I Got A Grade For This

Chapter Four

Maggie Thatcher
2/23/17
Period 4
Topic #16

Moving From One Extreme to Another

After I had managed to break up the fight between Allen and Matt, it was time to open. Oliver still had not showed up, so either he was stuck in some serious traffic, or something had happened. I sincerely hoped that it was just traffic. We all tried to act pleasant and cheery for the customers, even though we were all still tired from waking up so early. As usual, customers started coming in, needing a nice way to start their day. Despite the fact that there were at least two bakeries we were competing with, people usually came here. Whatever Oliver put into his baking, they seemed to love. And I'll admit, I've had a few of his cupcakes, and they're some of the best I've ever had. Really makes me wonder why he's still living in this town rather than some famous city.
We began to run low on baked goods to sell, and normally Oliver would be the one in the back baking more, but he still hasn't shown up, and i figured that he probably just wouldn't make it. This was the first time this has happened since...since this place opened, really. But, Oliver has taught me how to bake like he does, so I had Allen take over as cashier while I went into the back to prepare a new round of cupcakes and whatnot. Following the recipe he had taught me, I had the batter made in no time. He always dyes his cupcakes insanely bright colors, and who was I to disagree? The one thing that I've always wondered since day on was the way he frosted his cupcakes. It was as if they were color-coded or something.
Anyway, as I put the many cupcake tins into the ridiculosly huge oven he had, I walked back out to the cashier desk to see Allen playing with Arthur. As tough and mean as he tries to be, he's a real big softie. As I watched, I heard my phone begin to buzz, and saw that I had a call from an unknown number. I hesitated before answering, and went into the back of the bakery to speak with the person on the other end. I was immediately greeted with an extremely loud voice, and I had to hold my phone away from my ear a little bit. "Dude! I saw your posters and I've been, like, trying to call you all day!" The person on the other end shouted. "I see. I'm guessing that you're Arthur's owner?" I replied. "Heck yeah! I've been looking for him everywhere! I'm Alfred, by the way." He said. "Right. If you stop by Oliver's Bakery, I can give him back to you, or if I'm not there before you arrive, then one of my coworkers can give you my address." I told him. "You got it, dudette!" He said before hanging up.
I sighed, putting my phone back in my pocket. I was going to miss Arthur, but he needed to return home. I walked back out to the cashier desk, hearing the all-too familiar sounds of Matt and Allen fighting. Again. Before I could stop them, the door to the bakery slammed open and the two were violently pulled apart. Oliver stood between them, a rather annoyed look on his usually cheery face. "I thought I told you that you weren't allowed to fight during bakery hours!" He said angrily, storming past me and into the backroom. Oliver was normally very bright and bubbly, but as soon as he got irritated or annoyed, his personality did a complete one-eighty, and he became a very surly and grumpy Brit, though he still refrained from swearing.
Realizing how the rest of this day would go, I took my duty as cashier and sighed. Arthur tried to comfort me by pawing at my face, and it worked, a little. Suddenly the door slammed open, scaring everyone in the room. "Yo, dudette! I'm here!" The voice of Alfred shouted. "Alfred?" I heard Allen say in disbelief. "Allen?" Alfred replied, just as surprised as the other American. They just stared at each other for a few minutes, and I could feel the tension in the air like it was a tangible substance looming over everyone. Whenever this happened, something either very good or very bad was about to go down.

Continued in my next essay...