The earthy scent of mulch filled Anna's nose as Eliza led everyone into the garden center. Butterflies, wasps, and other pollinators filled the air with fluttering wings as they flew from one flower to the next. Anna's bees circled her in a humming cloud as their attention flitted from purple lavender to bright yellow marigolds beckoning to them with plentiful pollen.

An old man waved at Eliza, his gardening gloves caked in soil. "Here to put your hummingbirds to work again so soon? Much more nectar, and those little guys are bound to burst!"

"Not today, Mr. Fitzgerald." Eliza's hummingbirds chirped in protest as she guided them out of a rosebush. "We've gotta get brainstorming!"

Eliza led everyone past countless flowers, heaps of fertilizer, and burbling fountains until finally coming to a stop near rows filled with potted trees. "I don't come to this part much since I usually stay by the flowers, but I figured it might be better for you since there's a whole lot of fruits here."

Anna craned her neck to look at the fruits growing on the tallest trees. Even in the middle of winter, lemons and limes filled the air with the scent of citrus. "I always forget plants still grow this time of year."

"They're doing really well, too. Look at this." Mason pointed at a thick ridge on a branch sagging under the weight of all its fruits. "That scar means they grafted part of another tree onto this one."

"Why would anyone do that?" Taylor asked. "Wouldn't that hurt the tree?"

"Not if you do it right," Jack said. He ran a hand down Harry's back as the boar sniffed the ground in search of fallen fruit. "Dad grafts trees all the time 'cause it helps 'em fight diseases."

"And they start growing fruit sooner," Mason added. He smiled at Jack warmly. "It's awesome how much you know about trees."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a slight redness creeping into his cheeks. "It's hard not to pick up a few things since Dad's always growing stuff."

"That might help, but most people think all you have to do to have a healthy tree is water it enough and keep pests away. It's so cool you actually know how grafting works!" Mason flapped his hands as he started gushing about everything he knew about the process from growing a whole bunch of different types of fruit on a single tree to merging roots into an interconnected system.

A few months ago, if anyone had told her that Mason and Jack would get along so well or have much in common, Anna would have thought they were nuttier than squirrel poo. Yet, Mason's fingers never once rubbed his termite chunk while he talked to Jack, instead petting Harry's back as the boar leaned into his touch. Jack looked a whole lot happier around Mason, too. Before, he'd stomp around as if he was always itching for a fight, but now he hung onto Mason's every word with the biggest smile on his face.

If Jack and Mason could get along so well despite not making the best first impressions on each other, then the least Anna could do was try to do the same with Eliza. "You said you come here when you've got art block?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's one of the best places for me to get flowers for my collages." Eliza reached up and gently bent a tree branch, bringing tiny white blossoms closer to her face. The bright yellow lemons growing alongside them filled the air with the scent of citrus.

Anna had heard of people baking with flowers, but she couldn't imagine willingly putting any in her mouth. As pretty as they were, none of the plants gave her any ideas. "So do you just stare at the flowers until you come up with something or...?"

"Kinda, but that's not all there is to it." Eliza released her grip on the tree branch, leaving the tiny white petals trembling from the sudden movement. "Mind if I show you my favorite spot? Trees are nice and all, but they don't usually give me many ideas."

"Sure." It wasn't like she was getting any inspiration from them either.

Eliza led her into a section filled with a whole rainbow of flowers. Carnations bloomed bright red, and sunflowers beamed a brilliant yellow. Anna's bees drifted toward pots filled with forget-me-nots, quickly disappearing into the ocean of pale blue petals.

"Sometimes Mr. Fitzgerald gives me some flowers for free 'cause my hummingbirds pollinate the plants," Eliza said as her companions flitted from one plant to the next, chirping happily as they sipped on nectar. "That makes it a whole lot easier to get stuff to work with."

"How do you figure out what you're going to use?" Anna had been spending way too much time staring into the pantry in search of inspiration lately. As hard as it was to find anything that felt right, at least she knew she could use a few reliable ingredients like flour and sugar in just about any recipe. Eliza could incorporate almost anything into her collages since she didn't have to worry about people eating them.

"One thing that always helps me is to see all the different colors." Eliza reorganized the flowerpots until instead of each type of plant all being grouped together they mixed and mingled like a rainbow of Skittles. "See how the pansies make the daffodils stand out?"

The bright yellow daffodils had been pretty on their own, but now that they were surrounded by purple pansies they broke through the darkness like the sun peeking through rainclouds. "I never noticed that where you put the different flowers makes such a big difference."

"When Taylor and I are working on our art, we always have to think about how well colors contrast against each other," Eliza explained. "If you put a whole bunch of dark or bright colors together, nothing really stands out, but if you mix them, they both get their chance to shine."

"It's like how Ivan said the cayenne would have stood out from the vanilla buttercream." Anna had been so afraid of the spiciness drowning out the other ingredients that she didn't realize it might bring out the best in them instead. "If I try mixing flavors, maybe I'll end up with something awesome! But how can I make sure it doesn't end up being a mess?"

"I still haven't figured that out about me or my art," Eliza said sheepishly. Her hummingbirds left their floral feast to perch on her shoulders, their wings completely still. "After how awful I was to Tay, I can't believe you can stand being anywhere near me."

"It's hard, sometimes," Anna admitted. "Tay cares about you a whole lot, and I know you're trying to be a better friend. But every time I think about how upset she was..." Anna couldn't finish that sentence. Just thinking about how much Taylor had cried made her want to cry too. "I'm real sorry for being mean to you the other day at the creek."

"It's alright. I get it." Eliza's smile trembled as she wiped her eyes. "You don't have to forgive me. Nobody does."

"But I want to try," Anna said firmly. "I'm just not sure I know how."

"Do you think maybe we could start over?" Eliza held out her hand. "Nice to meet you! My name's Eliza."

"Mine's Anna." She shook Eliza's hand with a smile. "Don't mind the bees. They won't sting you."

"Nice to meet you too, bees." Eliza waved as her hummingbirds fluttered over to greet them. "So, what ideas have you been getting stuck on?"

"At my audition for Sliced, the judges weren't happy with how my cupcakes looked, so I've been trying to make something real fancy like what Mr. Voorhees sells at Cake Kingdom," Anna said. "Problem is, nothing's been tasting right."

"One mistake I see people making all the time in art class is making something super complicated and cluttered. That usually just ends up making stuff look messy." Eliza chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. "That's kinda sorta what happened with my companion showcase project. Mr. Woods couldn't even tell what it was supposed to be at first."

Heat rushed to Anna's cheeks. "Oh jeez, that's exactly what I've been doing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but that's okay. All you have to do is stick to something simpler, like what your folks sell at Sweet Surprise. It's a whole lot better to do a couple things really well than to do a whole bunch of stuff that's just okay." Eliza bent down and started rearranging the flowers again. "See, if I put a whole bunch of different kinds together..."

Anna listened carefully as Eliza talked about all sorts of different artistic principles. A lot of the words she used flew over her head, but listening to Eliza ramble about the different techniques she used reminded her of Taylor. There was something magical about listening someone to gush about their passion, something that got Anna itching to dive back into her own.

"I used to think all art and baking had in common was trying to make stuff look nice, but the way you talk about colors reminds me of how I have to think about the way different ingredients taste together," Anna said as she and Eliza started going back to the trees section. "Must be real hard to mix everything just right."

"Getting the right shade's not too bad once you know what you want," Eliza said. "Having to worry about stuff like separating egg yolks or taking stuff out of the oven at exactly the right time sounds much harder."

"If you think that's tough, just you wait until I tell you about making a meringue!"

The instant they got back to where their friends were, Taylor welcomed the two of them with a smile that made Anna's heart melt like ice cream in July. "Did you get any ideas?"

"Yeah, but now I have another problem: figuring out what to make first!" Anna's bees zoomed around her as her mind buzzed with all sorts of cool combinations. "Would you guys mind trying a couple more recipes?"

"Of course not!" everyone chorused.

As Anna told them about what she had in mind, her ideas flowed more smoothly than they had since before the fire. With all her friends supporting her, she knew she'd do everything she could to make them proud when she was on Sliced.