Cupcakes have been calling me all week. Maybe it's just because they're so sweet and perfect, because they bring people together with their sweetness that may make you sick, but in the end, it was all worth it. You can add whatever you want to your cupcake so it's not like any other, but beneath the frosting and the cupcake holders, it's all made up of the same thing. They symbolize life and people in general. I like to think of myself as a cupcake, I guess.
"The flavor you pick says a lot about a person.""You've given this a lot of thought", I say.
"That's pretty much my life during third period. Running errands. Developing candy-based theories about people's personalities."
Suddenly, picking up a flavor seems to hold a lot of weight. I decide on a grape, my favorite.
"Interseting", he says. He puts the bag of candy back in the file cabinet and turns to watch as I unwrap the Jolly Rancher and put it in my mouth.
"So, what's your theory?", I ask.
"It's complicated", he says. "I'll give you the short version for now." I like the way he says "for now". It hints that there is a "later" out there somewhere. "Grape people are artistic and like to be alone a lot."
"What about a cherry?", I ask.
"Cherry people are nice." He says "nice" like I'd say "boring".
"I almost picked a raspberry", I say.
"Interesting", he says, nodding. "Raspberry people are adventerous. Risk takers." I'm not sure that's me at all.
"What about the others?", I ask.
"Watermelon people are popular." He digs in the bowl, pulling out each flavor as he talks about it. "Apple people try too hard." He pulls out a yellow one and looks at it.
"How about lemon?", I ask.
"Lemon people are mean", he says. "You don't want to get on the bad side of a lemon person."
- Penny and Marcus in The Cupcake Queen, p. 53-54
Life is sickly-sweet.
