Team JAPO Part One: Rosy Renewal

🍪 Chapter Two: Cookie Conundrum 🍪

Jasper stared at the pack of chocolate morsels once again. A cup? A tablespoon? What all does this mean?

Her Auntie Yang had told Jasper to follow the back of the package's recipe until she could entrust her with the ultimate recipe for the one food Jasper loved second to pancakes: Chocolate chip cookies.

As Jasper put parchment paper, or at least she thought it was parchment paper onto some cookie sheets, Onyx came into the kitchen.

Jasper waved at her, "Hey teammate and roomie!"

Onyx winced at how loud she was, "Uh, hey I guess," she picked up the bag of chocolate chip cookies, "What are you doing?"

Jasper set some bowls loudly on the counter, the sound still ringing in the air as she explained, "I'm making surprise chocolate chip cookies for you all! Or, at least they were supposed to be a surprise. It's kind of my way of saying welcome to the team and all." She put a large amount of flour in a bowl.

"Do you need any help?" Onyx asked hesitantly.

Jasper cracked an egg and started mixing with a wooden spoon, "Nope, I got this!" She blew out her bangs and grabbed the measuring cup and filled it with sugar. After adding it to the bowl, she then shrugged and added another half cup of sugar.

Onyx raised an eyebrow, "Those are going to be really sweet."

"I like sweet things."

"Well, maybe others don't like the same things as you do." Onyx mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I only mean that others may not enjoy or like the things you do or say."

"So, you don't like cookies?"

"No, I like cookies. Especially when there is ice cream in the middle of them."

Jasper's eyes lit up as she added the final ingredients: Two sticks of butter, a large splash of vanilla extract, and three cups of chocolate chips. "Oh, ice cream! That would have been good to have with the cookies!"

Jasper turned to grab the prepped trays, to which Onyx took the opportunity to add a small pinch of salt and some baking soda to the bowl. She returned to her position as Jasper spun back around.

"How big do we make these?" Jasper asked.

"Maybe drop them on the tray with a spoon?"

"Oh right, good idea." Jasper did so and placed the cookie sheets into the oven.

"Aren't you going to set a timer?"

Jasper tapped her forehead, "A good leader knows when it is time for anything whether it be classes, training, or cookie baking!"

"Cookie baking? Is that what all that noise was?"

Auburn approached them in the kitchen, Peridot closely followed.

Jasper beamed, "Yep! Surprise! I'm making cookies for you all: My Team, JAPO!"

Onyx seemed to back slightly away, but Auburn grabbed her by the shoulders and said cheerily, "That is so sweet of you Jasper!"

Jasper laughed, "You would get along with my Auntie Yang. She has been known to make a terrible pun or two."

"Could you tell us more about your adventures?" Peridot asked.

"Actually, I need to take care of something." Onyx said.

Auburn sat her down next to Jasper, "Nonsense! Let's do some team building and talk while the cookies bake."