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"Hey guys, you wanna catch a movie after school? I've got four tickets already," Alya said, waving some movie tickets in the cold, November air.

"How do you 'catch a movie'?" Nino joked.

Alya kicked him hard from under the picnic table. "Shut up."

"I'm down," Bridgette said excitedly.

"Same here," Nino said in a pained voice, rubbing his leg repeatedly.

"I'll have to see if I'm free, but I think I should be," Felix said. "But what if we couldn't make it? Seeing as you already brought the tickets."

The aura around Alya suddenly started turning dark, making everyone sweat nervously.

"Well," She said in a quiet, threatening voice, "I used up my allowance for these tickets. I thought we could use some chill time together after school. The movie theater also has a no refund policy, so I'd just have you pay it back." Alya's eyes glinted mischievously. "With interest."

The table was deadly quiet, until Nino whispered in a whimpering voice, "...I-I think I peed m-my pants."

———————————————

"Remember! The movie's at 8:40! Don't be late!" Alya shouted towards Bridgette and Felix.

Bridgette walks home from the school since both buildings are right next to each other, while Felix gets picked up by Natalie and Gorilla, and Alya and Nino walk home together.

"See ya later!" Bridgette waved towards Felix as he got in his car.

"Bye Bridgette," Felix said as he closed the door and Bridgette started walking off.

Felix took his place by Natalie in the back and strapped his seat belt on.

"Felix," Natalie said, not once looking up from her clipboard. "Wasn't that the girl who used to stalk you around?"

Felix flinched. He didn't think that Natalie would've noticed her.

"No... She's just a good friend," Felix replied. "By the way Natalie, do I have a clear schedule after 8:00?"

As Bridgette entered the bakery, she saw her flour-covered father pull something out of the oven. It gave off a lovely smell of lemon, berries, and cream cheese, and she could feel its warmth filling the bakery.

"What's that you're making, Papa?" Bridgette asked as she looked over the counter.

"It's a new recipe I just finished! I wanted to add it onto the menu right away. Here dear, could you taste test it for me?" Her father said, tearing a piece of the pastry and handing it to her.

Bridgette took it carefully in her hands and bit into it, not caring in the least that it was fresh-out-of-the-oven hot. As soon as the pastry landed on her tongue, her mouth exploded with flavor. It was light just the right amount of crispy, right amount of flakey, not too crunchy, not to soft, and the flavor was strong, yet not overwhelming. As was the aroma. The pastry melted in her mouth.

"Papa! What is this! It's absolutely amazing!" Bridgette exclaimed with wide eyes as she ate the bit whole.

Her father laughed. "It's my new recipe, Lemon Berry Cream Cheese Danish!" He said proudly. He bent down and whispered in Bridgette's ear, " The berries are blueberries."

Bridgette giggled. "I could tell. There are blue and purple splotches everywhere. Can you give me the recipe? I wanna try baking it, too!"

Her father ruffled her hair a bit before taking out a sea foam green piece of paper and handed it to her. "Before you go upstairs, could you take the chalkboard outside and put the Lemon Berry Cream Cheese Danish on it? I wanna get the new pastry out there as soon as possible."

"Alright!" Bridgette replied, running into the back.

———————————————

"Wahh! Bridgette! Hurry! The line's reaching the door now and the part-timers aren't here yet!" Bridgette's mother called from the kitchen.

"Hold on! I got it!" Bridgette shouted out a reply.

Bridgette glanced at the whole bakery. The first person to buy the Lemon Berry Cream Cheese Danish apparently had a very high rated and very, very popular pastry blog. He posted his review on his blog and in the next ten minutes after that, people came rushing into the bakery like wild men! The danish was in high demand and Bridgette's father and mother were going crazy in the back, trying to bake like crazy, while Bridgette herself was getting stressed out at the cashier counter.

"Ahgrh! This is so stressful!" Bridgette thought as she sent a customer away.

Her eyes happened to glance at the clock and she noticed that it was already 8:35. Bridgette sweat dropped. She knew that she wouldn't make it and would have to stay at the bakery to help, but what she was most scared of was thinking of Alya's wrath. Just the thought made her shiver.

A sudden buzz went off in her apron's pocket and started vibrating.

"Ah, sorry! I have to take a call real quick," Bridgette told the customer in front of her.

She received multiple complaints from the line of customers, but she turned away and picked up the call anyway.

On the other side, right outside of the movie theater, Felix and Nino were sitting on a bench while Alya was pacing back and forth in an impatient, angry manner. Felix and Nino were just watching her and listening to the music from the speakers, when Bridgette suddenly picked up the call and Alya screamed into the phone, making the two young men flinch.

"Bridgette!" Alya shouted loudly.

"Ah! Geez Alya! I think I might just go deaf because of that!" Bridgette retorted.

"That doesn't matter! Where are you?! You're so late! There's only... five minutes till the movie starts!" Alya said angrily.

"I'm really sorry, okay? But something really important came up!" Bridgette shouted into the phone. The people were so loud and complaining so much that Bridgette could barely hear her own voice.

"Oh yeah?! What could be more important than hanging out with your friends?!" Alya stubbornly said.

"My parents need me right now! The bakery is so packed that you can barely walk straight! I can't watch the movie, okay? The bakery closes in forty minutes, so I would miss most of the movie even if I were to come!" Bridgette yelled.

Though the phone, Alya could hear the complaints of several noisy customers. Alya flinched at how loud the background was.

"Hey! Let me take my order!" An impatient customer shouted.

"A-Ah! Yes! I'll be right with you!" Bridgette hurriedly said to the customer. She turned her head and spoke into the phone, "Alya, I have to go! I'll try to make it up to you! Bye!"

Bridgette hung up, and after a few beeps, the screen on Alya's phone turned to her lock screen.

Alya stared at her phone for a bit before suddenly turning to the two at the scene.

"Guys! The movie date's canceled. We're going to the Dupain-Cheng's!" Alya exclaimed as she marched off in a random direction.

"Umm... Alya, the bakery's that way," Felix said cautiously, pointing in the other direction.

Alya turned swiftly. "Right!"

———————————————

As soon as Nino opened the door to the bakery for all of them, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. Bridgette's description of the bakery was on point, although Alya had thought that it was a just an exaggeration. Even though it was almost 9:00, the bakery was still busy. Everyone was so close together and pushed against the walls that it was like the front section of a Jagged Stone live concert.

Bridgette was all the way at the front of the crowd, behind the counter, and looked like she was going to pass out at any second.

"Bridgette!" Alya tried to shout over the crowd, even jumping and waving her hands high, but Bridgette didn't seem to notice.

Suddenly, someone bumped into her and knocked her over.

"Gah!"

But luckily, Nino was here to catch her.

"Alya! You alright?" Nino asked, concerned.

Alya blushed and pushed herself off of him. "Just fine!"

Felix pushed himself through the crowd to get to the two of them.

"Let's make our way to the front. We might be able to have some space behind that counter over there!" Felix shouted.

They pushed through the crowd for a while before finally making it to the front and behind the counter, where an exhausted Bridgette was sprawled against the cashier counter.

"Oi! Girl, get up!" Alya yelled, prodding Bridgette with her finger.

"Sorry... be with you... in a minute," Bridgette breathed out.

Alya grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her. "BRIDGETTE WAKE UP!"

Bridgette shot up straight with an alert expression on her face.

"What?! The oven's burning?!" She shouted in shock.

She then looked around, blinked a few times, and then turned her head to see Alya, Nino, and Felix looking at her concerned.

Bridgette rubbed the back of her head. "Ahaha..."

"Bridgette, what's going on here?" Felix asked.

(One eternity of explaining later...)

"Geez, just because of one blog, this happens? That's a lot of influence right there," Nino commented.

"If this keeps up, you all will work yourself to the bone," Alya said.

"Yeah, and apparently, the part-timers can't make it either," Bridgette sighed.

Felix was quiet while the rest were discussing things, when he suddenly suggested, "How about we help out over here. Two of us could work the cash register, while the other could go around helping the customers and giving them their orders. Bridgette could go and help her parents in the back."

"Are you sure? You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Bridgette said.

"It's fine, dudette! It's the least we could do," Nino said.

"That's right, girl! It'll lift a weight off of both your and your parents' shoulders, right?" Alya said.

Bridgette sighed in relief. "Thanks guys. I'm sure my parents need help in the back. You can handle it here, right?"

They all nodded as Bridgette handed them some aprons.

"I owe you one!" Bridgette said as she walked into the back, before peeking her head out to add in a tired voice, "Please don't upset the customers!"

And with that, she disappeared.

Alya turned to the others. "This shouldn't be so hard, right?"

———————————————

"Thanks for coming..." An exhausted Felix muttered from behind the counter, before slumping to the floor.

Nino stumbled to the front of the shop, making sure not to trip on the fainted Alya on the floor, to flip over the "open" sign. He then slid to the floor as well.

"Worst.... forty minutes.... of my... life..." Felix muttered.

"I... want to... sleep," Nino wheezed.

The door to the back suddenly opened, and in came a smiling, refreshed-looking Bridgette, holding a tray of hot cocoa and danishes.

"You all worked hard!" Bridgette happily said, setting the tray down on the counter. "Here are some freshly baked Lemon Berry Cream Cheese Danishes and Papa's signature Cinnamon Hot Cocoa! Thanks for the help!"

The fainted Alya started stiffing the air and sat straight up. "Something smells good," She said.

Everyone tiredly made their way to the counter and took a mug of cocoa and a danish.

"It does smell good," Felix said.

Nino took a sip of the cocoa and a small bite out of the danish. His eyes immediately lit up and it seemed like he had gained energy.

"This is amazing! Delicious! The danish just melts in my mouth and the cocoa is perfect!" Nino exclaimed and he ate and drank some more.

Alya and Felix also started eating.

"Wow, this really is good. It's no wonder that people started rushing in here," Felix praised.

"I am revived!" Alya shouted as she sprung up.

Bridgette giggled before saying, "It's gotten pretty late. How about you guys stay here for dinner?"

"That sounds good, but wouldn't a sleep over be much better?" Alya suggested.

"I'm in!" Nino shouted through a mouthful of danish.

"Well, I'm sure that my parents won't mind. Felix?" Bridgette asked.

Felix took a sip of the cocoa. "I'd have to ask my father, but I'm sure that my schedule tomorrow is pretty clear." He said, taking out his phone.

They all called their parents and were allowed to stay over. Their pajamas and clothes for the next day were brought to the Dupain-Cheng's by their parents (for Felix, Natalie brought them). Everyone was chilling in the living room while dinner was being cooked.

"I'm going to clean up my room a bit and take out some sleeping bags for you guys," Bridgette said as she went upstairs to her room.

"Hey dude, this is your first time being in the Dupain-Cheng's house, right?" Nino asked Felix.

Felix, who was reading a book, turned to Nino. "Yes. Their house is quite cozy, compared to mine, where it looks like a picture through a monotone Snapchat filter." He said in a somewhat bored tone.

Nino made a choking noise while trying to hold in his laughter. "Dude, wa-was t-that...What was that? Snapchat filter?"

Felix looked at him, confused, but when he noticed the strange type of joke he made, his eyes widened and he coughed. "Um, what do you mean? I never said anything of the sort," He blushed.

Nino laughed loudly. "Dude, what are you talking about?" Nino gasped, "Are you... embarrassed?!"

Felix blushed and Nino laughed even louder.

"Shut up!" Felix shouted.

Sorry for the late update! As you can see, I haven't given up yet! Thanks for reading guys, and I'll see you in the next update! Vote, comment, and share! Buh Bye!! (I watch Markiplier, soooo \_(•-•)_/) ciao!

~Crystal

Word Count: 2288

7/12/18