      I'd entered Kevin's house, making it to the living room when he met me, frantic and eyes wide with fear. "Quick! Order a pizza! Mom's had something rotting in the crockpot all day!"
      My stomach, which had been grumbling at me for skipping lunch, whimpered at the word 'crockpot' and then fell silent. I couldn't blame it. Mrs. Jay's One Pot Wonders were the stuff of campfire tales. The ones that ended badly for the poor, hungry souls who were stupid enough to eat the food the witch served them.
      I wasn't stupid. I bolted. Tossing a "Sucks to be you!" to my friend, I made it to the edge of the doorway before my face met brown carpet. I rolled, kicking my foot at Kevin's shin and would have gloated over his girly yell but was stopped by the shriek of a harpy.
      "NATHAN THOMAS ANDREWS! KEVIN ANTHONY JAY! What have I told you?!"
      This time, both of our heads hit the floor. Great, now we were both trapped. In unison, we replied, "Not in the house."
      Mrs. Jay's voice lost it's shrill tone but kept the authority. "Good boys. Get washed up for dinner." She stepped over our prone bodies, it was too late to play dead but we tried. "NOW!"
      At the table, I poked at the dull yellow sludge on my plate. Crockpot banana chicken and rice. I could smell the fruit but was pretty sure the chicken ran away. The sticky goo gripped my fork and held tight. Trying to mask my disgust, and free my utensil, I thanked my friend's mother for the meal.
      "Oh, you're welcome!" Mrs. Jay beamed. "Eat up! I hit a major sale on bananas today so there's plenty more where that came from." Her brow furrowed as she added, "Kevin, your father said he'll be working late, again. Make sure to wrap him a plate after dessert."
      I smirked as Kev's eyes met mine. We both knew his dad was busy all right. Busy hitting a drive thru. Still avoiding taking a bite of his gelatinous helping, he asked, "What's for dessert?"
      My fork, bent with a mass of muck stuck to it, hovered as I stared at him. Hard. That was a stupid question.
      Proudly, she chirped, "Banana cream pie."
for my sweet Squirrple Necklace separator!
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art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics
! 💖 - Personalized by @Omra-sky
