Turning Up the Heat

by Diane Muldrow

  Amanda’s face relaxed. She gave Molly a big smile. “Abso-lule-ly!”

  To: happyface

  From: mooretimes2

  mooretimes2: howdy happyface!

  happyface: Wei-wei mooretimes2!

  mooretimes2: Wei-wei?

  happyface: that means “hello” in Chinese!

  mooretimes2: cool! wuzzup with u?

  happyface: great! Ready2cook2morrowwithu!

  mooretimes2: groovy! We are psyched for Operation Feed the Moores and Get Paid.

  happyface: what time?

  mooretimes2: 2morrow morning at 10 or so.

  Bring an apronWe have something cool 2

  talk to u about tomorrow!

  happyface: -@ what is it???? tell me NOW

  mooretimes2: nope! It’s a surprise. Sry, GTG,

  Dad sez no more computer time 2nite

  happyface: ok. mwa**

  mooretimes2: back at ya, L8R! <3 <3 <3

  Molly and Amanda stayed up really late that night playing “Crazy Eights” on the floor in their room.

  “C’ mon, Molls, just one more game,” pleaded Amanda. “Or we could play a different game. ‘War.’ Or ‘Hearts.’”

  “No way! I can’t keep my eyes open,” complained Molly.

  “Oh, all right,” said Amanda. She slid all the cards into a pile and began to toss them up in the air.

  “You’re not mad at me again, are you?” asked Molly, putting on her pj’s, the ones with the moon-stars-clouds print.

  “No, why?” Amanda put the cards away in their box.

  “Just checking...I hate it when you’re mad at me, Manda.”

  “So do I! I don’t want to fight anymore. Anyway, good night.” Amanda threw on her leopard-print boy shorts and tank top.

  Click! She turned out the light.

  “Hey! How’s your big toe?” asked Molly, giggling in the dark.

  “Just fine. Thanks for reminding me about the most embarrassing moment of my entire life! I thought you were tired.”

  “I was just tired of losing two games in a row! Hey. Amanda, what do you think of Shawn’s idea?”

  “Well, it’s a good idea, but...”

  “But what?”

  “It sounds hard. Plus we’re going to start middle school in the fall, and that’s going to be hard, too.”

  “What do you think of having Natasha in the business?” asked Molly.

  “That would be okay, I guess—the more people in something like this, the better. We would need all the help we can get!”

  A car alarm went off outside.

  “It would be nice to make money,” Amanda continued with a yawn.

  “What would you do with your money?” asked Molly. She was lying on her back, looking out the window. Tonight she had a view of a perfect crescent moon.

  “Ida knooww, Molls...save up for something goodshhh...”

  Amanda was out.

  That was fast, thought Molly She turned her head toward the window seat. It was upholstered in pale yellow velvet and had a collection of stuffed animals on it. She thought about getting out of bed to sit there and hold her stuffed elephant and watch the sky, but her legs refused to move.

  As she stared up at the moon from bed, she thought about what she would do with the money she made. She could subscribe to magazines, buy more CDs, more cool sneakers...or would she save it? Save itforwhat? thought Molly. A cool car! Yeah. like a Hummer. Ill be the only sixteen year-old witha Hummer, driving my friends around New York City...

  Molly was out.

  Chapter 10

  The next day, Peichi was the f¡rst one over to start cooking.

  “Hi, everyone! Hello, Kitty, don’t run away from me! I brought some fresh basil from my mom’s garden. What are we going to cook today? And what’s the big thing you have to tell me? What do you want me to do first? Where’s your mom?”

  Peichï’s shiny hair was up in a bun, with jeweled butterfly barrettes all around it.

  “Your hair looks so cool! ” cried Amanda. “I want you to do that to my hair.”

  “Sure,” said Peichi. “It’s so hot outside that I didn’t want to even think about my hair. Are you guys going to come over and swim later?

  “I think so,” Molly said. “If we get all this cooking done. We’re going to make vegetable lasagna, pizza dough, my dad’s favorite salad dressing, called Green Goddess, peanut butter cookies for Matthew, a Jell-O mold with fruit in it—

  “So, what’s the big thing you wanted to tell me?” interrupted Peichi.

  “Oh! Well, Shawn had this cool idea—” Molly began.

  “But we haven’t decided if we’re going to do it or not,” added Amanda.

  “Right, because we have to think about it,” said Molly.

  “Because it’s kind of a big deal,” said Amanda.

  “Well, what is it?” squealed Peichi. Everyone laughed.

  “We could have a cooking business! You know, have our club, but cook for people in the neighborhood who are too busy to cook during the week.”

  “You mean we’d get paid?” asked Peichi.

  “Uh-huh!”

  “That is a great idea!” said Peichi.

  “Yeah. We were over at Shawns last night, and she told us about it.”

  “Oh,” said Peichi. “Um, what did you do over at Shawn’s?” She fiddled with a clip in her hair.

  “Oh, we rented a movie, and just hung out,” replied Amanda.

  Peichi looked down at her sparkly blue toenails peeking through her sandals. “Why—why didn’t you ask me to do that?” she asked.

  Molly and Amanda looked at each other. Uh-oh! they both thought.

  Molly cleared her throat. “Well,” she said, not sure what to say next. “Shawn just called us, and said, ‘What are you doing, and we said, ‘Nothing: and she said. Come over and watch a movie, and my dad will make some popcorn.’”

  Peichi kept looking down at her toenails.

  Amanda spoke up. “You know, it was just a spur-of-the- moment kind of thing.”

  Peichi looked up. Her mouth quivered and her eyes filled with tears. “But I thought I was Shawn’s friend, too,” she said. “It sounds like she didn’t even think to ask me to come over. And you didn’t tell her to call me, did you?”

  “Well,” began Amanda.

  “Um,” said Molly. “It’s just that, you know, we’ve known Shawn for a long time. We’re like sisters to her. We helped her when her mom died. And—and—”

  “And I guess sometimes we just don’t think to ask anyone else to do something with us,” Amanda added. “But it doesn’t mean that we don’t want to do things with you, Peichi!”

  “Right,” said Molly. “We really like you and always have so much fun with you. You know that.”

  Peichi sniffed. “I guess so,” she said.

  It seemed so strange to see Peichi crying!

  “We didn’t mean to leave you out,” Molly assured Peichi. “Sometimes you want to do things with your other friends, and you don’t think to invite us, right? That’s okay!”

  Peichi nodded. “Right,” she said. “I just feel bad because Natasha didn’t invite me to the tea party, and now this...it makes me wonder what’s wrong with me?”

  The twins smiled at Peichi. “Nothing’s wrong with you!”

  “We’re glad you’re our friend,” Molly assured Peichi.

  “And Shawn is, too,” added Amanda.

  “And Natasha, well, she’s just—” began Molly.

  Peichi smiled and said, “She’s just Natasha!”

  Everyone laughed. Peichi’s smile seemed to fill up the kitchen. Both twins let out a sigh of relief.

  “We’re still friends, right?” Molly asked Peichi.

  “Of course!” said Peichi. She put her arms around the twins. “I’m having a great summer with you guys.”

  “Well, anyway, think about this cooking business,” said Molly.

  “I’ll have to ask my parents if I can do it,” said Peichi.
>
  “So will we,” said Amanda. “So don’t say anything about it in front of Mom today, okay?”

  Just then, Mom came in from the backyard. She’d cut some of her deep pink roses.

  “Hi. girls! Hi, Peichi!” she said. “Ready to cook?”

  Bong! went the doorbell.

  Shawn and Natasha had shown up at the same time.

  “All the Chef Girls are here!” said Mom. “Great. I can help you get started, and then I have to run off to choir practice. I’ll be back in a few hours to see how you’re doing. Who wants to start the peanut butter cookies?”

  “I will,” said Natasha.

  “Who wants to do the pizza dough?”

  “Oh, I do!” cried Peichi.

  “That’ll take two people. Shawn, you can help her. Molly and Amanda, you can make the salad dressing, and I’ll help you do the lasagna later!” said Mom. “Okay?”

  “You’re the boss!” said Molly, and everyone cracked up.

  “Do you ever just take a spoon and eat peanut butter out of the jar?” asked Amanda as Natasha measured half a cup of peanut butter.

  “I thought I was the only one who did that!” said Natasha.

  “No, all of us do that,” said Amanda. “If our parents knew, they’d be totally grossed out.”

  “My grandmother used to make peanut butter cookies,” said Hatasha. “That’s why I wanted to make them today. I don’t remember Grandmother very well, fhough.”

  “Is that what you called her? ‘Grandmother?’” asked Shawn.

  “Mmm-hmm. She was old-fashioned. She hated ‘Grandma.’ She died when I was six.”

  “Do you have any other grandparenfs?” asked Shawn.

  “No, they all died.” Natasha looked up from her mixing bowl. “I wish I were more like all of you,” she said to the girls.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing.

  “Um, what do you mean?” asked Amanda.

  “Well, you know, more normal. I wish I had brothers and sisters—

  “I don’t have any brothers or sisters,” Shawn pointed out.

  “Neither do I,” said Peichi.

  Natasha nodded. “Oh, right. Well, anyway, I just wish...well, never mind.” She hid her face behind the cookbook, pretending to study her recipe.

  No one said anything for a moment, but everyone was wondering the same thing: What’s the deal withNatasha?

  “So, Natasha, Shawn came up with this cool idea,” Molly, changing the subject.

  “We’re thinking of starting a cooking business,” Shawn continued, looking at Natasha and Peichi.

  “I know about it,” Peichi broke in.

  “Oh. Well, anyway, Natasha, we’d cook for people in the neighborhood who are too busy to cook during the week.”

  “Like Mom!” said Molly.

  “Wow!” said Natasha. “So, like, we’d do what we’re doing today?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “It sounds good. And fun, too. But I’ll have to ask my parents.”

  “So do all of us,” said Shawn. Let’s talk to our parents in the next couple of days, and check back with each other.”

  Amanda put on a new CD and cranked it up, and the girls started working on their recipes.

  Shawn and Peichi took turns kneading the pizza dough. It looked so fun that the twins and Natasha had to try it, too.

  “How do we know when we don’t have to knead it anymore?” asked Natasha as she placed her hands over the dough and began to press it.

  “Um”, said Peichi, reading over the recipe. “It says that the dough has to be smooth, but still moist. It should only take ten minutes or so.”

  “Then what do you do with it?” asked Molly.

  “Then we put it in the fridge and let it rise for eight hours,” said Shawn. “So don’t forget to take it out later and put it in the freezer.”

  By the time Mom had gotten home from choir practice, the cooking session had turned into a party. The girls had made popcorn and were singing loudly along to the radio. Molly kept flipping from station to station, searching for their favorite songs and turning up the volume when she found them.

  “Hi, Mom! The cookies are ready to go in the oven, and Amanda and I whipped up some pesto with Peichi’s basil,” reported Molly. “And we made the salad dressing, too.”

  “And the pizza dough is rising now,” added Shawn.

  “Good!” said Mom, reaching for the popcorn. “Let’s start the lasagna. And we’ll make an easy mustard sauce that you can use later. You’ll just pour it over some chicken cutlets and bake them.”

  A few hours later, all the cooking was finished.

  “My legs are sore!” exclaimed Peichi. “I have to sit down!”

  “Have a seat”, said Mom, gesturing toward the big kitchen table. “Let’s all take a break and have some of these peanut butter cookies! Then we’ll clean up the kitchen.”

  “Mmm,” said Shawn as she bit into the soft cookie. “Too bad Matthew’s not around! He’s missing out!

  “We have to save him some,” said Mom with a smile. “After all, we made these for him.”

  Just then, everyone heard the front door open. Matthew and Ben walked down the hall.

  “Aw!” cried Matthew. “Why didnt you tell me!” He grabbed two cookies that were cooling on a wire rack and handed one to Ben.

  “Hi, sweetie,” said Mom. “Hi, Ben. They just came out of the oven. Do you want some milk?”

  “Mmph,” replied Matthew, nodding.

  “Hey Matthew! We put mustard in them,” teased Molly.

  Matthew stopped chewing for a second, and he and Ben looked at each other.

  “No, you didn’t,” replied Matthew with his mouth full. “These are good. Did you really make them?

  “Natasha made them,” said Amanda. “Natasha, this is our brother Matthew and his friend Ben. You really didn’t get to meet the other day.”

  Natasha smiled. “Hi”, she said to the boys. The boys just sort of nodded. Matthew grabbed some more cookies, and the boys stomped through the kitchen, opened the storm door to the garden, and let it slam shut.

  Peichi held her hands over her ears. “How come boys make so much noise?” she asked.

  Molly turned to Natasha. “Matthew thinks he’s really cool,” she said. “Especially when he and Ben are together.”

  Natasha smiled. “Well. anyway, he liked my cookies,” she said. She looked out the kitchen window. “He and Ben are wolfing them down out there!

  “I guess that means you should get paid now!” said Mom. She reached around the chair for her pocketbook. As she dug for her wallet, she smiled at the girls and said with a laugh, “Technically, you probably shouldn’t get paid until you clean up the kitchen. But I’m going to trust you not to run off!”. She pulled out several crisp green bills. “This is brand-new money out of the bank machine!”

  “It looks fake, Mom,” Molly teased her.

  “Don’t worry, it’s the real thing. Here you go, Natasha, thanks for doing such a great job on the cookies. And this is for you, Shawn. Here you go, Molly...and Amanda...and Peichi. Thank you.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Moore!” said Peichi as she pocketed the money. “I love getting paid!” Everyone laughed.

  “You’ve all done a great job, and now I feel better about going out of town. At least I know my family will be fed!” said Mom. “Now let’s load up the dishwasher, ‘cause I have to start tonight’s dinner!”

  The girls did such a great job cleaning up the kitchen that it didn’t even look as if they’d been in there at all. Afterward, they all went upstairs to the twins room with another plateful of peanut butter cookies and tall glasses of milk.

  “I’m tired,” said Shawn, falling back on Amanda’s bed.

  “Yeah, but it’s a good kind of fired,” said Natasha. She sat on the floor, leaned against Molly’s bed, and looked around the room. “I like your room. It’s big but cozy.”

  Amanda pulled her money out of her pocket. “I feel rich!” she sai
d.

  “So do I! said Molly.

  “I’m going to save my money,” said Shawn.

  “Not me,” said Peichi. “Well, yeah, I guess I should save some of it.”

  “Actually,” said Natasha, “this is the first time I’ve ever gotten paid. I want to do something special with the money.

  “Like what?” asked Shawn, reaching for a cookie.

  “I don’t know...I’ll think of something.”

  “Are we all going to talk to our parents tonight? About the business?” asked Molly, perched on her bed.

  Everyone nodded.

  “Creat,” said Shawn. “Let’s all meet tomorrow and see what happened with everyone.”

  “Where should we meet?” asked Peichi. “Want to come over and swim?”

  “You read my mind,” Shawn replied with a grin.

  chapter 11

  That night, as the Moores finished dinner, Molly cleared her throat.

  “Um, Amanda and I want to ask you something,” she said. She told them about their idea for the cooking business.

  Silence.

  Mom and Dad looked at each other. Then they looked at the twins.

  “A business?” asked Mom. “A real business?” She looked at Dad again.

  Dad sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, girls,” he said. “You’re very new to cooking. You need adults around to help you. Have you really thought this out?”

  “Sure,” said Molly.

  “A business needs capital,” said Dad. “Where are you going to get that?”

  “What’s capital?” asked Amanda.

  “Capital is the money that you need to start the business,” explained Mom.

  “You’ll need money for groceries, advertising, and so on,” said Dad.

  “What would you call your business?” asked Mom. “You need a catchy name.”

  The twins looked at each other. “Dish,” they said at the same time.

  “Hmm. that is catchy.” Mom said.

  Molly and Amanda smiled.

  “But a name is not everything. There’s lots to think about when you start a business,” Dad said.