“Mmm. I like watermelon best,” Alex said. “But I can’t imagine a watermelon jellybean with a soft pretzel bite inside.”
“You never know until you try it.” Kate added three watermelon-flavored jellybeans on top of one of the pretzel bites. “I like strawberry, myself.” She added a couple of strawberry flavored jellybeans on top of another pretzel bite.
“Let’s go crazy with the rest,” Alex said. “Try all sorts of different flavors.”
Kate nodded as she added jellybeans to the rest of the star-shaped holes. “Okay, are you ready to watch the magic?”
Alex nodded.
Kate put the tray in the oven and counted to ten. Then, just as the little bell went off, she pulled it out of the other side. True to her word, the jellybeans had melted, and then re-hardened around the pretzel bites, creating colorful star shapes.
“This is a non-stick pan, so they pop right out,” Kate said. She turned it upside down and sure enough, a dozen brightly colored candies easily fell out. She nibbled the strawberry one, savoring the sticky goodness and the chewy, salty pretzel inside. “Mmm.”
“Mmm is right!” Alex said, chomping down on the watermelon one. “I’m going to have the cinnamon,” she said, grabbing a red one.
“Hey, I thought you said you were eating healthy?” Kate said.
“Oh, yeah.” Alex shrugged and then laughed. “I’ll have a salad for lunch to make up for it.”
A few minutes later, the girls were a giggly mess, their fingers covered in drippy, sticky sweetness. Alex wiped off her hands and reached for her video camera.
“I can’t believe I almost forgot to tape this!” she said. She videotaped several minutes of Kate demonstrating her Turbo Heat-Freeze then finally clicked the camera off. “Okay, enough taping! Back to eating. I need to try the sour apple next.”
“Apples are fruit, right?” Kate asked, and then giggled. “That means they’re healthy.”
Alex laughed. “I don’t think apple candy is the same thing as a real apple, Kate, but good try!”
She put the camera down and reached inside the bag of jellybeans, still grinning.
“Speaking of sour apples…” Kate nudged her and pointed to Phillip, who entered the booth next to them with his parents.
“Who is that?” Alex asked. She raised her eyebrows. “Do you have a crush on him or something?”
“No way. That’s Phillip. He doesn’t like me…at all!”
He turned her way, his smile fading the moment he laid eyes on her invention.
As he passed by he whispered, “Just wait, Kate Oliver. You might have won the science fair, but I’m going to be the big winner at this competition. I’m going to come out on top…no matter what it takes.”
A little shiver ran down Kate’s spine as she thought about his words. Why did he have to be at war? Couldn’t they just be friends? Why did he always have to prove that he was better than she was?
Thankfully, her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“We’ve decided to take a trip to Amish country when you’re done here,” her mom said. “It’s time to stop at that pretzel factory you love so much!”
“Yes!” Kate’s heart soared with anticipation. Finally! She would get to take Alex to meet two of her favorite people in the world—the two ladies who owned the Twisted Twins pretzel factory. And while she and Alex were there, they could buy a couple of yummy pretzels. Kate’s mouth watered just thinking about them.
“Go ahead and set up your table properly,” her mother said, looking at the mess they’d made. “Then you girls can spend a few minutes looking at the other inventions.” She leaned close and whispered, “There’s more here than candy, you know.”
Kate giggled. As much as she wanted to see the ladies who ran the pretzel factory, it was far more important to stay focused right now. She needed to remember why she’d come to Hershey, after all.
As if Phillip would let her forget. As she glanced his way, he mouthed the words, “I’m going to win!” and gave her a creepy look. Kate sighed and stared at the Turbo Heat-Freeze. It was a great invention, but would the judges think so? Only time would tell. In the meantime, she had some pretzels to eat!
Tasty News
Kate and Alex straightened the table, then walked through the hall, checking out the other inventions. She couldn’t remember ever seeing so many unusual and inventive things under one roof. A lot of super-intelligent students were part of the exhibition, and their inventions were so clever! How her little Turbo Heat-Freeze could compare, she wasn’t sure. Still, she was happy to be considered for the prize. What an honor!
She saw people from every state in the United States. Maggie from Texas had something called a ball hopper, which picked up tennis balls from the court. Lilliana from Hawaii had a battery-powered lei, which lit up and played Hawaiian music. Kate was especially interested in the tri-fold movie camera a girl from California had invented. How very cool…and how unique!
Yes, unique was truly the word. Kate was having far too much fun just seeing how talented all of the kids were. It was great to be one of the group.
“Thank You, Lord, for letting me come here,” she whispered. “This is the coolest thing ever!”
A man wearing a shirt with the Hershey’s logo on it stopped by. A smile lit his face when he saw the name on her badge.
“Kate Oliver! I’m happy to meet you at last!”
Kate looked up. The man standing next to her had eyes the color of the sky and soft, wrinkly skin. She especially liked his white mustache and beard. He looked a little like Santa Claus was imagined to look, now that she thought about it. She stared at him a bit longer, realizing he looked just like the man in her dream—the one who had handed her the trophy!
“My name is Kris Carmichael,” he said, extending his hand. “I am the Program Director for Hershey. I’m also the director of the Young Inventors’ Festival, and we’re so happy to have you here representing your school.”
“Oh, thank you, sir,” she said, trying to hide her embarrassment. “I’m so excited!” She shook his hand, noticing how tiny her hand felt in his. In fact, everything about her felt small next to this large man with the booming voice and bright smile.
“What have we here?” Mr. Carmichael asked, looking at Kate’s invention.
She quickly explained the Turbo Heat-Freeze, and he looked very interested.
“This sounds a little like the process we use at the Hershey factory, but appears to work on a much faster scale. Very interesting. Based on first impressions, I would have to say that the Turbo Heat-Freeze will revolutionize the candy-making industry because it cuts down on the heating and cooling time. And it softens the candy without fully melting it, which is quite clever. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything with these capabilities, to be honest.”
Kate felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. “Thank you, Mr. Carmichael.”
“My pleasure. I never mind talking about young geniuses.”
“Oooh, she is a genius, isn’t she?” Alex said with a smile. “The Camp Club Girls are so proud of her.”
“Camp Club Girls?” Mr. Carmichael gave her an odd look. “Who are they?”
“Oh, we’re a group of girls who met at camp,” Kate explained. “Alex, Elizabeth, Bailey, Sydney, McKenzie, and me. We solve mysteries together.”
“Mysteries, eh?” He gave her a curious look. “Found anything mysterious here at Hershey?”
“Not yet, sir,” she said and then leaned in to whisper, “but I’m sure we will. Mysteries seem to follow us wherever we go.”
He had a good laugh at that one. “Well I wish you the best—with your invention and your mystery solving. And when you see those other Camp Club Girls next time, tell them to eat more chocolate.”
“Oh, that’s not possible, sir,” Alex said, rubbing her stomach. “We already eat more chocolate than most kids.”
“Especially me,” Kate said and then laughed.
He grinned. “T
hat’s what we like to hear. As long as people go on loving chocolate, Hershey will go on making it.”
“Then you can count on making it forever,” Kate said, “because I’m sure I’ll love it that long. Maybe longer.”
“Do you think there’ll be chocolate in heaven?” Alex asked, reaching for her video camera. “And before you answer, would you mind if I videotaped what you’re about to say?”
“I suppose that would be all right.” Mr. Carmichael cleared his throat and adjusted his shirt collar. “How do I look?”
“Fine, sir,” Kate said.
Alex spoke loudly as the video camera ran. “I’m here at the famous Hershey’s chocolate factory with Mr. Carmichael, who is heading up the Young Inventors’ Festival. I’ve just asked him if he believes there will be chocolate in heaven.” She drew nearer to him and said, “Please tell our viewers what you think, Mr. Carmichael.”
“Well…” His cheeks turned red, and he looked a little embarrassed. “I hope so,” he said at last. “I would imagine there’s a chocolate river in heaven with a beautiful waterfall that never stops flowing. Wouldn’t you?”
“Yum!” Kate licked her lips, envisioning it. Surely if God could make streets of gold, He could make a river of chocolate, right? And in heaven, they wouldn’t even need the Turbo Heat-Freeze. Surely everything there would be far better than anything she could invent, anyway!
“Thank you for that exciting answer,” Alex said, and then turned off the camera. She grinned at Mr. Carmichael.
“Well, speaking of chocolate,” he said, turning to Kate, “I do hope you can join the other competitors at the amusement park on the last day of the competition, after the winner is announced.”
“We plan to, if the weather is good,” Kate responded. “It’s done nothing but rain since we got here.”
“Yes, and it’s exceptionally hot for this time of year,” he added. “Very odd.”
“Speaking of the amusement park, that reminds me. I forgot to say thank you for the tickets,” Kate said. “It was so nice of the festival people to provide tickets for everyone in my family.”
“Our pleasure.” The wrinkles around his eyes grew more pronounced as he smiled. “We know that young inventors love adventure, and Hershey’s amusement park is loaded with adventure.”
She nodded. “I can’t wait to find out for myself!”
“Well, you’re a talented young inventor, Kate Oliver.” He gave her another encouraging smile. “Perhaps you’ll work for us some day!”
He turned to walk away, but then looked back, giving the Turbo Heat-Freeze one last admiring glance.
“I think he’s interested in it, Kate,” Alex whispered. “And who knows? Maybe the people at Hershey will hire you one day. You could end up working here when you’re grown up.”
“I would love that. It would give me the opportunity to invent more things!” She gave her table one last glance then took a few steps through the crowd of people. “Can you imagine how much chocolate I could eat if I worked here?” They both laughed. “But seriously, I’ve already been exploring the idea of making a candy that the Hershey’s people would love using those tiny square pretzels. You know the ones I’m talking about, right? They’re crunchy, not soft.”
“Waffle pretzels?” Alex asked, her nose slightly wrinkled. “They’re sold in a bag at the store?” She continued to walk beside Kate, though it was difficult to stay together in the crowd.
“Yes. That’s right.” Kate said. “I got the idea after eating a candy my aunt made last Christmas. You take one of those little waffle pretzels and put a Hershey’s Kiss on top then you put it on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven. You can use a Hershey’s Hug, if you like white and dark chocolate mixed together. Anyway, you leave it in there for about four or five minutes until it softens. Then you pull it out of the oven before it melts and let it cool to re-harden. But first you press a Reese’s Pieces candy on top.”
She started walking again, suddenly feeling hungry.
“Mmm. Chocolate and peanut butter,” Alex said, then licked her lips. “Sounds divine. Like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, only with a pretzel bottom.”
“Right.” Kate nodded as she continued to walk. “My aunt even made a few of those pretzel candies using Hershey’s Kisses with caramel centers. I remember they were really yummy and gooey.”
“Oh wow. I never thought of that!” Alex’s eyes grew wide and she grinned. “Sounds amazing!”
“Yes, the possibilities are endless because I can make them in ten seconds in the Turbo Heat-Freeze. No need for a regular oven anymore.” Kate grew more and more animated as excitement kicked in. “And it’s really cool because Hugs and Kisses come in so many different flavors now.”
“I wonder why the people at Hershey don’t mass-produce that pretzel kiss recipe,” Alex said. “Surely they have to know about it.”
Kate stopped walking and turned to face her. “With my invention, they could.”
“Oooh, Kate!” Alex looked at her and nodded. “I see what you mean. You want to show them how quickly it could be done in your Turbo Heat-Freeze machine? Then maybe they’ll be even more interested?”
“Exactly!” Kate nodded. “Maybe I’ll get the chance before the competition ends. And who knows…” she leaned in to whisper, “maybe you’re right. Maybe I will work here someday!”
Her mind reeled with possibilities as they continued walking. In fact, she found herself so distracted that she almost ran into a girl about her age. Kate tried not to stare at the girl’s navy blue dress and stiff white cap.
“Look at that girl,” Alex whispered, giving Kate a nudge with her elbow. “She must be Amish. Look at what she’s wearing.”
“Mm-hmm.” Kate nodded. “I think it’s interesting that several competitors are from the Amish community. They don’t use electricity, but they’re still inventive.”
“I guess you would have to be if you didn’t have electricity,” Alex said, and then laughed. “Can you imagine living without it?”
“No, but I guess it would be like camping.”
“Not exactly,” Kate’s father said, drawing near with her mother. “The Amish have created their own sort of technology. Nothing rustic about it.”
He went on to talk about what life was like in Amish households and how beautiful the Amish farmlands were, but Kate wasn’t really paying attention. She was too busy looking at Phillip, who passed with a bag in his hand. She smiled warmly, hoping he would return it with a smile of his own. Instead, his eyes narrowed and he turned to look the other way.
“Everything okay?” Alex asked, giving her a nudge.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Sure.” Kate shrugged. She wasn’t going to let a competitive boy ruin a perfectly good day. Not when so many exciting things lay ahead!
“Kate, are you nearly ready to go?” Her mother’s voice rang out. “We need to head out to the pretzel factory now.”
“Yes! Just let me take care of a couple of more things at my table.” She began to work at tidying up as well as she could and making sure she had all of the supplies she would need for the next day’s preliminary round of judging.
With newfound excitement, Kate headed off to a pretzel wonderland!
All Twisted
Kate and Alex shared a quick lunch with their parents then climbed into the Oliver’s van for the drive to Amish country. Kate’s mom and dad sat near the front, chatting with Alex’s parents. Dexter sat in back with the girls. Kate and Alex spent the time laughing and talking about the adventures they’d had since meeting at camp. Dexter got bored with their conversation and started playing a video game.
A couple of times Kate glanced out the window of the van, noticing the scenery. Amish country was very beautiful.
It seemed like no time at all before they arrived at familiar building with the words TWISTED TWINS on front.
“So this is what a pretzel factory looks like,” Alex said, her eyes growing large. “I pictured it to be really big for s
ome reason.”
“Well, this is a family-run place,” Kate’s mother explained. “So it’s not very large. If you want to see a really big factory, you will find one in the next town over called the Bender Bakery. It’s quite famous. Maybe we can go there too.”
“The Bender factory is great,” Kate said, wrinkling her nose. “But I like this one best. Two sisters run it. They’re a lot of fun. I can’t wait to introduce you.”
“Are they Amish?” Alex asked, reaching for her video camera.
“No.” Kate’s mom shook her head. “But they do a lot of business with the Amish community, and they are respected because they still handtwist their pretzels. And the pretzels are the family’s original recipe, I understand.”
“Besides, the sisters are so much fun to be around,” Kate added. “I met them the last time I was here, and we’ve been emailing back and forth ever since I invented the Turbo Heat-Freeze. They’re interested in it.”
“Wow, Kate.” Alex gave her an admiring look. “That’s really cool.” She paused for a moment. “But why is the factory called Twisted Twins?”
“Twisted…like pretzels. Get it?” Kate giggled.
“Oh, okay.” Alex grinned. “Got it. But what about the twins part? Are they twin sisters?”
Kate nodded. “Yep. And guess what? They don’t just look alike…they dress alike too. And wait till you see what they wear!”
“Wow.” Alex grinned. “Can’t wait.”
“And this is really cool,” Kate added. “They want to test-market my Turbo Heat-Freeze while I’m here. In fact, they promised to come by my booth at the Young Inventors’ Festival to look at it. They even said they might hire me to work for them someday.”
“Wow,” Alex whispered. “Think about it, Kate. You’re not even a teenager yet and already two different companies want you to work for them—Hershey, and now the Twisted Twins pretzel factory!”
Kate giggled. “They both sound like fun. I would have a hard time choosing.”
“Not me.” Alex laughed. “What can compare with chocolate, after all?”
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