AAOOOSC! Wheatie Bits!

E. 9. "Nolan's Birthday Crash" (1/6)

September 2017
A month later...

On one fine evening, Nolan Patrick is standing behind the countertop in the kitchen. He is focused on scrolling through his laptop.

The screen is displaying rows and rows of baked goods recipes.

Nolan has a flat look at the screen, not amused by the search results.

Suddenly from next to him, Reid Duke pops into view, only his rounded eyes, extremely arched eyebrows, and spiked hair is visible.

He peers at the screen with eyes filled with interest. "Whatcha looking at?"

"Recipes," Nolan mumbles. He does not tear his eyes away from the screen.

He slowly swings his eyes up at him. "For...?"

Nolan pauses his hand movements on the trackpad. "Cake."

"Cake?" Bewilderment clouds his face. "But isn't that...?" Suddenly, he gasps as his eyes grow wide with realization. "IT'S ALMOST YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!"

He instantly straightens up, revealing his full height, which is still shorter than Nolan. He rushes around the countertop and through the kitchen. "KALE CHIPS, IT'S ALMOST DOCTOR PAT'S BIRTHDAY!"

Kale Clague strolls toward the kitchen with a cool mien. "Yeah, it's tomorrow." He halts in front of Reid in the dining room.

Reid twirls around to face the tallest skater in the house. "Why are you baking your cake?! We'll get one for you!" He clasps his hands by his chest and peers up dreamingly. "I saw this beaut of a cake at the market not too long ago: chocolate vanilla marble!"

"Ooo! They also have really good red velvet cupcakes there," Kale adds in with a toothy grin.

Reid peers at Kale excitedly. "And they have a hamburger cake too! It's so big!"

Nolan flicks his eyes ahead at the two. "I can't have any of that."

Reid gazes at him with a perplexed expression. "Why?" He quickly pauses as the apparent reason crosses his mind. "Ohhh..."

"And that's why I'm baking my own cake." Nolan turns back to his laptop.

He frowns at the ground as he snaps his fingers. "Darn it, I was looking forward to that cake."

Kale gazes at Nolan with worry, his hands out from his sides. "There's got to be some cakes for you out there."

Reid's eyes instantly light up as he throws an index finger in the air. "I'll check!" He whips out his smartphone and begins furiously typing on it.

"Okay—" He peers up at Nolan. "—how about Kelsie's—"

"Nope," Nolan cuts in bluntly, his eyes on the screen.

Kale knits his eyebrows at him. "Why?"

"Too sweet. I already tried it."

"Okay..." Reid drifts his eyes back to his phone. "Sunshine Road—"

"They're only dairy-free," Nolan interjects, now typing on his laptop.

"That's good!" Kale points out with raised eyebrows.

"Not gluten-free," he continues on.

Kale dips his head in dejection. "Oh."

Reid continues going down the list of the search results: "Sweet Pea—"

"They have dairy."

"Button Cakes—"

"Their stuff crumbles."

"Smile's—"

"Only gluten-free."

"Fritz-Ditz-Le—"

"Gluten-free only."

"Snoodle's Bak—"

"Dairy-free—" Nolan slams his hands on the countertop's surface and gazes up at his two friends. "Look, I'm just gonna bake my own cake, okay? It's fine. Thanks for helping out though." He then turns back to his laptop.

Reid and Kale exchange expressions of concern.

Kale then perks at Nolan. "Do you need any help baking, Pat?"

Nolan lifts his head up at him. "I got it." He then sashays across the kitchen and disappears into the pantry.

Now it is only Kale and Reid in the room.

"Okay." Kale slowly turns to Reid. "Let's leave Pat to his work." He then whirls around and strolls away from the kitchen.

Reid quickly follows after him.