Age 20:

"Soooo, are you going to bake a cake?" Renee trills, leaning over the granite countertop that's shined to a gleam.

"Yep," PJ smiles, his dimples showing as he glows with joy. It makes me smile too, just seeing my older brother that happy. He looks very professional in his white chef hat and jacket, his name in red stitches on the side like frosting. "And, the best part?" he asks, glancing over at me with glittering eyes. "My show comes on right after The Gurgles."

"What's up with your hat?" Kiki asks, going up on her tiptoes to peer at the puffy material.

"It's called a toque," PJ informs us as he walks behind the counter to check on the top-of-line stove and refrigerator, although a set manager already has.

Set manager... It's odd thinking of PJ with his own cooking show on television (Mom almost had melt-down!) with a set of people scurrying around to ready it for its fifth episode. Last week's segment had been on how to prepare yummy vegetarian meals. Today's is "Delicious Desserts" which made my mouth water, honestly.

"Alright, places!" someone calls from behind me. I turn, the illusion of a kitchen being broken as a TV set set extends with cameras and spotlights, people with scripts discussing things like placement and boom mic angles. Cables twist on the floor, curling around lamps and structures as they wind to boxes of glowing lights and control, just daring me to trip over them. Outside of the windowless set, the Big Apple surrounds us with plenty of cars and skyscrapers, though I can't see any of it right now.

The back lot has plenty of shows being filmed on it, including a drama about a teenage heiress, a gang of superhero kittens, a farm show called Bonnie the Chicken and Friends, and a cartoon about speaking school supplies.

Renee, my roommate at Iowa University, has family in New York City, so she invited me and our friend, Kiki, to join her for a weekend. I mentioned how PJ lives in NYC and it was set. I called Taylor, who goes to NYU now, but she said that she was so busy that she'd have to catch me the next time. It was a little sad hearing that, but I 'm trying to remember about Renee and Kiki being here.

Renee flips her black hair over her shoulder, splaying her pink nails over the counter. "I totally want to eat the cake when the show's over."

"You can," PJ laughs as a producer runs on the set, her curly orange hair flying.

"Girls," she says, waving a clipboard. "Come this way. Chef PJ, we'll begin the show in five minutes."

PJ grins at us, straightening his coat. "It never gets old hearing that."

I laugh, following the producer off the wooden stage floor to three director-style chairs set up for us. Settling in my seat, I relax, my friends whispering excitedly to each other as PJ looks into the camera.

Some food was prepared before hand by PJ, set aside on a heating rack to keep it fresh for later when they show the finished product. It would take too long if we were all here for five hours, waiting for a cake to finish baking and cooling.

Someone steps in front of the kitchen set, holding a black-and-white marker up in front of the giant camera lens. "Frame one. Take one."

"Action!" the director, a scruffy man named Kellog (no, I'm not joking... Kellog) says, pointing to PJ. The marker dude runs off after snapping the top down, making me jump.

"Do you think they'd let me do that?" Renee asks, pointing to the marker.

I giggle, shrugging. "Maybe."

"Hi," my brother says smartly, smiling at the camera as he draws our attention back. "I'm Chef PJ, and this is Duncan Delicacies."

I roll my eyes with a grin at the cheesy (no pun intended) name. We'd voted on it last year when PJ announced the show. I'd thought that New York Nibbles was the cutest name, and Mom had wanted Amy's Amazing Meals. However, the delicacies idea won out.

"On today's episode, we will be preparing raspberry treacle tarts, lemon meringue pie, and my famous- well, famous in my house- Triple-Chocolate, Knock-Your-Socks-Off, Sugar Rush Cake," PJ says jovially.

"Woah," Kiki breathes. "That's a name."

"So," PJ says, motioning to the ingredients piled up on the countertop: bags of chocolate chips; a dish of fresh, red raspberries; pie crust dough; plus, flour, eggs, and so much more. "We have our ingredients here." He names them off, stating measurements and such, pulling out dishware and utensils. I listen intently, watching as the staff pause the show occasionally, consult notes, restart a scene with the snap of a marker, and PJ mixes the ingredients together.

Eventually, he gets to the cake. "Many of you may remember my strawberry-and-chocolate To Die For Cake from Halloween," PJ says as he opens the bag of chocolate chips. "This has the same principle of chocolate glaze. If you're a beginner chef, have no fear." He snatches a metal tool from the table, holding it up. "The whisk is here."

I giggle at his silly joke, watching as he turns on the eye of the stove and sets a little pan there.

"I'm going to go get water," Renee says as she stands up and creeps away quietly, her skirt swishing around her knees.

I turn back to the set as PJ sits a bag of flour onto the counter with a thud. He opens his mouth to speak, before his eyes drift over to me. I wave and he beams suddenly. PJ motions to me. "Charlie, c'mere.

A rush of surprise hits me as I raise my eyebrows. "Huh?"

PJ smiles. "Charlie, you can be a guest star. Right, Kellog?"

Kellog glances over at me, shrugging. "Sure... well, as long as she's a better cook than your mother. I don't want any more hamburgers exploding on the set. Or lettuce heads. Or toasters."

I gape. What did she do? Mom had been on the show two weeks ago. I guess that part was edited out, though it was the company's own fault for letting her near a kitchen.

"Oh, stop," PJ scolds playfully. "Mom's getting better. But Charlie is a pro. She once helped me out with her Queasy-Bake Oven when she was six and I was still in cooking school."

I smile, standing up a little nervously as people watch me walk up to the set. The kitchen is warm with the heat of the lights, but it smells delicious, all lemony and sweet like someone sprinkled sugar in the air. I inhale deeply, blinking into the blinding lights as my eyes adjust and the shadows take the form of people again. Kiki smiles toothily, giving me two thumbs-up.

I smile back as the set member uses the marker again, a clap ringing out on the set like a crack of lightening.

"Everyone, this is my baby sister, Charlotte. We all call her Charlie, though," PJ says into the shiny camera lens. "Please welcome her onto the show."

I wave, trying to imagine people at their houses, sitting on their couch, watching us once they air the episode. Mom will be so surprised, I think happily.

PJ uncurls the crinkly flour bag, pointing to it. "Alright, put this flour into the bowl for me and then we'll add the milk and vanilla."

I pick up the paper bag, shaking a little bit as I tip it over a metal bowl. Being on stage may be Mom, Teddy, and PJ's thing, but I balk at the thought. It's okay. There's no audience right now. You're just cooking with PJ, like you do every year at Christmas and Thanksgiving. This? This is nothing compared to a full-course meal.

I shake the white flour into the shiny bowl, taking calming breaths.

Then a door on a side of the studio opens with a BOOM and sunshine floods the room. I jerk my head up with a gasp, watching as... as... huh?

A pack of chickens run into the room from the door, clucking, squawking, and flapping their wings as feathers float around from them. People in the studio start shrieking, chaos erupting.

Suddenly, the bag of flour slips out of my grip and falls into the bowl, puffing up like a pale plume into my and PJ's faces. I cough, inhaling the flour as I lean away. "Water!" I croak, my throat dry. Without thinking, I lean over to the water faucet, stick my face in the sink and hit the nozzle. I don't care how I seem as water splashes all over my face, refreshingly cool.

My throat finally feels un-floury as I jerk away, listening to the yells around us, blinking. Kiki is screaming, her feet picked up into the seat as a chicken pecks at the chair. Kellog is yelling at the staff as people try to herd the chickens away from the camera material. Someone else yells about the chickens being frightened before a couple of people walk into the doorway, pausing at the scene.

"These are our chickens!" one of them shouts. "From Bonnie the Chicken and Friends!"

"Well, you'd better get these birds or they'll be the stars of our next show!" Kellog yells, his face turning red. "ON A PLATTER!"

"I'm so sorry!" someone suddenly wails from the middle of the set as a chicken runs like a miniature, feathered bull past them. Renee shakes her head, wiping at her tear-filled eyes. "This is all my fault! I decided to go exploring after I got water! I didn't know the chickens would get out! They just got past me! It's like they know karate or something!"

For a moment, the set seems to still, the chickens quieting, people watching as Renee sniffles before I look up at PJ and jump back. His face is so colorless from the flour it looks like he's the same tone as his chef hat and coat, like some walking flour monster. A laugh suddenly bubbles out of my mouth before I look down and grab an empty bowl, staring at my reflection. My skin is caked in flour too, streaks of water running along it.

I burst out laughing, the giggles shaking my ribs as I bend over. Then, PJ joins, chuckling. Like it's contagious, the laughter runs through the room in ripples, peals of giggles echoing. Even Renee starts to laugh, shaking her head at the craziness of the incident.

I lean over, hugging PJ. "This is the best show ever."

He laughs again, kissing the top of my flour-covered hair. "Glad you think so."

I glance into the still running camera, the red light glowing. "Hey, Toby. I really hope you come on PJ's show next time. Maybe the superhero kittens will get loose." I shrug with a grin. "Sometimes really bizarre accidents can turn into something great... and there might be cake. Love, Charlie."

This was fun to write! I really hope you all enjoyed it and laughed. I think this may be the funniest chapter in the whole story. Sorry it's been a while since I updated the story, by the way. But you all have earned this, being so sweet and supportive in the comments, and being patient with the chapter wait.

The next chapter will be the last one in the years of the story, and then we'll have an epilogue. This story is coming to a close, but there's so much to imagine happening. If you're wondering, yes, Charlie is still dating Patrin, just long-distance.

You guys, our Charlie is 20 years old! WOW! This story began with her as a newborn. I'm excited for the epilogue to show the rest of some of her life. Then, the rest will be to your imagination. Also... this story has been around since 2011. WOAH! Thanks for reading this now, or since the beginning, or whenever you joined!

Well, thanks for reading, of course. Please take the time to review, and help yourself to some imaginary chocolate-glazed cake.

Thanks to our reviewers:

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DynamicGiraffe

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Bye everybody! Have a great week, and remember that you're loved! Don't forget that! I think we all need a reminder now and then. Or always.

~Loveableheart

P.S. Was it called a Queasy-Bake Oven in the show? If not, sorry about that.