The kitchen was filled with laughter as you and Stephanie mixed the dough, the sweet scent of sugar filling the air. The oven timer was set, and everything seemed perfect. But then, a faint smell of burning sugar hit the air.

You glanced over at the oven, and your heart sank. What were supposed to be perfectly baked cookies were now blackened lumps of dough. Panic set in.

Before either of you could react, the fire alarm blared loudly, filling the room with a deafening shriek. You rushed to the oven, but the smoke was already beginning to fill the kitchen. The cookies had gone from golden brown to a crispy, charred disaster.

“Turn it off! Turn it off!” you shouted, waving a towel under the smoke detector while scrambling to open the window to let the smoke out.

The alarm kept ringing, and the kitchen felt like it was closing in on you both.

“I swear I set the timer right!” Stephanie yelled over the noise, trying to get control of the situation.