Tales of a sour baby

“Hmmm” a moan escaped her lips as the chocolate melted heavenly on her tongue. “When are you going to marry me, Dani?” She teased, drawing a giggle from the other girl. “Don’t talk, eat. Those cookies aren’t gonna finish themselves.” Guinness looked at her coworker who was doing the dishes. She was petite with light brown curly hair and beautiful hazel eyes. She always baked more than she could chew and shared it all with her friends. She had a giggle that sounded like a melody and strong arms that made you want to hug her. Danielle sure was a sight for sore eyes, but more than her looks, what made her truly remarkable was the natural kindness and empathy that transpired from her eyes. “Whoa that smells amazing!” a young man with dark curls framing his face said, entering the kitchen. “Hi Keaton.” Danielle acknowledged him. “Help yourself, there are way too many for me alone.” She said pointing at the three trays of cookies on the counter. Keaton smiled and took a cookie, bringing it to his lips. “You’ve outdone yourself once again.” Keaton was a sweet 19-year-old man who always had a nice thing to say. His long, curly brown hair was always falling back on his face, giving him a falsely timid look. He was rather small for a man, and it was often a joke between him and Guinness that they had both forgotten to grow up as Guinness was only 1 meter 50 (4ft11). His soft facial features made him look androgynous, and he accentuated this feature with his clothes. On that day, he was wearing light skinny jeans and a black tank top that showed off his muscular shoulders. His blue eyes always had a glint of playfulness in them. “Who’s working tonight?” Keaton asked. “Not me, I'm off and plan on enjoying it.” Guinness replied. “I am.” Dani said without looking away from the dishes. “I’ll bring your oven dish back during my shift, Guinness.” “No problem, I don’t need it right now, just keep it until you and Jason are done.” As if on cue, Jason walked into the kitchen as well. He was wearing a white t-shirt with gray sweatpants and running shoes and carrying a gym bag. He was tall and lean with a strong jaw and blond hair. Most of the girls in the building were often eyeing him, but he never looked at any of them, not that he could anyway. “I'm making you a celebratory apple crumble.” Dani said cheerfully. “It’s not every day our boy finally meets the girl of his dreams.” “You are troubling yourself too much for me.” Jason replied with an embarrassed smile. “Oh please, you know Danielle takes every excuse she can to bake.” Guiness chimed in. “I'm going to the gym, but I’ll be back later.” Jason promised and was about to walk out when Danielle stopped him. “Take a pre-workout treat!” she pleaded. Jason went to the tray and grabbed a cookie, but Dani glared at him. He sighed and took a few more before heading out. “Happy now?” he mocked. “Very!” she answered with a grin and her hands on her hips. “Off you go now.” She shooed him away as the other two in the kitchen were laughing. Danielle was always very motherly. They all worked together and lived on site, so in addition to being coworkers, they were also neighbors, and that kind of predicament made them all become friends quickly. They were RAs for their university’s Halls and were a close team. Apart from Danielle, Keaton, Guinness, and Jason, there were three others: Rhianon, Harvey, and Cynthia. They were tasked with keeping all Halls Residents safe, happy and healthy, which proved to be not so easy at times. “What are you guys doing for the rest of the day?” Keaton asked. “I am going to finish the crumble for Jace and then rest until my shift this evening.” Dani replied. “What about you?” They were on break from university for the next two weeks and only had their part-time job as obligations, and they were all enjoying the quiet time. Work was rather easy during that period as most of the Residents were going home to enjoy their vacation. “I wanted to go out, but the weather is shitty, so I’m probably gonna stay home and play a game or write a few chapters.” Keaton had tasked himself with writing a full book by the time he finished his studies, and he planned on reaching that goal. He was very diligent. He was also right about the weather. The light rain that started to pour that morning was slowly turning into a storm. Guinness shivered at the thought of going out. If one thing could alter her mood, it would be the weather. Nothing made her mood sourer than the gray sky and rain. Fortunately, Dani’s warm cookies were good enough to lift anyone’s bad mood. This girl seriously had magic in her hands. “What about you, G?” Keaton asked, pulling Guinness out of her thoughts. “Oh, I plan to read in bed all day and fall asleep early.” She said, “I barely slept last night, and I'm tired as fuck.” It was true, she hadn’t slept the night before. Her sleeping patterns were a catastrophe. She could only fall asleep when she was so exhausted, her eyes couldn’t stay open. Often, that would only happen after a truly exhaustingly long day, or after she had been awake for more than forty-eight hours. In the past, doctors had given her medication to deal with it, but she didn’t have the time or the money to go to a doctor regularly now. Sure, she was insured, but she still had to advance the money, and she couldn’t afford to wait for the insurance to pay her back, especially when she had the most basic premium, and it didn’t cover everything. They talked a little more, but Guinness was starting to feel tired and said her goodbyes. She left the building through the back door and walked through the parking lot to the second building where she lived. The university Hall was made of two buildings with three stories each and connected by an enclosed carpark. You had to use a key or an RFID card to get through most doors. If the door didn’t open, it meant that you weren’t allowed there. Since Guinness was a staff member, she had access to most of the rooms with her keyset and could always grab the master key in the office for the ones she couldn’t open with her personal keys. She walked past the common room and the kitchen and went to the staircase. She climbed the two flights of stairs and went to her room. She opened the door to her small studio and went in. She was never a very tidy person. Her backpack was on the floor, in the middle of the room, her bed was undone, and her desk was messy. The room didn’t have a lot of furniture, not that there would be enough space for that in the first place. Her queen bed was in the corner opposite to the door. A few stuffed animals were lying on it next to a book, her glasses case, her phone charger, and a blue water bottle. She threw her keys on the desk. They landed next to her open laptop. The desk was covered in stuff and every time she wanted to use it, she had to reorganize items to make enough space. In one corner, a large metallic box contained her paperwork, some notebooks and binders, acting as a file cabinet. In the other corner, a stack of small rectangular cardboard boxes held her nail polish collection and nail art tools. On top of the stack, a pink squishy unicorn stood and seemed to be guarding the room. Her coffee mug from that morning was waiting to be washed on top of a bunch of napkins, indicating that it was also her dining table. An old can covered in purple masking tape held pens and markers. There were also a couple of pencil cases, a lot of loose sheets of paper covered in notes from her classes, her name tag and a bag of caramel fudge. On top of the desk was a large black pinboard that was almost entirely covered in to-do lists. Half of the space was taken by a giant calendar, her weekly class schedule, and her weekly meal schedule. She was a student at a very expensive school and earned minimum wage, so she was big on meal planning. Anything to save a few bucks and make ends meet. The room also came with a small wardrobe, a mini fridge, and three shelves above the fridge constituted her pantry. She couldn’t afford real storage, so all of her stuff was stored either in large shopping bags against the wall, or in plastic boxes stacked onto each other that she got for a couple of dollars at the Op Shop.