After buying a plastic bag worth of snacks and the basic groceries needed for a week of camping, Gulnas went to fetch her daughter at her friend's. She had been dropping Masha off at Camille's so often lately that she had started to wonder if her daughter actually knew that her friend's place wasn't her house!
'Maybe I should remind her,' Gulnas inwardly sighed, a smile on her lips. 'Not sure she's going to listen to me, though.'
Masha had always been close to her childhood friend; it was to the point that Mrs. Brown sometimes felt like she had two daughters instead of one. The girls looked like sisters, the kinds that did everything together. Gulnas had long since included Camille as a family member, whether consciously or not.
With this in mind, she and her husband invited the teenage girl to spend the week with them, but the teenage girl gently refused, saying that she wasn't good with outdoor activities.
Moreover, the day they planned on returning from their camping trip coincided with the day Camille's family was leaving the country to travel through Europe. It was a month-long voyage that her parents had carefully planned over the past year, and Camille couldn't exactly tell them that she wasn't going anymore, not when everything was already paid, plane tickets and hotel fees included. Even if they came back early in the morning so that she wouldn't miss her flight, Camille still refused, saying that she didn't want to take any chances.
However, she didn't have to stay at the campsite for the whole week. Instead, she could have kept them company for the weekend and returned a few days earlier with Alexey. Because he couldn't request a week-long vacation after the few days off he had taken to visit his son at the hospital, Alexey only had his weekends left for the rest of summer and thus couldn't spend the whole week at the campsite. Though it was a lot of time spent on the road, he had decided to travel back and forth on the weekend, meaning that he could give Camille a ride.
However, that didn't change her mind, and Camille still refused to come. She didn't want to sleep in the middle of a forest, even if it was only for two nights. She couldn't stand the idea of bugs crawling into the tent and then on her skin! It made her stomach churn. Sorry, but she much preferred sleeping in her soft, warm bed.
All in all, because of their respective family trips, the time Camille and Masha could spend together was quite limited this summer, which had never happened until now. That being said, Masha decided to pay her friend a visit before leaving. Albeit with a reluctant sigh, Mrs. Brown allowed it as long as her daughter helped pack the car in the evening.
Now, time was up, and her daughter had to return home. And even if she begged to stay five more minutes, Gulnas would turn a deaf ear. Enough was enough!
***
"I'd have liked to stay five more minutes," Masha sulked as she opened the front door. "Just five more!"
"Your five more minutes would have turned into ten, then fifteen, and so on! We would never have left if it were up to you," Gulnas retorted. "Sweetie, Gabriel was already waiting for you at your friend's house!"
"But—!"
Masha stopped talking mid-sentence; a sweet smell drifted to her nose, startling her. She glanced at her mother and Gabriel before curiously walking to the kitchen, only to come across a messy room and a little boy. The child didn't seem to notice them immediately, engrossed in humming an obscure song that none of them recognized.
Slightly bent forward, his hands on his knees, the boy was happily swaying his head in time to the unknown song, staring at the oven as if it was a marvelous treasure. His crystal clear blue eyes seemed to sparkle with a thousand lights while dark brown blots, left by the muffin mixture, stained his white skin. It was a mischievous but adorable appearance, softening people's hearts.
When Misha finally noticed that they had arrived, he turned his head toward the doorway. Soon, a broad smile stretched his lips, so innocent and sweet that Masha's hands suddenly felt itchy. She wanted to pinch those two tender cheeks until they turned red! Who told her brother to be so cute?!
"You're just in time!" Misha said. "It's almost ready!"
Only then did they realize that Misha was baking something. It left everyone dumbstruck, especially Mrs. Brown. Until now, her son had never shown any interest in cooking; he hated it, even. And yet, here he was, busying himself in the kitchen.
The next instant, she felt a lump rise in her throat when she realized he had used the stove and other kitchen utilities with no one to supervise him.
Scared witless, Gulnas almost bolted to his side. But she somehow managed to restrain herself and instead walked stiffly to her boy. She crouched before him and verified if he had hurt himself while cooking. She made sure he didn't have a scratch before releasing him.
Her son was quite clumsy, and Gulnas had feared the worst. But thankfully, Misha didn't burn his fingers when he put the pan into the oven, and his tiny hands were as smooth as ever. His fingers were just covered in chocolate.
Mrs. Brown's worries weren't unfounded, however. Misha had indeed hurt himself quite often when he started to cook in his past life. To make matters worse, he was a young man back then, not a kid. Yet, he still found a way to hurt himself every time he cooked, whether by burning his skin with hot oil or the kettle or by cutting his fingers with the knife.
"Next time you want to cook or bake something, you have to tell me," Gulnas coaxed. "Ok, sweetheart?"
Misha didn't make things difficult for his mother and obediently nodded, knowing that she couldn't let her son, who wasn't even ten, cook whatever he wanted to without someone monitoring him.
"Where did you learn to use the stove?"
"At Dereck's!" Misha said, thinking it wasn't actually a lie. His friend did drag him to his house and taught him basic cooking survival skills after seeing the mess he had made of his apartment. It was a miracle he hadn't burned it down!
"But wow!" Masha clapped when she glanced at the oven and saw what was inside through the door. "You made them all by yourself?"
"Of course!" Misha smiled, puffing out his small chest as if asking for praise.
In response, Masha laughed and ruffled her little brother's hair. Meanwhile, Gulnas started to clean up the mess. The kitchen had suffered quite a bit, and it was better to clean it up before the muffin mixture splattered everywhere solidified.
With a light heart, Misha observed his mother wash the counter. He had hidden the glass mason jar full of earthworms, so he wasn't afraid she would stumble on it. He had also wanted to help, but she sternly told him to sit and wait. When she was like this, there was no changing her mind. Thus, Misha didn't insist and obediently sat on a chair.
Soon, the egg-timer rang, but his mother didn't allow him to take out the muffin pan, afraid he'd burn himself this time. So instead, it was Gabriel who pulled it out under the intense gaze of the boy.
After the muffin cooled, Misha excitedly said, "Go and sit! I'll serve you!"
Before his mother could say anything, he looked at her with sparkling eyes and gently pushed her toward the table. Unable to resist the angelic face of her son, Gulnas could only let out a helpless chuckle. "But we'll eat only one muffin, no more. We still have to eat dinner later."
She then called over her husband before sitting at the table with her daughter and Gabriel.
From afar, they observed the little boy's battle with the muffin pan while Alexey came down and asked what was going on. His lovely wife proudly told him about their son's feat, making a discreet smile appear on that deadpan face of his—though the man was also scolded for leaving Misha without proper supervision.
A few minutes later, Misha brought five plates with one muffin on each. He placed a plate in front of every person, then sat on a chair beside his sister. He took a bite of his chocolate muffin while staring at Gabriel, who still hadn't touched his.
After a month of misery, the teenager had become a lot more careful. His instinct told him that something wasn't right, but it couldn't pinpoint what. After watching the rest of the table eat with relish and hearing them praise the boy's skills, he decided to toss the ominous feelings at the back of his mind. He was just being paranoid.
Thus, Gabriel took a bite.
Surprisingly, it was indeed pretty good. Not too sweet, but not too bland either. It was just perfect. Finally, Gabriel let go of his hesitation and took a bigger bite. Then, something seemed to burst in his mouth, and a weird taste spread on his tongue. When he lifted his head, he saw something emerging from the center of the muffin. It was stuck between his lips and slightly swung due to the sudden movement.
Time seemed to stand still until Gabriel realized that it was an earthworm. His face paled, turning deadly white as if he had seen a ghost. He abruptly stood up before dashing to the washroom. Everyone sitting at the table could hear him throw up from the kitchen.
While his family looked at their muffin with disgust and shock, Misha happily ate his. After a while, he glanced at his silent sister and said, "Yours is normal. There was only one muffin with worms in it."
"…"
That wasn't comforting at all!
"Sweetie, why did you put earthworms in Gabriel's muffin?" Gulnas asked after a short while.
"Dereck went to the insectarium last week. He said that you could cook insects and that it was actually super good for your health, full of protein! So, since Gabriel is a teenager and teenage boys need to eat a lot of healthy stuff to grow up, I thought it'd do him good to eat insects. It's just that I wasn't sure if he'd want to eat them because they don't look very tasty…. So, I came up with an idea! I decided to put them into a chocolate muffin. Chocolate muffins taste super good after all. Dereck also said it was an excellent idea."
Without any hesitation, Misha shamelessly pushed the blame on Dereck.
Upon hearing her brother's explanation, Masha tried hard not to burst out laughing. She felt pity for Gabriel, but at the same, the face he had made…. Ah, man, it was just too hilarious!
"Next time, ask me first if it's a good idea or not," Gulnas said, letting out a drawn-out sigh. She'd need to monitor her son's pranks; they were truly getting out of hand!
"Ok! But don't worry mom, I carefully washed the earthworms under the tap before putting them into the muffin mix. This way, Gabriel can't get sick, right?" Misha asked with his bright blue eyes, turning a deaf ear to the sound of Gabriel emptying his stomach in the toilet bowl.
"…"
That little devil!
Chapter revised on 2022-05-04
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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