apartment within the other side of town. I've also had to balance work and school since getting outta juvie, but I don't think anyone needs to know about that.
"How long have you been doing this?" Both girls asked, the latter leaned closer in a cheerful tone. I gulped and looked back at my phone. It was three forty-five and I really don't want to come and intrude on these girls. The sooner I go home, the better. Heck, the last thing I want is to feel pretty and have make up on my face. "Since senior year, I think." I answered.
I checked my phone once more, and stood up and turned towards to the door. I gripped the handle with my right hand and gave a hard pull. It would have been longer, but the handle refused to budge. It was a little hard taking the glove off since I couldn't feel my hand and my palm was a pale blue. Actually, since the door's so damn cold, I won't be able to feel my left hand for awhile. I contemplated lockpicking the door, but decided against it since it wouldn't be good if Mrs. Cake and Pinkie saw me. Dunno about Sunset, but she doesn't seem like the lockpicking type.
"Front door's locked." I announced, startling Sunset and Pinkie out of their game while Mrs. Cake dropped some glasses. Two decks of cards were placed in a neat pile while some of the other cards were scattered about the table.
"WHAT!?" Pinkie yelled. "What about the back door?"
"The back door is frozen shut." Mrs. Cake rested her chin on her fist and frowned. "The keys aren't working!"
"WHA-" Pinkie's outburst was interrupted by a hand covering her mouth.
"I'm sure that Mr. Cake and the kids will be fine." Sunset reassured. "I'll just have to call- Great, now my phone doesn't have any signal."
"Same with mine." I added.
"I'm afraid we're going to be stuck here for a while." Mrs. Cake sighed once more and sat down on a booth. "At least until the snow melts."
"I guess..." The windows were covered with frost and now I'm trapped in Sugarcube Corner with Mrs. Cake, Sunset and Pinkie. I don't want to jinx it, though.
Author's Note
Undertale is a blast to play. I bought it for practically eight bucks during a sale and it's pretty good. I learned that I don't hafta dish out loads of chapters for character development and a short story can still be pretty good. It took me 9 for my first run and eight for my second. I find it weird that my first chapters are great but every subsequent chapter degrades in quality. I don't even know if show vs tell even applies in 1st person.
2 - Singles Awareness Day
I looked at my phone and shook my head. "Huh, looks like classes got cancelled for today. It'll be a while until I can catch another bus going home." I sighed and looked around. I was still at the CHS bus stop, as I took to calling the place. I'd hafta walk five blocks to the west to reach Sugarcube Corner and seven to reach the park. Heh, walking's not that hard since I'm tall.
Now that I think about it, short people have it tough. They'd hafta jog to keep up with a tall person walking and the distance can seem daunting. Anyway, I passed by the Carousel Boutique and almost bumped into these three girls. One of 'em was a purple-haired freshman clad in an orange shirt with purple stripes and a pair of khaki shorts. I've only been in CHS for one year, but from what I've heard, she and the other two are pretty much infamous for their popularity schemes, causing trouble and using their cuteness to hospitalize people. I found the closest empty bench and sat down. I watched people walk by while eating a banana muffin. Some of them were holding hands, others were eating together and I widened my eyes as one couple is about to-
"Nope. Nope. So much nope." I stood up, shook my head, covered my eyes and walked into a pole. I fell backward and saw ponies flying over my head. I got up and dusted the dirt off my clothes and found myself face to face with a weird woman with unkempt hair and white clothes. She had this passive expression on her face and smelled like burnt weed.
"Uh..." I looked around.
"...." The woman kept silent.
"Can I help you?" I inquired.
She opened her eyes and said in a creepy and monotone voice, "Your body is a temple."
"What?" I blinked.
"Give your mind, body and soul to the-"
"I'm outta here." I turned around and walked away.
I didn't want to hang at the park anymore, seeing as I've had my fair share of things no sane man or woman can endure... except Pinkie Pie. She's in a class all on her own, but that's a can of worms I'm not willing to open. Sure enough, I walked by Pinkie and a bunch of other girls. I also passed by a trio of girls who reminded me of a sentient cheese puff and toothpaste; the third one sounded really obsessed with tacos, though. I couldn't take a longer look as the three were clad in dull, grey hoodies. Next, I passed by a woman in pink clothes and tri-colored hair next to a girl with a starburst on her clothes.
Before I knew it, I was greeted by a chime followed by a yowl and a pouncing white blur. This white puff had large, yellow eyes, a small, purple bow on her head and an overall uninterested look. I shivered, held my breath and turned around. The white puff was looking at me like an owl turning its head from behind or even a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness. It reminded me too much of the appearance of a golden bear. My hair stood up for a moment and I was too afraid to move. I gulped and by locking eyes at the white puff, I knew I was frickin' screwed.
Author's Note
Happy Singles Awareness Day for all the single people. I was incoherent when I made this, so sorry about that.
