Kaitlyn stood in the dorm common room, surveying her setup. A large metal mixing bowl, an electric stove, and a handheld electric mixer lay across the long counter occupying one side of the room. Next to them, a neat line of vanilla cake slices lined up like troops preparing for battle.

Cracking her neck, she got to work. One by one, she tipped the plates of cake into the bowl until they formed one large pile. Then, she whipped out the mixer and began pulverizing them into bits. It took only a few minutes before the desserts devolved into a homogenous mess of mushy crumbs and frosting.

A gloved finger poked at the mixture to test its consistency. A bit too dry. I dunno how, considering how much frosting there was on those things, but…

She grabbed a small jug of milk and began adding small splashes. Bit by bit, the mixture moistened until a squeezed handful would hold its shape.

Better.

Kaitlyn nodded with satisfaction and set the mixer aside. She pulled on a second crinkly plastic glove, then got to work portioning the cake mixture into little balls.

Cake pops weren't her personal favorite dessert. It wasn't that they were bad, per se, but they were just so tiny and unsatisfying. If she wanted to eat a slice of cake, she wanted more than a bite or two—especially if the cake was any good.

However, it was quite clear that most people didn't share her views on that matter. Not only that, but they were more than willing to pay a premium for the tiny desserts, especially if they looked good. Combined with the fact that her toaster oven lacked the capacity to bake full cakes, as well as the ready availability of premade options at Cappy's Cafe… well, it only made sense to explore the option a bit more fully.

For this batch, she was focusing on technique and making sure that the idea actually worked. It was entirely possible that the whole premise would be far too much hassle to scale effectively. If it did work, though? The possibilities were endless.

I can mix in some jam or other cake flavors to make swirl pops. I could roll them in some kind of flavored sugar, too. Oh, or I could do a filling! It wouldn't be hard to just add in some nutmeg and cardamom, either…

The cakes from Cappy's weren't amazing, but they were above average. It meant that they wouldn't actively detract from the final product, and just a little creativity could really turn them into something special. The value proposition was hard to beat, especially since buying them drew from her effectively limitless supply of Cappy Credits rather than costing actual money.

It took a bit longer than expected to roll the little balls out and affix them to individual sticks with chocolate. It took even more extra time and a trip back to the mini fridge before she felt confident that they wouldn't fall off. Kaitlyn was halfway through dipping the pops in the rest of her carefully melted chocolate when she heard a familiar voice ring out.

"Hey, Kate! Omigosh, what're you making?"

A quick glance up revealed a blonde bombshell waltzing down the hallway in her direction. She wore a spaghetti strap lavender top and high-waisted cutoff shorts that seemed entirely impractical for the dropping temperatures outside. Large hoop earrings danced excitedly as she walked, mirroring the cheerful grin that the girl wore.

In truth, Kaitlyn hadn't really needed to look. There was only one girl she knew with that lilting accent and aggressively bubbly attitude.

"Hey, Heather. I'm trying out cake pops."

"Omigosh, seriously?!" Heather gasped as she rounded the corner. A little stand of the in-progress desserts greeted her. "Kate! How did you make these?!"

"It's not that hard, really. You just mush up some cake, roll it into balls, and dip it in chocolate," she explained, continuing to work. "The hard part's going to be decorating. I might need your advice on what looks best, if you have time."

"Girl, I'm totally here for it." Heather flapped a hand as though to wave off any misgivings she'd held. "You take all the time you need! Oh, but I have to tell you about this girl in my Psych class. I met her yesterday, and—get this—her sister works for Mirondale! It's like, one of the biggest fashion labels around! Can you believe it? So, like, we got to talking and…"

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With a smile, Kaitlyn continued her work as she listened. Heather's voice faded into white noise as she regaled her roommate with the latest gossip and goings-on around campus. Once she'd finished dipping the last cake pop, the first ones had set enough for her to continue decorating.

Little chocolate curls, feathers, and other hand-piped decorations were carefully lifted and affixed to the tasty treats. She'd learned quite a few tricks from her time working at Chella's Italian Bistro and Ristorante, enough that she felt pretty confident in her chocolate work now. Perhaps Scarra would still find fault in her decorations, but that was ok. They were leagues better than when she'd started.

For some of them, Kaitlyn stuck with the basics. A drizzle of white chocolate here or a dusting of edible glitter there made for rather understated, but pretty pops. With others, she really went all out. It wouldn't be feasible to spend time turning every dessert into art, obviously. But these were just for tests anyway. She couldn't help wanting to make them look good.

Stepping back from the cake pops, Kaitlyn surveyed her work with approval. A dozen little orbs stood proudly before her in shades of white, brown, and gold.

There we go. I think that's pretty good for now. Let's see what Heather thinks…

Turning toward the blonde, Kaitlyn realized that she was no longer talking. She didn't know when exactly it had happened, but she was staring in awe at the desserts with her jaw hanging open.

Kaitlyn gestured toward them. "Well? What do you think?"

Heather blinked a few times. "What do I think? What do I think? Uh, Kate. These look like they came from, like, one of those upscale bakeries downtown, not a college dorm!"

Kaitlyn gave the girl a sheepish smile. "Yeah? They're not all super practical to make, to be honest. I might have some ideas on how to streamline things, but…"

"Uh, but nothing! This is, like… seriously!" She stood up and inspected one of the pops decorated with feathers. "When you said you wanted to make desserts, too, I thought it would be, like, basic stuff! Not this!"

Kaitlyn gave a shrug as pride welled up within her chest. Heather had already tasted her food, obviously, and was completely on board with Kate's Kitchen. They'd even talked about it at length that first day at lunch. But it seemed that this upgrade to the dessert options was going to be a bigger deal than she'd realized.

Heather's crystal blue eyes glittered with undisguised greed as she reevaluated their business plan. "Seriously, Kate. Forget about selling to college students. With stuff like this, you could, like, open your own shop. I'm not even kidding."

"You haven't even tried one yet," she objected. "They could taste awful, you know."

The blonde's head whipped around. Her eyebrows waggled excitedly. "Can I?"

"Sure. Pick any one you want."

With a broad grin, Heather darted forward, then stopped. "Omigosh, wait! I need to take pictures first!"

As she began rearranging the desserts and taking photo after photo, Kaitlyn took a moment to consider her words. The offhand remark really made her think.

I couldn't open a bakery. Could I?

It seemed like a completely absurd idea. Running Kate's Kitchen was one thing, but an actual business? That was a whole other ballgame. That would mean buying property, paying employees, doing actual taxes… a whole lot of stuff that she hadn't needed to touch at all. Stuff that she couldn't feasibly touch while in the time loop.

There just wouldn't be time. Even if someone did take an eighteen-year-old seriously enough to rent them a building, I'd spend so much of the loop building up money to fund all that... And that's just one problem.

Going that route would mean far more than simply making food at a larger scale. It would be completely impractical. Even if her food was good enough to bring in customers, she'd worked at Chella's long enough to know that there was way more to running a successful food business than just that.

But what about once I'm out of here? What do I want to do then?

The thought of what to do after the time loop had come up more than a few times. It was more of a subject she reserved for daydreaming and idle fantasy, rather than something she seriously considered in any way. But now that she was over halfway done with romance endings, the thought bubbled to the surface once again.

She shook her head. It doesn't matter. Not really. But… I think I'd prefer to do a restaurant rather than a bakery. If I even did one at all. I'm still not sure about it. I really do enjoy research as a hobby, too, but as a career? I don't really want to be a professor, so maybe biotech would be a better option… I could ask Christa about what she thinks, being a postdoc and all. Maybe that's getting too ahead of myself, though…

"Mmmm! And they taste good, too!"

Looking over, Kaitlyn saw that Heather had finished up her photo session. An empty stick was pinched between her fingers as she wiggled happily.

Kaitlyn grinned. "If you like these, wait until I actually try to make them taste good."

Heather stopped and looked her dead in the eye. "Girl, if you're being serious, we're about to take this school by storm. Like, you'd better be ready to put in some serious time here, cuz I know the demand is gonna be crazy."

"Trust me. I know."