On the Back Burner (13 page)

“I have some bad news for you,” Mr. Moore said as the three of them walked out to the car with the food. “The work isn’t over yet. Now we have to load it into the trunk of the car, walk it up the stairs into the house, and then put it away.”

Natasha and Molly groaned. They’d never before shopped for a food order this large. It took a little more than an hour before all the food was put away.

“I am so tired,” Natasha said, throwing herself onto a kitchen chair. “Do you think it’s fair that we did all this work ourselves?”

“It’s not fair at all, but I guess it’s my fault,” Molly replied. “We should have waited for the others to help us. I didn’t realize it would be so much work.”

“I think we should force Shawn and Amanda to make up,” Natasha said.

“You’re right,” Molly agreed. If they waited for Shawn and Amanda to make up on their own, it might never happen. She had an idea. “Feel like renting some movies tomorrow?” she asked Natasha.

“Sure, as long as I can finish my homework first. You know how my parents are,” Natasha said.

“I was thinking that an afternoon movie marathon would be a good way to get Shawn and Amanda back together,” Molly explained. “Movies are always fun, and nobody will have to talk to each other!”

“It’s worth a try,” Natasha agreed. “Good idea!”

The following day, Molly and Mrs. Moore rented three comedies at the video store and bought a bunch of fun snack foods—popcorn, candy, ice cream. The trip took them a little longer than they expected, though, and when they returned, Molly found Shawn and Amanda sitting quietly in the living room

“Hello,” Shawn said to Molly. Just then, Natasha arrived. Thank goodness, Molly thought.
I
really hope
this
day goes okay.

At first, things were pretty uncomfortable, but soon the four girls were drinking milkshakes and laughing at the movie.

Molly pinched Natasha’s arm lightly. “This is going to work,” she whispered excitedly. Natasha nodded, her eyes bright.

Molly settled in to enjoy the movie. Every once in a while she looked over at Shawn and Amanda. They weren’t talking to each other, but they were laughing hard. It was a good start. But as the afternoon passed, Molly found the movies less funny, though the other girls were still cracking up. Her face felt hot, but her hands were freezing. And her throat was getting sore, too. Molly took a sip of her milkshake to try to soothe her throat, but it didn’t help. She put the glass on the table and rested her head against the back of the couch. After the last movie ended, Shawn and Natasha got up to go home. Molly walked them to the door with Amanda, but as soon as they closed the door, Molly slumped against the wall, sighing heavily.

“Molls, what’s the matter?” Amanda asked.

Molly realized that her body felt incredibly heavy and that her head throbbed dully at her temples. “I think I’m sick,” she told Amanda.

“Your face is red,” Amanda said, looking worried. She placed her hand on Molly’s forehead. “You’re hot, too.
Mom!”
she yelled. Mrs. Moore quickly appeared at the top of the stairs. She took one look at Molly and helped her up to bed.

In the twins’ room Molly quickly changed into a nightshirt while Mom got the thermometer. Molly pulled back her covers and crawled right into bed. When Mom returned with the thermometer, everyone waited silently to see what Molly’s temperature was.

“One-oh-two,” Mom said. “No wonder you’re feeling so lousy, Molly. Amanda, go get an extra blanket from the hall closet and a glass of water. I’m going to get some medicine.” After Molly gulped down the medicine, she fell right asleep.

“She’s really sick, isn’t she?” Amanda asked Mom as they went downstairs.

Mom nodded, looking very concerned. “Probably just the flu. It’s been going around. Fortunately, I can take tomorrow off to take care of her. There’s no way she’s going to school tomorrow.”

After finishing her social studies homework, Amanda decided to go to bed early. She looked at Molly’s flushed face as her twin tossed fitfully in her bed.
Ugh,
thought Amanda.
I sure hope I don’t get sick, too.

A
manda went to school on M.onday morning, but Mom picked her up by lunchtime—she’d come down with the flu, too.

Peichi arrived at school on Monday excited to see her friends. All weekend she’d worked on her Chinese New Year film and she’d loved every second of it. “I might be a filmmaker when I’m older,” she told her parents. “I really like working with the camera.” During the past weekend, she’d walked around Chinatown with her parents and filmed the sayings people tacked to their doors and to the fronts of stores.
All your hard work will soon pay off
read one card that was tacked to the front door of an apartment building. Peichi filmed it, then turned the camera to face herself and spoke into it, saying: “I sure hope that one is true for me.”

Since being grounded, Peichi had started to really like going to school every day. It was the only time she could be with all her friends. But on Tuesday, she couldn’t find anyone.
That’s weird,
she thought.
Molly and Amanda are
home
sick, but where are Shawn and Natasha?

By lunchtime, Peichi had figured out that Shawn and Natasha had stayed home from school.
Uh-oh,
thought Peichi.
They must all have the flu! I bet the only reason I’m not sick is because I’ve been grounded and haven’t been hanging out with them.
Peichi walked into the cafeteria all by herself. Even though she had lunch there every day, it suddenly felt overwhelming—large and bright and loud.
Oh
no, she thought suddenly.
Who can I eat lunch with today? I’ll feel so lame if I have to eat all by myself!

Without her friends there, the day seemed to drag on slowly. At lunch, she ended up sitting alone and studying for an English test she would take that afternoon. She’d reviewed her notes carefully the night before, but now she reread the poems and the notes she’d taken in class.

Wednesday after school, Peichi walked to each of her friends’ houses to drop off their textbooks and make-up homework. She hoped that at least one of them would be feeling better and be able to talk with her for a few minutes, but they were all still sick in bed.

By Thursday, Peichi missed her friends so much it felt like a physical ache in the middle of her stomach. For a while she wondered if she was getting sick, too. But she decided it was just loneliness.
That’s it,
she decided.
The Chef Girls aren’t the only people I know in this school.
She scanned the cafeteria, looking for a familiar face. She spotted Athena sitting with a group of seventh-graders and decided to go talk to her.

“Hi, Peichi!” Athena said brightly. “What’s up?”

“Not much,” Peichi said. “Hey is this seat taken?”

“No, sit down!” Athena encouraged her. “Peichi, this is Julia, Emily, and Lauren. Everybody, this is Peichi. She’s making a really cool video about Chinese New Year.”

“That’s awesome,” said Lauren. “My parents just got this amazing digital video camera, but they won’t even let me touch it, practically!”

“Digital cameras are great,” Peichi agreed.
This is going really well!
she thought to herself.
I can’t believe I ate lunch all by myself for two days when Athena and her friends were right here. It’s so cool to be eating with all these seventh-graders!

Peichi’s good day got even better Mrs. Weyn returned her latest English test—this time, Peichi got an A, and Mrs. Weyn wrote on it, “Excellent!” After school, Peichi was in such a great mood that she skipped up the steps to her house. The phone was ringing off the hook, so she ran to get it. “Hello? Is this Peichi Cheng?” asked the woman on the other end.

“Yes.”

“Oh, wonderful. My name is Alice Kramer. Barbara Moore gave me your phone number. The thing is, there’s been a slight change of plans. My sister had her baby this morning, so I’ll need the food delivered on Saturday.”

“I thought the baby was due at the end of February,” Peichi said, remembering that the big Kramer job wasn’t supposed to happen until after Chinese New Year.

“That’s right, but obviously no one told the baby this! I’m flying out to see her tomorrow, which means I’ll need the meals delivered this Saturday by six.”

“This Saturday?” Peichi squeaked.

“Yes. My husband will pay for them when you get there. Thanks so much. Bye!” Mrs. Kramer clicked off without even waiting for Peichi’s good-bye.

Peichi took a deep breath. This was terrible! How was she going to do this by herself? She was only one person—one
grounded
person!

She quickly dialed the Moores’ number and Mrs. Moore picked up. “Hi Mrs. Moore, it’s Peichi. Can I talk to Amanda and Molly? It’s a Dish emergency.”

“I’m sure they’d like to talk to you, Peichi, but they can’t talk. Really, they can’t—both of them have such sore throats that they’re completely hoarse! Can I give them a message?”

“Do you think they’re well enough to log on to the computer?” she asked.

“Well, I think so, but only for a few minutes. I’ll tell them to log on.”

“Okay, thank you. Bye,” Peichi said. Next she phoned Natasha but her mother said she was too sick to come to the phone. Somehow, Peichi convinced Mrs. Ross to let Natasha go online for a few minutes. After that she called Shawn but got only the answering machine. Peichi figured Shawn was home alone and wasn’t getting out of bed to answer the phone. “It’s me, Peichi,” she barked. “Shawn, get on the computer. I have something important to discuss with everybody
right now.”

Then Peichi went to the computer and wrote an e-mail telling them about her phone call with Mrs. Kramer. Within ten minutes, all the Chef Girls were online in their chat room. Molly and Amanda were the first to respond to the e-mail with an IM.