Diane Tullson time to care if my shirt gets splashed I plunge my hands into the dishwater and start washing Cal I’m not going to tell you again Ms Koe’s eyes are buggy Cal uses his spatula like a catapult to launch blobs of cookie batter at his friends If there’s even one speck of mess at your station She pauses and sniffs the air Did someone leave an oven on Check your ovens everyone I toss my dishes still wet back into the cupboard Meille sniffs What is that smell I can smell it too It’s burning plastic And chocolate I feel my stomach drop My choco late I run to the microwave The inside of the microwave swirls with black smoke Ms Koe spots it too She stammers No Don’t open I yank open the microwave door the door 4
Taz’s Recipe Smoke billows into the classroom Flames lick out of the microwave The ceiling smoke detectors start to squeal (cid:48)(cid:86)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:46)(cid:82)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:89)(cid:68)(cid:88)(cid:79)(cid:87)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3) extinguisher Then the sprinklers go off It’s like a shower except it’s cold And with the entire class And the teacher She gasps Stay calm Don’t run People do not stay calm Everyone makes for the door Three girls all named Sara block the doorway as they struggle to get through it In their identical jeans and their identical shoes and their identical braces they look like a three (cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:88)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:80)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3) blaring and I can hear the pounding of people’s feet in the halls Mielle clutches her arms across her chest Nice work she says to me rolling her eyes Her sweater clings to her like a wet plastic bag Not like it’s cashmere 5
Diane Tullson She picks her way to the door water squishing from her shoes In the time it takes to get outside I tell myself that no one knows who set the (cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:87)(cid:182)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:82)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:76)(cid:69)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3) microwave malfunctioned Maybe it was (cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:92)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:182)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:17)(cid:3) When I reach the front of the school only the Food Science 9 students stand dripping their clothes stuck to them their makeup running and their hair in lank strands Everyone else is dry Only the sprinklers in our classroom went off (cid:40)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:81)(cid:92)(cid:17)(cid:3) The Food Science 9 class does not (cid:191)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:81)(cid:92)(cid:17)(cid:3) Mielle hovers at Ms Koe’s side She tugs on the teacher’s arm What’s going to happen to our classroom Our class won’t be canceled will it I need this course I need to get into the chef program next year How will I get credit for this class 6
Taz’s Recipe Ms Koe stands with her arms at her side Her hair is plastered to her head It’s like she doesn’t hear Mielle Cal looks over at me Hey Torch got a towel He still has the spatula in his hand and if he had cookie dough I’m pretty sure he’d lob it at me Who am I kidding Everyone knows (cid:44)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:17)(cid:3) 7
