@The_Sage_Ninja_Morro 

@DumbassWriter17

" Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

" Hmmmmmmmmmmm."

" Hmmm."

Emma and Mia stared at Annie as she ' Hmmmmmmm' and ' hmmmmmm' ed some more.

Emma turned to Mia. " Uh..... is she....?"

Mia shrugged.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

" Annie, stop saying ' hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm' and just tell us what's going on." Mia sighed.

Annie looked up. " Well it says we need 375 grams of all purpose sugar....."

Emma blinked. " Yeah, and....?"

" But I don't know what that is in cups!"

Mia and Emma stared at her.

" Annie."

Annie looked. " Yes, Mia?"

" You literally have a calculator RIGHT THERE." Mia pointed to the counter.

" But it doesn't have batteries! We-"

Mia pointed her finger at it, and a small lightning bolt hit it.

It powered on.

" Oh. Right." Annie said sheepishly to a smirking and arm crossed Mia. 

" Mhm."

Blackie strutted in. " Why, hello there, ladies. What are we doing today?"

Mia blinked. " Blackie?"

Blackie looked at Mia. " Yes, my dear?"

Emma looked at Mia. " Why's he talking like that?"

Mia shrugged. " I dunno."

Blackie meowed. " Oh, you stupid humans."

Emma grinned. " That's more like it!"

Mia nodded. " You have no idea."

" 1/4 cup baking soda..... hmmmm, soda, soda...... Hey, look at this!"

Mia and Emma looked at Annie as she took a bottle of.... soda out of the cabinet.

" I found the extra Baking Soda!"

Emma didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Mia, though, was crying.

Internally.

" Annie, are you okay?" Mia asked, her voice levealed.

" Yeah, why?"

" Because we're asking for Baking Soda. You know, the white soda which-"

" Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Mia nodded. " Mhm."

Blackie hopped onto the counter. " If she's a chef how does she not remember baking ingredients?"

" Because this one's been staying up 'till four baking cakes and waking up at five."

" Ground Ginger....... Mia?"

Mia groaned. " yes?"

" Do you have any ginger that fell to the ground?"

Mia slapped her head. " Okay, Annie, why don't YOU take a little nap while we take the ingredients?"

Annie nodded. " Sure. Just don't bake without me."

" We can't." Emma said honestly. " If we did we wouldn't have an oven."

As Annie shuffled off to the couch for her much-needed nap, Mia and Emma exchanged exhausted but amused glances. Blackie, still perched on the counter, flicked his tail.

"Well," Mia said, tying her hair back, "we're on our own now. Let's see if we can salvage this chaos."

Emma nodded and began sorting through the ingredients. "Okay, so we need 375 grams of sugar... which Annie was worried about earlier. Calculator's working now, thanks to you." She handed the device to Mia.

Mia quickly converted the measurement and grabbed a measuring cup. "Done. Next?"

"Flour. Annie said we needed three cups, right?"

Mia frowned. "Wait... did she mean three cups of actual flour or whatever weird substitute she might have been dreaming up this time? Remember last week, when she tried to use crushed crackers?"

Emma grimaced. "Don't remind me. Let's stick with the real stuff. Where's the flour?"

Blackie meowed dramatically. "Ah, the great hunt for the elusive flour bag. Humans are truly amusing creatures."

Mia shot him a glare. "Are you gonna help or just keep commenting?"

Blackie smirked. "My dear, I supervise."

Emma rolled her eyes and opened a cabinet. "Found it!" She pulled out a bag of flour, which promptly tore, spilling a small cloud onto her and the counter.

Mia burst out laughing as Emma stood there, now looking like a ghost. "You're ready for Halloween!"

Emma groaned but couldn't help laughing too. "This baking thing is cursed. I'm convinced."

"Maybe Annie's chaos is contagious," Mia teased, grabbing a towel to clean up the mess.

Blackie stretched lazily. "Or perhaps you two need better training. Shall I schedule a lesson?"

Emma tossed a handful of flour in his direction. "Keep it up, Blackie."

Just then, Annie's voice drifted in from the living room. "Don't forget to add love! Cakes taste better with love!"

Mia sighed, shaking her head. "We'll see if we can at least make it edible first."

The girls got back to work, measuring and mixing. Despite the occasional mishap—Emma dropping an egg and Mia sneezing into the cocoa powder—they finally had a smooth batter ready for the oven.

"Alright," Emma said, pouring the batter into the pan. "Moment of truth. Preheat the oven?"

Mia hesitated. "You said earlier that if we baked without Annie, we wouldn't have an oven. What did you mean by that?"

Emma looked sheepish. "Oh... well... last time, I sort of... set it on fire. Annie had to fix it."

Mia's eyes widened. "Emma!"

Blackie snorted. "Supervision. You need supervision."

Emma grinned nervously. "Don't worry, I've learned my lesson. Mostly."

With the batter in the oven and a timer set, the trio (plus one sassy cat) flopped onto the couch. Annie stirred slightly, mumbling about frosting.

Mia leaned back with a groan. "If this turns out remotely edible, it'll be a miracle."

Blackie purred. "Ah, but miracles do happen... especially in kitchens run by sleep-deprived lunatics."

Mia threw a pillow at him. "You're lucky you're cute."

The timer dinged, and Emma jumped up. "Time to see if we survived."

The girls pulled the cake out, inspecting it closely.

"It's... not burnt," Mia said cautiously.

"And it smells good!" Emma added.

Annie, half-asleep, sat up and sniffed. "Frost it with love."

Mia and Emma exchanged a glance and laughed. Blackie yawned, already curling up for a nap.

"Well," Mia said, grabbing the frosting, "let's give this cake a little love... and hope it doesn't kill us."

Blackie mumbled sleepily. "You're all ridiculous."

Mia and Emma stood over the cake, a large bowl of frosting between them. Both had rolled up their sleeves, determined to make this the best part of the baking process.

"Alright," Emma said, picking up a spatula. "How hard can frosting be?"

Mia nodded. "Easy. Just spread it evenly. Annie will be impressed."

They both dipped their spatulas into the frosting and began spreading it across the cake. At first, it seemed like everything was going smoothly—until Emma got a little overzealous.

"Oops," she said, accidentally flinging a glob of frosting onto Mia's arm.

Mia paused, staring at the frosting splatter. "Emma."

Emma grinned sheepishly. "It was an accident!"

Mia smirked, scooping up some frosting with her fingers. "This will be, too."

Before Emma could react, Mia swiped frosting onto her cheek.

"Hey!" Emma exclaimed, retaliating with a flick of her spatula, which landed frosting in Mia's hair.

And just like that, the frosting war began.

Mia grabbed a handful of frosting and aimed it at Emma's shoulder, while Emma went for Mia's forehead. Blackie, perched nearby, watched the chaos with wide eyes.

"You two are ruining the cake!" he meowed dramatically.

Mia ducked behind the counter, laughing uncontrollably. "Emma, you look like a cupcake!"

"You're not much better!" Emma shot back, trying to dodge but slipping slightly on the now-frosting-covered floor.

Annie shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. "What's going—" She stopped mid-sentence, taking in the scene.

The cake was still sitting on the counter, half-frosted, but the frosting bowl was nearly empty. Both Mia and Emma were covered head to toe in a sticky, sugary mess.

Annie blinked, then slowly smirked. "Did you... frost yourselves instead of the cake?"

Mia wiped frosting off her nose and sighed. "It got... out of hand."

Emma pointed to Mia. "She started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Blackie groaned. "This is why humans shouldn't be left unsupervised."

Annie chuckled, walking over to inspect the cake. "Well... at least you didn't burn it." She picked up the frosting spatula and started fixing their messy attempt.

Mia and Emma watched as Annie expertly smoothed the frosting, making the cake look halfway decent again.

"How does she do that?" Emma whispered.

Mia shrugged. "Magic, probably."

Annie glanced back at them. "Next time, leave the frosting to me. You two can handle cleanup duty."

Mia and Emma groaned in unison, but they couldn't help laughing as they surveyed the frosting war zone.

Blackie yawned from his perch. "I'm going to need a nap after this madness."

"Join the club," Mia muttered, wiping frosting off her arm.

As the cake finally came together, the trio sat down to enjoy their masterpiece. Despite the chaos, it was delicious—though Mia swore she could still taste a bit of revenge in the frosting.

As the three of them sat enjoying their cake, Annie suddenly gasped so loudly that Mia almost dropped her fork.

"WAIT!" Annie shouted, jumping to her feet.

Mia blinked, startled. "What now?"

Annie waved her arms dramatically. "We were supposed to make a gingerbread house! Not just a cake! Come on, come on! We're behind schedule!"

Emma groaned. "Behind schedule for what? There's no gingerbread house police!"

But Annie was already rummaging through the cabinets, tossing ingredients onto the counter with reckless enthusiasm. "Alright! Flour, sugar, eggs—wait, where's the molasses? We can't make gingerbread without molasses!"

Mia sighed, watching Annie's whirlwind of activity. "Do you even know what you're doing, Annie?"

"Of course!" Annie said confidently, though her expression was anything but reassuring. "I'm a baking genius."

Emma leaned over to Mia and whispered, "This is going to end in disaster, isn't it?"

Mia nodded grimly. "Absolutely."

Things started going downhill almost immediately.

"Annie, is this supposed to smell like... lavender?" Mia asked, sniffing the bowl of dough suspiciously.

"That's the secret ingredient!" Annie beamed.

Emma frowned. "Wait a minute... Annie, is this soap?"

Annie froze. "...No?"

Mia grabbed the bottle Annie had used and read the label. "It literally says 'lavender hand soap.'"

"Oh." Annie scratched her head. "I thought it was fancy milk."

"Fancy milk?!" Emma sputtered.

Despite the growing number of red flags, Annie pressed on. "No worries, no worries! Let's just move on to the icing."

Annie poured a white liquid into a mixing bowl. "Alright, powdered sugar, a bit of vanilla, and some... this."

Mia squinted at the carton Annie was using. "Uh, Annie? That's not cream."

"Sure it is!" Annie said cheerfully.

"No, it's buttermilk."

Annie stopped mid-stir. "Oh... Is that bad?"

Emma slapped her forehead. "It's for biscuits, not icing!"

Annie shrugged. "Too late now!" She whipped the mixture furiously, determined to make it work.

By the time the "gingerbread" dough was baked, it was clear something had gone horribly wrong. The pieces were rock-hard, and one even cracked in half when Emma tried to pick it up.

"This is a safety hazard," Mia muttered, holding up a jagged piece.

"Nonsense!" Annie declared, gluing the pieces together with her questionable icing. "It just needs a little love and creativity!"

The trio attempted to assemble the house, but the roof kept sliding off, the walls refused to stick, and Blackie—curious as ever—decided to pounce on a piece, sending the whole structure crashing to the floor.

"BLACKIE!" all three girls yelled.

Blackie licked his paw smugly. "What? It was falling apart anyway."

Hours later, they managed to piece together something resembling a gingerbread house. It leaned precariously to one side, the icing dripped unevenly, and one wall had been patched with duct tape after Blackie's attack.

"Well," Mia said, surveying the mess, "it's... something."

"It's art," Annie said proudly.

Emma burst out laughing. "It's a gingerbread disaster!"

Blackie meowed. "It's an insult to architecture."

Despite the chaos, the girls couldn't stop laughing as they admired their lopsided creation. It wasn't perfect—or even edible—but it was theirs.

Mia grinned. "Next time, Annie, maybe read the labels before you start baking."

Annie winked. "Where's the fun in that?"