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“Did you just dare me?”
“Yeah, mate. You up for it?” asked Ezekiel.
“Hell yeah!” answered Flynn, already bolting towards the Annex kitchen. “But I’m warning you, no one is better at making pancakes than me!”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that. You won’t have any of that ego left soon” replied the thief, following the oldest Librarian.
They hurried down the corridor, attempting to get past each other, which resulted in Ezekiel crashing into Flynn. They stumbled to the floor with a loud bang. Just as they were trying to disentangle their limbs, Jenkins appeared from behind a bookshelf.
“What is going on, sir?” he turned to Flynn, just as he managed to stand up.
“Jones thinks his pancakes are better than mine. I’m heading to the kitchen to prove him wrong” came the reply from Flynn.
“Except, he’s wrong,” Ezekiel cut in, “ I dared him and now I’ll watch as he humiliates himself, trying to outdo me.” He had risen in the meantime from the floor and was about to continue his path.
“Oh, no. Despite my respect for Mr. Carsen and the harmlessness of this dare, I cannot let either of you near my kitchen. Have you forgotten what happened the last time you were trying to make cookies? If it hadn’t been for Ms. Cillian, there would be no kitchen in the Annex anymore. If there’d be an Annex at all.” Said Jenkins, looking like he was willing to physically fight them if they took another step towards his beloved kitchen. “ I highly suggest you take your experiment elsewhere, preferably near to the fire department furthest from here.” He added, before leaving two dumbstruck Librarians behind.
Flynn and Ezekiel looked at each other.
“Looks like you got off the hook this time” voiced Ezekiel, already starting in the direction of the theatre room.
“No way you’re walking away this easily. We’re going to my place.” Declared Flynn, catching Jones by his collar, then muttered more to himself “I hope I have all the necessary ingredients.”
Flynn set the door to his apartment and they stumbled through, followed by a flash of blue light. They arrived into the hall, which led to the living room and the kitchen.
“C’mon, let’s get started!” exclaimed Flynn, disappearing in the kitchen.
“Are you sure, we’re in the right place?” inquired Ezekiel following the other man, “ It’s way too tidy to be yours. No books on the sofa or the floor, shelves dusted.”
“I have a study where I keep all the books I currently use so I don’t mess up everything” sounded Flynn’s voice. “Grab the milk, by the way.”
“Okay, everything’s ready. No turning back now, Jones.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, mate. Can’t wait to see you throwing a tantrum like last time Jake beat you in Scrabble” grinned Ezekiel.
“Ready? Set, go!” yelled Flynn.
They both dived for bowls and ingredients, almost colliding at the first try. Somehow they managed to avoid spilling everything onto the floor.
Both Librarians were busy working on the batter, muttering furiously to themselves and didn’t hear the front door open.
“What the hell is going on here?” came Eve’s surprisingly shrill voice from the kitchen entrance.
The boys froze, then slowly lifted their heads. Despite their best efforts, they were covered in flour from head to toe, looking rather ridiculous.
“Eve! Uh… Hi… we were just having a….” stammered Flynn, struggling to come up with an explanation about the situation.
“What he is trying to say is, we were having a competition to find out who makes better pancakes” jumped in Ezekiel, recovering quickly after the initial shock.
“Pancakes? I love pancakes! Are they ready yet?” chirped Cassandra, who stood behind Eve the entire time, peeking out at the mention of food.
“Cassandra, not now,” Eve was less than amused , “In my apartment? Why on Earth would you come to my place to make pancakes?! You better have a very good explanation for this.”
“I knew this place was too clean to be yours!” exclaimed Ezekiel, then, seeing the confused faces of the girls, he elaborated “ When Jenkins found out about our idea, he kicked us out of the Annex and since Flynn wanted to get beaten so desperately, said that we could go to his place. And obviously by his place he means your place, Colonel. Hi Cassandra!”
“What? No! That’s not what happened!” objected Flynn. “He almost backed down after Jenkins didn’t let us in the Annex kitchen. I couldn’t let that happen, Eve!”
“Of course you couldn’t,” commented Eve, annoyance evident in her voice. “Carry on. I’m still waiting for an explanation.”
“Yes. Right. As I’ve been saying, I couldn’t let that happen, but I realized, I didn’t have the necessary ingredients back at my place, so… I kind of…..of thought that we could come here, since you were out.” finished Flynn.
“So you broke into my apartment to make pancakes, because neither of you was willing to postpone a dare. Really, Flynn? I recommend you start cleaning up this mess .” Said Eve.
“But Colonel….”
“Eve, please...”
The Librarians tried to bargain with their Guardian, but she looked at them unapologetically.
“Eve, let them finish it.” piped up Cassandra, “We get to eat the pancakes and they’ll clean up afterwards. Please?” she looked at the other woman expectantly.
“Alright” sighed Eve “But if you make a bigger mess out of my kitchen, neither of you will go on any cases for a month!” with that she strode into her bedroom.
“Thanks” mouthed Ezekiel to Cassandra. She smiled and went after Eve.
“Nice job, mate.” Smirked Ezekiel.
“Not now, Jones. We’ve got to clean up!” panicked Flynn.
“I was trying to say, how about we put aside our little business and team up.” Offered the younger one, then added “ ’Cause I’m sure as hell not sitting around the Annex for a month.”
“You would do that? Team up, I mean.” Flynn looked genuinely surprised.
“Yeah? You heard her. She isn’t the joking type.”
“Okay. Let’s do this. Hand me that bowl, please.” Agreed Flynn.
They set to work silently after that, without bickering, maybe for the first time since they met.
After a while, Cassandra rounded the corner to see why were they so silent.
“Is everything okay out here?” she asked “ You guys have been unusually quiet.”
“Yeah, just finishing up” replied Flynn, as he placed the last dish in the cupboard. “Is she still mad?”
“No,” grinned Cassandra “ but she is plotting revenge.”
“Uh-huh… Anyways, would you please go get her?” Flynn looked at the redhead.
“Sure” with that she disappeared.
The boys set the plates on the dining table and waited for Baird to appear. Ezekiel looked calm, but Flynn kept fiddling with his handkerchief. Finally, they heard voices approaching and soon the girls appeared. Eve tried to look stern, but her eyes were sparkling and Cassandra was beaming.
“Wow” Eve gasped as she saw her kitchen. It was immaculate and the scent of freshly baked pancakes filled it. “This is beautiful. Thank you.”
“Are we off the hook, then?” inquired the thief.
She couldn’t help, but laugh. “Yes, you are. Time to eat, Librarians.” With that she ushered them to the table.
“Bon appetite!”
They all sat down and started to chat, the tension finally disappearing.
“These are delicious!” exclaimed Eve.
“Glad you like them” responded Flynn, grinning.
“Oh, you. You and I are going to have a really nice chat about invading apartments when Jones and Cassandra leave” smirked Eve as Flynn’s eyes widened.