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The scent of baked goods was a common scent around Heartslabyul. It was especially potent in the evenings when Trey prepared for unbirthday parties. Despite all that had happened, it was still something that everyone looked forward to. With Riddle growing to be more lax about the rules, unbirthday parties went back to being a time for socialisation and winding down. It was good.
Some unbirthday parties are Heartslabyul-exclusive gatherings. Others allow people from other dorms to attend. When that happens, Trey has to get some assistance. Most of the time, it’s Cater and more recently, Riddle. But this time, neither was available. Cater had his ‘club activities’ if one could call it that, and Riddle was busy with his studies. It ultimately led to Trey calling in the infamous Heartslabyul freshmen and the Ramshackle dorm for help.
Trey checked on the cake in the oven. Almost done, he noted. And yet, it seemed that the next batch of tarts didn’t seem to be even close to ready for the oven. Well, other than the Yuu and Grim's, but that was a surprise to nobody. The prefect was a very efficient person, making up for the fact that Grim had no opposable thumbs. The two made a good team, what with Grim reading out the recipe and measuring out ingredients, and the prefect doing the rest.
Ace and Deuce, on the other hand…
They split almost immediately due to differing ways of baking.
“Ah. Be careful. That’s too much sugar for the crust.” Trey tapped Ace’s shoulder in warning.
Ace recoiled, almost dropping the bag of sugar. “Crap! Sorry.” He muttered, stepping aside as Trey scooped out the excess with the finesse of having done this way too many times for his own good.
“It’s fine, but I really do insist that you just use the measuring cups.” He suggested, motioning to Deuce meticulously measuring out every single ingredient and the Ramshackle prefect reassuring him that he ‘really doesn’t need to look at the recipe every five seconds’ to make sure that he has the right measurements. Grim sat on the counter, sneaking sugar into his mouth when he thought nobody was looking, and making fun of Deuce when people were.
His face scrunched up into a sour expression. “And end up looking like Deuce over there? No thanks. I have dignity.” He announced, cracking an egg in a separate bowl. Some shards of the shell fell in. A pause. “Look, I didn’t say I had a lot of dignity.” He stated as he scraped them out with the closest clean spoon.
“Of course.”
Trey checked the cake once again. Judging by the colour and shape, it was good to remove. With a little manoeuvring, it was safely placed on a cooling rack and left to cool down, away from the grubby paws of a certain beast. Of course, it wasn’t done without much complaint from the aforementioned creature. But the prefect knew Grim well, convincing him with a can of a luxurious 3-thaumark tuna brand to not eat any of the pastries.
Quickly after, Ace and Deuce managed to scrounge together a few presentable tarts amongst themselves. It was partially thanks to the prefect, but they decided to let the duo take the credit this time. They needed something to be proud of after all.
After setting a timer, the five finally had some time to rest.
“I honestly forgot how much effort goes into unbirthday parties,” Deuce admitted, practically melting into the cushions of the couch. “Not to mention preparing for such a large-scale one.”
Nodding in agreement, Ace collapsed on the left of Deuce. “And you do this on the daily? No wonder you’ve got so much muscle on ya.”
The vice-house warden stood to the side of them. “It’s not too bad. You get used to it after a while.” He shrugged. “See? The prefect looks fine.”
The aforementioned prefect sat opposite the other three, closer to the window. “I’m just used to cooking for Grim, and sometimes the ghosts.” They said, pouring themselves a cup of water.
“The ghosts eat?”
“No, but they like to pretend that they can.” They explained, taking a sip. “It’s cute, and they already help out where they can, so why shouldn’t I indulge them?”
Ace narrowed his eyes, sitting up a bit. “Aren’t you guys struggling financially?”
“Crowley will do basically anything to look good.” The Ramshackle prefect snorted. “That includes paying for a couple extra ingredients.” Grim nodded along, even though he clearly wasn’t listening to anything that was being discussed. “And when that doesn’t convince him, working a couple shifts at Monstro Lounge won’t hurt me.”
“All for a couple of ghosts? You’re such a weirdo.”
They scoffed, rolling their eyes. “Everyone attending this school’s a weirdo.”
Trey cut in with his own thoughts. “Prefect’s right. I haven’t met a single ‘ordinary’ person since the beginning of this year. Even the teachers are unusual in their own ways.” He pointed out.
“I guess so.” Ace hummed. “But that doesn’t mean the prefect over there isn’t weird.”
Their break passed quickly, and their conversation was put to a close with the sound of an alarm beeping. Trey got up and took them out, scrutinising each of the tarts for any imperfections. Nothing too bad. The cracks could be covered up with a bit of cream and then not even Riddle would be able to notice anything. They did a good job, the five of them. He was proud that they managed to finish only 10 minutes later than if Riddle or Cater were helping.
Deuce glanced at the pastries over Trey’s shoulder. “Oh wow. Even mine look pretty good.” He smiled, clearly having not expected much.
“They do?” Ace yelled, still lying on the couch.
Deuce yelled back. “Yeah! Yours looks good too!”
“Nice! High five, prefect!” could be heard from the lounge, followed by a loud clap, and a quieter ‘ow’. Trey stifled a chuckle as he took out the now-cooled cake from its place.
“Does anyone want to help me decorate?” He asked, taking out a red turntable from one of the cupboards. Deuce lit up, nodding excitedly at the prospect.
Ace could be heard once again from the lounge. “Oh hell yeah!” He cheered. There was a thump, presumably Ace falling, which was then preceded by a duet of loud cackles from the Ramshackle duo.
Deuce winced at the sound. “I’ll go and get an ice pack.”