Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day came very soon. 

During this festivity, the bakery was quite hectic with people coming in and out to look for cupcakes.

With the promotion and the limited edition cupcakes, there was a long line of customers outside reaching outside the bakery.

Violet walked into the store and finally heaved a breath of relief once she was able to slide past the customer and head into the kitchen. 

She put on her apron and walked out only to see a few of her workers peeking behind the wall. 

After a brief observation, Violet walked closer, wanting to check at what everyone was preoccupied with.

"Oh my god!" Brian squealed as he peeked behind the wall. "This is a disaster. I can't believe there would be this many people turning up for our Valentine's promotion. This is worse than last year's Christmas. Heck! This is worse than any other occasion!"

Mai nodded in agreement. "You're right. I've never seen so many people rushing into the bakery like madmen! I'm glad that I didn't have to stand behind the counter. Look at Tara and Risa. They looked like shit dealing with those fussy customers."

Violet chuckled as she finally understood that her staff were looking at the customers.

There were a lot of cupcakes waiting to be baked but these few people were loitering around. 

Violet walked closer and stopped behind them. "If you don't get back to work, I'm going to make you two look like shit," Violet said with her hands placed on her hips, and her eyes squinted to show that she wasn't joking. "Back to work! Now!" Violet said, pointing her finger to the workstation where the two of them should be.

"Aye, aye sir!" Brian and Mai said. They lifted their right hand and placed it on their brow, palm downwards, imitating soldiers' salute before they ran off to their work.

Violet watched her employees act like kindergarteners and burst into laughter at their attitude. Then she went towards Evan. "Hey," She said cheerfully.

Evan greeted with a brief 'hey' and then went back to decorate his rose-flavored cupcake with vanilla frosting and burgundy colored preserved rose.

"You're okay, Evan?"

Evan nodded. "Of course I'm okay. I'm just a bit busy with all these cupcakes. That's all. Too many orders today. It seemed that the promotion we did was working."

Violet chuckled. "Then, I will have to thank you for your hard work." She turned around to pick up the file on the side while checking the production of the cupcake.

It has been a while since the store was filled with this many customers.

As the owner of the bakery, Violet hoped that they would be able to sell a lot of cupcakes.

Then, the customers would return to their store after tasting their cupcakes. 

Because of that, Violet was especially worried about this day.

She wanted everything to be perfect.

Violet was checking the quality of a few cupcakes randomly when Evan showed up beside her again. She looked up with her brow rose, wondering if Evan had something important to talk to her. "What is it?"

"That... Sarah isn't coming to help around today?"

Violet chuckled when she understood that Evan was looking for Sarah.

This person would not want to admit his feelings for her cousin, always trying to change the subject each time she asked about his feelings. However, each time Sarah was not around, Evan would ask around about her.

"Why are you asking?"

Evan cleared his throat. "I was just curious. Sarah would usually come to help around each time the store was a bit busy. It was strange that she was not here."

Violet narrowed her eyes and looked at her friend with a knowing smile. "There's a competition today. Sarah went over to join in the fun."

"So, that's why I did not see her around," Evan nodded. 

Violet continued to watch her friend busying himself with his work. Subconsciously, she let out a faint sigh. She really wondered when Evan and Sarah would make progress. 

However, Violet was too busy to play along. After ensuring that everything was in order, she still needed to visit another place.

Violet's expression grew uglier as he thought about the place she would need to go next.

Although she was unwilling, Violet knew that she had no choice but to go.

After checking on a few things, Violet took off her apron and took her knapsack and jacket from the locker room. She walked over to Evan while rummaging through her knapsack.

"Here you go." Violet placed a bag of chocolate on the table and looked at Evan again. 

"What's this?" Evan said as he eyed the package suspiciously.

"Chocolates," Violet pointed out. "My brother bought them from his overseas trip. Since it's Valentine's Day, help me to distribute them to everyone." 

Evan nodded. Then, he realized that Violet was wearing her jacket and knapsack.

"Are you going somewhere?"

Violet heaved a long, heavy sigh. "The hospital." She grumbled.

"Hospital? Why? Are you feeling unwell again?" Evan looked at his friend with concern.

"No. I'm fine. My father wants me to visit Ryan at work, give him some chocolates as souvenirs, and play my part as a good girlfriend. Look at this," Violet held up a box of chocolates from her knapsack. "I think this is part of their plan to make us meet frequently since we were both busy recently."

After their last date, Violet has been using the Valentine's Day promotion as her excuse to escape her date with Ryan.

"Giving a box of chocolates to him on Valentine's Day?" Evan shook his head in disbelief. "Your parents are all out on this arrangement thingy."

Violet was having a headache. "This is embarrassing. How am I supposed to give this thing to him?"

Evan laughed quietly. "Give it to him and go?"

Violet rolled her eyes.

Everything was easier said than done.

"Are you coming back afterward?"

Violet shrugged. "Not sure. Depends on whether I get to see my pretend boyfriend or not."

"Good luck on that. And have fun with your date!"

"I wish I could," Violet said and snickered. "But I assure you there's nothing fun in dating this moron. This felt more like a punishment."