@Dynacats I did it!

Cole yawned and groggily rubbed his eyes as the yellow sun streamed through his window.

" Ugh.... what time is it?" He mumbled.

He squinted at his clock. " Eight..... ugh." He muttered, then snuggled under the covers. " What's the date even?"

" Reminder for Cole Brookstone. Reminder fo-"

" What is it?" Cole groaned as he checked his phone.

He did a double take.

" Today's the pie eating contest?!"

He smiled and thought of all the pies he could eat. Mulberry, strawberry, oran berry.... there were too many to count.

Just then, a blur of pink ran into his room and jumped onto his bed. He shot forward. " Ow!"

The owner of the body giggled. " Cole, you funny."

Cole looked at the toddler and rolled his eyes, smiling. " Yeah yeah. Where's your brother?"

" Brotar at da pheatifal wit Kai an Nya."

Cole sighed. " So they left you here?"

" Ya. Dey told me to wake you up."

Cole chuckled as he looked down at Mia, her wide grin showing off her few baby teeth. She was dressed in her bright pink pajamas, which were covered in cartoon clouds, and her wild bed hair made her look even more mischievous.

"Alright, alright, you little troublemaker," he sighed, reaching over to tickle her belly gently. "Guess you did a pretty good job waking me up."

Mia squealed with laughter, squirming to get away from his tickling fingers. "Nooooo! Stwop it, Cole!"

"Alright, alright." He let her go, and she settled into his lap, still giggling. "So... they just left you here with me, huh?"

"Yup!" she said proudly, then looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. "You gonna eat all da pies?"

Cole laughed and ruffled her hair. "You bet I am. I'm gonna eat so many pies, I'll probably turn into one."

Mia gasped, eyes going even wider. "Nooo, Cole be pie! Den I eat you!"

Cole laughed. "You'd eat me, huh? What kind of pie would I be then?"

Mia thought hard, scrunching her face up in concentration. "You be... chocowate pie!"

"Chocolate pie, huh?" Cole chuckled, lifting her up as he got out of bed. "Guess I'd be pretty delicious, then."

She nodded seriously, as if she'd just made the most important decision of her life. "Yup. Best chocowate pie ever."

Cole set her down and began getting ready, Mia trailing behind him like a little shadow, asking about all the different pies he was going to eat.

"An' apple pie, Cole? An' bewwy pie?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Every kind," he replied, grinning as he grabbed his jacket. "Alright, kiddo, let's go get some breakfast, and then maybe, if you're lucky, we'll find some pie."

Mia clapped her hands, bouncing with excitement. "Yay! Pie!"

Cole shook his head, chuckling as he grabbed her tiny hand. "Come on, you little pie monster. Let's go get our day started."

With a final laugh, they headed out of the room, Mia happily skipping alongside him, already dreaming of all the pie they were going to find.

As Cole and Mia entered the festival grounds, Cole immediately noticed Jay, Kai, and Nya standing nearby, looking far more tense than usual. Jay's arms were crossed, and Kai was rubbing his temples while Nya sighed in frustration.

Cole raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Why do you all look like you just lost a fight with a bowl of chili?"

Jay turned, his face still tense, but softened when he spotted Mia. With a quick smile, he knelt down and scooped her up as she ran to him, wrapping her little arms around his neck.

"Hey, Mimi!" Jay said, giving her a quick kiss on the head before glancing at Cole with a helpless look. "So... you know the pie contest you were so excited for?"

"Yeah...?" Cole said, suspiciously.

Jay gave an awkward laugh. "Well... you're the only competitor left."

Cole's eyes widened. "What?!"

Nya stepped in, explaining, "Turns out, there was a bit of a... mishap with the other contestants. Something about a pie delivery delay and the baker's oven breaking down. So, uh... they had to cancel."

Jay shrugged, handing Cole a big, shiny trophy. "Congrats, champ. Looks like you won by default."

Cole sighed in disappointment. "Well, that's not how I imagined winning the pie contest," he muttered.

But before he could say anything else, Mia's delighted squeal interrupted his thoughts. She pointed at the trophy and then at Jay. "Jay! Wook! Twophey!"

Jay chuckled, holding her close as she happily admired the shiny trophy. "That's right, Mia. It's all his," he said, tapping her tiny nose.

Cole shook his head, a smile creeping onto his face as he ruffled Mia's hair. "Well, at least someone's happy."

Mia hugged the trophy to her chest, eyes wide with excitement. "Cowe! Dis mean you won pie?"

Cole laughed, picking her up from Jay's arms and spinning her around. "Yeah, Mia! We won! So, what kind of pie should we get to celebrate, huh?"

"Chocowate pie, Cowe! Wots of chocowate!"