Once again the Home Ec classroom was looking very Home Ec-y with cupcake supplies taking up most of the available counter space at the workstations. And once again the two unlikely alien boys were at the front of the room ready to teach. Or at least wax poetic about cupcakes.



“You came back,” Stark said, pleased to see that at least some students had in fact returned for their second class. “Welcome back.”

“We were worried we scared you guys off,” Anders confided with a lopsided grin but not the trademark Solo lopsided grin. “Okay, just a little.” On his part, anyway. If Stark had been more worried, he wasn’t going to say so, and anyway, he figured it was a legitimate concern.

“Some of you guys,” he went on, “had an interesting take on the meatloaf cupcakes that got brought up last week, so I can’t wait to see what you have to say about --” He uncovered a plate of what looked less like cupcakes and more like fancy sandwiches with flags stuck in them. If sandwiches contained entire chunks of corn, cob and all, that was.

Anders gave everybody a Yeeeeeeeeeah look. “These.”

Stark eyed the so-called cupcakes warily, then turned his attention back to the students. “Yes. These. Not even really cupcakes. Are they?” It was quite clear from his expression which side of that particular debate Stark fell on. But then he took his cupcakes very seriously.

“Personally,” Anders put in, “I feel like they’re closer to sandwiches. Only . . .” He squinted at the plate of pulled-pork . . . somethings. “With cupcakes instead of bread. Sketchy, if you ask me. But how about you guys debate that for a few minutes, and then experiment with making some cupcakes of your own?”

“We left you many choices of ingredients,” Stark said. “For when you start baking.”

Including some incredibly dubious ones. It was a test, okay? To see if students would really risk that or not.



[OCD is coming! up.]