Pointdexter: A Swooning Over Stan-fiction

Chapter Seventeen

Ford sat up with a wide-eyed look, fixing his glasses that had been startled off the bridge of his nose.

"What is it?" He asked, suddenly far more serious than he had been only moments before. "Is something- Burning?"

Alice took a deep breath, "Is something burning in the kitchen?"

"I-" Mabel started, twisting her mitted hands in front of her. "I need help baking."

Ford and Alice relaxed, the former dog-earring his book and closing it in front of him. Alice closed her novel, trying to engrain chapter three, page thirty-five in her mind.

"Grenda's throwing a party for Marius when he comes to visit and I volunteered to make cupcakes!" Mabel explained, her hands still twisting in front of her. "I was like 'yeah! I can totally bake a batch of cupcakes!' But as it turns out...

Alice stared behind the girl, smoke unfurling from the back doorway, inevitably followed by the screeching of the fire alarm inside.

"I can't."

"We should take care of that-" Alice said, pressing her lips together.

"Agreed-" Ford responded, over her shoulder.

Alice slipped past Mabel, shaking her head as Ford followed her to the kitchen. Mabel dashed past them, and Alice grabbed a rag as she entered the kitchen. Ford, unruffled, dragged a chair over the smoke detector and disabled it as easily as flipping a light switch. Alice slipped to the window, shoving it open and fanning out the smoke with her rag as Ford stepped down from his chair.

Mabel looked incredibly guilty as they attempted to waft the smoke out, Alice armed with a rag and Ford slipping off his coat to follow. Alice noticed the trail of flour spilling along the floor, the counter, and Mabel's sweater, along with a similar mess of ingredients.

"Mabel," Alice turned to the girl. "Why didn't you ask for some help?"

"It does look like you could use a hand," Ford commented. "Why didn't you ask for help sooner."

"I'm sorry Grunkle Ford, I just-" Mabel took a deep breath, her face twisted with worry, wilting under her despair. "I wanted to make them myself. But I need these cupcakes and I- I need your help!"

She suddenly pointed at Alice, "And your help. Both of you need to help me with this."

Oh, dear... Alice glanced between Mabel and Ford. Mabel with her patented puppy-dog eyes and Ford with his confusion. After a moment of those sad dog eyes, Alice sighed, reaching out and patting the girl's shoulder reassuringly.

"It's alright, Mabel. Baking is a difficult art, even professionals have the day off. And um..." She glanced at the oven that still leaked smoke. "I think some adult supervision might be good for you."

Mabel nodded, glancing between Alice and Ford. "Well, it'll be easy peasy with you and Grunkle Ford helping me."

"Why would you need both of us, Mabel?" Ford asked, raising his brow at his great-niece.

"Because- Because we need to make, like, a bajillion of these!" Alice suddenly realized what this was, and she had no idea how correct she would be. "So many! This is a HUGE party. Plus, the more people that make them, the more LOVE these cupcakes will have! There needs to be SO MUCH LOVE in these cupcakes."

"That doesn't-" Ford started, but Mabel wielded her puppy eyes like a sword in battle, and she had a high proficiency. 

"Pleeeeease, Grunkle Ford?" She begged, her eyes wide. "You and Alice are super conveniently the only ones who can help me!"