ff Fire (And How I Sa

POPPY

count

ff day with a knot in my stomach s

the four-word text on Asher's phone, the cold feeling that something bad was breathing down our necks and none of us were old enough to fight it. I'd laid awake til

after I'd spilled soda on my own, and tiptoed downstairs. Lila was already at the kitchen table, shoveling

th test. Same thing, I guess." She pushed a plate of toast across the table at me. "Relax. You're the best c

ng at the crust. "That mak

f that black SUV shows up again I

a container of truffle oil I'd packed the ni

ic, vanilla, burnt sugar, and way too much paprika. Asher was standing by our assigned station near the back, already wearing his stupid neon pink "KISS THE COOK" apron, bouncing on

ward him. "YOU'RE HERE. I ALREADY PREPPED THE CHEES

ounter. "I'm not mad. As long as you didn'

k sheepish. "That was one

HEAR IT," I said, and he laughed, that loud, bright laugh t

fit an entire fresh pineapple into a tiny food processor, while Sloane smacked his hand away ev

ine rattled. "You're gonna break it! We need that for the topping! And stop

protested, mouth full. "It'

the rules-ninety minutes, teams of two, three judges, no leaving the room, and, staring directly at Asher, no s

or the record, last time wa

D YOU'RE TAKING APART EVERY OVEN IN THIS WING

buzzed. Ch

ctions surprisingly well, only spilling milk once and only grating his knuckles twice, and every time I looked over at him he was frowning in concentration, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth the way it always did when he was

my firs

exactly twelve seconds to grab the fresh

her's name before I

K WHAT SLOANE

s a trophy. Asher, who'd been leaning over our stove stirring the sauce, immediately snapped his head up to look. He g

om of the overhead vent. Within two seconds the oil in the pan next to it caught too, and suddenly there was a

ing went dead silen

eryone

or everyone to get out, the fire alarm started blaring so loud my ears rang, and Jax was yelling "I TOLD YOU COOKING WAS DANGEROUS" over and over at the top of his

still staring at the fire like it was a tricky calc pr

think. I

, to get out, to wait for the fire department-but the fire was already creeping up the wall toward the ceiling, and if it hit the chemical cabinets on the other side of the room th

t's all it took. The fire died, sputtered, and went out completely, leaving only acrid smoke and a th

cept for the blaring alarm an

u just-you just put out a three alarm fire like it was nothing. You

keep my grip on it. Before I could say anything, the fire department burst

g that their dishes were ruined. Jax was currently reenacting the fire for a group of wide-eyed freshmen, using his backpack as the flame and his own body as me holdi

id. "Even I'm impressed.

with extinguisher foam. I saw the principal gesture at him angrily, then point at the building, then

fter school. The principal wrote 'attempted arson via

ncy French restaurant downtown-walked over to us, holding a clipboard. She looked at Asher's foam-cruste

to do. Most adults would've frozen. And-" She tapped her clipboard. "I also saw your dish before the fire.

scribbled somet

t yours was still mostly intact under that counter, right? If you can fix it in the n

snapped up. "

d. "But I mean it. Ten

h rattled. "POPPY. WE CAN STILL WIN. YOU CAN DO THIS. I KNOW YOU C

dented pot of sauce from the firefighter who'd carried it out for us, wiping the foam

For ten straight minutes I worked faster than I ever had in my life, adjusting, seasoning, whisking, tasting, fixing every burnt note and smoky edge until the sauce was somehow better than it had been before the fire-deeper, r

tast

e just closed her eyes, chewed slowly, then

," she said.

ff the asphalt, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. I was laughing too, my arms tight around his neck, and for one perfect seco

ion slip for Asher. The local paper photographer showed up five minutes later, and we all posed for a photo in front of the still-smoking home ec wing: me and A

ur later, pockets full of prize money, still laughing abo

miling, and his face went

king. "Asher?

the phone out to me, his hand s

unknown number. Sent exactly one

the fire, Hale. Nex

to ice in my veins. Somewhere behind u

, idling, tinted windows rolled

didn't driv

ching, and was gone before

s pocket. He didn't try to pretend it was a prank this time. He didn't try to smile and say it was just the S

ear. "You were right. Tomorrow. We tell b

t to talk, and slipped my ha

h mine, tight, and didn't l

f Cha