Hey everyone! This is a short FOUR SHOT! I've never really done a short story like this before, but I like it. The chapters are pretty short and sweet so enjoy!
The Bakers and the Caterers
Chapter one
Gabriella Montez was behind the glass counter where an array of colorful cakes sat. She slowly slid one of the cakes out of the display counter and smiled as she saw the happy couple standing before her. A piece of her curly hair fell from behind her ear, dangling in front of her face and she quickly moved it away with the same smile. She had a pink and brown apron on and the name tag she wore to work everyday shined perfectly.
"This cake comes in the wedding style. This is only the small version of it." Gabriella said with a smile.
"It's beautiful." The blonde woman said as her eyes sparkled with happiness. The man she was with nodded in agreement, but his eyes were shinning because he was looking at the woman.
Gabriella smiled even more and nodded.
"It's one of our best." Gabriella agreed.
"How many levels can you make it?" The woman asked as she examined the cake a little more.
"How many would you like?" Gabriella asked.
The woman smiled and looked at the man that was with her. He gave her a subtle nod and a wink, making her smile become even bigger.
"Five." She smiled.
"We can do that." Gabriella answered.
Gabriella thought the woman was about to squeal and dance around the cake store, but she just continued to smile and take in the scent of the store.
"We'll take it." She said with a nod. "Five layers. Everything's perfect so if you can make everything the same exact way, that would be wonderful. We'll need it on May 23rd."
"All you have to do is fill out this form, and you'll see a cake just like this one on May 23rd." Gabriella answered in a sing song voice.
"Great. Thank you." She said as she took the form from Gabriella and then the man's hand, walking over to the round chairs that were set up by a stone table for more official cake meetings.
Gabriella smiled once more before she walked into the kitchen where her two best friends and co-workers stood decorating cakes. She hummed as she surveyed the cakes' progress and she casually stole some frosting from a bowl.
"We just sold another cake. We need to start making the Strawberry Fun cake." Gabriella instructed her team.
"Wow, how many Strawberry Funs have we sold this week?" The dark haired woman asked from where she was putting fondant on a chocolate cake.
"Well, Taylor, thanks to Sharpay, we've sold four this week." Gabriella said as she pulled some empty cake pans from the shelves next to her and set them on the counter by the girls.
"I didn't do anything special." Sharpay said with a shrug. "I was inspired by some stilettos I saw."
"Well, thank you for being addicted to shoes." Gabriella laughed.
"You're welcome!" Sharpay said proudly.
"How long do you think the couple that was just in here will last?" Taylor asked.
"Hmm…." Sharpay started.
"We really shouldn't do that anymore, girls. Don't you feel like we're jinxing people when we guess how long they'll last?" Gabriella asked as she looked up at her friends.
"People are like cakes. They are sweet and pretty at first, but they eventually fall apart and mold." Taylor replied.
"And that, girls, is why we don't have men in our lives; we compare them to cakes." Gabriella answered honestly.
"We'll find some worthy guys eventually. People just don't understand the commitment that goes into cakes." Sharpay replied with a nod.
"Yeah, if it wasn't for us, people would have nothing to wish on, on birthdays." Taylor said.
"Or eat when they just broke up with the person they've been dating since high school." Sharpay as she stabbed a discarded piece of cake with her frosting knife.
Gabriella and Taylor exchanged a quick look and nodded slowly. They were quiet after that, getting lost in the cakes they were working on. Gabriella came out of the kitchen about two hours later when she heard the store door open. She walked out and was startled when she saw a woman with blood shot eyes, blowing her nose in a tissue.
"Are you Gabriella? The owner here?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's me."
"I came in a few days ago." The girl explained. "Is there any way I can cancel the order that I placed?" She asked.
"Well… we already made…" Gabriella stopped herself and nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, that's fine."
"Thank you." The girl sniffled. "You can keep the money. My ex doesn't deserve the money back." She said.
"Okay." Gabriella said with a nod.
She stayed in her spot by the kitchen door until the girl was out of the store. She walked back into the kitchen sadly, shaking her head in disagreement.
"Sorry, Shar, but you can get rid of that cake." Gabriella said. "The girl from last week just canceled it."
"Who called it?" Taylor chanted competitively.
Gabriella grabbed the closes utensil and walked over to Sharpay's cake. She stabbed the side of it and put a piece of the creamy cake into her mouth. Taylor and Sharpay joined her, leaning up against the counter as they looked at the cakes baking in the oven.
"Sometimes this job makes me lonely." Gabriella sighed.
"Tell me about it." Sharpay said with a nod, stuffing another scoop of cake into her mouth.
"We'll find someone." Taylor reassured them again.
"Hope so." Gabriella said through her cake filled mouth.
Gabriella, Sharpay, and Taylor were in a van, transferring the wedding cake that was ordered a few days before, to the wedding hall. Gabriella was driving, and Taylor and Sharpay were in the back, making sure the cake wouldn't fall over or get damaged. They were listening to their "cake delivering music", which was only a mixed CD that Sharpay made a year before when they first opened the store. They sang along and Gabriella looked from her rear view mirror to the road a few times to check on the cake.
The girls pulled up to a nicely decorated reception hall. A long cream carpet ran from the street to the inside of the building and the girls smiled as they got the cake out of the van.
"Don't drop it." Gabriella cringed.
"We've done this plenty of times, Gabs." Taylor laughed. "We won't drop it."
"This could be a first though… just be careful!" Gabriella instructed nervously.
"Chill, Gabs." Sharpay laughed as her high heels clicked against the floor.
Gabriella rolled her eyes at her, knowing it would be impossible to chill when Sharpay was carrying a cake in high heels. Taylor laughed too and before Gabriella had time to scream, the cake tipped sideways.
"Girls!" She gasped.
Sharpay and Taylor moved swiftly and before they had time to regain their footing, the cake was already standing up, no damage done to it. The girls breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the men holding the cake. They had noticed the girls having trouble taking the cake in and were going to offer to help, and then they saw it falling and were close enough to catch it before it barely left the girls' hands.
"Oh my God, thank you!" The girls said together.
The two guys laughed and the tall dark man spoke.
"I'm guessing this goes with all the other food?"
The girls nodded and watched as the cake disappeared with the men.
"Is it just me or are they wearing chef outfits?" Sharpay asked as she watched them leave.
"Yup." Taylor agreed.
"They're hot!" Sharpay announced.
"You almost ruined our cake! We are not getting the luxury of flirting today!" Gabriella said quickly, grabbing the girls by their wrists and pulling them into the ballroom where the food was arranged at the side of the room, centered in front of three huge, long windows.
Gabriella examined the cake as Sharpay and Taylor went to find the wedding planner. She fixed a slanted flower and stepped back to look at the cake that matched all of the other desserts. She wondered if the bride and groom based their weeding theme and colors off of the cake and by the looks of the room, she didn't have to wonder for long.
"This is a nice cake." A man's voice said from behind her.
Gabriella turned to see who was complimenting her cake and smiled with a nod.
"Thank you." She said as she scanned his chef outfit quickly.
"You're the baker right?" He asked.
"Well, I'm the owner of the bakery; I didn't get to make this one." She explained.
"Do you make a lot of the cakes for the local weddings?" He asked.
"Yeah, for the most part. We're new at this, so we don't have too many customers yet."
"Well, I've done at least five events where your cakes were the center of attention. This is the first time I had a chance to complement one." He replied.
Taylor and Sharpay stopped as they entered the ballroom. Their eyes were drawn to the cake where Gabriella was talking to a shaggy haired man with a chef outfit on.
"I thought we weren't allowed to flirt today." Taylor whispered to Sharpay.
Sharpay was too distracted to reply to Taylor, she was intently watching her friend talk to this man, the wedding cake right in the center of the backdrop.
"Quick, how long do you think they'll last?" Sharpay asked.
"What?" Taylor asked as she looked back at Gabriella.
Sharpay sighed and pointed to Gabriella.
"Well, I don't see any flaws yet… he obviously can cook… Gabriella's smiling… the air isn't too hot or cold… hmm… I see them lasting for…" Taylor slowed down and looked over at Sharpay.
"Forever?" Sharpay guessed.
Taylor nodded and gave Sharpay a high five.
"What exactly do you do?" Gabriella asked the man with a smile.
"I'm the caterer." He chuckled. "Most people aren't as blown away by potato salad and roast beef." He smiled.
"Hey, when I see a good potato salad, I'm always blown away." Gabriella smiled.
"Well, maybe one of these days you'll get to taste it, but for now, I have to get back to work." He said with a nod.
"Have fun." Gabriella smile.
"Same to you."
Gabriella smiled as she watched him walk away, two of his co-workers joining him. She walked away from her cake that was perfect and in place, and as she exited the ballroom she suddenly had an idea for an ocean blue cake.
In the next chapter we get to meet 'the caterers'! Review!
Much love,
unknownbyhim22