Stars and Cinnamon Buns

A dynamite duck and stolen cookies

When Slushie got back home, she was greeted by a pair of gleaming eyes in the dark. Briar hadn't forgotten the obvious reaction Slushie had had over such a small little touch, and was already in shipping mode. She peeked at Slushie from behind the kitchen counter as she scoured the fridge for some leftovers to have. Her mischievous giggles drew Slushie's attention, but Briar wasn't going to tell her she knew. Oh no, she was going to relish in her awkward suffering, you know, like friends do.

''Ah, right! Isn't tomorrow the day I'm supposed to come and help at the daycare?'' Slushie asked and it finally brought Briar out of her hiding place.

''Yeah, the yard clean up!'' She bounced up from behind the counter. ''The kids love the gardener so they're really excited, even for the preparations.''

''Nice, Flower boy has fans'', Slushie replied with a smile, using her very clever nickname for the local gardener, who did most of the gardening in the area and was well known and liked. He was a regular face around the daycare as well, so it wasn't a surprise that the kids liked him.

~

The day's big job was to prepare the daycare for the following day's sports event. The place had to be in tip top shape, so every pair of hands was needed. As the girls were on their way to work, they ran into Cream who was heading the same way.

''Good morning! I caught a glimpse of you and decided to wait so we could walk together'', she greeted the slightly older girls and walked towards them. ''Hi miss Slushie, it's been a while! How are things at the café?''

''Nothing new, really. I think Sonic finally brought the guys back to work today. Here?''

''The kids are wild as always. They can't wait for tomorrow's competitions.''

''Ah, that's fun'', Slushie chuckled and the three girls resumed their walk to work. As soon as they were within the daycare's borders, Briar switched into teacher mode and clapped her hands together.

''Okay, so! The kids will be here in a bit so let's get ready!''

''You really do sound like a teacher, huh'', quipped Slushie with a smirk.

''Shush, teacher's speaking'', Briar replied, in good humor but not paying much attention, too busy planning.

~

Cream went to gather some of the decorations the kids had prepared during the week, and Briar and Slushie went to greet the arriving parents and their wild little bundles of joy. Briar was happy to get to work with her little cousin Sally and her friends, while Slushie pulled a sneaky trick and challenged a team of three tiny hooligans into a race to the tool shed. A race is almost always a good way to get kids from place to place. Counting seconds, too. The little dum-dums.

The voice of the trio, Bean, was immediately into it and bolted towards the shed. The other two, Nack and Bark, were trying their best but couldn't keep up with Bean, so Slushie snatched them up and ran after him with a chorus of giggles in her arms. Bean did reach the shed first, but at least all three had fun. Slushie couldn't resist the urge to play with her words, and called Bean 'a quick little bean' and patted his head. The other two got pats as well, of course.

The ruckus outside the shed drew the attention of the aforementioned 'Flower boy', Silver, who was inside and called out to ask who it was. He might have expected someone else, but was nice as always. After getting his things, he held the door open and got to work. Slushie gathered the needed equipment and the gang went to do their tasks. The three boys, mainly Bean, made collecting litter a competition, so they barely realized they were doing actual work.

~

As Silver was looking for Briar to get more information about what needed to be done, Charmy noticed him.