Lights! Camera! Cook! Page 5

  “You mean like a popover?” asked Peichi.

  “No, not like that. Anyway, it’s really dramatic and French when you bring it out of the oven. It’s so...celebrity chef-y!”

  The girls began to crack up, but Amanda groaned. “Molls, we never even made a soufflé in cooking class!”

  “Daphne is probably calling our parents right now!” said Peichi. “You guys, this is going to happen in a week! Aaaah! See you at lunch!”

  In Amanda, Peichi, and Shawn’s English class, the students were writing their personal essays. But Amanda had other things on her mind.

  What am I gonna wear to the interview? she thought as she stared down at her blank paper. The blue velvet poet’s top? No, the puffy sleeves will drag in the food...the green-and-black stripey shirt? No, I look like a calerpillar in that...

  Suddenly, a note folded into a triangular shape appeared on her desk. Peichi had coolly dropped it there on her way to the pencil sharpener.

  Amanda glanced up to see if Mrs. Weyn was looking in her direction, then slowly unfolded the note. It said:

  Amanda looked up at Peichi, who was slyly looking her way. She smiled and mouthed the words, Me, too!

  Meanwhile, Natasha was in study hall. She had plenty of studying to do, but instead she brought out a pretty leather-bound book with gilt edging. It didn’t look super-girly, so she never worried that people would know she was writing in her diary.

  She turned to a clean page and wrote:

  Amanda couldn’t wait to tell Ms. Barlow about her upcoming TV appearance. She hurried down to the drama classroom right after her last class.

  “Ms. Barlow! You’re not going to believe this.” she said breathlessly. Ms. Barlow was going through scraps of fabric in a big box from the costume department.

  “What! What is it? Nothing bad I hope?” asked Ms. Barlow, her hazel, lushly mascaraed eyes wider than ever.

  “No, it’s good! Dish will be on Good Day, America!”

  Ms. Barlow gasped. “That is amazing, Amanda! I don’t believe it! How did this come about?”

  Amanda told Ms. Barlow all about Daphne Dupree.

  “Anyway, Ms. Barlow, you’ve been on live TV before—

  Yes, I was a regular on Weekend Comedy Live! And it was a fan- tas-tic experience.”

  “What if I get nervous and my words come out all funny?”

  “Ah! Here’s a great little exercise. Before you go on, say, ‘Lips, teeth, tip of the tongue, lips, teeth, tip of the tongue’ several times. It’ll help your diction. And here’s a great breathing exercise. Watch me.” Ms. Barlow stood up, then exhaled as she bent over quickly.

  Amanda giggled. “You sound like a horse when you do that.”

  “but it’ll keep you focused and relaxed! Now try it with me.”

  Meanwhile, both Molly and Shawn were outside on the field. Shawn was learning a new cheer, and Molly was pitching at softball practice.

  “Strike!” called the coach.

  “Yesss!” cried Molly. This was the second player she’d struck out—in a row!

  Practice ended and everyone walked off the field, dusty and hot. Molly caught up with Athena, the seventh-grader who’d been tutoring Molly all year. It was Athena who’d encouraged Molly to try out for the team.

  “Good job, Molly” said Athena. “And you’re gonna get even better! Who knew you could throw such a fast ball?”

  “Thanks. Hey, listen to this!” Molly told Athena about the upcoming interview.

  “Wow!” said Athena. “I can’t believe it! Aren’t you nervous?”

  “Yeah, I’m unbelievably nervous,” Molly admitted. “I’m glad I did so well in practice today—it took my mind off the interview!”

  Shawn and Elizabeth walked together into the locker room after cheerleading practice. Angie was already in there, getting dressed.

  Elizabeth had been Angie’s latest victim. Angie had been mean to her for no reason recently—probably because Elizabeth was such an outstanding cheerleader—and Elizabeth now stayed as far from Angie as she could. “See ya, Shawn,” she said, feeling grateful that her locker was nowhere near Angie’s.

  “So, what’s up, girlfriend?” asked Angie. She smiled more warmly at Shawn than usual. “I miss you.”

  “Well,” Shawn hesitated. “I’m going to be on TV next week.” She told Angie about the cooking job that had led the Chef Girls to meet Daphne Dupree.

  Angie snickered. “Dish is going to be on TV? Why? What’s so great about Dish? I just don’t get it.”

  Shawn felt like Angie’s words had stabbed her.

  “What do you mean, what’s so great about Dish?”

  “Never mind,” said Angie. She shrugged and made a funny face. “I was bad. Sorry!”

  “See you later,” Shawn said coldly, grabbing her backpack. “I’m walking home with Molly and Elizabeth.”

  “What-ever,” said Angie, rolling her eyes. “I said Iwas sorry.”

  After all that! Shawn’s thoughts raced as she walked past girls laughing, talking, slamming locker doors. After she told me she was sorry about Grandma Ruthie and that she got held back in school, she had to go and say something like that! She’s jealous. She can’t stand it when she’s not the center of attention. She’s mean, she steals stuff, I never know what she gonna do next. I’ve just about had it with that girl!

  Shawn was pretty quiet as she walked home with Molly and Elizabeth.

  “What’s wrong? Molly asked after they dropped Elizabeth off. ”Tough practice?

  “Yeah,” said Shawn. “Something like that.” She really didn’t feel like getting into the whole Angie thing with Molly.

  “We’re home!” Molly called out as soon as she opened the front door.

  “Hi,” Amanda said, greeting them.

  As soon as Molly looked at her sister, she could tell something was wrong.

  “Uh, Shawn.” Amanda started. “Your dad called.”

  Shawn gasped. “What is it? Grandma Ruthie? Tell me, Amanda!”

  Amanda took her friend by the hand. “Calm down, Shawn. It’s not that bad.”

  “Then what?” Molly wanted to know what was going on, too.

  “Your dad just decided that it’s probably best if you fly down to be with Crandma Ruthie this week. She’s been asking for you. Your dad will call school in the morning to tell them you’ll be out. And our dad will take you to the airport after dinner.” Amanda gave Shawn a big hug. “Don’t worry, Shawn. We’re here for you.”

  “Yeah.” added Molly. “Even when other people aren’t.”

  As Shawn sat in the back seat of Mr. Moore’s car later that evening, she wondered what Molly had meant by her last comment. Had the twins figured out that things with Angie weren’t so great these days?

  Later, waiting for the plane to take off, Shawn thought about Angie. She couldn’t stay mad when she knew that Angie had confided in her. and trusted her. I’m going to give Angie another chance, she decided as she fiddled with her CD player. That’s what a real friend would do.

  chapter 7

  The next afternoon, the Chef Girls gathered in the Moores’ den with sodas and a big bowl of popcorn, and waited for Daphne Dupree’s call.

  “The speakerphone still works, right? asked Molly worriedly. She anxiously pushed buttons.

  Everyone excitedly chattered and giggled as Dad’s old cuckoo clock ticked its way toward three-fifteen, which was the time Daphne had arranged to call the girls.

  Three-fifteen came and went.

  “She’s late!” Peichi said.

  “Well, she’s probably really busy,” Natasha spoke up. “Having meetings with important people and stuff.”

  Brrriiinnngg!

  The girls squealed.

  “Sssshhhh!” said Amanda, reaching for the phone.

  “Amanda, can’t I answer the phone just once in my life?” asked Molly.

  Brrriiinnngg!

  Amanda rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, all right!”

  Molly pushed
the speakerphone button and said in her grown-up voice, “Hello, this is Dish. How may we help you?”

  The Chef Girls had to stifle their giggles with pillows. They weren’t expecting Molly to crack them up like that.

  “Hello. Dish! This is Daphne! Are you ready for your pre-interview?”

  “Yes,” chorused the girls.

  “Terrific. Okay, let’s start with the basics! Your names, please, starting with the twins!

  Each girl told Ms. Dupree her full name and age. And Molly filled Daphne in about Shawn.

  “How did you all get the idea for Dish?” asked Daphne.

  Amanda spoke right up. “Well,” she said, “it all started last summer! Molly and I were bored out of our minds—and sick of the takeout that our parents had been bringing home so much. I was thinking about the chicken piccata that I’d had at Luigi’s restaurant a few days before, and suggested that we make it to surprise our parents! So we found a recipe on the Internet.”

  That’s not how it happened! Molly thought. She shot Amanda “the look.”

  Amanda paused when she saw Molly’s glare.

  “Actually,” Amanda went on, “I just remembered! It was Molly’s idea to make the chicken. She’d had the chicken piccata. I actually had the spaghetti and meatballs, that’s my favorite—”

  “All right. Anyway...” Daphne said, trying to move Amanda along.

  “Anyway,”said Amanda, “we made a whole dinner for our family that day! And it actually tasted good, and we didn’t poison anyone with salmonella or anything!”

  Daphne chuckled. “And then what happened?”

  “Well! Then we saw that cooking classes for kids were happening coincidentally in our very own neighborhood!” said Amanda dramatically.

  Molly rolled her eyes.

  “...And we thought. ‘How absolutely perfect!’” Amanda went on.

  Why is Amanda suddenly talking like Brenda Barlow? wondered Molly. Get real!

  “...So we signed up for the classes, and so did Shawn, Peichi, and Natasha, and we learned a lot! But meanwhile, our neighbors, the McElroys. had a fire in their kitchen—”

  “Really?” interrupted Daphne. “So, Peichi, what happened then?” It was obvious that Daphne wanted to give someone else a chance to talk.

  “Oh!” said Peichi. She sat up straight and said, “The twins’ mom said that we should help the McElroys, and make them enough food to eat all week. So that’s what we did! It was really fun to help people. We roasted a couple of chickens, and stuff like that. Ms. Dupree? What should we cook on the show?”

  “We need to talk about that,” Daphne replied. “How about a souffle?” she suggested.

  The girls laughed loudly.

  “That’s what I wanted to make,” explained Molly. “But we’ve never really made one.”

  “I can see that it’s not something you’d make for your jobs,” said Daphne. “You’re usually cooking ahead, right? Since people usually hire you to cook a few dinners to help them through the week?”

  “That’s right,” Natasha spoke up. “Hi. Ms. Dupree, it’s Natasha. We won’t have much time on the show, right? So maybe we should make food that’s easy-um, that can be made ahead? People watching the show can get ideas if they’re going to have a busy *week.”

  “Wow!” said Daphne. “You’re thinking like a producer! Natasha, I’m impressed. You just came up with what we call the ‘hook’ for the segment.”

  The Chef Girls gave Natasha the thumbs-up sign, and she blushed with pride.

  “We could make pesto sauce,” suggested Amanda.

  “That’s really fast, and easy to demonstrate.”

  “Maybe we should roast a chicken,” said Peichi. “That’s something we do a lot for our clients.”

  “Since there isn’t enough time in the segment to actually cook the food, we’ll need two of everything,” Daphne pointed out. “There will be the food you begin to prepare on the show, and the finished product that you’ll pull out of the oven at the end of the segment. I call it the ‘magic of television’ scene, where the viewers will get to see the food as it would look coming out of the oven.”

  “Oh, right,” said the girls.

  “Why don’t you decide what you want to do, knowing that you’ll have to cook ahead,” suggested Daphne. “Then let me know what food you’ll bring, and what supplies you’ll need us to buy for you.”

  “Are you really going to send a limo to pick us up? asked Peichi.

  The girls giggled.

  “Of course,” said Daphne.

  “Yay!” shouted the girls.

  “This is going to be fun!” exclaimed Daphne. “Call me tomorrow, and we’ll figure out the final details. One more thing, girls: Please don’t wear logos or kooky patterns like zebra stripes. They don’t work on camera. ’Bye for now. Oh! By the way, Serena might be on the show that day. She’s in town on a publicity tour. With luck, you’ll get to meet her!”

  “Really? Wow!” cried the girls.

  “Morning shows are crazy—you’ll see—so I can’t promise. But we’ll do our best to make it happen. Okay? ’Bye.”

  “’Bye, Ms. Dupree!” called the girls before they hung up.

  They looked around at one another, unbelieving. Then...

  “Serena!” screamed the girls. “Serena!”

  “She’s the biggest star around right now!” exclaimed Amanda. “Her new CD just came out, and it’s all over the radio.”

  “And she’s in that new movie, New York Wedding,” added Natasha.

  “Wow, said Molly. ”I can’t believe what’s happening. Well, anyway, what are we gonna make?”

  “I vote for lasagna,” said Natasha, “because we can easily make up a pan the day before, for the magic of television scene. And then, of course, we’ll make one on the show.”

  “We’ll roast one chicken the night before,” stated Molly. “That’ll be our magic of television chicken. We’ll ask Ms. Dupree to have one bought for us to do on the show.”

  “How about Texas sheet cake?” asked Peichi. “’Cause it feeds a lot of people, gets better the next day, and Shawn can say it’s her Grandma Ruthie’s recipe. We’ll say hi to her on TV!”

  “Perfect!” agreed the girls. They decided on the cake, chicken, pesto sauce, and lasagna.

  “I can’t wait to tell people that we’re gonna meet Serena,” said Molly, standing up and stretching.

  “Maybe we should just keep quiet about that,” suggested Natasha. “’Cause there’s a big chance that we won’t get to meet her. What if we don’t meet her and everyone in school keeps asking us if we did?”

  “You’re right,” said the twins at the same time. Peichi nodded in agreement.

  “Oh! I just got a great idea!” said Molly. “I’ve been wondering about how Maris Miller is going to remember who’s me and who’s Amanda—”

  “You look different enough,” Peichi pointed out.

  “But I know what you mean, Molly,” said Natasha. “Sometimes when you first meet twins, it’s hard to remember which name belongs to which twin.”

  “Right! So why don’t we buy some T-shirts, and get our names printed on the front of them? Each of us will wear one! We’ll really look like a team!”

  “That’s a great idea!” agreed Natasha.

  “There are so many of us, it’ll definitely help Maris Miller! And there’s enough money in the treasury to pay for them,” noted Peichi.

  “Lulu’s Closet has pretty T-shirts,” said Amanda. “Let’s get those! We’re gonna look great!”

  Meanwhile, Shawn was following her dad and Sonia into the hospital room. She held her breath. She was afraid she would start crying when she saw Crandma Ruthie lying in a hospital bed.

  “Grandma Ruthie,” whispered Shawn. “Grandma Ruthie?”

  Sonia smiled. “She’s still asleep! I guess we’ll—”

  Grandma Ruthies eyes opened. “I’m not asleep,” she said crossly.

  “Yes, you were,” teased Sonia.
<
br />   “No. I wasn’t. Hand me my eyeglasses, I can’t see a thing.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Crandma Ruthie put on her glasses, and then she smiled weakly. Shawn exhaled with relief.

  “There you are, Shawn,” said Crandma Ruthie. Her voice sounded faint. “I’m just so thrilled that you came down here to see me.”

  “Oh, Grandma.” Shawn leaned down to kiss her grand-mothers cheek. “I’ve missed you.” She smiled and reached for her hand. “You don’t look sick.”

  It wasn’t really true.

  “Don’t Sonia and I get a hello?” asked Mr. Jordan, bending over to kiss his mother’s forehead.

  “Oh, I said hello to ya’all earlier today,” said Crandma Ruthie. “That’s enough.”

  O-kay, thought Shawn. She’s really grumpy. That’s not like her.

  “Hand me my hairbrush.” Crandma Ruthie ordered Mr. Jordan as she slowly sat up. “I can’t be looking like a ragamuffin—with my elegant granddaughter here-all the way from New York, can I?” She breathed heavily.

  “You won’t believe what Shawn did for you today, Mama,” Mr. Jordan said, handing her the brush.

  “I made you dinner!” exclaimed Shawn. “As soon as I got here, I made all the stuff you like!” She brought out containers of food that was still warm. “...Corn bread, some nice chicken soup, and buttered beans!”

  Grandma Ruthie reached for Shawn. “Come here, baby. I just can’t believe it. It all smells so good. You’re just growing up so nice.

  Dad and Sonia looked at Shawn and smiled.

  “I figured you’d be pretty tired of hospital food by now,” said Shawn as she put the food on a tray. “Here ya go! Now you’re gonna feel better.”

  Crandma Ruthie slowly sat up and tried the soup.

  “How is it?” asked Shawn anxiously.

  “Amm, mmm, mmm. That sure is good. Your mama would be so—proud of—you,” Grandma Ruthie leaned back against the pillow.