84.)

When we got to the beach house, it was mid-afternoon. I hadn't been there that early on a Friday since that time Blossom walked in on me in a diaper. It was nice to think that I would have three whole days here this time, rather than one day and some change.

"You know, I had a dream about the two of us where we just lived here. But we got the Wave Wall painted over with all the protagonists from Academy Works and that was when I knew it had to be a dream. I wonder if my dream versions of Ai and Bala and Kione and Talita and such all look like they do in your head?"

"Probably not." I had a good visual imagination, but I never put a lot of effort into the characters themselves. I wrote them with as much culture and diversity as possible, but when imagining the scenes I always overlaid myself into the situations. I had no idea what any of the characters in Academy Works truly looked like.

I grabbed my backpack out of the back seat and followed Blossom inside. It was cold and bright and lovely. I always loved a December sun, even more so when there was snow on the ground. There wasn't any snow yet, but it couldn't have been far off.

"It was nice meeting your Mom by the way. I'm sorry I got weird about it. You just know me and my circles and all that, and I was worried about you." That was an unusual amount of vulnerability from Blossom.

"It's cool, I'm glad it happened." Blossom unlocked the door with the code I had already forgotten and let us in. "Of course, she's never going to let that Amy thing go..."

"Oh yeah! Do you not go by Amy at home? You ought to, you have a very Amy look to you. You got this kinda Amy-Face thing going on, it's totally your vibe."

"I swear I've told you this," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Everyone calls me Amanda. You're literally the only person who calls me Amy, and that's because it's kind of baby so I allow it."

"Oh, that makes sense. You are a baby so Amy is probably a better name for you. Blossom, meanwhile, is a very very adultly name."

"Blossom isn't even a real name," I said. "It's from a cartoon."

Blossom stuck her tongue out like a child and left me alone to go turn on the heat and water. I kept my coat on, since inside the house was even colder than the outside. She needed an app or something on her phone - like a remote car starter - to warm up the house when we were on our way. It would only get worse once the snow started.

By the time Blossom came back inside, she was rubbing her hands together for warmth. As it turned out, Blossom Brixley did feel the cold.

"Wow that breeze off the water is crispy and chilly!"

"At least the sun's out." I had already put my backpack down on the stairs and adjusted the thermostat. In half an hour or so, the place would warm up, but it would be a long half hour.

"Let's cuddle on the sofa for warmth. I don't think I've ever been this cold." That might have been true. Or it might have been Blossom being sneaky and wanting to snuggle up with Amy. Maybe both were likely.

"I'll get a blanket from your room," I said, half-ignoring Blossom's comment about cuddling. I pulled the comforter off her bed and brought it back to the couch, where Blossom was sitting and waiting. I sat next to her - not quite touching - and put the blanket over the both of us.

"Oooh, there we go!"

Blossom shuffled down on the sofa and put her head on Amy's shoulder. Tonight, Blossom was going to be setting Amy up and framing her for wetting the bed. Maybe even this afternoon; she didn't know yet. But it was going to be a whole lot of fun regardless of when.

The heat worked well and it wasn't long before the small beach house was a beacon of warmth along the freezing coastline. I started baking sugar cookies to keep my hands and my mind busy, and every so often Blossom would come over and ask me some inane question. I knew she was testing me, making sure I wasn't getting too invested in the baking thing. I had it under control. I timed everything to only make two batches, enough to tide us over for the weekend.

"How do they make that frosting that's on the ones at the store? You know the ones that feel too soft to be real, and they have like half an inch of thick frosting?" Blossom was sitting on one of the stools opposite the counter, watching Amy baking.

"Sugar and cream."

"Can you make it?" Blossom asked.

"Technically, yes. But these aren't the fluffy kind of sugar cookies you're thinking of. These are just normal ones."

"Would frosting still be good on them?"

"Yeah..." I paused to think about it. "I'd usually use royal icing instead, but I don't think the creamy frosting would ruin them…"

"Do we have everything for it?" Blossom asked.

"I think so. But you should look for food coloring if you want it to be something other than white."

I started going through the cupboards. Powdered sugar, vanilla extract, butter, vegetable shortening... I checked the date on the milk in the fridge. We got it last week, so it was still good.

"We have yellow food coloring, or well, it says yellow, but the liquid looks pretty red? Does it turn yellow when you use it?" Blossom was standing on a chair and going through the supply cupboard on top of the refrigerator, and with her tall and lanky form, she looked especially imposing standing on furniture.

"Yeah, yellow looks kind of orange when it's concentrated."

"Is it still good?"

"Food coloring droppers like that never go bad," I said, mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and stirring it with my spoon. I had to google the exact measurements: I didn't have a recipe for it in my notes. Honestly, frosting like this was one of the easiest things to make.

"Sugar cookies with yellow frosting it is!" Blossom returned to digging around up there, and then almost bumped her head in excitement. "Oh look! Sprinkles!"

I cleaned the kitchen until the cookies were cool; I couldn't put the frosting on them while they were still warm. Meanwhile, Blossom played on her phone. After a while, I smeared the frosting on the top of the soft cookies in circles, trying to emulate the kind you might buy at the store. When that was done, I put them all together on one tray and sprinkled them all at once. The whole thing probably only took an hour or so.

"You should let the frosting harden a little," I told Blossom, washing my hands in the sink. "But they're good to eat whenever you want."

"Fiiiiine, I guess I'll just have to read more Academy that you give me while I wait for the cookies to cool... right?" She grinned, although she was pretty sure Amy didn't have more to give her just yet.

"Sorry, but you're caught up. That's why I need to do this scene thing, so I can get in the mood to write."

"Is that normal?" Blossom asked.

"Uh... kind of." I dried my hands on the hand towel and leaned on the counter. "Usually I write best when I'm dressed up... you know, diaper and paci and all that. And I kind of get myself in the right mood. But when you're here, it's harder. I get distracted. That's why I write when you're busy or out of the house. Or when you're asleep."

"And I just thought you didn't want me looking over your shoulder," Blossom teased.

"That too. But last time I got two chapters done because we did that..."

I motioned at the kitchen counter, where Blossom had stood and wet her diaper in front of me. Then I motioned at the hallway, where Blossom had prevented me from using the bathroom.

"I guess I'm trying to make lightning strike the same spot twice," I admitted.

"And it has to be you getting in trouble?" Blossom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mm... it doesn't have to be... but there's a reason." Namely, it correlated heavily with the next chapter of Academy Works. I really wanted that same feeling, that same energy. I wanted this to be a really good scene.

"Well I'm really excited to get you in trouble and hopefully give you that energy you need. Gosh, cupcake, thinking that I might inspire something in Academy Works. Like, in THE Academy Works? That's got me giddy all inside."

I rolled my eyes. She was such a fangirl, but... well, it was nice to have one like her. Even if I couldn't show Academy Works to anyone else in my life, it meant so much to me that someone appreciated my effort as much as Blossom did.

"What about now?" Blossom asked.

"Huh?"

"Scene!"

"Uh..." I looked at the cookies, at the kitchen. I had nothing else to do, but it was still a little nerve-wracking. The idea of playing like that again... last time was so spontaneous. This felt weird. But I had a good time with the Kione scene, and even the Academy A one when Blossom wet herself. So I took a deep breath and nodded my head. Sure. Why not.