Sugar Rush || Completed

{ 3 } glazed donut

{ 3 } glazed donut

I stood facing the powder blue walls of the bakery rather than the door from my usual place from behind the counter. The walls were getting more and more crowded with pictures and awards and articles. Jasmin made the decision to have a rotation of pictures so the shop doesn't look too crowded.

Now, instead of standing behind the counter serving customers, I was staring at the framed newspaper interview in the empty shop. It felt like the interview was only yesterday. When I got awarded as one of the Top 50 Local Style Bakeries, I felt absolutely honored and proud. My hard work and dedication never failed me. What I didn't tell people was that when the letter arrived in the mail, I squealed like a baby girl and did a victory dance lap around the bakery. My horrible dancing only stopped one minute later, after a customer walked in.

But today, it was eerily quiet as I have not had a slow day since I opened the shop the very first day. I couldn't think of a reason why the shop would be empty. Even though it was a regular Tuesday, I would still have some customers looking for a late breakfast at 10:00 AM. The whole circumstance was setting me on edge, so I did the only thing I could think to do and stared at the newspaper interview reminiscently.

When I was done wallowing, I returned to the counter and took out a lemon tart. I nibbled on it slowly as I watched the door. The wind would blow, causing the bell outside to tinkle a little bit. Immediately, my back and shoulders would straighten, expecting a customer, but no one ever came in. Still on edge, I texted Jasmin to come over so the shop wouldn't be too quiet. While I waited for her reply, I turned the shop's radio on, tuning into an alternative music station.

Probably 15 minutes after I texted her, Jasmin came strolling into the shop, her backpack tightly strapped on her shoulders and her scarf still blowing lightly from just being in the late October breeze. In her olive skinned hand, she carried a donut, multiple bites taken out of it.

"Where were you?" I asked, as I finished the last of my lemon tart before I walked over to her.

"When you texted me, I was leaving the library. I stopped by the new bakery two streets over that everyone's talking about."

Her sentence made me stop cold. New bakery that everyone's talking about?

"Surely everyone can't be talking about it. I've never heard anything about it," I told her as I crossed my arms.

Jasmin must have heard the icy tone in my voice because her eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I heard about it while I was in the library so I decided to check it out."

"Is that where you got the donut?"

"Yeah..." her eyes widened and then she exclaimed, "I forgot! I got you one too. They were buy one get one free. Opening sales and such." Jasmin walked over to a table and set her backpack down. She reached in and pulled out a small cardboard box. The box was obnoxiously colored orange with a large cartoon looking car in the center of the box. The car had wheels that were made of donuts. I didn't get it.

I shook my head and opened the lid. Inside laid a single glazed donut on top of a few waxy food sheets. I picked it up and held it close to my face, inspecting every aspect of it. The sugary sweet scent reached my nose pleasantly. I took a small and cautious bite out of the donut, expecting something gross and greasy. Surely food coming from a frivolously decorated box couldn't taste that great.

I was desperately proven wrong.

My eyes closed as I savored the fluffiness of the baked good. I've never sold donuts at the bakery because it didn't fit in the menu. But if their donuts were this good, then I could be looking at some competition.

"What's the name of the place you bought the donuts?" I asked, silently chewing a few more bites from the donut.

"Sugar Rush," Jasmin replied, picking up the box to throw away. Suddenly, their logo made sense to me.

"Damn it, that's clever," I mumbled under my breath as I inspected the last bit of my donut.

"Yeah, the store is super cute!" Jasmin came back to the table and took a seat on the stool. "It's very whimsical. You would think that the orange would be tacky, but it works. It gives me a Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory mixed with a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes sort of vibe."

I tried to imagine that type of scene in my head. All I could think of is multiple snotty nosed children running around the place, wiping icing off the walls.

"I know what you're thinking. It sounds childish. But they really toned it down so that adults could enjoy it too." Jasmin interjected before I even said anything. "You should go there sometime and see for yourself.

The second the words left from her mouth, I gasped. She looked up at me in alarm.

"Do you realize that I haven't had a single customer all day and it's already close to 11:00 AM? This is what Sugar Rush is doing to Bonnie's Bakery! Stealing customers"

Jasmin rolled her eyes. "Wow. By this afternoon you'll be bankrupt..."

"Exactly!" I threw up my hands in exasperation.

"I was only kidding, Bonnie."

I was already behind the counter when she finished her statement. "I've worked hard to keep this bakery running. I'm not going to let some mediocre 99 cent candy shop ruin my dream."

By this point, Jasmin simply huffed and pulled out her phone. She started playing Candy Crush, completely ignoring me.

"Why is their success so sudden?"

Jasmin shrugged her shoulders, then grinned because she won the level.

"They probably did something illegal to gain that many customers fast," I speculated.

"You're insane, Bonnie," Jasmin replied in a monotonous tone.

"I'm going to check it out."

"You do you, Bonnie. You do you."

I walked up to the front of the shop and grabbed my jacket. My keys were already in my pocket.

"Watch the store for me, Jasmin. I'll be right back."

"Bring me a cake pop. They're free at the door. They've already seen my face so I can't go back. Don't forget!" Jasmin called out as I closed the door.

° ° °

dedicated to vileplume because I don't remember if I've ever dedicated anything to her. plus, she's a cool cat :)