On the Back Burner (14 page)

Peichi heard keys turning in the front door lock. She ran to meet her parents at the front door.

“Mom? Dad? I have to talk to you about something,” Peichi said as soon as her parents were in the house.

“What is it?” her father asked.

Peichi told them about the call she’d received from Mrs. Kramer and how everyone in Dish had the flu. “I know I’m still grounded until after I turn in my extra credit movie to Mr. D.,” she said. “But my grades are improving a lot and Dish has no one besides me to make this food for the Kramers. All I need to do for the extra-credit project is film our big New Year’s party for the last scene. The rest is done. I can show you what I have, and if you like it, you can unground me so that I can do this Dish job. Otherwise, we’ll be facing a Dish disaster!” she said quickly.

“Yes. Let’s see it,” her father replied.

Peichi plugged the digital video camera into the computer and showed her movie on the computer monitor. This was the first time she was viewing her own work, and she was just as pleased as her parents were.

“This is really good, Peichi!” her mother said when it was done.

“You know, it really is good!” said Peichi. “Yay!”

“Excellent work,” her father agreed. “I’m willing to end your grounding, though I expect your grades to come up and stay up.”

“They will!” Peichi promised excitedly. “Thank you!”

“But Peichi, you can’t possibly do this job all by yourself,” her mother said. “What do you plan to do?”

“I’m going to call Carmen and see if she has any suggestions. Can I do that now?”

“Go ahead,” her mother said.

Peichi looked up the number of Park Terrace Cookware in the phone book. She hoped that Carmen would be there because Peichi didn’t have her home phone number. She was relieved when Carmen’s familiar voice answered the phone. “Park Terrace Cookware. How can I help you?”

“Hello, Carmen? It’s Peichi Cheng, your old student? I hope you don’t mind me calling you but my friends and I have a
huge
problem, and I’m calling to get your advice and maybe your help! It’s a Dish emergency!” She went on to explain what was happening. ”So we were wondering if maybe you and Freddie could help us pull this job together quickly. I know it’s a lot to ask, but we don’t know where else to turn. Oh, please! I’m totally desperate!” She gasped for air.

Carmen chuckled. “Stay calm. I’m happy to help and I’m pretty sure Freddie will be, too. Listen, why don’t you call Justin, Omar, and Connor, too?”

“Yes! Yes!” Peichi cried. “We had the same idea but we weren’t sure if we should ask them.”

“I think you should. We’re going to need all the help we can get. Where are we going to do this?”

“I’ll find out if we can cook at the Moores’ house,” Peichi replied.

“Okay, call me here tomorrow afternoon and let me know who’s on board for this project,” Carmen instructed. “I’ll phone Freddie and tell him what’s going on. And stay calm, Peichi. I once fed one hundred people who were sheltered in a high school cafeteria during a hurricane with only bread, applesauce, four five-pound cans of chicken chow mein, and six boxes of Jell-O to work with. They really liked it, too! If I could do that, we can get through this.”

“Thanks, Carmen. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks!”

“No problem. Talk to you tomorrow.”

The next step was to contact the boys.

 

To:
cookincon11, funnyomy478, Justmac

From:
happyface

Re:
Need help big time!

Within two hours, the boys wrote back.

 

To:
happyface

From:
funnyomy478

Re:
saving the day

Peichi laughed. Omar was such a goofball. She quickly wrote back.

 

To:
cookincon11, funnyomy478, Justmac

From:
happyface

Re:
yeah, right

Peichi sat back, hit SEND, and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Maybe, just
maybe,
everything would work out.

T
he twins sat at the top 01 the stairs on Saturday morning and listened to the voices downstairs. Their fevers had finally broken and they had a little energy, but they’d come down with harsh, hacking coughs.

“Hello, Mrs. Moore,” Carmen said as she came through the front door dragging a large, clanking bag.

“Please call me Barbara,” Mom said, reaching to help Carmen with the heavy bag.

“Hello, Barbara,” someone else said. “I’m Freddie Gonzalez. Nice to meet you! Hope you’re ready for us!”

“Come in!” Mom answered. “What’s in the bag, Carmen?”

“Cookware,” Carmen answered. “The big, industrial stuff. Hopefully it will make the job go much faster since we won’t have to cook everything in two batches.”

“It’s so nice of you to help the girls,” Mom said as she and Freddie helped Carmen carry the bag.

“Oh, it’s our pleasure! They’re such great girls.”

Amanda and Molly shot each other a thumbs-up. But then Molly had a coughing fit and slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. This set Amanda coughing and both of them ran back to their rooms.

When the coughing had stopped, they flopped down on their beds. “I can’t believe Justin is going to be in my very own house and I won’t be able to see him,” Amanda grumbled.

“The way you look right now, you should be glad he won’t see you,” Molly teased.

Amanda checked her image in the mirror. “
Ohmygosh!
You’re right!” Her greasy hair stood out at odd angles and her skin was blotchy and shiny. There were dark circles under her eyes.

The doorbell rang and then the girls heard voices coming from the front hall. “Peichi’s here,” Molly reported.

“And I hear boy sounds,” Amanda added. “I think I hear Connor and Omar. And Justin! He’s here! Oh, why can’t we go downstairs? I know!” she exclaimed. “We can listen in on the intercom!” She jumped over to the end of Molly’s bed and pressed the intercom button. Both twins listened in.

Down in the kitchen, dishware was banging and utensils were clattering. Peichi felt full of energy and was excited to begin cooking. With Carmen and Freddie there, she no longer felt so nervous. “I’ll go downstairs and start bringing up the food,” she volunteered.

“We’ll help,” Omar offered, and he followed Peichi down the basement stairs along with Justin and Connor. They returned with armfuls of food that they dumped out onto the kitchen table.

“I’m going to put you boys in charge of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the salads, and the pasta—except for the lasagna. Freddie will do that,” Carmen said as she read over the menu the girls had written out. “Freddie will also make the meatballs. I’ll do the lamb stew—that looks the most complicated—and the fried chicken,” she continued. “Peichi, you’re on the corn chowder, the chicken parmigiana, and the chicken croquettes. And please show Omar how to make the bread. We’ll tackle the sides and desserts as soon as the main courses are under control.”

“Peichi, think fast!” Omar yelled, tossing her a bag of frozen corn for the chowder.

“Omarrrrrrr!” she
shrieked. Everyone laughed.

Upstairs, both Amanda and Molly had their ears to the intercom, listening to the laughter. “It’s no fair! They’re having so much fun,” Amanda whispered.

“I know,” Molly agreed miserably.

Amanda walked over to her dresser with a determined look on her face. “I’m going down there,” she announced. “I’ll wash my hands and I won’t cough on the food.” She grabbed a hairbrush from the dresser and began brushing.

“Do you really want Justin to see you when you’re sick?” Molly reminded her as came back into the room.

“I can fix that,” Amanda assured her. “All it will take is some hair gel, lip gloss, and Mom’s concealer.”

When Amanda was finished putting herself together, she dressed in jeans and a pale pink sweater. But when she got to the top of the stairs, her luck ran out.

“Hold it right there, young lady,” Mom’s voice rang out. “Back to bed, please.”

“Mommmm,”
moaned Amanda. “I feel
fine
and I want to help!” The effort of speaking brought on another fit of coughing. Amanda clapped both hands over her mouth as her mother steered her back to the twins’ room.

Molly couldn’t stand it. “How’s it going?” she called down on the intercom as Amanda, sulking, came back into the bedroom and put her pj’s back on. Amanda was secretly glad to get back in bed. She felt worse than she’d let on.

Matthew wandered into the kitchen just then. “Are you making cookies?” he asked.

“No Moores in the kitchen,” Carmen announced, gently turning him away. “You’ve all been exposed to the flu and we need to keep this food away from germs. Mr. Kramer does
not
need to be looking after seven kids with the flu while his wife is away!”

Molly’s voice came over the intercom again. “How is it going down there?” she repeated.

“Just fine, Molly,” Carmen shouted. “Stay where you are.

“Hi, Molly!” Peichi shouted so Molly could hear her.

“Hi, Peichi! Hi, everyone!”

Mrs. Moore’s voice was suddenly heard in the background. “You, too. Back to bed.”

“They really feel bad about not helping,” Peichi said to Carmen.

“I can tell,” Carmen said with a laugh. “The best thing they can do is rest and get better for your next job!”

By two o’clock, the corn chowder was simmering on the stove. A loaf of homemade five-grain bread, a French baguette, and a loaf of honey bread were all baking in the Moores’ large oven along with the lasagna. The macaroni was finished and the sound of a mixer was whirring as Freddie whipped up his special brownie dough. The boys sat at the kitchen table, tearing up lettuce leaves and tossing them into a big steel bowl.

“Will we be ready with everything by six?” Peichi asked Carmen. Peichi had finished the chicken parmigiana and was starting the chicken croquettes.