Tales of a Peculiar Pirate

19. A Night at Melonpan and a Grilled Cheese Lesson Plan

Polly had only ever paid attention to the salespeople who gave out free samples and the like, so she had little knowledge about other means of promotion.

"Are free samples a thing here?" Polly asked, hoping the answer would be no so that she could feel at least a little useful.

"Free samples? Can't say it's something I've heard of. Are they popular where you're from?"

"You'd better believe it," grinned Polly. "Folks like me love em."

"Wait," said Ed with a tone as grave as a place for burial marked with a mound.

Four sets of eyes turned to the bird.

"I think before you promote your goods you best ought to make sure your goods are worth promoting."

Polly had slept so well she had completely forgotten about the atrocious creations that Croix had dared called his sandwiches. Sure there were one or two decent ones in the mix that didn't make her want to vomit, but that didn't excuse the fact that some of them were a crime against food.

"Is there something wrong with my sandwiches?"

If the travelers mistaking Croix's sandwich as an attempt at food poisoning wasn't enough proof that his cooking left more than a little to be desired, Polly didn't know how to break it to him that yes, there absolutely was something wrong with his sandwiches. She debated beating around the bush and in very fancy language telling him that maybe, just maybe, he should take a cooking class or two before going out into the world and advertising his goods. However, before she could finish planning the message she was about to sugar coat like a powdered donut, Ed made a move.

"It breaks my heart to be the bearer of bad news," began Ed in a tone that did not sound sad in the slightest, "but the way your grilled cheese sandwiches are now, you would have better luck trying to break into the entertainment industry without any connections than getting customers."

"Y'all, it really wasn't that bad," said SAT who looked offended on Croix's behalf.

"Were you the one who almost died after eating a sandwich with grape cheese in it? No, I do not think so, and therefore you have no right to speak on this matter."

"I don't suppose you fellas would have any suggestions for me then, would ya?" Croix asked, his smile now more of an upside down croissant than a rightside up one.

"Oh but I do," crowed Ed who in all honesty had probably just been waiting for Croix to ask.

Polly's thoughts briefly flashed back to the stack of grilled cheese sandwiches she had seen in the kiwis' hideout that was worthy of reverence. Then she remembered how she didn't get a chance to try them and how Croix's sandwiches had also been a feast for the eyes.

The ponytailed pirate felt a bit bad for being suspicious of her bird friend, especially since she knew the Sea Island 4 folks were a people of chefs, but Croix's lie of a sandwich had dealt a heavy blow to her ability to trust.

"I'd love to hear them."

Grilled cheese sandwiches were clearly a subject Ed took seriously.

"Let's have a seat," stated the bird, using a wing to pull out a chair for the hunched store owner.

"Do we need to be here too?" asked Polly. She had never been able to cook and learning how to wasn't on her to do list. Strolling the streets and finally getting to walk around more than an upper and lower deck seemed like a far better use of her time.

"Not particularly. I figured you weren't interested in learning about the art of the grilled cheese anyways. I suppose I'll be seeing you again in a few hours."

"A few hours?"

Based on her extremely limited knowledge about cooking, Polly had simply assumed making a grilled cheese sandwich was a job that took mere minutes. What more was there to it besides throwing cheese on bread and then toasting it?

"Why yes a few hours, but that's only because I'll be giving the good Mr. Croix a sped up version of the lesson. Why I remember the day I learned how to make a grilled cheese. It was a week-long course and I'll never forget it. It made me into the bird I am today."

"Right-io, then don't mind me, I'll be sidling on out."

"So will we," chirped Wiki. SAT nodded as they joined the other two in their shuffle out the door.

As soon as the three were back on the streets and a few paces away from Croix's shop, Wiki turned to Polly.

"Ed was lying. She said she'll only take a few hours but honestly, she'll probably take five. That kiwi can talk like she's a member of the US Senate trying to prevent a piece of legislation from getting passed when it comes to cooking."

"Well color me surprised, I never woulda guessed. I'll take it you know that from experience?"

"I wish it weren't so, but indeed that's how it is."

"We've actually used recordings of her cooking lectures to help us fall asleep," added SAT, as if that were not at all an extremely rude thing to say about a friend.

"You guys are wrong for that, so wrong," said Polly who, despite her words, was laughing.

"Fledge, what I don't think you understand is that she made the offer and we just accepted."

"Def wasn't expecting that, nope not at all. Well, I guess if that's how it is, that's how it is. Where do you guys feel like heading?"

"It's night now, so I don't think there'll be a lot of places open," said Wiki.

"My good friends, I am happy to inform you that you are wrong in that regard," Fethar said. "This island operates on a system that takes into consideration the schedule of both night owls and early birds."

"Wow, wish Sea Island 7 could relate," huffed Polly who suddenly remembered the many times she would settle down for bed at the crack of dawn only to wake up a few hours later for school. They weren't her most pleasant memories.

"Oooh, that's great," replied Wiki. "Then let's go check out the rest of The Capital since I think Mr. Croix did say there should be a bunch of cool stuff around there."

"Any objections from the council?" asked Polly.

Not a hand, nor a wing, was raised. There being no objections, the now Ed-less party was on its way to have some fun.

* * * * *

When it's been one year since the last update...whoops LOL. What can I say but sometimes you forget you have a story in progress when you're in school... I have like 3 weeks of summer break then so uH hopefully I'll use them for writing?!?!? Who knows...

(Also totally off topic but you guys should read Beautiful Boy by David Sheff if you haven't already it's an excellent memoir that deals very will with addiction imo)

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*the lenny faces suggest you click that spicy spicy vote button and leave a comment!!