It was lunchtime again at Smile Elementary, and eight critters had met up again at their usual table. Picky Piggy opened her lunch box to reveal a small box of cinnamon rolls. Her friends were amazed at how tasty they looked.
"Wow, Picky," Bobby said, "Did your mom help make those?"
"Yep. She's been trying to experiment with the recipe a little bit and I suggested we could be her taste testers." She began passing out a roll to each of her friends, who quickly started digging in.
"Man, Picky, you are the pig!" Hoppy proclaimed, licking her lips from eating her roll.
"Yeah, these taste great!" Dogday added.
Everyone at the table seemed to be enjoying their desserts, Crafty wasn't too sure about hers. "Picky, my roll tastes kind of funny," she admitted.
"Really?" Picky asked, confused, "They were all made with the same batter."
"What did your mom put in these rolls?" Bubba asked.
"Hmm, the usual stuff. Sugar, Cinnamon, some extra butter…". She paused when they could hear some scratching noise. They looked over to Craftycorn, who looked like she was rapidly scratching her arm.
"Crafty, are you okay?" Bubba asked.
"I…. I don't know," she responded, scratching different parts of her body. "I'm all itchy!"
"Do you have any flees?" Dogday asked, feeling concerned.
Then Bobby jumped when she saw something wrong. "Crafty, your arm!" the bear cried. Everyone looked to see some red rashes starting to appear.
"Wha…. What's happening to me?" Crafty questioned. It quickly looked like the rashes were spreading, and her itch was getting worse.
Dogday quickly stood up and held Crafty's hoof as he took out of the cafeteria. "I think we should go to the nurse's office," he proclaimed, "Now!"
As they left, everyone was confused and concerned with what was going on. "This isn't going to happen to us, is it?" Kickin asked.
"It shouldn't," Picky stated, "I had one of these buns before I left for school."
"Maybe it's something to do with Crafty," Bubba guessed.
A little while later, the critters carried on with lunch until Bobby couldn't help it and went to check on CraftyCorn. By the time she went to check, she saw Crafty being taken outside by her parents. The bear only got a glimpse of them before they got outside and heard the sound of screeching tires.
She saw Dogday walking out of the nurse's office looking worried. "Dogday, what happened to Crafty?" Bobby cried.
"The nurse said that Crafty was having some kind of allergic reaction," Dogday explained.
"All because of that roll?" Dogday just nodded as they didn't know what to think.
After CraftyCorn had been taken to the hospital with her parents worried about what was wrong, despite the rashes being taken care of. Rivet Raccoon looked to the doctor to check the problem.
"What happened to her?" Rivet asked.
"She seems to have had an allergic reaction," the doctor explained. "We've done a blood test to make sure what it is, and it seems that Crafty has an allergy to cinnamon."
"H-how bad is that?" Craftycorn asked.
"Well, most food allergies like this can be quite serious. Worst cases can be anaphylactic shock." Just mentioning this caused Crafty to get nervous.
"Okay, what would you recommend that we do?" Rivet asked.
"I recommend that you inspect the food in your home to see if any of it contains that ingredient," the doctor explained.
"Right, it's better not to take any chances." She helped Crafty off the hospital bed and headed to the door.
"Hold on a moment. Crafty, before you go, I'd like you to take these." He handed the young critters brochures. "These should help you with what you need to know about your allergies."
"Um…. Thank you," Crafty said. Taking these, she soon left with her mother.
After they got home, Rivet started clearing out the pantry, checking on every item to make sure if they had cinnamon or not. Crafty sat on the table while she simply drew until they noticed Stretch Skunk walk in. "I'm home," he called. He looked to see Crafty working on her drawing. "Say, you're home early. Did something happen at school?"
"Crafty had an allergic reaction," Rivet explained. "I'm trying to clean out anything she could be allergic to."
"Oh dear. You okay, C.C.?"
"I'm alright," Crafycorn replied. "It was just…. Kind of scary."
"I don't blame you." He sat down with his daughter and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Look, we're going to work through it." This helped make Craftycorn smile before Stretch got up to help Rivet get rid of the unwanted food.
"Hope that some of her friends want this," Rivet muttered. They didn't want any of the food to go to waste.
"You think we should have a special table reserved for her at school?" Stretch asked.
"What?" CraftyCorn questioned, a little worried.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Rivet stated, "We can probably just send her a packed lunch."
"I'm just thinking of taking the proper precautions." They both glanced at Crafty, who was shaking a little bit as she kept trying to draw. Both parents decided to take a minute to comfort their daughter.
"Look, C.C., I know this is scary, but we're going to make sure that you'll be okay," Rivet informed. "We'll call the school and have them make sure."
"But will I still be able to eat with my friends?" Crafty asked.
"Once we take the proper precautions, things will be normal again," Stretch proclaimed, "Only with a slightly different diet. Still, we can make it work." The artistic unicorn sighed as her father tried to comfort her with a hug.
Elsewhere, Craftycorn wasn't the only one who was upset. Picky was still thinking about what happened at lunch when Crafty needed to get medical attention. She was so deep in thought about this that she forgot to focus and the stew, which was starting to bowl over.
"Picky!" cried her mother. The young critter shook her head before she turned down the heat and stirred the stew as her mother came running back, tossing the vegetable she was getting on the counter in haste. "What happened? I thought you said you'd watch it!"
"Sorry Mom," Picky sighed. They managed to save the stew as the mother, Penny Piggy, started chopping up vegetables while she asked what was wrong. "Is something bothering you?"
"It's about what happened with Crafty," Picky sighed.
"Oh, her reaction. It wasn't your fault, Picky, these things just happen. They're pretty scary, especially for the first time."
"Will Crafty be okay?"
"I'm sure she'll be fine. We just need to take better care in the future so she doesn't get sick." She took the chopped vegetables and poured them into the stew. "Could you set the table while I finish with the stew?"
Picky nodded as she went to get the plates and silverware out, but she couldn't get Crafty out of her head.
The two critters were still worried about this problem the next day at school. They both met up on the bus, sitting on the seats from across each other. Picky watched as Crafty tried to draw in her sketchbook. Worried about her friend, Picky checked her lunch to make sure it didn't have something.
She had some fruit and a sandwich packed with her, but she checked the dessert her mother had packed her, a donut. Picky didn't know what kind it was, her mother enjoyed surprising her with treats like this, but if it would make Crafty sick like with the rolls Picky didn't want to risk it. She opened the bus window and tossed out her donut out onto the road.
When they arrived at school, Crafty saw Picky getting off the bus, but only caught a glance of her before the pig ran inside the school. Craftycorn was quite confused. "Crafty, how are you feeling?" called a voice. The unicorn looked to see Dogday and the other critters approach her.
"Oh, hi Dogday," Crafty said, "I'm… kind of surprised at how many things have cinnamon in them."
"Cinnamon is mostly in desserts," Bubba informed, "So you won't be affecting your diet too much. If anything, it should make it healthier."
"Oh, that's neat. Did any of you catch Picky?"
"Not really," Dogday answered, "She has been quiet since yesterday after you had your reaction."
"Why has she been like that?" Dogday just shrugged as the critters started to head to class.
They found Picky in the classroom, sitting quietly on her own. "Don't usually see you early for class," Bubba said as he and his friends walked into class. "How are you doing?"
"Um, fine," Picky responded. She watched as Crafty entered the classroom and sat down at her desk. Neither of them said to each other with Crafty wanting to have a regular day at school and Picky feeling partly guilty.
She had still remained silent until it was lunchtime. Crafty looked a little more cautious as she opened her lunch alongside her friends. "So how bad is an allergy like this?" Kickin' asked.
"To cinnamon?" Bubba replied, "Well, it's one of the most common allergies. From what my dad said, it causes rashes, which is what we saw yesterday, and worst case scenarios can cause anaphylactic shock."
Crafty gets a little nervous as she remembers what the doctors said. Plus it wasn't making her better hearing the details of an anaphylactic shock. Picky didn't say anything as she didn't want to try Crafty's allergy again, as little as she understood how it worked.
"None of you brought anything with cinnamon did you?" Bubba asked. All of the critters checked their lunches, still trying to figure out how allergies worked.
"I… Should be okay, right?" Crafty asked.
"As long as you don't consume or touch cinnamon you should be fine." This helped Craft feel a little better. "If you want, we can do more research on these allergies if you want."
"Oh, yes, that would help me feel better."
"Great, just come to my house after school and we'll see what we can find. Might help everyone else feel better if they know what they're doing." Picky perked up after hearing this and seemed to be interested.
After school, Crafty and Picky both headed to Bubba's home to do some research on allergies. "So, I kind of wanted to ask this at school," Picky admitted, "But are there other kinds of foods critters are allergic to?"
"Well, from what my dad told me, other common allergies are related to milk, eggs, soy, peanuts…" Bubba was interrupted by Picky's gasp.
"Critters can be allergic to peanuts? Like…. Like peanut butter?"
"Yes, exactly. Luckily my dad has a couple of books on this subject." Bubba led the girls into his family library where they looked for the books that they needed. Once they found them, they began to do some research on allergies.
While Bubba enjoyed his time reading, it was a little boring to the unicorn and pig. Crafty felt her stomach growl a bit. "I think my lunch was lighter than I thought," Crafty admitted.
"Bubba, can I search for a snack in the kitchen?" Picky asked.
"Go ahead," Bubba said, "Though you might not find much." Picky shrugged before she went to search the kitchen. There wasn't too much to be found apart from some peanuts and a packet of gram crackers in the pantry.
When she returned, Crafty looked more excited to see the snacks than results in the books. "Hope this won't ruin my dinner too much," Crafty said to herself. She took one of the peanuts and tried to break it open.
Bubba helped himself to the peanuts, which he had an easier time breaking open than Crafty did. He was so into reading and enjoying the peanuts, that he didn't acknowledge the gram crackers Picky found.
When the pig took a bite of her crackers, she noticed they were kind of stale but they also had some sort of sweet taste to them. Picky thought about it until she pinpointed on what it was. Without warning she got out of her seat and smacked Crafty on her back, making the unicorn spit out her cracker in surprise.
"Ow, Picky!" Crafty cried, "What was that…?"
"Check your arm!" Picky remarked. Crafty was confused but soon started getting a little worried when they saw she had some rashes starting to appear again.
"Wait, Picky, you found those gram crackers in the pantry?" Bubba questioned, concerned. "I knew I had something with cinnamon in there."
"I knew I should've double-checked!" Picky gasped.
"Guys, my throat feels funny," Crafty wheezed. Bubba quickly ran to grab the house phone while Picky just froze with fear.
The two later watched Rivet speeding away from the house to take Crafty to the hospital. Picky sighed as she looked down at her feet as she felt awful with herself. "Twice, I've already made her have a reaction twice!" she exclaimed in frustration.
"Picky, they were both accidents," Bubba stated.
"Ones that I could've avoided. Maybe I just shouldn't be around Crafty until she's alright." Picky slowly walked away from Bubba as she headed home. The elephant wasn't sure what else to do other than study up on the problem.
Later that evening, Crafty had made it back home. She had made a recovery from her allergy, but she was now shaken up about her near miss. She heard a knock on the door and saw her parents walking inside.
"Hi, C.C.," Stretch said, "How are you feeling?" The young unicorn just sighed as both her parents glanced at each other before they entered the room.
"Crafty, we know that this is scary, so we've gotten some items to help with it," Rivet informed. She walked over and showed her daughter a cell phone, which she was surprised about.
"Is that for me?" Crafty questioned.
"Yes. Your father and I thought it would be wise for you to have a cell phone in case there was another reaction. And to make sure it isn't too serious, we also got this." They showed her some sort of object.
"What's this?"
"It's an EpiPen," Stretch noted. "If you start having another allergic reaction, you just jab this into your arm." Crafty looked a little uncomfortable about the thought of having a needle in her arm. "It's only for emergencies, just like your cell phone."
"Right," Rivet agreed, "If you can't contact either of us, try calling one of your friends."
"Um…. Right," Crafty said. She took a look at her new phone, feeling a little better right now, but she was still worried.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Stretch asked.
"I'm wondering about Picky."
"You aren't mad at her, are you?"
"No, both times were accidents. I just want to talk to her."
"Maybe this will be a good time to test out your new phone," Stretch proclaimed. "Go on, put in her number." Crafty nodded as she entered the pig's home phone number.
Elsewhere, Picky felt depressed after causing her friend to have another allergic reaction. She heard a knock on the door and saw her father enter the room. "Hey, Picky," he said, "It's for you."
Perplexed, Picky was given the phone from her father to see who was calling. "Hello?" she answered.
"Hi, Picky," Crafty replied.
"Oh, Crafty?"
"Yeah, my parents got me a new phone. Am I coming in clear?"
"I can hear you just fine. Are you okay?"
"I should be fine now. I…. Don't blame you for both reactions. I'm still trying to learn how this works, but I've got an EpiPen now, so if I have another reaction I just need to jab it into my arm. Not liking the idea of that though."
"Right…" Picky and Crafty both stayed silent for a little bit before the pig saw her mother leaving some books by her door.
"Oh, don't mind me," Penny Piggy said, "Your friend Bubba just wanted to drop these off."
Picky just nodded and smiled as she responded to Crafty. "Maybe we just study up and meet up tomorrow?" she asked.
"Sure. I still have those notes the doctor gave me," Crafty responded. "Hope to see you tomorrow."
"Okay. See you later, Crafty." Both friends ended the call before Picky walked over to read the books that Bubba left for her.
At Crafty's house, she would take a look at the brochures the doctor gave her. Both critters read what they were given until it started to get dark and both became tired. Picky was practically about to pass out before her parents helped tuck her into bed, similar to Crafty.
The next morning, Crafty was finishing up breakfast when she could hear a knock on the door. Stretch went to answer it and found Picky outside. "Morning," the pig said.
"Good morning, Picky," Stretch replied, "We just finished breakfast, come inside." The young critter did so and soon approached Crafty, who seemed happy to see her.
"Hi, Crafty, how are you?"
"Okay, you?" Crafty replied.
"I'm alright. I had to double check I didn't bring anything with cinnamon with me. Sorry about those last two mistakes."
"I said it was fine. Plus, I've got some items to help in case it happens again. So what do you want to do now?"
"I was hoping we could make a dessert completely cinnamon-free. I hoped you could help pick." Picky showed Crafty a cookbook she had brought with her. They both sat at the table and looked inside until they found some brownies.
"Hmm, these look nice," Crafty commented.
"I think my mom has everything at home to make these. Wanna try them?"
"Sure!" Both critters started to prepare themselves to leave, but Stretch was quick to stop his daughter.
"Hang on, don't forget this," he said. He handed Crafty her bag where she kept her sketch journal. Her father showed the bag now contained her new phone and EpiPen. "Just give us a call if you have any trouble, okay?"
"I will. See you later, Dad." Both Crafty and Picky left the castle tower to get back to the pigs' barn.
Once they got there, Picky started preparing their baking project, setting out the pan, and gathering ingredients, all while Crafty preheated the oven. The two took their time with the mixing of the powder, eggs, milk, and other ingredients.
After mixing, pour it into the cooking tray, then place it in the oven. Picky started the timer so they had some time to clean up. After that, they waited until the alarm went off.
Picky got an oven mitt and took out the brownies. "Are they ready?" Crafty asked.
Picky showed her friend a little trick by sticking a toothpick in the middle before pulling it out to see if the batter had been fully baked or not. When the pick came out just the same, the pig smiled. "It's done!" she cheered. "Now we just need to wait for it to cool down."
"Should we get one of your parents or brothers to cut it?"
"Probably a good idea." Crafty and Picky searched around for a little bit until they found one of Picky's brothers, Passive Pig, who had nothing else to do and helped to safely cut the brownies. Once they were cool enough, Crafty and Picky helped themselves to their hard work.
Crafty especially felt happy being able to eat something that wasn't making her all itchy. "Thanks for doing this for me, Picky," the unicorn said.
"It's kind of my way of saying sorry for causing you to have these reactions," Picky sighed. Passive wasn't fully paying attention to this and just took a brownie for himself.
"I'm still trying to learn about this. I'm just happy have a friend like you trying to help me out."
"Even if I mess up?"
"You were still trying to help me, and now that we know what not to do, I think it'll be easier from here."
"Hmm, you're right. Plus Bubba was right about Cinnamon, it's mostly in sweets. So having out of your diet will probably be healthier." Crafty smiled at this as she glanced at the remaining brownies. "Do you want me to get you a baggie so you can take some of these home?"
"Oh, yes, please!" Picky was happy for her friend to feel better. They just started to pack up the brownies when they heard a ringing sound. It was coming from Crafty's bag and she dug out her phone and quickly answered it. "Hello?"
"Hi, C.C.," Stretch responded, "Just checking to see how you're doing."
"I'm okay, Dad. I just made some brownies with Picky, I'm going to take some home with me."
"Ooh, make sure that you have some for your mother and me."
Crafty giggled a little bit. "I will dad."
"Okay, just take care, sweetie. Love you."
"Love you too, dad." The call ended and Crafty saw Picky had finished packing up some of the brownies for her friend. It was much more comforting knowing that while she would have to deal with this allergy, Crafty still had her friends and family helping to keep her healthy. It was just as sweet as these brownies.