Barrel had been proud of himself for having everything done just before eight, save for dessert, which he'd had prepared, but would need to finish up closer to when they were ready for it. He borrowed the mirror in Oogie's old bedroom to smooth out his clothes and make sure his hair was properly smoothed back and the circles around his eyes properly darkened. Then he went to the main lair and waited.

Eight o'clock passed. He figured Agatha would be on time. After about ten minutes, he started to panic. Was she coming? Surely she'd be here by now? Maybe she forgot? Barrel decided that maybe he should check in. He went back to the kitchen and utilized a tip Sally once gave him: he put the oven on the lowest setting and set everything inside to keep it warm, then headed out of the lair.

As Barrel rushed down the path into town, he had the brief thought that Lock might have set up this whole thing as a trick. But why? He was right; they [i]should[/i] get on Agatha's good side. Was Shock in on it too? Would [i]she[/i] be mad if he failed?

That thought pushed his brisk walk into a run.

Best to just go to the shop, he decided. If it wasn't a trick, then he could at least get Agatha, and if it was, well...he had a great meal at home to look forward to.

Unless [i]that[/i] was the trick: get him to make something great while his siblings swooped in while he was gone. Barrel scowled at the thought and shook his head. No, that didn't make sense. If they wanted something specific, they'd just demand it. By the time he reached the shop, Barrel had settled on his original thoughts of determining if this was a trick or not, and had already come up with an excuse to explain his lateness. He also didn't run into Agatha on the way, so if she forgot, he might have been right to come get her.

Barrel gave himself a moment to compose and catch his breath before going in. The little bell jingled. He saw Aggie at the counter, and gave her his prepared excuse.

"Hey, is Agatha in?" he asked, with some legitimate nervousness. "Lock didn't tell me if I was supposed to pick her up or not."

If this [i]was[/i] a trick, the witches would know who to blame.