Chuck Hall picked up his microphone and stood between us.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said to the same seven people in the audience. “The Junior Chef Cook-Off is now over, and all that’s left to do is the tasting. I’m going to take one taste of each dish, and decide who will appear with me on Country Cooking for the City.”
Chuck picked up Judith Ann’s plate, took a big sniff, then popped a bite of the meatball into his mouth.
“Mmmm . . . very tasty,” he said. “And I love the creative way you designed your plate. A meatless meatball on a meatless pancake. So creative.”
Then he turned to me, picked up the glass, and smiled.
“This looks yummy,” he said. “I love a good smoothie.”
He raised the glass to his lips and took a big sip through the straw. I waited, but not for long. He spit the smoothie out of his mouth like he was a fire truck hose.
“What did you put in there?” he gasped. “It’s so sour!”
“That was my special ingredient,” I explained with my old Zipzer attitude. “I thought it would give my smoothie a personality.”
Chuck took a paper napkin and wiped his tongue to try to get the taste out of his mouth. It was pretty clear that he didn’t think peanut butter and pickles was a good combo.
“This is the easiest contest I’ve ever judged,” he said, still spitting into the microphone. “The winner, and the contestant who will appear on television, is Judy Zipzer.”
“Excuse me, sir,” I whispered to him. “She really likes it if you call her Judith Ann.”
Judith Ann was the happiest person I had ever seen in my whole life.
In the middle of her happy dance, she suddenly stopped and turned to me.
“I’m so sorry, Hank,” she said.
“I’m not,” I answered. “You deserved to win. Besides, I still get my hearty handshake from Chuck Hall.”
Ashley and Frankie had run down from the audience to be with me.
“We were sure you were going to win,” Ashley said.
“Yeah, what happened, Hankster?” Frankie asked.
I just shrugged. My secret ingredient was going to stay my secret forever.
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You Can't Drink a Meatball Through a Straw #7 Page 4
