C is For Cupcake

Eggs, sugar, salt, flour…where is the baking powder?

     "Annabeth?" The grey-eyed girl whirls around, banging into the refrigerator in the process.

     "Please don't let that be Percy," she mutters. A different son of Poseidon stands in the Big House kitchen's doorway. She sighs in relief. "Tyson, you scared me!"

     "I am sorry, Annabeth. What are you doing in the kitchen?" The Cyclops frowned, a crease forming above his eye.

     "Oh, I'm going to make Percy a birthday cake," she says, blushing slightly. "Do you want to help?"

     "Cake!" Tyson exclaimed, jumping up and down happily.

     Annabeth laughs. "I'll take that as a yes. You wash your hands, and I'll get the rest of the ingredients."

     "Okay," Tyson says, beaming at Annabeth.

     "So, I was thinking we'd make Percy a cupcake." Annabeth sets the last of the ingredients on the table.

     Tyson nods seriously. "I think brother would like that."

     "Good. Now, how about you mix the dry ingredients and I'll do the wet." Annabeth glances at the recipe. "'One teaspoon of salt.'" Annabeth hands Tyson a measuring spoon. "So, you'll put one of those in the bowl."

     Tyson sets the spoon into his bowl.

     Noticing what he's done, Annabeth bites back a laugh. "Um, Tyson, I meant fill the spoon with salt and then put the salt in the bowl."

     "Ohhh…" Tyson says. "Yes, I do not think brother would want to eat a spoon."

     Annabeth grins. "Exactly."

     Tyson finally manages to get the ingredients into the bowl, even though most of them end up on the floor.

     "Annabeth, how do you know how to make cake?" Tyson asks, a perplexed look on his face.

     Annabeth's eyes light up. "Well, baking has a lot to do with science. When you bake something, a chemical change happe--" Tyson's expression looked like the one Percy always wears whenever school is brought up. "Never mind, Tyson."

     Okay, I think that's good enough," Annabeth proclaims, giving the complete batter a final stir.

     "Yay!" Tyson claps his hands together.

     "Do you want to pour it in the pan?" Annabeth asks, rummaging around in the kitchen's pantry.

     "Yes!"   

     She finds a small square pan and sets in on the counter. Tyson eagerly picks up the bowl of batter and begins pouring it into the pan.

     "Is that good?" he asks Annabeth.

     "Uh, sure." The batter is going to spill out of the pan if he puts any more in, but she figures it's fine.

     They put the cupcake in the oven and sit at the counter, waiting for it to bake. Annabeth shifts nervously in her chair. "Um, Tyson?"

     "Yes?" Tyson's eye widens in anticipation.

     "W-would it be okay with you i-if, uh, Percy and I started, umm, d-dating?" Annabeth stutters awkwardly.

     "You mean with kisses and having babies?" Tyson asks.

     "Um, yes," Annabeth mutters, blushing. Oh gods, she thinks, he's going to say that'd be weird or how could you like my brother or—

     Her train of thought is cut off by Tyson giving her a huge hug, lifting her off the ground. "Yay! You would be my sister!"

     Relief floods through Annabeth, along with the feeling of suffocation. "Ty-tyson, can't…breathe!"

     Tyson sets her down clumsily. "Sorry, Annabeth," he says cheerfully.

     She smiles back at him. "I'm glad you're so happy, but do you think Percy likes me, too?"

     "Likes?" Tyson looks confused. "Do you mean how he blushes around you and smiles at you lots?"

     Annabeth's cheeks turn scarlet. "Um, yes, I guess."

     "Then brother likes you tons!"

     Annabeth grins.

     The oven timer goes off, beeping loudly. Annabeth jumps over to take the cupcake out. It looks like a brick, but she thinks it will taste good.

     "We need to make some frosting now," Annabeth instructs.

     "Blue?" Tyson suggests.

     "I think Percy would like that," she agrees.

     After Annabeth mixes the frosting, Tyson puts about half the bottle of food dye in it. She's able to add more butter, though, and it balances out.

     With the finished cupcake in hand, Annabeth glances out the Big House's window. Percy sits at his dining table, facing the lake. Perfect.

     She turns to Tyson. "Thanks for helping me make this, Tyson."

     "You are welcome," he says. "I am sure Percy will love it."

     Annabeth winks, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach. "I hope so."