Choux Cream Cake

My Little Mouse

Light streamed in from the outside, the surroundings feel unfamiliar and I felt as if I was adrift, floating. I felt a small nudge and a soft, deep voice surround me, making me feel warm, and I wanted to bury myself in it. I pulled this warmth to my chest and held it there, cocooning it, sheltering it. It was one of my peaceful dreams.

Then, I had a rude awakening.

Electricity zapped from my ribs making me jolt awake, it came again and again. My eyes opened to see the most mischievous look on a fringed boy's face. Laughter erupted in my wake, both from me and him. My attempts to dodge his pokes made me look like an electrocuted caterpillar, writhing on the bed. To evade his attacks, I lunged forward and pulled his hand just as he was about to poke again, making him roll onto the bed beside me, then, I proceeded to shower even more prods into his ribs, making him burst out into laughter. Unexpectedly, he rolled over, all the way until he was straddling me, holding my hands beside my head to stop me from poking any further. His face was just a few inches from mine, and I noticed the sparkle in his eyes look just as bright in the morning. Our bodies stayed like that, panting, smiling.

"We… we have to eat, the pancakes will get cold."

"I think you have to get off me first," I whispered, which was then followed by him clambering to get off the bed in a fluster. Adorable. Absolutely adorable.

In the short time I've known him, I've managed to bear witness to quite a few sides of Perth Tanapon. When he worked, he was focused and thorough, assertive, but when with friends, he would be playful and carefree, his smile lighting up the room. He was kind-hearted, willing to give me a space in his home just for a few pastries. Despite the brief duration of our acquaintance, I'd already begun to favour a side of his- the way he would fail putting on a bravado when he got flustered was positively endearing. He reminded me of a little mouse, and I wanted to take care of my little mouse.

Service was quite rushed, time felt like it was stretched longer than it should have, peak hour bringing in twice the crowd it usually did meant the three of us working on the double because of a nearby event. I had to keep restocking the casing, but the more tiring work was given to the two boys on the front line. The heat of the machine and the exhaustion of handling the pressure of many people at the same time made them sweat despite the air conditioning. Midway into laying the restocked tray into the casing, I saw a panicked little mouse vigorously shaking his fingers through his hair, frustrated. I walked over and approached him, "You alright?" His eyebrows were furrowed, eyes on the brink of a tiny coffee-induced meltdown. "Yea, it's just-," he took a breath, "I'm not used to this kind of crowd, it's like I'm outnumbered, and I'm kinda frazzled right now." I knew what he felt like, I remembered the first few days of my part-time job at the popular bakery not being kind to me.

I smiled gently, then I tore off a paper towel from the table and took his face in my hand, and briefly wiped off the sweat from his forehead, "Breathe, calm down, and just do what you need to do first. I promise you, you'll be just fine." He smiled back up at me and then we went back to work.

Service died down at about 5 pm, and the place was empty. I walked out of the kitchen to see two completely flatlined boys, dead on the bar- the pink one was sprawled across the countertop and the little mouse was slowly descending, melting into the floor.

They'll get used to it.

I reached into the casing, taking a cream puff out and holding it in my hand. I brought it up to Perth's mouth, "This is the last one," he opened his mouth, then… I pulled it away, making his eyes shoot wide open. "I think I'll take it for myself," I said as I walked away, out of the bar. "No! I want it!" He burst out of his exhausted stupor and chased me as I ran, cream puff in hand. The chase reached an end when he rounded a table and grabbed my apron, pulling me towards him, then wrapping his arms around me, trapping me. He pushed his face up and pouted, "Give it to me, na, na?" I laughed, then I plopped it into his mouth. His cheeks moved along as he chewed, exaggerating his mouth, making him look like a squirrel. I wiped away some cream that escaped his lips, really, he was adorable.

"I don't know if he wanted to eat the cream puff or eat you," I turned to see P'Plan at the bar, head resting on his propped up hand. That statement was a trigger that fired Perth towards P'Plan's direction, his arms out in front of him ready to grab him. P'Plan jolted out of his bemused spectator state and burst into action, running out of the bar and towards me. He rounded the table, dodging the tiger with ducks and obstructing him, then he clung onto my back, using me as a makeshift fortress from the wild puff-hungry animal. Perth's face moulded into something feral and he pushed his arms past my shoulders, hooking his entire body on me while the other poor thing was busy stretching his neck as far as he could away from Perth's claws. At this point, two children were basically playing chase with me in the middle- like directly in the middle with no space whatsoever.

In the middle of the squabbling, the ringing of the entrance bell sounded from the front, a tall customer with jet black hair dressed in denim came walking through, halting the three of us from moving. The boys quickly made themselves proper and greeted them. The customer smiled then he stopped. Standing still in the middle of the cafe. We looked at each other and I knew why.

"P'Zee?"

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I KNOW ITS SHORT SHHHHH I have exams so yall will have to deal with these lil drabbles until im done huhu sorry