Stars and Cinnamon Buns

Crashes, crushes, and the chaos duo

As another Thursday morning began in Seaside City, people were rushing to get the final work days of the week out of the way, everyone exhausted and ready for the upcoming weekend. Slushie was among the ''second wave'' of working citizens, not the smaller wave of those cursed to get out of bed at an atrocious hour - not anymore, at least.

As usual, she walked with a small bounce in her step and a rhythmical tap on her bag, an uplifting rock song brightening her morning. Conveniently, the song ended just as she got to Café Chaotix, and she removed the earbuds, heading in. Some of her colleagues were already there and soon said their hellos.

''Mornin'! You seem chipper'', Vector grinned, going over some paperwork, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.

''That's what walking with the best of Crunch 40 does to you.''

''Heh, can't argue with that.''

''Yoooo, they are so good for getting ya pumped at the gym!'' Mighty added, having heard the two. ''I'm always tryna make Knux listen to them but he prefers his dumb rap songs.''

''Pfft, dude's got no taste then. Anyway, baking, floor, or counter duty?''

''The morning crowd's on the move so we're gonna need ya on this side for now. Ray's at the counter and Espio is probably finishing up in the kitchen.''

''O-kkey, I'll be right back then!'' Slushie replied with a smile and headed to the back to get changed.

As she walked past the kitchen, she took a quick peek to see how Espio was handling things. It seemed like the last batch of cinnamon buns was almost done, and some croissants and bagels were waiting for their turn in the oven. Espio was washing the equipment as Slushie knocked on the door frame to announce herself.

''Good morning. There's some less presentable pieces if you'd like to try'', he smiled at her before nodding towards the table.

''There's no 'ifs' about that'', Slushie replied with a grin and snatched one floppy and slightly burned bun from the pan. ''Thanks, this is the best part of working at a café!''

''You better not tell Vector that or you might get banned from the kitchen.''

''Pfft, he's just as bad as I am. Worse, actually, if you count Vanilla's cooking, too.''

''True, true. Now shoo, there's been a few bell chimes and Mighty is alone on the floor.''

''Ah, right. Remember to leave some for the rest of us!'' Slushie waved and left with a laugh.

Espio waved back with a rubber-gloved hand and went back to polishing the cooking utensils, smiling softly.

~

Everything went smoothly at the café for the next few hours. Vector started playing the piano and the customers were fairly polite - it's not easy to be mad at Ray and his baby face and puppy eyes. He handled the counter well, and after a few moments of peace, lunch hour started, according to the number of people flowing in.

Among the crowd were two familiar faces. They joined the queue and soon claimed a table.

''I've seen you both here before but I haven't seen you both here before. What's up?'' Slushie greeted the two, stopping by.

''Joined forces to plan world conquest, the usual. Right, Zeph?'' Briar grinned.

''You do you, I just need some boiling black poison in me, stat. Exam season is gonna be the death of me'', deadpanned Zephyr, Slushie's younger brother.

''Riiight. You two continue whatever it is you're doing, I gotta move. Don't make a mess!''

Despite Briar's quip being an obvious quip, the two soon started sharing some very conspiratorial looks and words, huddling closer and whispering. After a while, they turned towards their sister/best friend with at least one pair of gleaming, evil eyes.