That's How the Cookie Crumbles

Sarah and Millie just stood there watching the cool kids cajole.

“We are such nerds.” Sarah looked on the verge of tears.

“So, want do you want to do about it?” Millie tried to smile.

“I don’t know.”

Allison arrived and sighed. 

“Why do you guys torture each other by watching the cool kids all the time?”

“I want to be a cool kid,” said Sarah.

“Why you don’t get any extra money for it. They aren’t any cooler than the three of us.” Allison nodded her head.

“You’re just saying that because you are a nerd like us,” retorted Sarah.

“Sarah is right. I would rather be a cool kid hanging with the cool kids than a nerd feeling sorry for myself. “ Millie looked sad.

“Well, if you don’t want to be a nerd your whole life then do something really cool.” Allison looked at the other two.

“Like what?”

“Do something that no one has ever done before that will make you recognized and then maybe the cool kids will take notice and include you in their circle.”

“That’s a great idea,” jumped Sarah.

“It has some merit, but what could we do?”

“How about setting some kind of world record?” Allison eyed the other two.

“We could do that,” surmised Sarah.

“Like what kind of record?” Millie looked at her two friends.

“I am not sure, but how about we think it over at the Cookie Factory?”

“Let’s go,” said Sarah.

Allison’s Aunt Bonnie owned the Cookie Factory. It was a neat place where you could sit and drink all types of coffees and teas from around the world and smell the wonderful food coming out of the large ovens. It seemed every cookie on the planet was made there.

The three walked inside and Aunt Bonnie greeted the girls.

“Hello, super girls, how are the coolest three girls in the world today?”

Sarah and Millie laughed despite themselves.

Allison just shook her head.

“Aunt Bonnie you say that all the time.”

“I only speak the truth.”

“Aunt Bonnie, we aren’t very cool.” Sarah looked at her and shook her head.

“Oh, and are you the authority on cool?”

Sarah laughed.

“No, I’m not the authority on cool.”

“Then how do you know you aren’t cool?”

“Because none of the cool kids in school think we are cool,” offered Millie.

“Oh, they the authorities on cool? I see some of them come in here and they are no cooler than anyone else.”

“That’s what I told them Aunt Bonnie, but they wouldn’t believe me.”

“Well, while you figure out what is cool how about something to eat and drink?”

“We will have the usual,” Aunt Bonnie.

“Okay, but if you are trying to be cool, how about you change things up a bit? Think outside of the box.”

“I thought you said we were cool?” Sarah looked at her.

“You are only as cool as you think you are. And, the people that are cool are those that do their own thing and don’t worry about what others have to say.”

“My aunt is right.”

“That’s easy for you to say, Aunt Bonnie, you own your own store and it is cool.” Millie smiled at the older woman. 

Aunt Bonnie shook her head and started to work on their orders. The girls sat at their usual table and talked.

Allison was reading the latest news.

“Maybe, she has a point,” Sarah said.

“She probably does, but she doesn’t go to junior high with a bunch of snobs that think they are superior to us.” Millie nodded her head.

“Hey, look, there it is,” said Allison.

“There is what?” Sarah looked annoyed.

“Our key to becoming really super cool.”

“What is it?” Sarah and Millie both made a face.

“There is a bake off to see who can make the biggest cookie.”

Millie pulled out her phone. She rolled her eyes.

“The biggest cookie ever weighed over 40,000 pounds. The diameter was over a hundred feet wide. It took 30,000 whole eggs, 10 million chunks of semi-sweet chocolate and over 5 tons of flour. Any other bright ideas?”

Allison would not let it go.

“Okay, so it is going to take a lot of effort. But, what if we initiated it in school? The principal stated the other day that we needed to do something to put the school on the map. Remember, we are going to have that pep rally where people present ideas? Let’s get everyone on board to make a giant cookie. So we make the world’s biggest treat, the school becomes popular, it makes the record books and presto we are like super cool.”

“You are such a dreamer, Allison.” 

“Millie is right. Even if we were able to convince the principal and those snobs to make a giant cookie where are we going to get all the ingredients?”

“Sponsors, of course,” Aunt Bonnie smiled. She arrived with their orders.

“You think that there would be sponsors that would do this?” Millie didn’t look convinced.

“Sure, if it is for a good cause.”

“We can make this work.” Allison was very excited. “Come on, let’s hurry up and enjoy our treats and then go and talk to the principal.”

Allison was super excited, while the others lagged behind her.

“Hey, look it is the nerd squad,” said one of the cool people.

The three didn’t even say a word. They headed for the principal’s office. Ms. Armstrong was a very nice woman and loved student initiative.

She listened and smiled and nodded her head and repeated this over and over.

“So what do you think, Mrs. Armstrong?”

“This would be an enormous undertaking. You would need sponsors and some type of giant oven. Plus it would take a concentrated effort and someone to over see the project. I don’t know.”

“We could get sponsors to pay for everything and the entire student body involved. It would put us on the map and we would do it for charity.”

“I tell you what girls, you get all of your ducks lined up, sponsors, your aunt, the student body, a giant oven and a place to put this giant cookie where no one will destroy it and then it will get my seal of approval.”

Allison nodded her head and pounded her fist on the large, wooden desk.

“We will get this done.”

Allison made over a hundred phone calls looking for sponsors, but none of them offered more than five pounds of sugar.

There was no way to build a giant oven and they could not use the gymnasium to store the cookie since it was the start of volleyball and basketball season. But, she was determined and went ahead with the project creating all types of details that were accurate and correct.

The idea was shot down at a student rally when everyone was allotted a couple of minutes to introduce their super idea. Allison, Millie and Sarah presented the idea. They had charts and boards.

Everyone laughed especially the cool people.

The three of them felt horrible and walked off the stage. To make it worse, Millie tripped and fell on top of the fake cookie they had made for the presentation.

II

It was eighteen years later, long after everyone had graduation from junior high when Allison the chef created the world’s biggest cookie with her trained staff and proper, high-tech facilities. She had worked in her Aunt Bonnie’s place while in high school and knew that she wanted to make food the rest of her life.

The cookie was a huge undertaking and required a lot of sweat and ingenuity, the girl was on a mission. Eventually, all of her hard work paid off. 

The cookie entered the Guinness Book of World Records and she gained a few minutes of fame.

Allison called the giant cookie the Sarah-Millie special.