Birthday Games

65.

Author's note: When I looked at the voting chapter, I only saw two comments: one for 58 and one for 65. So I tossed a coin. If you want a particular chapter, please remember to leave a comment on the first chapter; or click the heart button next to it if somebody already asked for it.

"I think I'm going to do rainbow cakes!" Karin exclaimed.

"That's going to be hard," Birthday warned her, "You now you've got to wear special gloves just to pick up chroma, and slicing a rainbow up into different colours normally takes at least six fairies."

"Silly!" Karin giggled when she'd understood what Birthday was talking about, "I mean cakes made in all different colours. So if someone doesn't like blue, they can have a pink one instead. A cake in every colour of the rainbow!"

"I think we can do that," the fairy fluttered along the row of tiny coloured bottles, "We've got red colour, and orange, and purple. Blue, green, and yellow. Even indigo! Oh, but there's no yuck in this set."

"Yuck?"

"Yeah, that's what colour mud is."

"We don't need it anyway," Karin shrugged, "Let's just do the happy colours." So they made a cake in each of the colours of the rainbow, except for yuck. First Karin split the thick dough up into balls about the same size, and put a little bottle of colour next to each of them.

Once she was sure they were all about the same, she started with the red one. She put the ball on a tray, and pushed it down with her hands until it was almost flat, like a plate or a bowl. Then she put a few drops of red colour in the middle, and folded it in half to keep the colour in the middle. She folded it up, and twisted it, and folded it again, and then flattened it out to add a few more drops. This time, she decorated it with all the red sweets out of a couple of little bags, and folded it over again, and kept on going until the whole thing started to look mostly pink. Birthday helped her roll it out into a flat piece, that she could cut up into different shaped mini-cakes.

Then they did the same for each of the other colours. Some of them, she could add bits of fruit as well, and for others the only thing she could find the right colour were brightly coloured sweets. But before long, she had three whole trays filled with little tiny cakes. She was just finished sliding them into the fridge to cook when the door behind her opened. Daddy stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at her with some disapproval. Karin wasn't sure what she'd done wrong, except maybe not putting all the ingredients away. All the packets were spread all over the table, but she was sure she could put them away quick enough. Maybe there was some flour on the floor as well, and bits of dough that had escaped on the table, and on the front of the fridge, and on the ceiling.

Karin looked down at her hands, hoping he wouldn't notice the mess. And hoping even more that he wouldn't see the surprise cakes before they were ready. She wanted to impress Daddy, but that would be even harder if she was in trouble for something.

"What have you been doing, Princess?" he asked, "You've got cake mix all over your party dress!" Then she looked down at herself properly, and realised he was right.

"Sorry, Daddy. I wanted to make you a surprise, cos you did so much stuff for me today, and Birthday knows how to make cakes, and she asked Google for help too, and I thought I did really good."

"I can't wait to see them," he smiled for just a moment, "But there's people already starting to arrive. If you go for a bath now, I'll have to make excuses for you, because everybody will be waiting. You should have asked me to help to start with, then I could have done some of the tidying up."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled again, "I was just trying to be a big girl, and show you all the stuff I can do by myself, I really thought I could do it."

"I know. I'll probably be amazed by your cakes. And I don't mind tidying up after you, but you should have thought ahead. This is your coming of age ceremony, you're nine years old now. If you were still a little baby, then I'd be proud of you just for trying to make a cake. But now you're almost a grownup, I think I'm supposed to tell you off for not acting your age."

"You could be a little baby," Birthday giggled from her perch on Karin's shoulder, "That'd stop you getting in trouble, he just said so. How about that?"

Karin stopped to think. Of course, Daddy couldn't hear what Birthday was saying. He was still talking, telling her that as a big girl she needed to take her responsibilities seriously. He seemed a little upset too. She didn't think it was because she'd caused him more work setting up the party, but because he never liked telling her off. It would be so much easier for both of them if she was so little that nobody would expect her to tidy up herself. She'd wanted to be good, and make Daddy proud. But wouldn't it be more fun if she was too little to think about these things?

If Karin wishes to be a bit littler, turn to chapter 67

If she wants to keep being a big girl, turn to chapter 66