Forever Scars

Day Off

The next day, Mr. Dudley came into the bakery, grumpy as usual. 'Is everyone done with their tasks?' He shouts out.

Even after the chorus of 'yes, sirs', Mr. Dudley continued to reprimand them for the strangest of things.

'Parker, my bakery will be filled with your filthy hairs if you don't go for a trim!' Mr. Dudley complained. Poor parker had a hurt look on his face as he scratched his head sheepishly.

'Holly, you better clean that stain off your apron or you'll ruin the image of my bakery!' He screamed at Holly while pointing at the small bear embroidery at the corner of Holly's apron. 'Sir, it's a bear.' Holly clarified, trying to suppress a laugh. 'No excuses. Get rid of it or I'll get rid of you!' He shouted back.

'Newbie, did you finish the cakes yet?' He turned to Ryleigh.

'Yes, sir. And I added a few secret ingredients to keep the cake moist and add more depth of flavor.' Ryleigh answered back proudly.

Mr. Dudley gave a dry laugh before saying in his most threatening voice, 'You, did what?'

Ryleigh was apprehensive about answering Mr. Dudley but maybe there was a small chance that he was curious to what ingredients she put in.

Mustering a smile, she replied, 'sour cream, espresso powder and I added some strawberry syrup and macerated strawberries.'

Mr. Dudley lost it. In a thunderous voice, he yelled in her face, 'follow the recipe, follow the recipe! It's printed out for you! What don't you understand?'

Ryleigh recoiled at his word. I will not cry. I will not cry. She kept repeating the words to herself, holding back tears.

'I knew it. I knew it. I knew you'd stir up trouble some way or other.' Mr. Dudley muttered angrily.

Taking a step closer to Ryleigh, he stared her down and said, 'All you are is an arrogant, foolish teenager that can't follow the simplest of instructions. I'll deal with you later.'

Ryleigh gulped and managed to squeak out a 'yes, sir'.

'Now everyone, listen up!' He screamed so loud the whole world could probably hear him.

'Yes, sir.' Everyone chorused back.

'Package all the baked goods nicely. I have been invited to attend their party this afternoon and I'll bring the goods to them personally.' He ordered.

Without further ado, everyone began rushing to the kitchen to get everything sorted. Unable to hold back any further, tears of hurt began streaming down Ryleigh's cheeks as she sobbed quietly so no one would notice.

Michael spotted her and dropped what he was doing immediately. 'I'm sorry this happened.' He said softly.

Smiling at his sincerity, she said between sobs, 'it's not your doing.'

'No I should have warned you more seriously. If you would've known he would be like this, you wouldn't have done it.' Michael said guiltily, faulting himself.

'Actually, even if I had known, I would still do it.' Ryleigh answered back.

Michael chuckled as he wiped Ryleigh's tears away with a kitchen towel. 'Not the most romantic way to do it but it does the job right?'

Did he just say romantic? Ryleigh's heart started to pound as her cheeks grew red. Remembering to answer him, she said, 'it works just fine.'

'Now, how about you take a rest and I get these packaged up for Mr. Dudley.' Michael said as he began to push Ryleigh aside.