Chapter 4-5: Cake Me, Baby!
And soon, the group walk up to the assembly hall and meet up with Epel's grandmother. In fact, Marja is standing out, waiting for them.
Epel calls out, "We're back, Grandma!"
"It's about time, ya rotten apples!" Marja shouts at them, "Y'all better have been practicin', or you're goin' to bed without any supper!"
"Uh, yep! We absolutely were! You'd never guess they were beginners now! We're ready to win this race!" Epel answers.
"Ohoh… Look at you kids, all confident. Well, now…" Marja says with a smile, before shouts, "Been puttin' the ol' nose to the grindstone, huh? Glad to hear it."
"Granny went from mad to glad in no time flat!" Grim says.
Epel giggles and says, "Ahaha… She's real sweet and caring, sledathon aside."
Then Marja asks, "By the way, did you settle on a team name, Epel?"
"Oh no, I forgot!" Epel says, realizing it.
And Marja shouts, "WHAT IN SAM HILL?! I told you that was as important as pruning an apple orchard!"
"Sorry, Grandma! We'll pick something right now. Uhh…" Epel sheepishly says.
Then turns to Briar, "Quick, Briar, got any suggestions?"
Briar thinks and suggests, "Something with a Harveston theme would be a good idea?"
"I guess nothing says Harveston like apples," Epel says.
And then an idea comes to him, "I've got it! How about we base our team name on the apple lantern on my sled?"
"Ah, it could be our symbol during the race," Jade says.
Epel happily says, "The Apple Lanterns! I like the sound of that!"
"Uh, what? Is that really the best you could come up with?" Idia questions.
Sebek says, "Yes, it's not bad, but could stand to sound more imposing. How about 'The Fearsome Apple Lanterns'?"
"We could improve it even more by going with The Fearsome Mountain-Loving Apple Lanterns," Jade says.
"Okay, I take it all back. Let's just stick with Epel's suggestion.
"Great, then that settles that. Thanks for the help, Briar," Epel says.
He then asks, "What name did you go for?"
"Well, I was thinking we can call ourselves Woodland Speeders," Briar says.
"That's a great idea. After all, the stuffed animals are woodland creatures after all," Tanzanite says.
"I think it's cute," Sereia says.
Epel then turns to his grandmother, "Grandma, we're gonna be The Apple Lanterns!"
"And we're going with Woodland Speeders," Briar says.
"Is that right? Okay then, I'll put that down as your name," Marja says with a smile, "Now, are you kids gonna stand here freezin' all night or come in already?"
"We're coming," Epel says.
Suddenly, Epel notices something, "Hey…" He sniffs and asks, "Do I smell what I think I smell…?"
The group enters the Assembly Hall and walks into the lounge.
Epel is surprised to see what he sees, "Well, hot dog! We've got barbecue!"
"And a whole lotta other stuff too!" Grim says, excited.
"Of course. We wouldn't dream of skimping on your welcome party," Marja says.
Jade smiles, "Thank you, I'm honored."
"Okay, time to go to chow town!" Grim says.
"Yeah!" The twins reply.
"Yes, I can hardly wait to sit down," Sebek says.
Idia becomes nervous, "Yiiikes… Do welcome parties normally have so many people?!"
Soon, the major walks over, "You must be tired after your practice. So eat up and recharge all that energy! We could only throw together a modest little party, but I hope you enjoy it! Cheers!"
Everyone shouts, "Cheers!"
Epel happily says, "Sweet! I can't remember the last time I got to eat barbecue without havin' to worry about bein' all dainty about it. Time to dig in!"
And with that, everyone begins to have their dinner, and Epel is especially happy.
"Epel's rather excited," Jade says.
"Do you love barbecue that much?" Sebek asks.
"Hm? Oh, I like it as much as the next person…" Epel answers.
The group continues having dinner and are enjoying it.
Soon, Grim notices, "Hey, check out that big cake!"
The group looks to see a large beautiful cake, well decorated with fruits and icing.
"It's quite the beautiful centerpiece for this feast," Jade says.
One of the villagers says, "Lemme cut y'all some slices."
"The icing and fruit decorations are very well done," Sebek says.
"Awright, here y'all go," A villager says.
"Cake me, baby!" Grim happily says and eats the cake. However, Grim noticed, "… Wait, this aint sweet at all!"
"I thought it had icing on it… But is this mayonnaise and sour cream?!" Sebek says, confused.
Jade then says, "It looked like a sponge cake, but it's actually just regular break with vegetables between the slices, not fruit."
"And it's topped with shrimp, deviled eggs, olives, apples, and salmon slices arranged in a rose shape. It's like a salad," Sebek says.
"It's called a sandwich cake. They're a must-have at any party around here," Epel says.
"Wow. First the pancake balls and now a sandwich cake," Briar says, "They're not what I expected, but they're delicious."
"The sandwich cake tastes good," Jasper says.
"It sure ain't what I was expectin'… But MAN is it good!" Grims says, excited and continues eating the cake.