Cachers Cupcake Company Conundrum
Bbrrriiinnnggg! JCSugar looked through the door to see Starlight85 cheerfully chatting with some customers at the counter. She turned and looked out the window to see if Blakrazr had returned from the store yet, but the cachemobile was not in its parking space. So with a groan, she picked up the phone.
“Hello, Cachers Cupcake Company. How may I help you today? Oh hello, Mr. Clayton. How are things at the courthouse? You’re hosting Justin and Gabriel’s second grade class this afternoon? The twins will love that!” JCSugar smiled, “Cupcakes or cookies?” She grabbed her ever-handy pen and took note. “Original Toll House Cookies. Easy enough. By three o’clock? We can have them ready by then, sir. How many…” she heard a rather loud disturbance on the other end of the line and Mr. Clayton’s sharp voice shouting, “Bass get that gun away from the suspect! Rooster don’t you dare shoot…” The rest of his order was drowned out by the explosion of a pistol shot and then the line went dead.
JCSugar stared at the phone receiver, “Wow, sounds like Rooster brought in a lively bunch from the Indian Territory today.”
The loud thump of a hundred pound sack of flour hitting a shelf alerted her to the return of Blakrazr. “Sounds like another order for the courthouse.” Blakrazr wiped his brow and stretched his back, “Getting too old for this.” He looked at JCSugar, “Hey did Yazz pick up his cupcake? I saw him standing on the corner. Wasn’t moving, just standing still.”
Starlight called from the front counter, “Of course. He was the first one here.” Blakrazr frowned, “But he was just standing…Yeah, right.” He shook his head and headed out to retrieve more ingredients, mumbling, “Freakin’ Yazz.”
Starlight called, “Well, at least CAKnowles and PS50 haven’t picked their cupcakes up yet.” Blakrazr glanced at the shelf for completed orders and noticed two small bags still sitting there. “How’d you figure that out?” Starlight nodded towards the front windows, “The plants outside are still standing.”
JCSugar hung up the phone, “Mr. Clayton didn’t tell me how many cookies he wanted.” Starlight smiled, “We’ve done plenty of those class trips before, remember?” JCSugar nodded, “Right we made…” She snapped her fingers with a smile, “A dozen cookies for each ingredient in the recipe.” Starlight warned her, “Don’t forget, Justin is allergic to peanuts.” JCSugar shrugged, “So, one less ingredient, one less dozen cookies.”
Starlight asked, “So, how long has the Prosecuting Attorney been hosting these class trips to see an actual trial?” Another big thump came from the shelves as the last bag of sugar was stored. “He started hosting those trips about a year after he joined Judge Parker’s court.” He frowned for a moment, “I’d say he’s been doing them for a lustrum now.”
JCSugar turned to begin gathering the ingredients for the cookies, “What do we charge for these things?” Starlight smiled, “Oh, that’s easy. You add together the two chemicals that make one of the ingredients in chocolate chip cookies, divided by a baker’s dozen plus the loneliest number, and then add the factorial of 3. Or you could just push this button on the register."
JCSugar was nodding as she completed the equation, “Yeah, that’s right.” Blakrazr just shook his head and said, “I’ll be in the back where it’s quiet.”