Page 8 of Stuck with my Frenemy
Chapter Four
Cherry
Aloud growl echoed through the big kitchen, and I wrapped my arm around my middle, snickering. “Oh, dear Cupid. How embarrassing.” Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out my pack of gum, unwrapped a piece, popped it in my mouth, and tucked the package back in my pocket.
Squirrel landed on my shoulder, pecking my cheek. “It’s okay, princess. Karma equipped us with a special trick.”
“Where did you come from? I thought you left?” The confusion in my tone was clear, especially since my familiars weren’t the pop-in-out-of-nowhere type.
“You know we can’t stay too far from you, especially in this realm. We have nowhere else to go, but we wanted to make a dramatic exit. That Ebony and those nasty familiars of hers need to learn we aren’t as idiotic as they think.” Squirrel nodded his little head once at me.
“They don’t think you’re idiotic, Squirrel. They probably just have no idea how to show their love. Be patient with them.” With my index finger, I petted the top of his head, nuzzling my nose against his beak.
For a moment, I could’ve thought he was glaring his little beady bird eyes at me, but that couldn’t be right. My familiars didn’t glare. Unlike Ebony and her mean cat that liked to bite, yet the words I’d just said rang true. They just didn’t know how to express their love.
Bird climbed the corner of the island next, smiling at me, his squirrel teeth looking too big in his small face. “Watch this, chicky.” Snapping his fingers, a wave of magic rushed over me, but when I twirled around, I didn’t notice anything in particular standing out. “Well, what’dya think?”
“Ummm, the gang’s all here?” Blowing a bubble and popping it, I glanced around again, yet nothing had changed in the room. So, I blinked at him, keeping my features stretched in excitement. Bird had worked hard, so the last thing he needed was to feel like crap because whatever he’d tried to do hadn’t worked. “Yeah, that was so cool, Bird. Can you teach me how to do it too?”
Laughing like I’d just told him the funniest joke, he shook his head, his little squirrel feet moving him closer until he crawled up my front. “Go to the cabinets and open them. And the fridge too.”
Angling my head, I scooped Bird up and put him on my other shoulder, walking to the cabinets and pulling them open. They were filled to the brim. With food. Lots and lots of food. “Oh my gosh! Where did it all come from? There was nothing here when I checked a few minutes ago.”
“Well, Karma knew you had no human money, and you would need your sustenance, so she gave us a trick to make sure you could have food anytime you wanted it.” Squirrel flew off my shoulder, landing on the fridge. “So, what will it be?”
Tugging open cabinet after cabinet, I froze with a wide grin when my eyes landed on a yellowish box. “Aha. This. I will cook pancakes for Ebony and her familiars, and I will put so much of my love into them that it will be sure to rub off on them.”
Both my familiars widened their gazes at me, then as if they’d practiced ahead of time, both of them focused on the ground. Neither said anything, so I just shrugged and went about reading the directions on the back of the box.
I dragged drawers open until I found the measuring cups. The truth was, I’d never actually cooked anything, but how hard could it be? Right?
Right!
“Okay, I need 1 cup of dry mix and ¾ cup of water. Then I drop some in the pan, and it will cook up as a circle of yummy. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.” Clapping my hands that now held the measuring cups in them didn’t feel the best, but I hadn’t thought about that before I did it. That was the story of my life.
I did many, many things without thinking.
And secretly, I knew that was why Ebony didn’t like me very much. But she would get over it. There wasn’t a time in my life that I’d looked a challenge in the eye and hadn’t rushed toward it.
That wouldn’t be changing now.
Ebony, also, was probably the biggest challenge I’d ever come across, and she had no idea just how hard she’d be going down. Oh yeah, she’d be hopping on the Cherry Train before she knew it, and she’d be doing it while smiling.
I had to get that girl smiling.
Inside of her, I could sense a deep sorrow. She tried to keep it hidden, but I had sort of a sixth sense about these things, thanks to my mother. The last thing I wanted was to annoy my new friend, but I knew myself better than I knew anyone else. Ebony wasn’t the first hard person I’d come across, and most of them were easy to crack. They needed to loosen up and have a little light-hearted fun. And that was precisely why I poked at her like I did.
Stirring the mixture I poured into the bowl while lost in my thoughts, I turned the knob on the stove until the flames came underneath it in a whoosh. “Oh my, that is instant fire. Almost like magic.”
“Yes, they are nice, aren’t they chicky?” Bird asked, and I squeezed my hand over his bushy tail.
“You’re way too adorable for words. You both are, you know that?” Happiness warmed my heart. I’d been blessed by the gods for sure when they’d given me my familiars. “Oh! You know what these pancakes need? Sugar. That always makes everyone joyful.”
Grabbing the white powder, I sprinkled some in the mix and put it in the pan. Perfect. These were going to be so good. Flipping them when one side got cooked enough proved harder than it looked, and batter splattered the front of my shirt. Using a finger, I wiped at it, but all I did was smear it. “Oh well. Clothes will clean, so no big deal.”
I used all my focus to prepare the pancakes, eyeing them with a fierce gaze to try to channel all my love into them. And when they were finished, I stacked them on a plate and put the plate in the middle of the counter. Proud of myself, I jogged to the bottom of the stairs and shouted with all my might, “Ebony! I need you in the kitchen.” Then I flitted away and stood with my back against the counter so I could watch her come in.
Oh, dear Cupid. I forgot the syrup.
