Pollen Count | ✓

e l e v e n

When the cake is finished, it looks delicious. Allie realizes they've made too much chocolate latticing as soon as they make their first attempt at wrapping the cooled cake in it – but it's not exactly a terrible problem to have. She cracks off the excess, bats Daisy's hand away from stealing some to snack on, and then uses it to decorate the top of the cake instead.

Allegra snaps a few photos, arranging everything around the cake neatly, creating a whole table display out of it.

Daisy rolls her eyes, but she lets Allie fuss with everything endlessly anyway. The outcome is surprisingly professional-looking – Daisy can imagine seeing the picture in a cookbook, or on a fancy recipe site.

"What's your Insta? I'll tag you," Allegra offers.

Daisy pulls a face, clenching her jaw. "Don't sweat it," she says.

"You did just as much work as I did," Allie shrugs. "Well, kind of," she adds, teasing.

Daisy smirks like she might challenge her on that again, but then she just shakes her head. "I don't need the credit," Daisy says. "But I do need a slice, immediately, so hurry up," she huffs.

Allegra smiles and captions the photo quickly before uploading it and setting about cutting the cake for them to dig into a slice each.

She does a quick search and tags Daisy, anyway.

***

Daisy's grandparents are thrilled to receive their own slices of cake later that day. They're all huddled around the table, a pot of tea and a carafe of lemonade set up for everybody to share.

"Daisy told us you liked to bake," her grandfather says. "We didn't expect this, though!"

Her grandma nods, impressed. She swallows her mouthful of airy, fluffy cake. "It's very good, really. Make sure Daisy has a copy of the recipe!" She nudges her granddaughter's elbow lightly. "You'll have to try making it for us some time."

Daisy smirks down into her tea. "Or, we can just get Allie to do it."

Daisy's grandfather tuts, but before anyone can start complaining about Daisy's lack of willingness to try, there's a knock at the door.

Daisy frowns and looks at her grandparents, her expression asking if they're expecting anyone. She clearly isn't, and they don't seem to be, either. Allie sips her lemonade and picks at the thin slice of cake she's cut for herself. (Daisy's family had insisted they all have some together, even if it was just a little.)

"You know, it's really not that complicated a recipe," she says. "The hardest part is not messing up the chocolate," she explains, shrugging casually.

Voices come from the entrance hall, where Daisy has greeted whoever their visitors are.

"Well? You avoiding us, Kane?"

"Feels like you kinda ditched us, dude."

Daisy is laughing, but her guests don't sound like they're entirely kidding.

"We haven't seen you all week. What kind of shitty friend are you?"

Allegra can't meet Daisy's grandparents' eyes, so she stares down into her lemonade, blushing lightly.

She recognizes the voices, but just barely. She thinks one of them is probably Erika Coen, and another sounds like Chase Maldonado.

"I broke my goddamn ankle," Daisy says, incredulous.

"Um, so how long have you guys had the shop?" Allie starts saying, her voice wavering, but the end of her sentence is lost to Daisy's voice, louder than hers. Her grandparents wince apologetically.

"What, you guys thought I'd be on the beach with you while I'm stuck with this thing? Like casts and sand mix so well." Daisy is pure sarcasm.

Allegra thinks about leaving the table and getting involved, but she's always been nervous around certain groups of her fellow students. Sure, Daisy turned out to be harmless, but... her friends are still pretty scary.

"But you don't wanna hang out with us ever," Erika says. "Like, we get total radio silence from you, but you're hanging out with Gates," she laughs.

"No one's ever said that before," a voice Allie can't identify says, snarky. "Does Gates even have any other friends? You know, apart from you, I guess."

Daisy's grandfather stands up, and he moves to shut the door that separates the kitchen they're in with the hall.

It doesn't quite do enough to muffle the sound.

Chase Maldonado's laugh is like a machine gun. "Yikes, man. Did breaking your ankle break your brain, too?"

"Whatever, Chase," Daisy says, salty. She scoffs as if none of this matters, but her teeth are definitely gritted.

"Should we--?" Daisy's grandmother murmurs, seemingly as nervous to get involved as Allie herself. Daisy's grandfather looks back at her, clueless.

"I'll, um." Allegra doesn't finish her sentence, but she stands up, unable to take the discomfort of overhearing their argument anymore.

She misses whatever it is that Chase Maldonado says next when she opens the kitchen door again. Daisy's loud laugh is cold, and Allegra tries to think about how to approach this situation. Is she going to make things worse by showing Daisy's awful friends that she's there? That she heard them? Her heart is thudding. Is this a bad idea?

"Who gives a shit? Like, whatever. Maybe Gates is weird. Maybe she does have a stick up her ass. Does it matter? You're not the ones hanging out with her."

Oh. Definitely a bad idea, then.

"Yeah, but..." Erika laughs. "You are," she says, as if it's an insult.

"Yeah, you are," Allegra says, piping up quietly from behind Daisy.

The only good thing about this entire mess is the fact that Allie gets to watch surprise dawn on Erika, Chase and– Shane? Shaun? Whoever's faces.

Daisy visibly tenses, the line of her shoulders tightening. "Allegra," she grits out. "So, these are my friends," she jokes, even though she clearly doesn't find any of this funny.

"Oh my God," Erika says, a hand over her mouth as she laughs.

"I can't believe you guys are legit friends. What the shit. You for real ditched us for her?"

Daisy is looking at Allie, her mouth scrunched up as she mulls over her words. The pause is thick and horrible. "You could've stayed in the kitchen," she eventually says.

"Sure," Allegra admits, though she resents the implication that this is her fault. "I just have such a stick up my ass that I had to get moving. You know, it was getting uncomfortable," she says, as if this is a joke. She sounds frosty and more upset than she'd like.

It's not quite what Daisy had been saying. Allie knows that, but she's still too hurt to give Daisy any credit.

"She gets it," Shane-or-maybe-Shaun says, holding back laughter. "She knows." He sounds almost appreciative, but it's still mocking and hurtful.

"Will you guys shut up for one second?" Daisy snaps, looking back at her asshole friends with a fierce glare. "Why did you have to tag me--?" she begins, turning back to Allie, but it's too late. 

Allegra brushes past her while she can, and she outright shoves Erika Coen out of her way to get past them all and out onto the sidewalk.

"Allie," Daisy yells out after her, followed by peals of laughter from her friends. She hears a livid "I said, shut up!" aimed at them as she slams the car door shut behind her, fighting back furious tears.