Sticken with this idea, I knew I had to write it or I would never complete my other story.
Although I missed Pi Day by a large margin, it's also Pi MONTH so I don't feel bad.
Any and all desserts are welcome on pi day tbh.
I don't own anything!
"Patty?" Marcie's voice cut through the noise of the hallway.
Peppermint Patty squeezed the shorter teen's hand and stopped to listen to her girlfriend. "Yeah, Marcie?"
"My calculus class is having a party to celebrate pi day. They volunteered me to bring a cake."
"That right?" Peppermint Patty pondered for a moment. "We should bake one tomorrow then."
Marcie hesitantly smiled. Although her cooking skills had gotten better through the years with practice and lots of patience from Peppermint Patty, she wasn't at all gifted. She had graduated from complete dunce to okay-without-supervision, which was a small miracle. Still, she never felt confident enough to cook without her girlfriend there, guiding her and giving her instructions.
Peppermint Patty noticed the already doubtful look on Marcie's face. She ruffled the shorter teen's hair teasingly. "Don't worry, cakes are easy."
Despite the headache she usually got from helping Marcie out, she looked forward to it. Any time they spent together was a fun time in her book.
Peppermint Patty stood with her hands on her hips, glancing around the kitchen. All the necessary ingredients were laid out on the kitchen island. Her apron was tied neatly around her waist and her long sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. Beside her, Marcie stood in a too big for her apron with an overwhelmed look on her face.
"Are we ready, kid?" Peppermint Patty asked, rubbing her hands together.
"I guess, sir." Replied Marcie.
The sporty teen looked to the clock, two in the afternoon, which would give them plenty of time to make and remake the cake if need be. She picked up the recipe for banana nut cake that Marcie had printed off yesterday and read off the first step.
"We need to butter the pan," Peppermint Patty said.
Marcie nodded and unwrapped the stick of butter that sat beside their designated pan. Awkwardly, she rubbed the butter inside the pan.
"Is that good, sir?"
Peppermint Patty held out her hand for Marcie to put the stick of butter in. She quickly filled in the spots her girlfriend missed, so the cake would be extra crunchy.
Satisfied, the taller teen read off the next step. "Carefully coat the bottom of the pan with flour."
Peppermint Patty wrapped up and put away the butter as Marcie opened the small bag of flour. It was half empty and the bag looked very worn. The bespectacled teen shook the bag into the pan and the flour came out in a clump.
"Well… We can work around that." Peppermint Patty said with a sigh. She took the pan to the trashcan and shook out the flour. There was a nice even coating after damage control was completed. Her hands, however, were ghost white. She put down the pan and as she whipped off the flour dust onto her apron, she asked
"Do you wanna mash the bananas or cut the pecans?"
Marcie's eyes flicked between the cup of pecans, at least already shelled, and the overripe bananas. Both would require careful knife work…
"Bananas." She replied after a moment.
Peppermint Patty smiled and moved to stand in front of the cup of pecans. She poured them out on the counter. She selected two knives for her and Marcie. Before handing the sharp utensil over to her girlfriend, Peppermint Patty kissed her forehead. "Be careful, alright?"
Marcie nodded and set to work beside Peppermint Patty. The sporty teen had the more time consuming task, chopping the pecans into small bits. She enjoyed the calmness of the kitchen- a fact that most of her peers would never believe. Standing there working next to Marcie was actually relaxing. She didn't even mind the silence that had fallen over them as they concentrated on their task.
Peppermint Patty stopped a second to supervise Marcie, who was still cutting the bananas. She almost laughed at the concentrated and determined look on her girlfriend's face. Marcie would slowly cut a slice and let it fall into the bowl. She watched, smiling at how adorable Marcie looked, and then resumed chopping the pecans.
Marcie was pulverizing the slices of bananas with a whisk when Peppermint Patty finished her own task. She looked appalled at the shorter teen's weapon of choice, but decided that it was working well enough. The sporty teen emptied the yellow cake mix into the bowl they would need to blend all the ingredients. She cracked two eggs into the mix; since Marcie wasn't allowed near eggs (Easter was always a bad holiday for them).
"I think I'm done, sir." Marcie held a tired smile on her face.
Peppermint Patty smiled proudly at her and motioned for her to move closer. "Measure out half a cup of oil and pour it in," Meanwhile she threw the pecans and mashed bananas in. "We're on the home stretch now, Marcie."
The blonde set the oven to the designated temperature and prepared for the final step: mixing the ingredients. She briefly considered asking Marcie to clean up while she did this part, but she needed to learn. Especially since last time they used the mixer it ended up being a big mess…
Putting an arm around her girlfriend's waist, Peppermint Patty pulled her so she stood in front of the bowl and handheld mixer. The taller teen stood behind her. Marcie was determined to do it correctly this time. With conviction, she began to mix. The hum of the mixer was loud, but oddly soothing.
"Turn it off before you take it out," Patty's rough voice reminded her.
Marcie blushed at the memory of splattering brownie batter all through the kitchen. She followed her girlfriend's instructions and set the mixer down, content with her progress.
"How am I doing, Patty?"
"Looks nice, kid." Peppermint Patty moved to pour the mix into their pan. "Okay, stick it in the oven."
Marcie held the pan with both hands while the sporty teen opened the oven door for her. Carefully, she slid the dish in.
"Don't burn yourself."
And maybe she wouldn't have if Patty hadn't said anything. Marcie yanked her hand back quickly and held it to her chest. She held back an ouch, hoping her girlfriend didn't notice.
"You burned yourself, didn't you?"
She hung her head, "Yeah."
Peppermint Patty sighed and held out her hand in exasperation. The shorter teen immediately placed her burnt hand in hers.
She examined the burnt digit. It was slightly red and nothing to worry over. "Go get the aloe."
Forty-five minutes later, they abandoned the TV show that had kept them slightly amused and went to check on the cake. Peppermint Patty opened the oven and was pleased to see the cake was perfectly golden. The edge of the cake was a shade darker and appetizingly crunchy looking.
"So far, so good Marcie."
Using a potholder, the sporty teen grabbed the pan out of the oven. She set it on the top of the stove to cool.
"We have to check if it's baked all the way, right sir?"
Peppermint Patty handed her a knife to cut the cake with. "Do the honors."
Marcie cut horizontally against the shorter side of the pan and then cut that portion into fourths. Carefully, she placed two slices onto a plate for them to sample.
"Ready?" Peppermint Patty asked, picking up the piece. It burned her skin slightly, but it smelled divine.
"Patty, I'm scared."
The sporty teen nodded, but continued to bring the cake to her mouth. Marcie watched as her girlfriend sampled their creation. When Peppermint Patty's eyes shot open, she could only ask, "How is it?"
Peppermint Patty chewed the uncomfortably hot, but oh so delicious bite of cake. She nodded excitedly. She put the rest of the piece down and flung her arms around her girlfriend.
"Sir?" Marcie asked.
"I'm so proud," The blonde teen said, holding her tighter. "Those kids in your class are going to love it."
Peppermint Patty pulled back and kissed her significant other before prompting her, "Go on, try it!"
The bespectacled teen bit into her slice and nodded in agreement. Through the cake she said, "It's crunchy, but a good crunchy."
Peppermint Patty grinned. "You did good, kid."