It was her mother’s birthday today, and Amy wanted to have a special treat for her when she arrived.

Amy stirred the batter, adding in the vanilla. Was it one teaspoon or two? She glanced down at her recipe, scanning the ingredients-

Something dark scurried across the kitchen counter, catching her eye. Oh god, was that a SPIDER? Before she could react, it retreated under the toaster. Amy put down the spoon and went to the bathroom. She sifted through the bottles under the sink before finally emerging with a dusty can of RAID.

Cautiously, she lifted the toaster, finger poised to press the button on the spray can. But there was nothing underneath. I could have sworn it went under there, she thought. She scanned the kitchen but there was no sign of the arachnid. Oh well. I really do need to remind them to spray around here. Amy resumed stirring the batter, giving it a few hard turns before portioning it out into a greased muffin tin.

Later that afternoon her mother arrived. Amy was pleased with the results of her baking. The cupcakes turned out perfectly, each one laboriously topped with icing.

Amy peeled the paper off of one and handed another to her mom. She took a bite. The yellow cake was perfectly moist, and the cream cheese icing paired perfectly. Except-

In the place where she had just taken a bite, there was something weird in the cake.

Something like a tiny black twig.

Or maybe a leg.

Horrified, she looked up at her mother, who was just taking a large bite herself.

“Really dear,” she said after swallowing, “These are quite delicious. You really shouldn’t have.”

Now Amy knew what happened to the spider.