The Donut Shop ✔️

'R' Stands for 'Respect Family Time'

"Your family making you do that stupid pumpkin patch thing for kids?" Ethan asked across the lab table. Tweed, who was twirling his pen impatiently as they awaited further instruction from their teacher, nodded.

"The one for the church? Yeah, but the worst part about it is, they want to take me through. Like, the corn maze, the apple-bobbing, all of it! It's like having me be alive wasn't enough torture, and they decided to add to my misery," Tweed muttered, slapping his open pen onto the table and jolting Ethan out of his thoughts.

They needed a plan to save the bakery, and fast. They were, undoubtedly, going to fail their quiz in US history, but maybe they could still save their GPAs while keeping their favorite German pastries...

"Tweed, we need a plan," Ethan said, his eyes lifting to meet his friend's. By the glint in Tweed's eyes, Ethan knew he was about to suggest something dangerous, stupid, or both. 

"We should talk to the student council about the bakery again. I mean, if our proof worked with convincing Mara..."

"No. We both promised her we weren't going to ask the student council for help," Ethan said and wrote the date on the top of his notes sheet, looking back up at Tweed, who was pensive as he stared at the cream wall.

"If I kept all of my promises, then I would still owe Jimmy that ham and cheese sandwich from fourth grade," Tweed argued right as Mr. Feld stood up from his cluttered, tan desk and peeled his lips back, showing off his large teeth in a grin. He was mocking them, knowing fully well that they were about to suffer through the next hour of their lives learning things they weren't meant to understand.

"Alright, class, take out your notes. Today, we will be going over the Kinetic Molecular Theory, so title your notes page appropriately, and let's get started." At least there wasn't another quiz in chemistry. 

Ethan knew, deep down, that Tweed was going to go to the council, regardless of any promise he had made Mara. He was like that as a person. He was reckless, and he did what he thought was the best thing to do, dealing with the repercussions afterward. Ethan admired that about him, his spontaneity. He knew he would never have the galls to act without mulling everything over first. 

Once class was over, Ethan escaped into the halls with Tweed after learning suffocating amounts about ideal gases and Boyle's law. Before they could fully mark themselves in the clear, however, they saw impending trouble approaching them swifter than winter could even leave its house.

"So, boys. Which days are you available to start working on banners for the dance?" Mara asked them with a wide smile, bouncing on her toes, emphasizing just how much bigger her backpack was than her. It was a wonder that she was even standing, as it seemed that her bag contained all the textbooks needed to start a proper fire if one was ever lost in the woods.

"Working? Banners? Us? You sure you ain't got us mixed up with two other dopes somewhere else?" Tweed asked, and Mara's only response was laughter.

"Of course you are!" she shouted like she was reminding them of their ten o'clock appointments to the doctor. "I wouldn't be helping you two bumbling idiots if you weren't going to do something for me. And this is it," she finished, thrusting a can of paint and a roll of azure construction paper into their hands. 

This is why no one liked Mara, Ethan thought with a sigh. She always seemed to have ulterior motives, and she never truly did anything unless it was going to help herself out. 

She and Tweed seemed to have a silent staring contest like two cowboys ready to duel as they sized the other up. Tweed looked away first with a sigh, flicking one side of his blonde bangs back out.