Fresh Start

Fresh Start By Amanda Stogsdill

Mandy's stomach was in Butterfly City as she boarded the bus the first day of school. Why did we have to move anyway? She knew the answer; Mom switched jobs, (she now baked at the cafe, which offered better pay than her previous one) and unexpectedly sold their house and moved to a new city towards the end of summer. Life would still be tough for a while. Glumly, Mandy slumped down in a middle seat, and stared out the window. The only bright spot was her Mom was going to teach her how to bake a pie.

"Mandy, welcome! I'm Ms. Grey, you can sit by Lulu. Everyone, this is Mandy." Curious eyes stared at Mandy's long hair tied into a ponytail, worn but clean clothes, and slightly scuffed shoes. Compared to everyone else in their new clothes and shiny shoes, she stuck out like a sore thumb.

As the teacher continued with her lesson, Lulu hissed, "Thrift store!" Ignoring her, Mandy tried concentrating on Ms. Grey. "Three times six? Anyone?" When no one raised their hands, Mandy gave the answer. In reading, she was one of the best readers! Ms. Grey smiled.

"Teacher's pet!" The chant followed Mandy through the cafeteria to an empty table. "Some start to my first day!" She muttered. Unenthusiastically, she bit into her tuna sandwich.

"Hey, thrifty! Does your Mom dumpster dive?" A boy from class laughed, holding his nose. His clothes weren't new either, he was just going along with the rest. Mandy thought. Biting back a retort, Mandy concentrated on her lunch.

"Well how was school? Made any friends?" Mom asked, turning from the stove.

"My teacher Ms. Grey likes me." Mandy answered, "I knew my three multiplication tables." Mandy got down the pie tin and waited impatiently for more instructions.

"Okay. First, we'll make the crust. Flour, sugar, baking soda, salt. Combine that." Mandy did so thinking, "This flour is my nervousness. Sugar is Ms. Grey. This salt is the mean kids." Once all ingredients were combined, the dough was rolled out into a circle and fitted into the pie plate.

"We'll make the filling tomorrow!" Mom promised, "Let's eat." Relieved, their talk turned to what color Mandy's room should be painted.

All went well until after lunch. During recess, some girls cornered Mandy in the playground. "Bag girl, bag girl!" Mandy's face flushed red hot. Fists raised, she faced Lulu. "Shut up!" She hissed through clenched teeth, "Leave me alone." Lulu, the taller of the two had the advantage of size; Mandy waited for the first punch. Wham! Her cheek stung from the slap, however, she got in a strong one to Lulu's mouth. "Girls, that is un-called-for. To the Principal, now!" Both were marched off, amid cheers from the delighted crowd.

"You what?" Mom's nostrils flared, her breath coming in small gasps. "Don't you ever embarrass me again!" She gripped Mandy's shoulders; wincing, Mandy tried to explain the situation. "Not another word, young lady. To your room."

Mandy punched a pillow over and over, tears running down her cheeks. Not fair, not fair. Those girls started it, I was only defending myself! Mandy even refused supper, which was against the rules. Meals were family time. "Just for tonight, you may eat in your room!"

"May I come in?" Outside, shadows were lengthening, the sky was growing dark. Mandy ignored Mom as she stepped into her room. "I'd like to say I'm sorry. I didn't listen to you."

"Sure didn't. You always said to stick up for myself."

Mom smiled. "Yes, but not with your fists. You didn't run away, I'm proud of you for that."

"I hate that school. Nothing but snobs with their fancy clothes and shoes."

"It's only your second day. Give it time." Mom brushed Mandy's damp hair off her forehead. "Tomorrow's a new day."

Mom was right! Kids either avoided her or cheered, "You punched Lulu." Smugly, she wore that badge proudly until lunchtime.

"Hey, scarecrow. What are you eating?" A boy from another class pushed his way to Mandy's table. "Want to fight?" Mandy sized him up, then decided it wasn't worth it. Shaking her head, she continued eating her cold pizza. Just like that, her short-lived reputation as a fighter went out the window.

Ms. Grey had a surprise assignment that Friday. "I've heard some of you picking fights. Principal Wood forbids fighting. Disrespecting others isn't tolerated, either. Your assignment is to write a paper about what kindness means to you. You also have to do three kind things for another person. No dictionary definitions. And chores don't count." Several kids put their hands down, groaning.

"What else should we add?" Mom wiped sweat off her forehead; without air conditioning, the house was very stuffy.

"Apples, maybe. Are we really going to bake this?" Mandy stared at the cobbled-together ingredients strewn on their counter. Mom just smiled, and began chopping an apple. Mandy asked if Mom knew of anyone who needed any errands done, but she didn't. That means I'll have to find someone in class! Mandy groaned silently. She was now slicing a carrot. As the chunks fell on the plate, she hoped it wouldn't be Lulu!

That Saturday was food pantry day. Swallowing her pride, Mandy went with Mom to pick up groceries. While there, Mandy asked if there was any way she could volunteer. "We're always looking for extra workers. Can you come after school and unpack?" The lady asked. Mandy agreed, glad she'd solved her problem. “We could always use extra food.” She added.

The next week proved unsuccessful in the recruiting help department. Whenever Mandy asked, she was shunned. "No way. Get somebody else!" Unsure what to do, Mandy turned her attention to the staff. No one wanted to help. Only the librarian offered any solution. "Ask at our local restaurants. They always have leftover food. Perhaps they can spare some."

Again, her efforts were met with indifference. "No one will eat this. We can't give it away." She was told over and over. Undaunted, Mandy's mind kept returning to pies! then, Mandy was hit with an inspiration. We could bake pies and sell them at a bake sale, with the money going toward the food pantry.

"Mom, I have an idea. We'll bake pies!" Mandy excitedly mapped out her plan at dinner.

Mom was slightly skeptical. "What if nobody buys them? Where will we get the ingredients? How many should we make?" Mandy was subdued, she hadn't thought of that. All night, she wracked her brain, trying to come up with a plan.

On Monday, Mandy asked Ms. Grey if she could make an announcement. Sweating, Mandy faced the class and explained her idea. Everyone shouted out their favorite pies, but no one offered suggestions for purchasing and storing ingredients.

"Could you ask at the cafe?" Mandy was rather desperate. Mom looked doubtful, explaining how like the other cafes, they were required to dispose of all food, eaten or not. Sighing, Mandy decided to ask their neighbors.

The next afternoon, her door-knocking began. House to house she went, asking for storage space or any spare pie ingredients. In the storage department, she struck out. Not so with the ingredients—mothers offered flour, eggs, sugar, chocolate chips, among other things. Knowing it wasn't nearly enough, Mandy thanked them and returned home.

"Mom, look!" Excitedly, she dumped her donated supplies on the kitchen table. "Where in the world did all this come from?" Mom gasped. As Mandy finished, her Mom was frowning. "We can't pay these people back! What were you thinking?"

"They were thrilled to help when they heard what it was for!" That satisfied Mom for the time being.

"I have an extra fridge you could use!" Britany offered shyly. She hadn't taunted Mandy, but she hadn't been particularly nice, either.

"Thanks." Mandy wanted to trust her. "I'll need help loading the supplies."

"My brother drives. I'll bribe him." Britany grinned.

"Great. When can he come over?" Mandy and Britany arranged to meet that weekend.

"Mom, we have help. Brittany's mom will let us store extra supplies in her fridge!" The more her plan was coming together, the more enthusiastic Mandy became. Who knew how many pies they could make, if only they had volunteers, it would be perfect.

On Saturday morning, a loud motor interrupted Mandy's breakfast. Running to the door, she saw a tall boy of about sixteen getting out of the driver's seat of an old truck, followed by Britany. "Come in!" Mandy showed them into the cluttered kitchen. The extra ingredients had been squeezed on every available shelf space, and crammed into cupboards. It took three trips to load the truck. "That's all there is right now." Mandy said, "We’ll work with what we have."

"I'll help cook. And I'll ask Tara, too." Brittany was becoming excited herself.

On Sunday, Mandy and Britany spent the morning in Britany's kitchen, baking pie crusts. Grateful for her Mom's recipe with step by-step instructions, they soon had two cooled crusts in the basement fridge. "What about fillings?" Britany wiped flour off her shirt, surveying the messy counter and sink. Mandy would ask Mom for ideas.

After clean-up, they watched movies in the den. Mandy realized Britany's house wasn't fancy, just very well-cared for; matching furniture was clearly worn from much use. Mandy was sorry she'd judged everyone on sight.

All the following week, Mandy wrote down suggestions from anyone who volunteered one. The class had plenty, ranging from lemon to sweet potato. "Why not invent your own?" Britany suggested after hearing Mandy fret about which flavor to make.

"Why not! You're undicided. Instead of trying to please everyone, go with what sounds good."

Tara seconded that idea. She wasn't much of a cook, and had only volunteered because she was Britany's friend.

Lulu was avoiding Mandy. With less taunting, Mandy could focus on schoolwork, there were weekly spelling tests and games. Ms. Grey would divide the class into teams for a geography bee.

"Ugh, too sour!" Tara made a face at the lemonny taste. Mandy's Mom laughed. "That'll happen when you add too much lemon juice and not enough sugar to balance it out. Let's try again." After several mishaps including overboiling the mixture, the girls finally made a lemon meringue they were proud of. Each licked the bowl, savoring the tangy lemon. After dinner, they practiced their spelling and math, testing each other with flash cards.

The next afternoon, Lulu walked over to Britany and Mandy. "Mom's forcing me to help you guys!" Lulu grumpily flicked her long hair off her shoulders, "Thanks to your Mom, mine thinks it's a good idea for me to learn baking." She glared at Mandy. What did I do? I didn't force Mom to talk about my project.

"When can I come over?" Lulu asked, not looking at her.

"Saturday, at my house." Tara said.

"Let's get this over with. What can I do?" Lulu was still sulky, but seemed willing to pitch in.

"First, stir this egg, butter, sugar, then add coconut." It became obvious Lulu didn't know anything about baking; she stirred the batter once, then ... "Not yet!" Mandy stopped the uncombined batter going into the pan. "We heat it first." After the mixture cooked, Lulu poured it into the pie shell. Sliding it into the fridge, they cleaned up. "Tomorrow, we're making chocolate!" Britany declared.

There was a setback, of course. The chocolate overflowed in the microwave, resulting in a gloopy, sticky mess. "Cleaning this microwave stinks!" Britany complained, scrubbing the plate vigorously. Her Mom entered just then, and wasn't too happy to find her microwave and some of the counter covered in brown chocolate. "What's going on?" Hands on hips, she surveyed the mess. After Britany explained, her Mom ordered, "Clean it up. I knew this was a bad idea."

"That's what we are doing!" Tara said indignantly, holding up a stained rag. After the chocolate fiasco, Britany's Mom was always there to supervise.

 "She doesn't like messes!" Britany explained, which didn't help anyone's moods.

"If she hates messes, why'd she agree for us to use her kitchen?" Mandy asked.

Britany shrugged. "Thought she was being helpful. Our neighbors were loaning you supplies, so she decided to get in on your project."

"Same with me." Tara said, "Actually, I kind of like cooking. Mrs. Williams does ours." Mandy's heart twisted, she turned away to hide her humiliation. That explained everything; the sudden interest was all for show, to make their parents look good.

"Not us!" Tara and Britany said, to cover up the awkward silence, "Mom's just weird like that."

The next weekend, they tried their hands at an apple pie, the rich smell of cinnamon and sugar filled Mandy's house. "Delicious!" Tara breathed in the aroma, "I never knew baking apples smelled so good."

Meanwhile, posters about the upcoming bake sale were popping up all over school. The cafe where Mandy's Mom worked and the food bank proudly displayed posters, too. Kids were excited about eating the pies, even though none had volunteered to help bake them. It reminded Mandy and Tara of the Little Red Hen. As the day approached, there was organized chaos in Brittany's and Mandy's houses. Labeling took one afternoon. It was like a mini factory. They'd baked five pies, with the fifth being a surprise invention. Other women inspired by Mandy's idea, were contributing baked goods of their own.

Saturday arrived very overcast, which wasn't a problem as the sale would be held indoors. Britany's brother loaded a table in the back of their truck, and drove to the school. Inside, a crowd of kids milled around, women were setting up their tables. Britany, Mandy, and Tara hurried in, pies in their arms. Placing them on an empty table, they eagerly awaited their first customers.

"I call this Slice of Life Pie!" Mandy proudly held up the hot dessert. Lulu eyed its shape curiously, she'd probably never seen a square pie before. "Why's it square?"

"Each side represents a part of life. This side is chocolate for sweetness, this is walnuts for the tough parts, there's lemon for the sourness, and apples just because."

"Hmm. Very interesting." Lulu commented, still eyeing the square dessert without enthusiasm. Reluctantly, she took a slice of the walnut side. "This is good!" She was surprised, "I've never had walnuts before." As more kids passed their table, they tasted a different slice of pie. At nearby tables, kids were sampling the baked goods, chocolate cookies, and the peanut butter fudge her neighbors had brought. Mandy's spirits rose a little, soon the food bank would have more money for purchasing supplies. And, I've made a couple friends. Perhaps this place isn't so terrible, after all.

Mandy's Slice of Life Pie 1 cup nervousness

1/2 cup kindness

1 tsp meanness

filling 1 cup wisdom 1/3 cup happiness 1 cup inspiration Combine crust, place in pan. Combine filling, except for friendship. Bake until almost firm, spoon a dollop of friendship on top. Bake an additional few minutes. Serve warm, share with friends.

The End