The Eevee House

Chapter 4 - The Sunny Side of Life

The distinct aroma of freshly baked cookies wafts through the air. Sunny carries them neatly on a tray, ready to deliver it to his beloved family.

I hope everyone will like these, he worries. They look fine, but what if they're not good enough? He shakes his head. No, I'm sure I did alright...But, what if I didn't and I disappoint them? Wait, I can't think like that!

He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice the kids entering the kitchen.

"Hey Asher, give me my hair clip back!" Emily yells, chasing after her annoying cousin.

"You gotta catch me first!" He laughs at her, unaware that he was heading straight towards Sunny.

"Asher, watch out!"

"Huh–"

He knocks into Sunny, ending his worry about delivering the cookies.

What's wrong with you–why didn't you notice them?!

An angry voice barks in Sunny's mind upon him dropping the cookies, trying to demotivate him again. He simply ignores it like usual; no good to listen to such negativity.

"Oh no, Sunny's cookies!" Emily cries. She snatches back her heart clip and yells at Asher: "Why do you always have to be so careless?! Apologize to him!"

"O-ow, um, sorry Sunny..." He looks up with a guilty expression that Sunny immediately felt sympathetic towards.

"H-hey, it's alright..." Sunny stammers, still a bit startled. "I should have seen you guys coming."

"Hey, it's okay!" Asher quickly switches to an excited tone. "I'll clean up the mess!" He begins to grab the fallen cookies, stuffing them into his mouth.

"Asher, stop!" Emily cringes. "That's disgusting!"

Sunny nervously chuckles, a bit concerned. "H-hey, Asher, maybe you should listen to Emily and not eat those?"

"Huh?" He gulps down the last cookie. "Oh, whoops! Well, we could always make some more!"

"That's not why–!" Emily sighs, then turns over to her big brother. "Sunny, is there a way we can help make up for this?"

"Hmm, maybe..." He ponders over a possible pastry that Asher wouldn't be able to eat the whole tray of. "How about cupcakes? One personally made for everyone." He takes out a metal cupcake pan and grins. "Cupcakes make everyone happy."

"Ooh, that sounds good!" Emily agrees, but notices that: "Hey, that's not enough for everyone. There's only 9 holes."

"Well, it's not going to be me who's not having a cupcake." Asher asserts.

Emily, annoyed, lashes out: "Well, it should be! You're the one who just ate all those cookies!"

"H-hey, no need to get upset, you two," Sunny tries to calm them down, "I'm not having a cupcake. Can't handle the sugar like Asher, hehe..."

No, it's because you don't deserve it!

Sunny immediately disregards that thought. "A-and, um, anyways, I love baking food not for myself, but for seeing the smiles on others' faces." It was true, nothing made him happier than seeing others happy because of his food.

That sentiment causes Emily to stop squabbling, admiring her kind brother instead. "Wow, that's so nice, Sunny!"

"Well, in that case, let's bake the cupcakes!" Asher hollers, clearly excited. "I'll get the ingredients!"

Darting off with sugar-boosted speed, he runs back and forth between the kitchen and the pantry, piling a bunch of random items onto the counter. Even though Sunny didn't tell him what to get, he seemed to grab everything they needed during his sugar rush.