May the Best Baker Win

Invitations and Preparations

It was business as usual at Butterbean's Cafe. Business was booming, orders were being filled, and the customers would leave feeling happy and content. All in all, the gang should have been happy, but Cricket began feeling restless.

"You know," she began, "we always have the same people ordering from the cafe. How come nobody new comes by?"

"Puddlebrook's a small town," Poppy answered bluntly. "It's a little hard to meet someone new when literally everyone who lives here has come in at least once."

"Exactly! It'd be nice if we could get some new customers." Cricket thought for a moment, and quickly added "Not that there's anything wrong with anyone in Puddlebrook!"

Her elder sister giggled. "We know what you mean Cricket. And yeah, it'd be nice if we could get some more customers, but I'm content with the ones we have now."

"And who knows," Dazzle added, "maybe something new will happen to change that."

"Mail's here!" Jasper called as he walked into the cafe. "Let's see...bill, bill, check for that party we catered, bill...oh."

"What?" The girls all asked.

Jasper held up a blue envelope that was closed with a seal in the shape of an apple. Without another word, he handed it to Butterbean.

"The return address says it's from Big Apple City," she said with astonishment. Big Apple City was one of the biggest cities around, so a letter from there must be important.

"Open it, open it!" her sister cried.

Butterbean opened the letter, careful not to break the seal.

"Well," Dazzle asked, "what does it say?"

"It says 'Dear Miss Butterbean, you and your team are cordially invited to attend the Berry Big Bake-Off here in Big Apple City. Chefs and bakers from all over are competing to prove who is the best baker. We would greatly appreciate it if you came to represent your cafe. The competition beings next Friday. Signed, the Big Apple City baking committee.'"

"We should go!" Jasper and Cricket cried.

Poppy seemed suspicious. "Hold on, guys. Doesn't it seem just a bit too coincidental for Butterbean to get an inivtation for some big competition in a far-off city almost immediately after Cricket says she wants to see something or someone new? How do we know this isn't some trick set up by Ms. Marmalady to make us close the cafe so she can steal our customers?"

"She's got a point," Dazzle agreed.

Butterbean thought for a moment. "Well...I suppose it does seem a bit suspicious."

Cricket's face fell.

"But," Butterbean continued, "we could go over to Ms. Marmalady's and make sure this isn't a trick. Sounds reasonable enough, right?"

...

As Poppy, Butterbean, and Cricket made the trip to Marmalady's Cafe, they noticed that Ms. Marmalady, Spork, and Spatch were loading up an old van. Marmalady smirked when she saw them. 

"Ah, Butterbean," she said, "I suppose you've come to see us off?"

Butterbean was confused "See you off? Are you going somewhere?"

"We're headed to Big Apple City! We've been invited to take part in their Berry Big Bake-Off. Oh, I just can't wait to see the amount of publicity I'll get when I win!"

"So...this isn't just some trick?" Poppy asked as she held up their invitation.

Marmalady scoffed. "Of course you got an invitation too. And no Poppy, this isn't some trick. If it was, I'd have sent you off to the middle of nowhere instead of Big Apple City."