Stirring It Up! Page 10

  And wash hands, kitchen work surfaces, and utensils with soap and water immediately after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry.

  Wuzzup What’s up?

  : -@ surprise or shock

  GMTA Great Minds Think Alike

  L O L Laughing Out Loud

  G 2 G Got To Go

  b - b Bye-Bye

  L 8 R Later, as in “See ya later!”

  Mwa smooching sound

  Here’s a sneak peak at:

  Molly and Amanda Moore were hanging 130 feet in the air. Swaying back and forth under the hot sun. Going nowhere on a Ferris wheel that was older than their grandparents.

  “Aaaagh!’ cried Molly. The twins caged car suddenly dipped, rolled back up, and stopped with a jolt.

  “I can’t look down,” whispered Amanda. Molly’s twin. “I feel sick. Stop this thing!”

  “If has stopped,” Molly replied. “You can open your eyes now, Manda!”

  Amanda squeezed her eyes shut even tighter.

  “Come on, we have a great view of the ocean from up here!” Molly said.

  Amanda shook her head.

  “Anyway,” continued Molly “you shouldn’t have had an entire hero. Or the saltwater taffy after that!”

  “I know,” Amanda mumbled. “Don’t remind me.”

  Suddenly, the car dipped.

  “Whoa!” Amanda shouted. Her face turned almost as green as her T-shirt. She grabbed her sisters arm. Hard.

  “Ouch!” yelled Molly. “Your nails!’

  “Sorry,” Amanda said, loosening her grip.

  The Ferris wheel or Wonder Wheel as it was called at Coney Island in Brooklyn. New York stopped again.

  “Hey, look!” said Molly. “I see Shawn and Peichi.” She waved to their friends down on the ground. “I think they’re laughing at us!”

  “Now I know why they didn’t get on with us. They’ve been on it before,” Amanda said.

  Finally, the girls car made it to the bottom.

  “Get me out of here!” cried Amanda as the tattooed ride operator unlocked the car door.

  “Okay. I feel better now.” announced Amanda, taking a deep breath of air.

  “Come on.” Molly said, poking her sister. “Tell me you didn’t have a little fun. I mean. Mom rode this same ride when she was a kid. That’s kind of cool, isn’t it? ”

  Amanda shrugged and put on her shades. She looked toward the boardwalk. “Where’d Shawn and Peichi go?” she asked. “I don’t see Mr. Jordan, either.” Mr. Jordan was Shawn’s dad.

  Molly stood up on her toes and stretched her neck. “I see them. They’re talking to someone, but I can’t tell who.” Molly grabbed her sister’s arm and pulled her through a group of rowdy kids, and up a ramp to the boardwalk. They found Peichi and Shawn talking to Connor and Omar, two boys they knew from their summer cooking class, and a bored-looking teenager who was probably Omars brother. Mr. Jordan was a few yards away, in line to buy something to drink.

  “Hi!” called Peichi as the twins got closer. “Omar was just telling us that there a sideshow around the corner!”

  “A sideshow?” Molly asked. “What’s that?”

  “It’s like a theatre, but really wacko! It’s called Sideshows by the Seashore.” Omar explained.

  “Yeah,” Peichi said. “They saw this guy, he had tattoos all over, even on his face, and he hammered a nail into his tongue!”

  “Oooh, gross,” exclaimed Amanda.

  “No way.” said Molly rolling her eyes. “It’s a trick!”

  “No it isn’t!” insisted Omar. He looked at Connor for help. “Tell them, Connor!”

  Connor nodded. “He really did it!” he exclaimed. “Co see him! He’s called The Human Blockhead. He eats glass, too! And there other cool stuff. Like a snake charmer who walks around wearing this humongo python.”

  Shawn shuddered. “Get outta here!” she exclaimed. “Is it alive?”

  “Oh, yeah!” replied Connor. “It’s the fattest, longest biggest snake I’ve ever seen.”

  “Check it out.” suggested Omar. Then he nodded at his big brother, who was beginning to look impatient and said to the girls, “We gotta go. Later.”

  “See you in class,” said Molly and Amanda. They looked at each other and laughed. They were doing their “twin thing” again. That’s what they called saying the same thing at the same time, or reading each other’s minds.

  “Yeah, later.” said Connor. “Let’s get something to eat, guys.” The boys walked off.

  Shawn turned to the girls and giggled. “I hope they don’t go home and try eating glass!”

  “Let’s check out the sideshow!” cried Peichi. She looked around at all the girls. “Do you think your dad would take us. Shawn?”

  Shawn giggled. “I doubt it. It doesn’t sound like the kind of thing my dad would want me to see! He’d probably make that face.” She raised one eyebrow and pursed her lips, imitating how Mr. Jordan looked when he didn’t approve of something.

  Molly dug into the pockets of her cutoffs. “We’re out of money anyway,” she announced, looking at Amanda. “We can’t do anything else unless it’s free!”

  “We can walk on the beach,” suggested Mr. Jordan, who came up behind the girls and handed out cold bottles of water. “That’s free. Come on. I’ll take a picture of you.”

  “Creat!” exclaimed Peichi. “I’m so hot! I can’t wait to put my feet into the water!” She reached down to take off her sandals.

  Holding their shoes, the girls followed Mr. Jordan down the steps from the boardwalk. Their feet sank into the sand.

  “Ouch! The sand’s burning my feet!” cried Shawn. She began to run toward the water, and everyone followed her, dodging sunbathers lying on their towels. Finally, the friends reached the ocean, and they turned around to face Mr. Jordan. They put their arms around each other, shrieking at the feel of the cold water rushing over their feet.

  Click! went the camera.

  “Work it girls!” joked Mr. Jordan. He kneeled on the sand and pretended to be a fashion photographer as the friends posed and laughed. Click! Click!

  I hope Shawn gives us copies of these pictures,thought Molly, to remember this summer by.

  “We’re gonna get something to eat at Nathan’s restaurant,” called Shawn. “Come on! Dads treating everyone!”

  The girls ran along the sand back to the boardwalk, and put on their shoes for the quick walk to Surf Avenue. It was time for one of the best things about Coney Island-the hot dogs!

  “I love hot dogs,” stated Mr. Jordan, once everyone had filed into Nathan’s Famous. “Did you know that the hot dog was invented over 130 years ago? And Nathan’s has been here since 1916! That’s when they held the first July 4th hot-dog eating contest.” He pointed at some old photos on the wall. “See, here’s Nathan’s way back when...look at all the men wearing suits, and the ladies in their big hats and long dresses and shawls. Can you believe that’s what people wore to the beach back then?”

  “Weren’t they hot?” asked Peichi.

  Molly giggled. “Mr. Jordan, you know everything.”

  “Well, I just think all this stuff is interesting,” said Mr. Jordan. He turned to Shawn and smiled. “I’m not embarrassing you, am I Shawn?”

  Shawn smiled shyly and looked down. He could read her mind! “No, Dad.”

  Mr. Jordan was always embarrassing Shawn somehow. But Shawn loved her dad more than anything. She was proud of him, too. He had written a book. It was a history book about jazz music in New Orleans. Shawn liked reading sections of it from time to time, and looking at the photo of her dad on the book jacket. Like Molly’s and Amanda’s mom, Mr. Jordan was a college professor. And he could also play the guitar, a cool type of music called the blues.

  “Here’s our order,” said Mr. Jordan. “Quick, let’s grab those two tables.”

  Everyone brought their food to the tables in front of a window. Actually, the tables were more like tall, round counters.

  “How
come there aren’t any seats?” Amanda wanted to know.

  Mr. Jordan laughed. “This is fast food—they want you in and out, so the next customer can come in!”

  “Mmmm, this is great,” said Peichi. She licked off some bright yellow mustard from the corner of her mouth. “I’ve never had a Nathan’s hot dog before!”

  “Never?”asked Mr. Jordan. He dropped his mouth open, pretending to be shocked. “A Brooklyn girl like yourself? Well, young lady, it’s about time you did! How about another?”

  “Um—okay! That would be great!” replied Peichi. Everyone laughed. No one could ever accuse her of being shy.

  “Anybody else want anything?” asked Mr. Jordan, looking at each girl. “Shawn? No? What about you, Amanda? You’re always game for seconds!”

  “That’s for sure,” Molly said, rolling her eyes.

  “I’d better not, Mr. Jordan,” replied Amanda. “I’ve had a lot of stuff here today. But thank you.”

  “Molly?” asked Mr. Jordan. “How about you?”

  Molly smiled. “No thanks, Mr. Jordan,” she replied. “I’m stuffed.”

  “Suit yourself,” said Mr. Jordan. “Peichi, I guess its just you and me!”

  As Mr. Jordan walked to the counter. Shawn’s dark brown eyes followed him.

  “He seems to be, um, more like—himself now,” said Molly awkwardly. “The way he used to be.”

  “What?” asked Shawn, turning back to look at Molly.

  Amanda spoke up. “Your dad seems, you know, happier now.”

  Shawn smiled, a little sadly. “Yeah. I think he’s feeling a little better these days.” The friends saw tears well up in Shawn’s eyes, behind her purple cat glasses. “But you know, he still misses my mom,” she quickly added.

  “Of course,” said Molly. She, Amanda, and Peichi nodded understandingly. “He always will, Shawn. But it’s good that he’s doing better now.”

  No one said anything.

  Molly cleared her throat. “So, Mom’s birthday is the day after tomorrow,” she said, changing the subject. “What are we doing for her?”

  Amanda shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Dad hasn’t said much about it. She’ll probably just want to go out to dinner.”

  Molly’s face lit up. “We should have a surprise party for her!” she said.

  “Yeah! You should!” said Peichi. “That’s a great idea!”

  A surprise party? Amanda was thinking. But surprise parties are so hard to keep secret. Plus, they’re really hard to plan.

  “You could have it in the garden,” suggested Shawn. “And you could have—”

  “Hot dogs!” interrupted Molly with a giggle. “It could be a cookout.”

  The three girls looked at Amanda as if to say. Well? What do you think?

  “Yeah, a cookout.” she said slowly. “That’s what I was going to say.” She didn’t want to be the only one who thought it would be too hard to do. Mr. Jordan, who’d returned with the hot dogs, gave her a quick smile. He seemed to understand how she felt.

  “You could come to Mom’s party, too. Mr. Jordan,” said Amanda. Mr. Jordan and Mom had known each other since high school.

  “Thank you!” he said. “But I think you two need to check with your dad first and see what he’s planning.”

  Molly giggled. “You know what? He probably forgot about Mom’s birthday. Dads kind of like that.”

  Amanda smiled. “Yeah, it’s true,” she said.

  “My dads like that, too!” said Peichi. “My mom has to write everything down for him on a big calendar we keep in the kitchen.”

  “Well,” said Molly, “I think this calls for an emergency meeting of the fabulous Chef Girls! Manda and I can’t do this party without you.”

  That’s for sure, thought Amanda.

  “Dad will pay for Mom’s party,” said Molly. “So we can meet tomorrow for sure. Hey. I know! We can have the party tomorrow. That way Mom will be really surprised!”

  Tomorrow! Uh-oh! thought Amanda. Why am I the only one who thinks this is a big deal? I don’t think I wantto do this!

  After Nathan’s, it was time to cross Surf Avenue and get on the subway. This part of the subway line was elevated, instead of being underground. The girls liked seeing Brooklyn from above for a change. At the foot of the subway stairs, they passed Philip’s Candy Store.

  “Last chance for frozen chocolate-covered bananas!” called Mr. Jordan, waving at the man behind the counter. “This candy store has been here for over forty years! I used to come here when I was a kid and get the taffy apples.” He paused on the stairs. “I can’t think of anywhere else in the world where you can take the subway to the ocean,” he remarked. “Except Tokyo, Japan. I know you can do that in Japan.”

  “That’s my dad, the walking encyclopedia,” Shawn said and she slid her MetroCard through the slot on the turnstile. “Oh! I hear the train!”

  “Hurry up!” said Molly.

  Everyone hurried up the ramp toward the train. They could hear a conductor announce, “Stand clear of the closing doors.” The doors would close soon.

  “Let’s not rush, girls, there’s always another train,” said Mr. Jordan, but Molly and Amanda were sprinting toward the doors. “Hurry, Amanda!” Molly was saying to Amanda, who was slightly ahead.

  “Slow down, girls!” shouted Mr. Jordan, running to keep up.

  Shawn and Peichi were sprinting now, too, behind Mr. Jordan. Just then, the doors closed. Molly. Mr. Jordan. Shawn, and Peichi didn’t make it on the train.

  Amanda pressed against the doors, but they didn’t open.

  She couldn’t believe it! Molly had made her rush. And she didn’t even give her a warning that she wasn’t getting on. Her mind was probably on that dumb surprise party!

  Amanda saw Mr. Jordan mouth. “Get off at the next stop.”

  Amanda nodded as her train rolled out of the station, away from all of her friends.