Kitchen Chaos by Deborah A. Levine Read Free Book Online Page B

the classroom begins to open. But instead of Ms. Hernandez, it’s Frankie, carrying a big Tupperware container and a bottle of maple syrup.
    â€œThere you are!” she says to Liza. “I’ve been standing at your locker for, like, ten years.” Frankie plops the container and syrup on Liza’s desk and dumps the rest of her stuff on the next seat over.
    â€œTry ten minutes,” Liza says with laugh. She eagerly examines the Tupperware that has suddenly appeared in front of her. “What the heck is this?”
    â€œLeftovers from breakfast at my house,” Frankie says. “My dad’s waffles. Luckily, The Goons had morning track practice, or there wouldn’t have been any left.”
    â€œYum,” says Liza, opening the container. “But how am I supposed to eat them?”
    Frankie points at Liza’s desk. “With a pencil, Einstein, what do you think?”
    Liza raises her eyebrows and looks at me. I don’t know Frankie well enough yet to tell if she’s joking, so I just give a little shrug.
    â€œKidding!” Frankie laughs. She digs into her bag and pulls out a fork. “Here. You might want to wipe it off before you use it—Nicky’s been known to hide his ‘discoveries’ in my backpack.”
    â€œWow, thanks,” Liza says. She takes the fork from Frankie and digs into the waffles. After a bite or two she turns to me. “You’ve gotta try these, Lillian. Frankie’s dad’s waffles are practically famous.”
    Frankie looks up and seems to notice me for thefirst time since she walked in. “Oh hi, Lillian. Yeah, sure, have a bite.”
    I stab a little pile of waffles and try to look normal as I stuff the whole forkful in my mouth. Wow . I close my eyes and savor its sweet deliciousness.
    â€œYum,” I say. “I can see why these are famous.”
    Frankie rolls her eyes. “They’re only famous in her mind.” She turns back to Liza. “Speaking of your mind, what’s this ‘big idea’?” she asks, making air quotes when she says it. “I can’t take the suspense one second longer!”
    Liza puts down her fork and takes her time chewing her last bite.
    â€œC’mon,” Frankie says. “Swallow already!”
    Liza takes a long sip from her water bottle to wash down the waffles. I can tell she’s enjoying making Frankie wait for whatever it is she’s going to tell her. I know it’s none of my business, but now I’m really curious about Liza’s big idea too.
    â€œSo,” Liza leans in toward Frankie, “you knowhow I’m sort of obsessed with that cooking show on Channel 16?”
    â€œYou mean the one with the really cute Spanish chef?” asks Frankie.
    â€œYeah, yeah. Antonio’s Kitchen ,” says Liza. “And Spanish people are from Spain, brainiac. Chef Antonio is Cuban.”
    I hold in a giggle because I don’t want Liza and Frankie to think I’m eavesdropping. Even though I sort of am.
    â€œAnyway . . .,” says Frankie.
    â€œSo, anyway,” Liza continues, “I was watching it last night after I got home, and during the show an ad came on for an Antonio’s Kitchen cooking class—right here in Brooklyn.”
    Frankie nods her head but looks as though she’s still not sure what Liza is getting at.
    â€œThe class is called American Cooking 101,” says Liza, “and it’s about how most of the stuff we eat in the United States actually came from other places.Like, when it comes to food, America really is a giant melting pot.”
    Frankie looks disappointed. “So your big idea is that you’re going to take a cooking class with your celebrity chef crush?”
    Liza shakes her head. “Uh-uh,” she says, and then smiles like she’s about to give Frankie a present. “My big idea is that we are going to take a cooking class with my celebrity