Java Chip Frappe

Act Two

Rye lead the way without flaw, she obviously knew where she was headed. Had she been here before? Mordecai nearly facepalmed at his last thought. Duh she had been there before! She lived in the same city, didn't she? Ugh, perhaps it was the promise of seeing Margaret was making him lightheaded?

The smell of coffee beans hit his nose and caused a chain reaction to his stomach. His belly grumbled at he scent. Then again, he hadn't had breakfast yet. Too bad he didn't have any extra cash on him then maybe he would be able to afford a small bite to eat along with his hot coffee. Ugh, being broke sucked, hard.

Before he could think twice, Mordecai found himself sitting in his usual chair at his usual table. With Rigby at his right side and Rye at his left, he waited for Margaret to approach their table and take their order. He placed his elbows on the long table and turned his head to the left to face Rye. The older female had stretched her arms over her head and sat back in her seat in a relaxed pose.

"Hey guys! What can I get for you all?"

The blue jay flinched to the sound of Margaret's voice. Ah, it was just the sound he wanted to hear first in the morning. He was quick to turn into her direction and spat out his order in a nervous tone. "The regular."

"Same here." Rigby lifted his paw in the air.

Mordecai turned to Rye to see her eyes half-lidded, as relaxed as ever. "Just get me a slice of the devil's food cake and a carton of milk, Maggie."

"Maggie?" Rigby curled his nose at Rye's comment.

"No problem, Rye!" Margaret shut her eyes and beamed.

"You know Rye?" Mordecai was quick to lift a single brow.

"Oh yeah," Margaret waved her wing in a nonchalant manner. "We've been friends for awhile now." She reopened her eyes and locked gazes with Mordecai. "Is that all guys?"

"Hm," Rye lifted her curled index finger to her bottom lip before turning to the duo beside her. "You guys want some cake too? Coffee on an empty stomach is terrible, at least for me it is."

The sound of two paws hitting the table caused Mordecai to flinch and look to his best friend. He watched as Rigby stood in his chair with a surprised look on his face that soon transformed into a wide, ear-to-ear smile.

"You mean it?" He asked with glee, "We can never afford cake when we come here!"

Rye allowed her shoulders to shrug a single time. "Sure."

Rigby reached out and latched to his tall blue bud. "Come on bro, how about it? Its not like we can give up a chance at CAKE!"

Mordecai turned back to Rye and presented a soft smile, "That's cool with me if you're cool with it."

Rye returned his attention to Margaret and lifted her first three fingers. "Three slices please." She ended her order with a wink in the female waitress's direction.

"Coming right up." She whirled on her heel and made a beeline back to the kitchen.

Ah, starting the day off with cake? This HAD to be one of those good days he'd look back on and smile about. Sure the next few days assured the tasks of digging and planting flowers but Mordecai didn't mind starting out the week like this. After all, he couldn't remember the last time he had a sweet piece of chocolate cake from the Coffee Shop. And someone else was paying for it? Sweet.

"So how long have you guys been working at the park?"

The sound of Rye's voice once again caught the blue jay by surprise. He turned to the left without hesitation and watched as she leaned the left side of her face on her left fist. The glasses on her nose had fallen down a few centimeters, revealing her large brown eyes.

"Uh," Mordecai lifted his feather to his chin and mentally recalled his many days at the park. "A while now."

"Ah." Rye shut her large eyes and nodded her head.

"How did 'ol Benson get you to work for him anyhow?" Rigby's torso laid flat against the table as he locked gazes with the older female.

"Internet." Rye said in a simple tone. "He seemed pretty desperate, said that he needed someone ASAP."

"That's weird," He cut off Rigby and replied, "He didn't mention anything about making over the park."

The female allowed her eyes to flutter open as she moved her right hand out on the table. She placed her bent elbow on the hard wooden surface and linked her two hands together to support the weight of her chin. "Either way, I need the job."

"Makes sense." The taller male was quick to agree.

"He seems like a real hardass."

The two boys threw their heads back and laughed out loud. That was putting it lightly! Ugh, if they had a dime for every time Benson shouted or threatened to fire them, they wouldn't need to work for him!

"He's a ballbuster!" Rigby took a short break from laughter to agree with Rye. "He gives us all the lame jobs too! I'd like to see him working as hard as we do!"

"Don't worry about that," Rye lifted her right brow as she stared at the smaller raccoon. "We're all going to be working hard when the landscaping begins."

"UGH!" The tiny mammal threw both arms into the air before allowing his snout to hit the table's surface.

Mordecai felt his shoulders lift then drop. "It can't be that hard. It's just digging a bunch of holes and fillin' 'em, right?" He asked, his voice hesitant and hushed.

Rye lifted her chin from her hands and laughed. Her smooth voice left her lips with ease and calmed any tense air that remained in the room. She only broke from her chuckles to turn to back to the duo and reply, "I wish it was that easy. It's gonna be hard, no doubt about that."

"Then I guess that calls for a slice of strawberry cheesecake after our chocolate cake!" Rigby jumped up, body riddled with excitement, "We've gotta CARB UP! Yeah!"

Before speaking, Rye removed her hands from their bent positions and leaned in toward Mordecai. She pushed her body against his shoulders, becoming closer to the frisky raccoon. She then extended her index finger outward and pressed it against Rigby's cold nose. A sly grin cracked across her cheeks and she hummed.

"This is a once in a lifetime offer."

Mordecai felt his heart slam in his chest cavity. What the heck, man? Why was she getting so CLOSE to him? Sure Rigby was on his opposite side but that didn't mean she could press her BODY against his! Ugh! He just met this chick!

Not to mention she was so warm.

"Order up!"

Oh thank the big man upstairs. The tall blue jay felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders as Rye moved away from him. She returned to her seat and watched as the white plate slid in front of her. Mordecai then turned forward and saw the same action repeat. A small dessert plate slide in his direction and centered in the middle was a thin slice of devil's food cake. The cake was a three-layered cake and between the layers was, what he assumed, was a slap of chocolate frosting. The sound of a thump caused him to jerk upward and watch as his coffee cup landed beside his slice of cake.

"Thanks Maggie," Rye flashed a smile in the waitress's direction.

Margaret turned around but not before smiling, "No problem." She then walked away from the table, continuing her day's work.

"Yeeeeaaauhhh!" Rigby ripped his plastic tableware off the hard wood surface and lifted both arms into the air. He wasted no time in digging into his sweet dessert.

Mordecai reached down and plucked his black, plastic fork from the table and stabbed the soft slice of cake. He pushed the fork deeper into the fluffy chocolate cake, pressing through the first layer with ease. The frosting between the layers of cake stuck to his utensil like glue and gave him more resistance than the cake itself. But he carried on until he reached the bottom of the slice. He then ripped his fork away from the slice, taking a piece of cake along with it.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be sweet." He said just before pushing his food into his mouth.

An explosion of tastes bursted in his mouth, alerting his stomach to take a second bite. The taste of chocolate cake coated his tongue while the buttercream frosting stuck to the roof of his mouth. The light and fluffy texture of the cake didn't require too much chew and so he swallowed his food without hesitation. The cake hit his empty stomach and caused shivers to shoot up his spine. Not bad, not bad at all.

"So? Is it good?" Rye said with a smile on her face, fork ready to enter her mouth.

"Its good." Mordecai smiled in reply.

"Eh, I've had better."

The tallest male stiffened. He jerked his head to the right to see his best buddy, Rigby, with a look of dissatisfaction on his furry mug. He was staring at his empty fork his eyes half open and his lips poked outward. He sunk into his seat before jabbing his plastic utensil back into his cake.

"Is that right?" Rye's voice came from the left side of the table. "What's wrong with it?"

Rigby lifted a second, large, chunk of cake back into his mouth. He chewed on it for a few moments before swallowing hard. "Its light."

"Light?" Mordecai tilted his head to one side. "What the heck does that mean?"

"Yeah!" Rigby wasted no time in shoveling a third forkful of food into his cheeks. "Isn't this supposed to be devil's food cake? I thought DF cake was RICH. This stuff is like ANGEL FOOD CAKE!"

Hm. Mordecai shifted his chin back to his slice of chocolate cake. It was pretty fluffy and light for devil's food cake. Even the buttercream didn't seem 'lardy' enough. Rigby was right for once; then again this was concerning food and that seemed to be Rigby's best subject…

"For someone who didn't enjoy it, you certainly finished it off quick." A laugh left Rye's lips and entered the air in a light pitch.

"It IS cake," The small male raccoon was quick to defend his case, "I can't let it go to waste!"

Mordecai turned back to the female and added to his statement, "That's true."

A second round of laughter left Rye's mouth. She paused for a moment, only to ask another question. "So you didn't like it?"

"Like it?" Rigby cocked a brow. "If I WERE paying for this, I'd want my money back!"

"Aw come on," The blue jay turned to his smaller friend. "It's not that bad."

"Whatever, man."

"So," Rye began to tap her bottom lip with one of the fork tongs, a sly smile spreading over her cheeks. "You want to talk to the chef? Give 'em your critique?" Rye then allowed her head to shake from left to right. "I doubt you'd have the heart though."

"Whaaaat?" Rigby's jaw dropped. "Could so! Get him out here!" He then jumped to his feet while still in the steel chair. "Where is he?"

Rye nodded a single time before turning away from the duo. She then dropped her plastic fork, cupped her left hand over her mouth and called out to Margaret. "Maggie!" She shouted while pushing her right arm into the air. She waved her hand back and forth and continued to call for the female waitress. "Maggie, over here!"

The tall robin darted toward the table, not wasting a minute. "Yeah Rye? Do you need something?"

"Hey, do me a favor and get the baker for me." Rye's eyebrows wiggled as she asked her question. "Quick too, Rigby wants to give 'em a review on the cake."

"Oh?" Margaret shut her eyes and released a sweet giggle. "Sure. They'll be right out." She then twirled around and made her way to the kitchen once again.

"Don't tell me you like the cake, Rye." Rigby eyed the lone female in question.

"Hey, cake is cake." Her words rolled off her tongue with ease. "I think its good."

"Do you HAVE any taste buds?" He shoved his nose around Mordecai's body and shot a glare at Rye.

Instead of giving the small brown mammal a verbal response, Rye shut her eyes and chuckled. She then proceeded to eat her cake, refusing to say another word. Wait, what was that about? Did she know something they didn't?

She must.

"So who's the food critic?"

Mordecai felt his body grow cold. That voice, that couldn't be the baker could it? No, it couldn't be, that was a girl's voice! He jerked upward and looked forward, past his plate and past the table to see a female standing feet in front of him. She was clad in the same work outfit as Margaret and Eileen with only the addition of flour stained on her face and apron. Her dark brown hair was styled in a short pixie-styled cut and her large brown eyes stared down the boys with little pity.

"You?" Mordecai felt his jaw drop. "You're the chef?"

The woman stepped closer to the table. She extended her arm out toward him and slammed her open, flat palm before him. "I'm not a chef!" She spat.

"Fine!" His arms shot upward in defense. "Pastry chef!"

The woman's flat hand curled into a fist and she again slammed it against the table's smooth exterior. "I'm not a pastry chef either!"

"Then what ARE YOU?" Rigby was quick to jump in.

"I'm a baker," She replied in a smoother tone. "Now, I'm guessing that you," She then pointed her index finger outward and shoved it into Mordecai's chest. "Are Rigby."

"No," The raccoon shook his head from side to side. "I'm Rigby."

She retracted her arm and cocked a brow. "You?"

He smoothed over his voice and allowed his eyes to shut halfway. "The one and only."

"Oh yeah?" She straightened out her back while the skin around her nose curled. "You have a problem with my food, pipsqueak?"

"Heather, meet Rigby and Mordecai, my new co-workers." Rye spoke out from her end of the table.

Heather turned at the call of her name and looked at the older female with the same disgusted look she had given Rigby moments earlier. She lifted her arms to her chest and crossed them over her bust. Her left leg jerked outward and she shifted her weight to her right leg. "These clowns?"

"Hey!" Rigby leapt from his chair and onto the table. "How do you know we're clowns? You just met us!"

Heather turned back toward the raccoon. "Just a guess."

"Whoa," Mordecai broke in, waving his arms up and down. "Let's chill, we don't wanna start trouble."

"Yeah chill Heather."

Her brow twitched upon call of her name. The slender blue jay could see Heather grinding her teeth in her mouth. Ugh, this wasn't looking so good all of a sudden. Perhaps coming out with Rye was a bad idea? The last thing he wanted was to be banned from the Coffee Shop that would mean no more visits to see Margaret! He had to defuse the situation and fast.

"So what was wrong with it?" She asked Rigby.

"It was too light and fluffy!" He refused to hold back as he spoke. "Devil's food cake is supposed to be thick, greasy and RICH!" His arms flailed in the air as he continued, "I'd hafta eat three or four slices of your cake to feel full!"

"Does that include drinking milk?" She narrowed her eyes at the small mammal.

"Yes it does."

A scowl formed on her face. Her frown grew while her eyebrow twitched beyond control. She finally gritted her teeth before ripping her arms down from her chest. "How dare you!" She snapped. "Name ONE place that serves better cake than me!"

Rigby's face stayed still as a smile claimed his lips, "Betty Crocker makes a better cake."

A slapping sound caused Mordecai to glance to his left. He watched as Rye lifted her hand to her face and slap her cheek. Oh no, he knew what that meant; Rigby hit a soft spot with Heather? Oh boy that's just what they needed.

"A BOXED MIX?"

Mordecai forced his eyes shut. The sheer sound of her voice threatened to rock the Coffee Shop to its foundation. He was sure that the windows at the front of the shop and shattered open and all of the coffee pots bursted into a million pieces.

"Do you even know how to read the instructions on a box mix?" Heather released a shallow hiss between her teeth.

"Duh," Rigby fought back, "They have pictures on those things now."

The female threw her arms into the air and laced her fingers through her short hair. She began to tug at her roots as she released a loud and long groan. Oh Mordecai was sure of it by this point, they would be banned from the Coffee Shop for sure now. All he could do was throw his hand over his face and shield himself from the embarrassing sight that played out in front of him.

She released her hands from her hair and leaned her face into Rigby's nose. "I can make the best cake you've ever tasted!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes!" She protested. "I'm not using HALF of my baking skills here!"

"Prove it."

Her cheek twitched. "Fine! You two work at the park, right?"

Mordecai allowed his wing to slide off his face at a slow pace, "Unfortunately."

"I'd say that was the perfect place to test my cake-baking skills." Heather squinted her eyes, forcing a vicious glare as she stared in to Rigby's dark-colored eyes. "You give me a date and I'll whip up a cake so good it will have you crying."

"Sounds good to me." The raccoon wrapped his arms over his furry chest. "But I know it won't happen."

Heather's pink bottom lip poked out. "Big talk for someone who works less than minimum wage at a park."

"Oh yeah?" A fierce glare shot over Rigby's features. "You talk big for someone who makes terrible cakes!"

Enough was enough! Mordecai bolted from his seat. He then extended his arm out to his best friend and wrapped his fingers around Rigby's tiny shoulders. With a single yank, he pulled the small mammal backward and out of Heather's face. "Enough, dude."

"Rye," Heather pulled back as well. "Give them my number. Then you idiots can text me when you've set up a date."

Rye lifted her index and middle fingers and waved the younger female off. With that said and done, Heather spun on her heel and stomped off toward the kitchen. The sound of a door slamming in the distance let the trio know she was out of earshot.

Mordecai felt his entire body relax. He slunk back into his seat and released a lengthy sigh. Ugh, why did Rigby have to be a jerk when provoked? It was like dealing with a kid! But then again, on the bright side, they would be getting more cake out of it.

Now it was just a matter of letting Benson know that they had just agreed to a cake tasting at the park…

Bbbbbbbzzzzzz…

The sound of vibration alerted the blue jay and caused him to turn in Rye's direction. The older female, who had also been slouching in her seat, reached down into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cellular phone. Her fingers tapped across the surface of her phone while her eyes scanned back and forth.

"Hey guys," She began as her fingers and eyes continued to move about. "Benson is done making his list, we should head back."

"Ugh," Rigby moaned, ears falling flat. "Fine."

"Come on then." Mordecai sighed as he pulled himself out of his seat.

Rye was second to leave her seat and joined Mordecai with a pleasant smile on her face. "Right behind you."

XoXoX

"So he wants a mixture of different colored roses along with some lilacs, can you do that?"

Yada, yada, yada… Mordecai was on the brink of boredom tears. His lungs ached for a yawn but he had to resist! Not in front of Benson, he had gotten enough crap from Benson since working here; he didn't need more fuel for his boss to fire. On the other hand, Rigby felt it just right to yawn without hesitation. Mordecai's elbow jerked out of place, the end of his wing slamming against Rigby's upper arm. The smaller raccoon flinched and released a small 'ow' but stayed in place to Mordecai's surprise.

"That's fine," Rye nodded as she took the notebook paper from Benson's hands. Her eyes jerked back and forth as she read his list. "Ah, Honeysuckle too?"

Benson lifted a brow. "Is that a problem?"

"Yeah kind of," Rye pulled her arm downward as she released a few nervous chuckles. "I'm really allergic to bee stings."

"Hm," Benson placed his finger beneath his lip. "We'll figure it out. I have enough workers to do the job."

"Good." Rye nodded her head a single time. "How much time is Mr. Maellard giving us?"

"That's our only problem," Benson moved his arms over his metal chest and crossed his arms. "It seems we're going to have to do the whole job within two weeks."

Both Mordecai and Rigby threw their arms into the air and proceeded to release a long and loud groan. Only two weeks? They were going to have to work like crazy to finish the work within two weeks! What was this some kind of bad luck or karma?

"Pops' birthday is in two weeks," Benson continued, ignoring his employee's pervious actions. "Mr. Maellard wants the park looking good for the party."

"We can do it." Rye was quick to reassure her teammates. "I promise we'll have everything planted before then." She said as she balled her right fist.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm." Benson managed to break into a small smile. "That only leaves me with getting a cake for the party."

"Can't you use one from the snack bar?" Rigby questioned.

"We could," Benson replied without hesitation. "But Mr. Maellard wants a gourmet cake for his son's birthday. I'm going to have to find a catering company to do the job." He then lifted his hand to his head and sighed. "There's more time and money we don't have."

Mordecai flinched. Cake? They needed a cake? Could this get any more perfect? He knew where they could get a cake, a gourmet cake for free.

"You give me a date and I'll whip up a cake so good it will have you crying."

"Hey," Mordecai took a single step toward his boss and presented his best smile. "I know were we can get a really great cake for free!"

"Huh?" Mordecai's statement took the older male by surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Hear me out on this," Mordecai's arms flew up to his defense. "I know a baker that can do this for free. It'll be the best cake you've ever tasted, I swear."

"The best?" Rigby looked upward.

Mordecai's elbow flew out once more, silencing the smaller mammal. "The baker is Rye's friend, Heather." He explained further to his flustered boss. "She'll do it for free, totally free." He then jerked to his left and looked at Rye. "Right?"

Her body stiffened for a moment before she jolted into reality. "Y-yeah!"

Benson narrowed his eyes at the trio standing in front of him. He then lowered his hand from his face and poked out his bottom lip. Mordecai couldn't begin to imagine what his superior was thinking. Would he believe him or was he risking his neck? After all failing at something like this could put himself and Rigby into serious employment danger!

"Heather, huh?" Benson gave the trio a hard stare. "You better not be playing a prank, Mordecai."

"No, no!" Said bird shook his head back and forth. "Its totally legit! I promise."

"Fine." Benson gave in and his body relaxed. "Set up a date with Heather and tell her we want a chocolate cake for the party in two weeks."

And it was going to be a chocolate cake on top of everything? His luck couldn't get any better. Ah, Mordecai could almost taste his overtime pay on his tongue. He was going to make a great impression and get free cake for Pops? Life couldn't get any better.

Act End