A Taste of Magic by J. Elle

Author:J. Elle
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781547606726
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

5 days and counting

Neon lights play on the ceiling of Scooter’s retro diner as PRMA kids pile in. Trays of something sweet and peppery like paprika, with basil and thyme, pass under my nose and my stomach doesn’t even rumble. Since that conversation with Memaw and Momma, I’ve been seeing word about the competition all over the news. It’s gonna draw a huge crowd, I bet. Just the thought makes my stomach knot.

But so much is on the line. I have to do this. Scooter was happy to open his restaurant after hours for us to have a meeting about a plan to save Park Row. Mo, on the other hand, didn’t respond as enthusiastically. But she agreed to come to the meetup and hear me out.

Scooter glides through the crowd serving more plates than we could ever finish in one night. Beside me, Ash’s thumbs move a mile a minute tapping on her phone. Eric and a few others squeeze into booths and pluck crab-stuffed mushrooms from a tray. Kids slump in their chairs, lips turned down. Occasionally a giggle breaks through the somber haze, but most of the chatter hovers like a cloud heavy with raindrops.

Ash heaves a sigh and puts her phone down, tapping her foot. “Who’s all coming?”

“Everybody.”

“Everybody everybody?”

“Well, everyone but Russ. Why?”

She hesitates. “Nothing.”

“Speaking of Russ, he acted weird. Like, I figured he’d be mad, but he was . . . something else. I don’t know.”

“Yeah, I saw that, too.” She glances at her phone.

“You tell your mom about the groits yet?”

“Not yet.”

Why not? But before I can get the words out, a hand sets on my shoulder.

“Kyana?” It’s Ms. Mo. “Thank you for putting all this together but you don’t have to do this.”

“We have to do something,” I say.

“I . . . ​I don’t know what to say,” she says with a heavy sigh.

“Don’t say a thing.” Scooter hands Ms. Mo a caramel-glazed cookie the size of my face with a hill of vanilla ice cream on top. “These kids here aren’t the only ones who love Park Row, Mo. I wanna hear this plan to save it. Now, gon now and have a seat. See how you feel after a bit of that.” He dusts a purple powder over the top of her sundae. Ms. Mo takes the advice and melts into a chair.

“So I did some research, and like everyone who’s anyone on the chef scene is talking about competing in this contest,” Ash says. “Like professionally trained people.”

I gulp. “I don’t know, I could be out of my league, but I have to try.”

“Can’t we try to figure out a way to make money grow on trees or something instead?”

“I’m not trying any sort of magical nothing. Uh-uh. No way.” This is my best shot. I may be a mediocre witch but I’m good in the kitchen. Something about cooking just makes sense to me. I can almost feel it . . . ​like somehow cooking is part of me.

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