Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 50th cycle. Now cycle 51!

"Couple of Cupcakes"
Rachel & Mike

A/N: This week is dedicated to dear chazzaf for her birthday.
She asked for a 'Rachel week' and that is what she shall get!
Today Rachel and... Mike [as a friendship]

A/N2: Today is THE day, so... happy birthday dear! *huggles* :)

Somehow it had come down how the Glee Club had had McKinley's 'most successful bake sale' a couple years back. That had inspired Mrs. Kelley to recruit the pair of them to run a cupcake stand to fund an upcoming class trip. Rachel, forever open to getting involved, had eventually put on her best smile and agreed. Mike on the other hand had frozen, not sure he would do it, especially as they hadn't really participated in that 'famed' bake sale in the first place. But Rachel had all but accepted for him, and so they were partners.

"Come over to my house on Sunday morning around eight…"

"Eight?" he frowned.

"Or nine…" she bowed her head. "And then we can start on the cupcakes. Don't worry, I have a bunch of foolproof recipes, we'll test them, and once we have our picks, we can start mass production," she'd rattled off as they left their class.

"O-okay…" he wasn't sure if his head wasn't spinning.

"Great, this will be good," she grinned and walked off, leaving a stunned Mike behind.

Sunday morning rolled around, and when Mike arrived at Rachel's house, he wasn't sure what to expect, but somehow it was exactly what he'd found. He got there at a quarter to nine, hoping to win some points, only to step into 'Berry's Bakery.' She had already been hard at work, whipping up samples of each flavor option, a variety of frostings… Everything was labelled, and all he really had to do at this point was eat, and that he could definitely do.

"Why am I even here?" he asked, chewing through his third-sampler and, after the look that got him, he finished and swallowed before going on. "Doesn't look like you need me," he gestured to the samplers.

"I'm not going to make all these cupcakes by myself, I'm only one – very organized – person." He paused.

"How many do we have to make?"

"Enough to pay for the trip? I did the math," she slid a sheet to him, and his sampler slipped out of his hand.

"That's a lot of cupcakes…" She nodded in agreement, indicating the samplers, which sent one clear message: hurry up and eat, so we can make our picks and start baking.

They had chosen four flavors, with two variations on frosting. Rachel showed him how to do each, and they got to it. He wasn't sure he could get the hang of it, but once he did, the whole thing had gone much faster. By the end of the day they were exhausted, but they were ready to start their sale the next day.

They were set up in the cafeteria, which got them the stink eye from one lunch lady or two, but it was prime real estate, so they needed it, and Rachel wasn't going to back down. As good as their spot was though, they soon came to realize that, save for their friends, who would lead by example, they had very little takers.

"Maybe if I took my shirt off," Mike suggested as a half-joke after a long silence. Rachel looked at him like she was briefly considering it, but then she blinked and shook her head.

"No, they'll come. They're having lunch now, when it comes to dessert time though," she nodded to them all. "Then we'll get them." She paused, pondering. "Maybe I should have done the savory one I…" she started, and Mike shook his head. "N… no?" she sounded disappointed.

"That was not good, I'm sorry… I had a nightmare about that one last night," he told her, and she frowned.

"Alright, I get the picture," she sat up.

"But these are really good though, I swear… I'd eat them all, except you'd make me pay, and I don't have that kind of money…" he tried to cheer her up, and it worked. It also got her thinking.

"We need to hit target areas."

"Can't go to the fat kids, that's rude," he told her.

"What? No," she defended herself. "I mean like teachers, and the rest of the people who work here, and then the parents, especially ones with businesses who might be able to buy more off of us, place them strategically. One good cupcake can turn your day around," she smiled.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"And if we bring them to class, let the smell bring them forward… I think it's the stand that keeps them away," she looked around. "Bring the merchandise to the people, and they'll come to you," she finished.

"We've got nothing to lose at this point," he told her, and she gave another nod.

Rachel's tactics were right on target. Pretty soon they were rolling out whole boxes, and the end of the tunnel didn't seem as far away as it used to. Soon they were down to one box, but when Rachel went to pick it up, Mike jumped in and pulled it away.

"What are you doing?" she asked, while he reached in his pocket and pulled out some money and held it out before her.

"I'm buying this one, for us. We did all the work, we should get to enjoy some of it," he explained, and she laughed, taking the money.

"Good, I'm actually so hungry right now…" she revealed. He opened the box.

"Don't spoil your dinner," he joked as she took one and he did, too.

"This was actually kind of fun," she told him as they ate. "I mean, we worked it out and everything…"

"It was better than selling candy," he told her, and she laughed.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!