CHAPTER 9

Week 7

“Happy birthday Jasmine!”

“Happy birthday, kid.”

“I wish you an excellent birthday.”

The voices rang in her head like thunder and made her feel lightheaded. Her friends sat opposite to her, smiling. Jasmine had not expected to be suddenly woken up at midnight like this, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

“Guys… thank you so much.” She said as she teared up. “But you could have waited until morning.”

“Allfather, she’s crying!” Agnes exclaimed. “I knew she’d like it.”

“So it was your idea?” The girl asked as she wiped her eyes with her forearm.

“No, Franz was in on it, and Veronica’s just in for the ride, I guess.”

“Hey, don’t throw me under the bus.” Franz said with a slight smile. “Anyway, come on, we have something planned for you.”

“But it’s the middle of the night— wait, wha—” Agnes dragged Jasmine out of her bed.

“Here, put your shoes on. Hey, Franz, should I tell her yet?”

“No, that would ruin the surprise.”

“I believe Franz is right in this assumption.” Veronica quickly added as they all got out of the room.

“See, even she’s on my side.”

“Is this even allowed? How did you even find out it was my birthday?”

“We asked Biermann.” Franz replied. “And don’t worry, we have his full approval for this.”

“Yeah, he was actually really nice about it. He’s been chipper since he managed to reverse engineer your invisibility.”

“Yeah, but he can only do it on small objects. It’s basically inapplicable.” Jasmine added.

“Right, but it’s just the first step. Anyways, none of that right now! It’s your birthday! How does it feel about joining me in the glorious age of seventeen?”

“Nothing different. Maybe I’ll change my mind when I see your surprise.”

“I bet you will!”

The group approached what Jasmine recognized to be the cafeteria. The metahumans entered the kitchen, and Franz turned on the lights.

“Man, it’s so bright in here.” He said while shielding his eyes. “Agnes, do the honors, please?”

“Sure. Jasmine, tonight we will be… drums, please?” She said as she looked at her two accomplices. They just stared at her blankly. “Pff, killjoys. Tonight we will be baking a cake!”

Jasmine’s eyes widened. “You guys would do that for me? Thank you so much. What flavor? It’s been so long since I’ve had any—”

Franz interrupted her. “We will be cooking a cake. All of us. Think of it as a bonding exercise.”

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“Oh,” The girl said as she deflated. “I thought it was supposed to be a gift.”

“It is a gift. But there was a slight problem, none of us knew how to bake. And remember when you told me you used to help your mom make muffins or whatever as a kid? We thought maybe that transfers over somehow.” Agnes stated, entirely serious.

Jasmine facepalmed and sighed. “Ah. Ah. I see.”

“When you talk like that, it’s almost like you’re disappointed. Come on, smile! We’ll help you out. Biermann said he told the chef to leave the ingredients in the fridge and one of the cupboards.” The man said while patting her shoulder.

“Let’s look around first. Chef Jasmine, what are we looking for? Agnes asked as she saluted sarcastically. “Hey, I’ll be your sous chef!”

“If I get to pick a sous chef, I’ll pick Veronica.” The girl retorted.

“Ouch.” Franz said while barely holding in his laughter.

“I appreciate you picking me for such an important position. What are your orders, chef Jasmine?”

“Alright, let me try to remember…” She said as she clasped her forehead. “Um, I need milk, butter, eggs, baking powder… flour… salt, and sugar. I think that’s it. Wait, did I forget baking powder?”

“You said it twice.” Franz corrected her.

“Salt goes in a cake? What kind of cursed cake are you making?” Agnes said while squinting suspiciously at her.

“Just trust me on this. It won’t be much, it’s like, a tablespoon, I think.”

The three metahumans gathered the ingredients at a snail’s pace, often having to stop to ask Jasmine what baking powder looked like. Veronica even found vanilla extract, which Jasmine thanked her extensively for. All of this was bringing back painful memories for her. Of her mother and the time they spent together before life had turned for the worse. But the girl did her best to hide it in front of her friends. She distracted herself by finding an egg beater and multiple bowls.

“Alright, that should be everything…” Agnes said while looking at the counter. All the ingredients were lined up in front of them.

“Yeah, you guys did well. Alright, Veronica, since you’re tough, I’m gonna have you beat the eggs. Agnes, you should slowly add sugar as she does that until the mixture turns fluffy and white. Franz, put the flour in one of the bowls.”

The three nodded and followed her orders. The mixture turned white after a few minutes of beating.

“Alright, I think that’s enough. Good job on not breaking anything, Veronica.”

“I feel like you greatly underestimate my dexterity, chef Jasmine.”

Franz chuckled, and Jasmine ignored her. “Next, um, right, add flour and keep mixing, but do it slowly.”

“I guess that’s my job.” Franz added.

“Slower, Franz. Slower.” Jasmine hissed.

“My bad!”

Jasmine sighed as she added the baking powder and the salt. They hadn’t found any measurement tools, so she eyeballed the dose, hoping for the best.

“Keep mixing. Agnes, go microwave the butter. We need to mix it with the milk”

“For how long?”

“Until it’s melted.”

“How long is that?”

“I don’t know, try to guess!”

“Allfather, don’t be so mad. I’ll make the best melted butter you’ve ever seen.”

Around two minutes later, she came back, fumbling with the metal bowl as her face contorted in pain.

“The bowl is so fucking hot. Be careful.”

“Veronica should grab it then.” Franz said. The woman obliged and poured the hot butter into their milk bowl.

“Great, now slowly put the milk and the butter into our main mixture as you batter. We’re basically done.”

As they finished mixing, Jasmine looked at her friends. She was grateful for this surprise, even though she had to do some work to get it. She hoped it would be as good as her mother’s, but she wouldn’t hold her breath.

“Now we put it in the cake pan, and we bake for thirty minutes.”

“Thirty? So quick! I can’t wait.” Agnes said as she licked her lips. “I’m starving.”

“Well, you did skip dinner.” Jasmine said.

“I wasn’t about to eat whatever that was. That did not look like cauliflower, and I will never eat it when they serve it. Period.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s not great, I agree.” She replied.

The group waited until the cake was baked, and Veronica took it out of the oven. Jasmine looked at what they had created and smiled. It looked just as she wanted it to, just like her mother’s. Franz grabbed a knife and cut everyone a piece, but he saved the biggest one for her.

“Well, we don’t have candles, but you should wish for something.” Franz said while handing her the plate.

Jasmine nodded and looked around the room at each of her friends. It was then that she knew what she wanted.

“Hmmm, it’s amazing. It’s melting in my mouth.” Agnes exclaimed while taking a bite.

“I agree. I think this cake baking operation has been a grand success. Have a taste, Jasmine.” Veronica said.

Jasmine smiled as she ate. The taste was almost cathartic— no, it made her feel extremely nostalgic. She longed for her mother’s company, but through this cake, she perhaps got just a little bit of relief.

“It’s amazing.” The girl said softly.

“Hey, we still have leftover batter for tomorrow. Maybe we should give some to Kane, Kaleb, and the others.” Franz said while yawning.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea.” Jasmine replied. “I’ll put it in the fridge when we’re done.”

“Hey Jasmine, what did you wish for?” Agnes asked while taking another piece of cake.

“As if I’d tell you. Or anyone for that matter.”

Jasmine finished her piece and took seconds. The group laughed into the night as they talked. Every time the girl looked at the clock, barely any time had passed, almost as if they were frozen in time.

If only, She thought. Her wish had been foolish, childish perhaps. If only this moment could never end.

That was Jasmine’s wish. But she knew their peaceful times together was slowly running out, and soon reality itself would slap them in the face.