“OWEN! CHOP CHOP!” Scarlet (Owen’s mom) yelled towards Owen. Owen was being pestered constantly by his mom since he joined his family bakery. So, Owen had to do his best job keeping up, so he started to put more dough into the mixer and let it run.

5 Minutes Later

“OWEN! How are the cookies coming along?” Scarlet (Owen’s mom) pestered towards Owen hoping for an answer back. Scarlet was doing the best she could to keep the bakery open however they sold out of stock very easily. The bakery was family run by Scarlet (Owen’s Mother), Oliver (Owen’s Brother) & Ruby (Owen’s Sister). However, Owen was the only one who was not working, and Scarlet wanted to push Owen forward than making him do nothing. Owen was a bit of a troubled kid, having a rare disease that made his blood and bones fragile. Owen gets cold very easily with not having enough red blood cells flowing through his body, so he needs to wear a jacket. Owen’s bones are also more fragile than most human beings, lifting more than 10 pounds makes his arms feel sore. Scarlet knew Owen was troubled but figured than since he couldn’t carry most things, at least Owen could carry a Cookie Tray.

             “Don’t worry I am almost done with the fruit.” Owen calmly replied back to her mom. Scarlet was calming down until she heard that word at the end. Fruit…in cookies? It isn’t common to have fruit in cookies, so Scarlet got slightly worried. Like there is no way Owen could screw up something simple as a cookie. Right? Scarlet quickly banged the door open to see no one in the kitchen.

“Owen where are you?” Scarlet saw the mixer was on and overflowing with batter, knowing that Owen did screw up cookies. Scarlet heard some sounds coming near the mixer, as Scarlet looked down to the ground, she saw Owen. Owen was lying on the floor facing his phone up in the air and using his thumbs to cut up some fruit. Scarlet looked down at Owen, with her hands at her side. Owen wasn’t focusing on his mom nor the batter as he accidently sliced a bomb.

             “Son of a…. gun?” Owen was about to swear when he saw his mother standing over him, with a stern look across her face. “He-y M-mom.” Owen said calmly, slightly stumbling on his words. Scarlet just looks down at Owen and sighs.

“Owen. Are you even looking at the batter?” Owen went back to his phone as he replied back to his mother.

             “Yeah, it isn’t done for another two minutes.”

“It has been 5 minutes.”

             “WHAT?!” Owen quickly drops his phone on the ground and looks at the mixer and sees the situation. “I AM SO SORRY MOM.” Owen was apologizing from the bottom of his heart and Scarlet knew that this is going to be hard for her too.

“Give me a second.” Scarlet, then turned around and announced to the customers.

“ATTENTION THE BAKERY IS CLOSING EARLY!” Some of the crowd complained as they left the bakery. Scarlet went over to the door and flipped the sign from open to closing. Owen in the kitchen turned off the mixer and headed over to his mom. Scarlet turned over to Owen and said:

“I tried to help you out, but you aren’t just responsible.”

             “Mom, look it was a one tim-“

“Don’t even lie, this is the seventh time this week. You get distracted easily.”

             “But I can change-“

“But you never do sweetie.”

             “Mom…please give me a chance.” All Scarlet could do was sigh as she looked over to the wall, looking back at her family photo on their wall. It had Owen as a little baby being held by a younger version of Scarlet next to her bakery.

“Owen, I have been thinking for awhile and I think the only way for you to improve is for me to go away for a while.”

             “What…Mom, you must be joking?!”

“I’m not, every time I am here, I hold you back. You rely on me and your brother and sisters.”

             “Not all the time.”

“Really? What about Mrs. Jimblesnap.”

             “Nothing went wrong.”

“You gave me a plate of raw batter that wasn’t cooked fully.”

             “It could be a cookie.” Scarlet slammed her hand into her head trying to comprehend Owen’s ramblings. “Just give me a chance mother, one more that is all I need.” All of a sudden Scarlet then received a call on her phone.

“Give me a sec.” Scarlet flipped her phone open and responded to Oliver on the phone.

“Hello?”

“What? Slow Down, Slow Down. What is happening?”

“What are you sure?”

“Alright, I got it covered.” Scarlet hangs up the phone and a tear drops from her eye.

“Owen, I am going to our business in Ohio.”

             “Oh alright, let me pack my stuff.”

“Owen, I said ‘I’ am not you.”

             “What happened?”

“Apparently one of the oven’s exploded and the bakery was slightly burnt down, I need to make sure it is okay. I may be away for a few weeks.”

             “Wait so what about this bakery? Ruby & Oliver are already in Ohio.”

“I need to help out, meaning you will run the place by yourself.

             “Mom I can’t do this. How else will I beat my high score in Cut the fruit?”

“Maybe you can set a high score in real life instead of a video game.” Scarlet was reaching for the door when a huge light engulfed her, Owen tried to reach his mom’s hand, but the light was too bright for him to see anything, Owen then yelled: “MOM!”

Owen wakes up screaming “MOM!” from his bed. By the time Owen realized it, he laid back down into his bed and said: “I am not ready for this.”