Disclaimer: You all know the drill- Gakuen Alice is NOT mine...blah blah blah... but this story IS mine!
"I think I'm in love."
Anna gave a small laugh as she finished sprinkling sugar powder on the last batch of fruit pastries.
"Mikan, you say that all the time," she giggled, dusting her hands free of the fine powder.
I popped the last piece of the scrumptious treat in my mouth, savoring the sweet flavor as much as I could.
"Only with your sweets, my love," I sighed in content.
"Then would you like another?" she offered, waving her hand over a colorful assortment of fruit filled pastries placed all over her kitchen table which was rather large.
"Thanks, but no thanks," I replied as I hopped off my stool by the cluttered counter. "As much as I love your creations, I think you'll need every heavenly piece of them tomorrow."
She made a face and grabbed a couple of the bowls on the kitchen counters and moved them to the sink. I smirked at her dismay and began to help her clean up.
"Worried?" I inquired as I twisted the sink on, making hot water pour out of the faucet instantaneously.
"Of course," Anna snorted. "Wouldn't you? And wear these."
I caught the pair of pink gloves she threw with ease, wiggling my hands into them. They were a bit tight on my hands, but I blamed Anna's hands for being so extraordinarily small.
"Ah, my eyes!" I cried out dramatically as I lifted my gloved hands up in front of me. "The overwhelming pink is hurting my eyes!"
It wasn't true, of course, but there was a lot of pink in the kitchen. Despite the warm yellow walls, white tiled floors, and honey-brown counters, most of the kitchen utensils were or held a bit of pink on them.
Anna snorted indignantly, throwing a bit of flour she had been putting away at my shoulder.
"If pink hurts your eyes so much," she huffed. "How do you stand to see me everyday?"
Anna's hair was a bright shade of bubblegum pink, a color that fit her as unique as it was. She had experimented with different shades of colors for her hair before settling on the particular shade of pink. Despite the numerous dyes, her long wavy hair remained perfectly silky and healthy, an apparent effect of Nonoko's special hair formulas. Nonoko, Anna's "twin" was a chemist extraordinaire, and she created pretty much everything involving chemistry for everyone. She herself had dyed her long straight hair a soft sky blue under Anna's influence. A chemist dyed her hair under a cook's influence. Did anyone see the irony there?
"Simple," I snickered. "Nonoko's blue hair keeps it balanced."
Anna threw another handful of flour at me, but I quickly stepped away and avoided a fatal hit.
"And I don't see you everyday," I added with a laugh, splashing some water at her in retaliation. I remembered, however, a bit later, that the water was hot.
"Holy moustache!" I yelped.
"Mikan!" Anna exclaimed, rushing to my side. "Are you okay?"
"Oh my moustache, I am fine," I muttered.
Anna rolled her eyes and tugged my arms to the sink, turning the faucet to cold and pushing my hands under the water.
"You are such an idiot," Anna scolded.
"Idiot?" I gasped. "Did our saintly Anna just... insult someone?"
Anna smacked my arm and started to giggle. Soon I joined and our giggles erupted into a full-out laughter. We finished cleaning up the kitchen in sporadical bursts of sniggers, but when we turned back to the perfected pastries sitting on the the desert stands, Anna's jovial mood fell back to one of concern.
"Is ten dozen too much?" she asked out loud.
"Anna-dear, your sweets are never too much," I sang. I took in a deep breath of the sweet fruity smell in the air and sighed. "Yep, never too much."
Anna frowned, worry still etched in her eyes. "But all the other cooks are preparing something special-"
"-different kinds of refreshments decided by a class vote-"
"-and since there are barely two hundred students in our school-"
"-plus the staff and the exchange students-"
"-isn't ten dozen too-"
"-little?" I finished.
"Mikan!" Anna huffed. "I'm seriously trying to think here!"
I patted my friend sympathetically. "And I'm trying to help you. Just bring it to school and all will go well." I ruffled her hair and gave her a wink. "Besides, if there are any leftovers, I think a certain group of boys will be willing to finish it for you."
Anna blushed lightly before lifting her chin crossly.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
I raised an eyebrow.
Her blush deepened.
"Anna." I began, my other eyebrow rising.
"Stop." She put up a palm to my face.
"What?" I asked, surprised.
"I know that tone," she frowned.
"What tone?" I grinned.
She blushed even more and snatched a tray of pastries off the table.
"You know what? I'm gonna drop this conversation." She marched the tray to the big refridgerator in the corner. It was huge and metallic, a bit out of place in the cozy kitchen, but it was the special storing fridge, one of the many modern upgrades Anna had installed within her kitchen for her cooking.
"What conversation?" I pressed, my grin widening. I grabbed one of the trays as well, following after her.
She made no comment at all despite my persistent inquiries and continued to do so until she was done with putting the finished pastries away. After the last tray was in, she turned around quickly with a huge smile plastered to her face.
"Oh my, Mikan! It's already 8:37! It's so late! Your mother will be worried," she gushed as she pushed me out the kitchen.
"Anna? Wait a minute-" We were in the living room now.
"And tomorrow's the first day of school too! Summer vacation must have messed with your sleeping habits, right?"
We were at the front door now.
"I was just kidding-"
She pushed me out the door, my slippers waiting for me outside. How did she do that?
"Good night sweetheart, and make sure to call me!"
She thrust my bag and my sweater in my arms before she gave me a little wave and shut the front door. I soon found myself standing outside in the dark, shivering slightly in front of the wooden door of a large wooden cottage. I sighed a bit before sticking my feet in my slipped and shuffling down the front yard.
Anna could be so stubborn sometimes.
xXx
"Yello?" I answered the phone that had began ringing just as I had plugged in the hairdryer. I had quickly grabbed a towel and began ruffling my long chocolate-brown hair with it as I had grabbed the phone.
"Mikan!"
"Hey Anna," I answered slowly. She sounded a bit panicked. "You okay?"
"Nonoko is coming back tomorrow!" Anna exclaimed.
"What? I thought she was coming back a week after school started!" I exclaimed back, equally enthusiastic.
"Nope. Apparently, Chemistry Camp finished today. The brochure was printed wrong."
"Oh my moustache!"
"I know, right? But Nonoko wanted to surprise us so act surprised tomorrow, kay?" Anna squealed before she let out a muffled yell. With a breath of annoyance, she quickly chided, "Mom's a bit angry. She's the one who found out over a conversation with Nonoko's parents, and I snatched the phone away from her. Gotta' go now. Night and sweet dreams!"
The phone clicked dead before I could reply. I looked incredously at the phone reciever before shaking my head. Suddenly tired, I quickly brushed through my hair and braided it tightly, too tired to dry it electronically or manually. Soon, I was snuggled between the soft orange covers of my bed and dozing off.
A slow slideshow of Anna's pastries ran through my mind right before my mind shut down completely, something wet dribbling down my chin.
Sooo?
I know, completely vague, not much information or storyline passing through here. Keyword: EXCHANGE STUDENTS. ...Still, not much information, I know. But hey, it's funny.
...it is funny, right?
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Reviews! Yea! -insert rockstar handsigns here-
Yeah!
