Author Notes: Candice is the main character. This is her story, Reynie is just living in it.

Several years ago…

There was a patch of mold growing on the bathroom ceiling. It was an acidic, nauseous yellow and filled the small, concrete-walled room with a musty smell. Sticky didn't like it much. He suspected it's growth had been encouraged by the exposed and leaking pipelines that ran along the tunnel roof, delivering cold water to facilities. It had grown in such an unfortunate spot that whenever he bent forward to wash his face in the porcelain sink, a drop of mold would drip onto his unprotected head and slither its way down his neck. Reynie had also admitted to having this problem, and thus had begun using the kitchen sink to freshen up in the mornings. He was doing just this when Sticky entered one day, shortly after waking.

"Is that you, Sticky?" Reynie asked, his face buried in the deep basin as he scrubbed away at it.

"Sure thing. How long have you been up?"

Reynie produced a washcloth from his pants pocket and wiped away the soap. "Only an hour or so. It's been a while since I went up there—" he waved towards the ceiling, "and I figured Number Two would have trouble denying my request to get some fresh air on a day such as this one,"

Sticky reached within a pantry cabinet to grab a loaf of bread tucked behind a plastic package of cupcakes. "Anything of interest?" he asked, putting two slices in the toaster.

Reynie shook his head. "No. Pretty much the same since our last venture. But the birds are still singing, even before the crack of dawn. It was quite nice to hear them again."

"Would it be too much to hope that those birds kept the Ten Men from getting any rest?"

Reynie smiled. "I have no idea, but if the idea pleases you, I don't see why we can't pretend so,"

The two boys laughed in the short and quiet way they had learned to laugh in their time underground. The toaster was relieved of its burden, but was quickly put to work again and again as Sticky prepared several platefuls of toast. Reynie set out a vast assortment of jams, some of which were nearly depleted and contained only a few vestiges of spread, while the other, more obscurely flavored jams were nearly full. As he prepared a pot of Releaf, Reynie inquired about the state of the mold, to which Sticky confirmed its continued existence.

"I'm finally going to get rid of it today," Sticky announced, "Or I'll at least try to. We've got plenty of chemicals from that donation last week, so I'm sure I could find something to shrivel it up."

Reynie laughed and passed the chemist a cup of tea. "Sticky, I believe you've said that to me every day for the past week, and yet that mold is still here,"

"That may be true, but I mean it this time. A bit of it nearly landed in my eye today," Sticky gave a shudder and sipped from his cup. "Enough procrastinating. That mold has got to go,"

"Agreed!" A loud voice declared. The boys turned and were greeted to the sight of Constance Contraire, a startling clash of messy red hair and green plaid pajamas (courtesy of Number Two's sewing machine).

"Good morning Constance," the two said simultaneously.

"Good morning," she grumbled, taking a seat at the large, wooden table. She snatched a piece of toast and began to eat it dry, not even glancing at the sugary spreads she usually adorned her breakfast with. Reynie raised an eyebrow.

"Constance, are you—"

"Speaking of that mold, George," she seemed not to have even noticed Reynie had spoken, "What's been taking you so long to get rid of it?"

Sticky frowned. "What does it matter to you? You don't even use our bathroom,"

The girl scoffed, sending crumbs flying across the table. "You bet I do. Kate is always hogging ours, so if I ever want to, heaven forbid, practice personal hygiene, I have to either wait on her or make use of you two's open facilities,"

Sticky rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I see now. I'm so sorry you're suffering in this way, but in case you were unaware, we do happen to be living in a tunnel hidden away from the entire world. I don't suppose you've tried practicing a bit of patience,"

"And I don't suppose you've tried—"

"Please don't." The two stopped and looked up at Reynie who was cradling the tea kettle. "Let's not do this today. Not on my birthday," He took a seat across from them and refilled all of their cups.

Sticky shook his head. "You're right, Reynie. I'm sorry. It's such a silly thing to fight over. And Constance, those things I said, I don't mean them. You know I don't really mean them, right?"

Constance took a sip of her tea and nodded. "I didn't mean what I said—er, what I was going to say, either. I'm sorry Reynie, I didn't mean to make this all about me,"

Reynie reached over to squeeze the girl's hand. "I'm not upset, only concerned. Is everything alright, Constance?"

Constance looked up, opened her mouth to say something, and then she began to cry.

"Oh Constance!" Sticky exclaimed, grabbing the girl and pulling her into a hug. "I feel just terrible. I had no idea it bothered you so much! I'll take that mold down today. Oh Constance, how I wish you told me!"

Constance, even as she'd grown older, had never been of great height. Sticky, on the other hand, had continued to grow and grow, sprouting long legs that carried him to an impressive height. Thus, when Sticky gripped his younger friend in an emphatic embrace, Constance's bare feet dangled just above the tiled floor and she simply had to wait for him to release her before she could explain herself.

"I just feel so confused and angry all of the time," she admitted once she'd returned to her seat, "Even the little things like that stupid mold have been bugging me. Yesterday, I almost screamed at Kate for lying on my bed with her shoes on!"

Reynie offered her a napkin, and she wiped her eyes.

"I thought at first it was the Whisperer, but I'm not so sure anymore. I used to be able to tell the voices in my head apart, but now I don't even know what's real!" She burst into tears again and the boys shared a sympathetic look with one another.

They prepared her a plate, Sticky spreading strawberry jam on a fresh piece of toast, and Reynie refilling her cup once more. The two waited until she'd run out of tears, and then waited some more as she took small sips of tea, smacking her dry lips together.

"Feel better?" Reynie asked. Constance nodded and looked up at him. For the first time, he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "How much sleep have you gotten recently?"

"Not much at all," she mumbled, "It takes me hours to fall asleep, and then I'm always waking up in the middle of the night. Is there something wrong with me?"

"Oh, I doubt it," Sticky said, "Insomnia is a quite common ailment; affecting about 58% of the global population,"

"So you don't think it's the Whisperer causing all this?"

"I'm sure it's playing some part, but it's perfectly natural for any person of your age to be feeling this way, especially under our—" Sticky gestured at their surroundings, "unique circumstances,"

Constance narrowed her eyes,"What do you mean by 'a person my age'?"

Sticky's face flushed red and he suddenly took an intense interest in straightening his tea cup. "Oh-um, well Constance, I suppose Number Two hasn't gotten around to talking to you about this, but you ought to know that what you're experiencing right now is likely a side effect of a perfectly natural part of growing up called—"

Reynie clapped his hands together and gave a nervous laugh. "Alright! Thank you Sticky, I think that's good enough!"

"Agreed," Constance scrunched her nose. She was not smiling, but at least disgust was a familiar expression for her. Reynie took it as a step in the right direction and he let himself release a breath he'd been holding.

"Constance, why didn't you tell any of us about this?" He asked, "I mean, we do live with a narcoleptic, as well as a woman who never rests. I'd reckon they'd know a thing or two about insomnia," He intentionally neglected to mention that he also had been getting little sleep as of late. They didn't need to know about that just yet.

Constance gave a shrug. "Everyone is just so stressed already, I don't want you all to be worrying about me when we've got bigger problems to deal with,"

This time, it was Reynie who lifted her off the ground with a hug. "Don't you ever start thinking we care about stopping that madman more than you. Why, I would happily live down here, for the rest of my life if it meant we could all stay together,"

"Even with the mold?" Constance asked.

Reynie laughed. "Yes, even with the mold,"

They were suddenly interrupted by the loud sound of a party horn as Kate entered, bouncing as she walked.

"Good morning, everyone! It's a very special day today, I—gee, you lot look glum. What's the matter?"

"Mold," Sticky said, massaging his temple.

"You mean the one in your bathroom?"

"How do you know—" Reynie began.

Kate threw up her hands defensively, "Don't worry, I haven't been poking around or anything. Milligan just asked me to fetch a comb for him once,"

"Well, you should say your goodbyes to it," Sticky said, "I'm getting rid of it today,"

Kate looked aghast at this suggestion. "You can't do that, Sticky! I've already named it!"

At this, Reynie and Sticky both laughed. Kate took a seat next to Reynie, shaking her head in mock disappointment.

"Shame on you, shame on all of you! Laughing at a girl's pet, how dare you!"

"I do apologize, Kate," Reynie said, dabbing at his eyes, "Tell us, what have you named it?"

"Candice," she declared, "Candice the mold." This was successful in eliciting a snort from Constance, which had been Kate's objective all along. She took care though, to keep this motive secret, and tsked disapprovingly.

"I think you'll need to get a new pet," Sticky said, "Perhaps a cat?"

"No mere cat could ever fill the special place Prudence has in my heart, but I suppose I'll just have to move on," Kate sighed dramatically, and leaned back in her chair.

"Don't worry Kate, you still have one more day with Candice," Reynie said, pouring her a cup of tea. "We won't work today. We can worry about the mold, and other matters," he glanced at Constance, "tomorrow. Today, let's just rest,"

"And celebrate!" Kate gave her party horn another blow. "Say Reynie, did you know that, in some cultures, it's a birthday custom to pinch someone for each year old they are?"

Reynie cleared his throat and mustered a laugh. "Yes, um, it does sound familiar. But it's not one of our customs, so I'm sure it isn't necessary," Reynie knew that what Kate defined as a pinch would be much more painful to anyone besides her. "Instead, Kate, would you mind getting the cupcakes out? They're in the bread cabinet,"

Kate did just that.

"But Reynie," Sticky interjected, "Aren't those for—"

"Later, yes I know. But, I think we all need one right now," He looked over at Constance who smiled gratefully at him.

"I'm certainly not complaining," she said. "But if Number Two throws a fit about a 'non nutritious breakfast', you're taking the blame, Reynie,"

Reynie laughed, "I'm sure she'll find a way to forgive me for being such a poor role model. Now, vanilla or chocolate?"

She chose a chocolate one; they all did except for Sticky, who preferred vanilla.

Before they could begin their sugary breakfast, toast long abandoned, Kate insisted they serenade Reynie with a chorus of 'Happy Birthday'. None of them were particularly good singers, but with Kate conducting them with big, flourishing gestures, Reynie thought it was the best music he had ever heard and made sure to give ample applause when they were through. Then there were cupcakes to be attended to, and they all sank their teeth into moist cake and purple icing that would stain their teeth and tongue, which Constance made sure to show off whenever she could.

And it was in this way, eating cupcakes with his friends, the sounds of "Happy Birthday" echoing through the pipes, that Reynie began one of the worst days of his life.

End Notes: Uh oh! The hits really do keep coming for Reynie.

While you wait to find out what happens to him, I need your help to decide what Im going to name this chapter. Im stuck between:

-The current title "The Mold Was Named Candice"

-The title "A Most Delicious Breakfast"

Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! All comments (short ones, long ones, critiques, compliments, emojis, random nonsense, etc) are greatly appreciated!