The Stars of Summer by Tara Dairman

Author:Tara Dairman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2015-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

BEIGE GLOP ON BUTT-BREAD

THE NEXT HALF HOUR SAW GLADYS blending the oil and seeds into a great vat of tahini, then blending that tahini with chickpeas, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cloves of garlic, and salt. Some water and a little more oil thinned out the mixture, and finally Gladys was able to taste her hummus. Not bad! She pulled the bowl off the food processor, threw it into the refrigerator, and turned to the next items on her mental list.

There were two hundred twenty mini baguettes to slice in half, and two six-pound wheels of Sardo to cut into one hundred ten wedges each. The watercress was prewashed, so at least she wouldn’t have to worry about how to clean such a large volume of greens. After forty minutes of work with Mrs. Spinelli’s knives, Gladys’s arm felt like it was going to fall off, but the cutting was done. All she had left to do was spread the hummus onto the baguette slices and assemble her sandwiches.

In twenty minutes. That was eleven sandwiches a minute. Could she do it?

As Gladys hauled the hummus out of the refrigerator and set to work, she wondered what was taking Mrs. Spinelli so long. At first she’d been happy to have the kitchen to herself, but now that it was crunch time, she could really use the extra set of hands. Had the cook spent the last hour yelling at Foodstuffs? Or had she quickly canceled their account and spent the rest of the time placing rush orders with somebody else? Gladys hoped Charissa would have the scoop that afternoon. Maybe she should even tell her friend what she’d done. After all, it was Charissa who had encouraged Gladys to teach Mrs. Spinelli some new recipes.

Gladys glanced at the kitchen clock: 11:57. Her arms whipping like crazed eggbeaters, she upped her sandwich-making speed. Schmear of hummus, hunk of Sardo, handful of watercress, close the sandwich. Schmear of hummus . . .

Outside, she could hear the first campers arriving for lunch, and the unmistakable, high-pitched whine of Kyra Astin told her that it was the Flamingo Fives. “I’m huuuuuungry,” Kyra moaned. “Why isn’t lunch reaaaaaady yet?”

“Yeah!” called another voice. “It had better be burgers today!”

“No way!” shouted a third voice. “Monday is always bologna day!”

“I want sloppy joes!” squealed another voice.

A louder, deeper voice inserted itself into the lunch debate. “I, for one, hope that today’s menu includes ham. I brought the herbs to construct a Ham Herb.”

Gladys couldn’t help but smile as all the little voices quieted. “What’s a Ham Herb?” one of the kids asked.

As Hamilton launched into his story about his signature sandwich, Gladys took a final glance over her handiwork. The last few sandwiches were a little messy, but overall, she was proud of them. This was going to be the best lunch of these campers’ lives.

When Gladys finally eased the serving window open, twenty heads swiveled in her direction.

“LUNCH!” one of the kids screamed, and in seconds, the window was mobbed.

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