Team8s and Counting Onwards

201. Chefs in Training

It was a nice spring day after school. Saw, Gaty, Coiny, and Needle were outside with all of the kids, except Thread, who was inside helping Pin make dinner. Thread had always wanted to help her mom cook. After all, based on what Flare had told Thread, Flare cooks all the time, and Thread thought it would be a good idea to learn an interesting skill.

Pin had gotten all of the ingredients set up on the counter. They were making Threads favorite dish: homemade chicken tenders, with a side of mixed vegetables.

Pin smiled as she prepared to get started on the meal. "Alright, Thread, first things first—we need to set up our breading station. We've got flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. Do you want to do the coating, or should I?"

Thread's eyes lit up. "I want to try!" she said eagerly.

Pin handed her a piece of chicken, guiding her small hands. "First, dip it in the flour, then the egg wash, and finally, roll it in the breadcrumbs. Make sure it's nice and even."

Thread carefully followed Pin's instructions, her fingers getting messy as she coated the chicken. "This is kinda fun," she admitted, glancing up at her mom.

Pin chuckled. "Cooking can be fun, especially when you're making something delicious." She set aside the finished tenders and heated the oil on the stove.

"How many of these are we going to have to make?" Thread asked.

Pin sighed. "Quite a lot. We have a total of ten people to feed at dinner, plus we need to save some for Auntie Barf Bag and Uncle Donut when they get home!"

Thread did the math in her head. "That's like...24 pieces of chicken!"

Pin nodded. "There are quite a lot of us in this house, huh?"

Thread smiled. "And that's why I'm here to help!"

Pin grinned. "I'm glad your helping me to! I need to finish up cutting up the rest of the chicken, and you can coat it, sound good?"

Thread proudly smiled. "Yes Chef Mommy!"

Pin and Thread had a good system going: Pin would cut a piece of chicken, hand it to Thread, and then Thread would coat it and put it on a plate. The two ladies continued to work hard in the kitchen, when all of the sudden, they heard someone coming in the front door.

"Who's there?" Pin asked, trying to make out who it could be.

Crying could be heard from the front door as it was slammed shut. "It's not fair!"

Pin and Thread looked at each other and nodded: it was Sack.

"What's not fair?" Pin asked with a friendly tone.

"I'm not good at soccer!" He complained. "Everyone is so much faster than me and I can never get the ball in time!"

Pin's expression softened. "Oh, I'm sorry buddy, that must be tough."

Sack nodded, as he headed into the kitchen. "It's no fun to play when everyone else is better! Even Sprinkle can run faster than me!"

"It must be hard watching everyone be faster than you, huh?" Pin said.

Sack nodded. "I just wanted to play but it's so hard!"

Pin gave a light chuckle. "You know what, I was never a sports person either. Me, Uncle Coiny, and Auntie Needle used to play games with each other, and let's just say that Auntie Needle beat the two of us almost every time."

Sack smiled through his tears. "Auntie Needle is really fast!"

Pin smiled back at him. "She really is, huh? That's why I let her and Uncle Coiny play with you guys, while I cook dinner when you guys get hungry from all your running around."

As Thread continued to coat the chicken, she felt bad for Sack. It was always a little harder for her to play games outside with the other kids; even with the wheelchair, she could never be on the exact same playing field as them. "Mom, can Sack come cook with us?"

Sack's eyes lit up. "Can I?'

Pin nodded. "Of course you can! But you have to promise me one thing, Sack?"

Sack looked up at Pin. "What is it?"

Pin smiled. "You can't put your thumb in your mouth: we want the food to be spit-free for everyone else, okay?"

Sack nodded. "Okay, I promise!"

"Great! You can help me mix the vegetables," Pin said, motioning to the cutting board where she had already chopped up carrots, bell peppers, and zucchini.

Sack climbed up onto the stool next to the counter, watching as Pin handed him a wooden spoon. "Just mix them up so all the colors are nice and even," she instructed.

Sack took the spoon and stirred the veggies around, his frustration about soccer momentarily forgotten. "This is kinda fun," he admitted.

Thread grinned. "Cooking's cool, no wonder Flare does it all the time."

Pin smiled at them both. "And it's something you can always get better at,

After a few more minutes, the chicken was ready to fry, and the vegetables were sizzling on the stove. Just as Pin was about to start plating the food, the front door opened again, and this time, it was the rest of the family, getting ready to come in for dinner.

"Something smells good!" Sprinkle announced, sniffing the air.

Sack turned to his twin and grinned. "Me and Thread helped make dinner!"

Sprinkle gasped dramatically. "No way! You cooked?"

Sack puffed out his chest. "Yep! And I didn't even put my thumb in my mouth once!"

Pin chuckled, giving both of the kids high-fives. "You both did a great job."

Sprinkle looked between them. "Man, soccer was really tiring, maybe I should have gone and cooked instead."

"What do you mean?" Dimey said. "It wasn't that tiring!"

"Yes it was!" Saw said. "You guys were all running around so fast, even I had trouble keeping up!"

Pin laughed. "I think we're just about done cooking, but we could use some extra helpers to set up the table."

Bladey ran into the kitchen. "I'll do it, Auntie Pin!" she eagerly ran off to grab the plates as Pin started bringing everything to the dining table.

Gaty peeked into the kitchen, smiling when she saw the kids proudly standing next to their work. "Wow, this looks amazing!"

Needle nodded. "I agree! Besides, all that running around has given me quite the appetite."

Coiny nodded in agreement. "Great job, you guys."

Thread, Sack, and Sprinkle beamed. As everyone sat down to eat, Sack took a bite of his chicken tender and grinned.

"This might be the best dinner ever!" he declared.

Pin smirked. "That's because it was made with love."

Sack smiled, feeling a little better about the day. Maybe he wasn't the fastest runner, but at least tonight, he had done something cool to help out the family.

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I've wanted do have Pin cook with the kiddos for quite some time but could never fit it in anywhere! I'm definitely a lot like Sack, I could never run to save my life (that's why I stick to Ice Hockey and Skiing lol). Not much else I have to say, see you in the next chapter!

- Sunny