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Makoto threw the refrigerator door open. Panic surged inside her as her eyes feverishly scanned the shelves. But between the milk and the vegetables gaped an empty void. The cookies decorated with colorful sugar, which she had baked specially for the party tonight, had vanished without a trace.
Actually, she had only reluctantly let Minako talk her into baking these special Happy Cookies. But in the end, the appeal of the unknown had won, as the curiosity about the effect had simply been too great. They wanted to test it all together tonight in a safe circle. Since Makoto was the undisputed boss in the kitchen, she had set to work last night after Motoki had already gone to bed. She had been a thousand percent sure that she had deposited the finished bounty in the pantry, but apart from the usual supplies, it was empty.
A hectic search through the rest of the kitchen was also unsuccessful. Her heartbeat accelerated and with trembling fingers she reached for her cell phone. She had to find out if Motoki, in his morning routine, might have taken the cookies with him to sell them at the Crown. The mere thought made sheer panic rise inside her. If his customers were suddenly all sitting high in the café, it would be traced directly back to him, and therefore also to her, in no time at all.
In the haste, she made a careless movement and bumped against the small kitchen shelf, causing her to stumble heavily. A nasty clatter filled the room as her honey jar crashed to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces. She gladly would have done without the sticky mess, but there were more important things right now. She scrambled up with effort, ignored the sticky floor on her feet and dialed her boyfriend's number.
Every ring on the line felt like an eternity until he finally answered. "Yes?" "It's me. Tell me, were you in the pantry this morning and took my cookies out?" Makoto panted breathlessly into the receiver. "Uhm... yes. Why? Usually you are fine with it when I sell the remains of your baking marathons at the Crown." "Take them out of the display case immediately! I will be there in fifteen minutes and explain everything to you. Has anyone eaten any of them yet?" she asked hectically, trying at the same time to roughly remove the honey from the tiled floor. "Only Mamoru. Why?" "Dammit! Bring him to the back immediately, I am on my way," she replied curtly and ended the call.
She threw the last shards of the jar into the trash can, wiped the kitchen floor one last time and then rushed into the hallway. After a fleeting glance in the mirror, she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the house. While she ran down the street, she sent an SOS to Bunny, asking for an immediate meeting at the Crown.
Makoto arrived completely out of breath and already saw Bunny's blonde odangos flashing around the corner. "What is going on? Why was I supposed to come here? We weren't supposed to meet for the party for another two hours," the blonde wanted to know. Makoto embarrassed pinched her lips together. Somehow she had to tell her friend now that they might not be able to attend the party at all. "I think you need to see it to believe me," she murmured, pushing open the door to the Crown.
Motoki's eyes were already glaring at his beloved. One last time he wiped across the counter with a grim face, then threw the rag into a corner and crossed his arms over his chest. A reproachful look lay on his face. "Do I want to know what is in there?" he asked with an irritated undertone in his voice and pointed to a small tin in which Makoto recognized her cookies. A slight blush rushed into her face. "I think you can figure that out by now. Where is he?" she tried to evade him. Motoki nodded silently toward the door behind him. "In the kitchen. He just built a whirlpool out of the sink for the rubber duck."
Makoto and Bunny exchanged a quick look, then they pushed the kitchen door open. The picture that presented itself to them was completely absurd. Mamoru sat on a small stool in front of the sink, which was filled to the brim with foamy soapy water. He giggled with delight while gently tapping a small yellow rubber duck with his index finger.
"Do you see that, Bunny?" he chuckled with an unusually high, almost singing voice, without turning his gaze away from his new toy. "She is the queen of the seas. And she is hungry. Me too, by the way." To Bunny's horror, he held a bag of cheap, greasy chips in his other hand, which he normally wouldn't even have touched with a pair of tongs. He shoveled them into his mouth with enjoyment and grinned so widely that you could see almost all of his teeth. "This is the best food in the world! Why have we never tried this before? Do you want some too?"
Bunny stared at him with wide open eyes. Then she slowly turned her head to Makoto. A long, deep sigh escaped her chest and her look was so reproachful that Makoto wished she could sink into the ground. "Seriously, Mako?" Bunny finally brought out and massaged her temples. "That settles the party for me!" "It was an accident!" Makoto whispered apologetically.
Bunny rolled her eyes, but then stepped resolutely toward Mamoru and took the chips out of his hand. "Come on, my little whirlpool master. We are bringing you home now before you try to bathe in the sink yourself." Mamoru let himself be helped up without resistance, giggled once more quietly in Bunny's direction and waved goodbye to the duck, while Bunny painstakingly maneuvered him toward the exit. On her way out, she threw one last look over her shoulder at Makoto, making it very clear that they were going to have a serious talk later.