Jimmy picked up all his cooking stuff from the Tortuga's storage.
"Let me get this straight: you're going to cook for kids?" Ventus asked.
"Not for just any kids. I'm volunteering as a cook at the orphanage, and I'm going to cook especially for the soccer team," Jimmy explained. "The little athletes will surely love my treats."
"I don't doubt that. You're the best cook I know," Koki complimented her boyfriend.
"Uh… but why?" David asked. "Don't they have a chef around there?"
"Their chef was dismissed, and their orphanage is about to close, unless they get the money to pay the rent and to fix some stuff arond there. Plus… mom has been feeling lonely, and she would love some company now that she's retiring, so..."
"She'll give a lair to a poor unfortunate soul from there? Aww, that's so thoughtful!" Clarissa afirmed.
"The orphanage situation can't be that bad… can it?" David asked.
The crew arrived at the orphanage: it was pratically near crumbling.
"Oh..." David gulped.
"Look! The Wild Kratts!" one of the orphan girls pointed out, calling the others' attention. In a few seconds, almost a hundred kids came swarming out the front door and onto the front lawn. Even the puppies they raised there rushed to meet the crew.
"Puppies!" Mina cheerfully said, with glowing eyes.
"They're so cute!" Elsa squealed, picking up a little grey pup.
Clarissa chuckled, as they licked her face. "Okay, you little rascals! Stop it!"
"How they're able to take care of pups too is beyond me," Ven stated. Several kids were looking at him. "Uh, hello."
"Are you related to the Kratt Bros?" one boy asked.
"Um..." He meddled with his fingers. "Yes, but not exactly in the way you expect."
"Oh, thank goodness you all came." One of the caretakers from the orphanage aproached the team. "I'm Ms. Gardenia, the last caretaker of the Sunlight Orphanage. As you could notice, our condition to raise the children here is surely not one of the best."
"Really?" David asked, with a sarcastic tone. "Haven't noticed."
"Jimmy told us you couldn't pay the rent or anything to fix this place," Aviva commented.
"Yes. Unless we gain the big prize in the soccer competition, I fear we'll… close the orphanage, and these poor little things will be left aside again," Ms. Gardenia lamented.
"No way, Jose!" Martin argumented. "Not with US here!"
"Martin's right. We're all living beings, and we must help each other," Chris pointed out.
"I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Thank you very much!" the caretaker said. Jimmy picked up his cooking stuff, and was soon surrounded by lots of glowing eyes.
"Jeepers..." He chuckled nervously. "When was the last time these tykes ate?"
The cafeteria soon was all cleaned up thanks to Martin and Ventus's combination of powers.
"Thanks for the help, guys. If I'm going to prepare something for them, can't work in a dump."
"You said it. Now, if you excuse me, I'll help Aviva with the soccer gear. Not only do they need to eat, but to practice as well," Ventus pointed out. "We'll see you later, JZ. Good luck."
In a few minutes, the whole cafeteria was crowded with elementary aged kids.
One of them, that seemed like the eldest of them all, with messy brown hair and grey eyes, came close to Jimmy.
"Hope we eat something good," he said rather demanding. "Our last chef sure didn't know a thing about good things to eat."
"Really?" Jimmy asked.
"If you even saw what he cooked, you would need barf bags. It looked like smashed slugs."
Jimmy flinched just by imagining the kind of stuff the kids used to eat. Then, he saw a reddish brown haired boy trying to get a seat. Around his neck was a broken, yellow stone on a black string.
"Hey, beat it! That's my seat!" One boy expelled the kid, rather brutally. Not wanting to fight, the kid retreated to an empty table in the corner. It seemed like no one even sat there.
"A-hem!" The brown-haired boy called his attention, making Jimmy look away. "So, you're going to cook something worth eating?"
"No need to worry, kids. I, the chef of the Wild Kratts themselves, will make the best food in your lives!"
"Okay then, can you make sure they're really sweet? The last guy made all this bitter stuff that we don't want to remember."
"Yeah!" a boy said.
"You said it, Buster!" a girl commented.
Jimmy, seeing the poor, famished look in the children's eyes, couldn't say no. "No problemo! Prepare yourselves for a gourmet meal!" He emphasized by pulling up his sleeves.
In half an hour, Jimmy returned from the kitchen with two attached food carts. The children's sights were delighted of seeing millions of cakes, brownies, cookies, and ice cream.
"Wow… how did he cook these things so fast?" a girl asked.
"Who cares? Let's eat!"
"Uh… shouldn't you start with some of the first cart's treats?" Jimmy suggested, showing them the first cart of fruits and vegetables. "Now, you kids eat, while I'll go check the field for the training." He left the room, dusting off his flour-covered hands.
"Why leave the tastiest of the food in last place, when we can have them now?" Buster pointed out.
"Uh, well, that's not how it really works," the skinny, reddish brunet said timidly.
"What do you know about how things work, Jake?" Buster said intimidately. The bully grabbed a brownie and bit into it. "Yum! These are the best! Not like that disgusting thing Mr. McGee used to cook for us."
"You didn't even taste it..." Jake mumbled, as he walked away, but not before secretly snatching some pieces of fruit from the first cart. With a plate of the fresh berries, and a cupcake for dessert, the kid hightailed out of the cafeteria.
"Just grow up, twerp!" Buster teased, making others laugh. Jake whimpered behind the door a little before biting into an apple slice. His eyes widened and he smiled in delight before skipping off.
"Okay, amigos!" Aviva called the kids. "Time for training! I want each of you in perfect shape for the soccer competition."
"Yes, sir!" the kids cheered. Their mouths sure had some food on the outside, but they ran and played like never before.
"Amazing!" Ms. Gardenia affirmed. "A month ago, they couldn't even kick the ball, but now, their energy is back!"
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Martin gasped. "Thay haven't eat for a MONTH?!"
"Like I said, we can't afford the best conditions for them. The last chef was dismissed, but I'm not so sure he'll return," the caretaker pointed out.
"Really? Why?" Jimmy asked.
"He said that the kids… simply refused to eat his food," Ms. Gardenia told them. "They merely used the food he made as projectiles in food fights." Jimmy gulped.
"Don't worry, Ms. Gardenia. No one will toss Jimmy's food," Chris assured. "It's too delicious to be thrown."
Jimmy caught sight of something off. The reddish-haired kid from earlier was sneaking out of the cafeteria with a bowl of salad and a yogurt cup.
"And he is..." Jimmy wondered, until he was hit by the soccer ball.
"Our ball boy. No one important," Buster, coming to pick the ball, pointed out. "Sorry about that. Need practice on my Rocket Kick." Soon, Jimmy's attention was returned to the other kids.
"I'm glad they finally abandoned this habit, and took the time to eat something," Ms. Gardenia commented. "Please, Jimmy, can you and your friends keep them happy and ready for the competition? It's our only hope."
"Sure, Ms. That's why we're here." Jimmy saw the pleadding look in the caretaker's eyes. He sure didn't know how to say no for that face.
Behind the cafeteria door, Jake jabbed some lettuce and a tomato with his fork and put them in his mouth. He hummed in bliss at the taste of the fresh veggies before walking off.
As the kids reunited for dinner, and the team laid exhausted on their beds in the Tortuga, Jimmy remained in the kitchen. Jake wanted to congratulate him for the excellent food and tell him about Buster, but the bully himself came in front, pushing him aside, and being followed by the rest of the kids.
"You passed our test, Jimmy Z. Never before we had a good chef arond here," the boy said.
"Aw, geez. I'm just doing what's right," Jimmy assured.
"What's right, eh?" Buster showed him a list. "Look, the competition is only a few weeks from now. We need you to make sure we remain happy and ready, just like Ms. Gardenia said. You don't wanna disappoint her, neither us, do you?"
"Uh… no. Of course not."
"Then keep cooking the things we want and need. Same as ever. No changes."
Jake gulped. This sure was NOT going to end well. But, as always, neither Jimmy nor the rest of the team would hear him.
*BG music: Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride*
Days passed, and Jimmy kept cooking, following Buster's main orders. Every time though, he saw the same boy sneaking away with the healthier stuff as if he'd get in trouble for it. He would've followed one day if it wasn't for the slice of chocolate cake that suddenly came at his face. The kids were becoming more rowdy than usual.
Even though they were messy, no bigger complaints were made. But as the final days of training came, the kids, except for Jake, showed less and less enthusiasm in training. Jimmy, busy in the kitchen, didn't even notice that, and no matter how Jake tried to warn him, Buster always got there first.
"Well, kiddies, the competition's nearly here, and it's almost training time," Jimmy said, as he finished cooking. Then, he took a good look at the kids. They looked a little… well, nauseated. "Uh, is everyone okay?"
"Say that again and..." one boy snapped drowsily, but then, held his belly in pain.
"Maybe all you kids need is something good to eat. Nothing like good food to put a smile in these frowns faces. And by good food, I mean..." Then, he saw the first cart. "Hey… you didn't even touch the food in the first cart."
"That's the yucky stuff the last guy wanted us to eat!" a girl groaned.
"But… I thought you liked..." Jimmy gasped. Has he been fooled?
"Shut it!" Buster shouted grouchily, slamming his hands on the table. "There's only one person who's responsible for us looking like this, and it's YOU!"
"Uh... But… you… what?" Jimmy said lowly, afriad of what was coming and backing up.
"GET HIM!" Buster shouted with a plate of cake in his hand. Jimmy screamed and ducked into the kitchen. His cap had fallen off.
Outside the cafeteria door, the boy watched as a food fight broke out. He hugged the bowl with his fruit salad close, and quickly ducked behind the door before a plate of custard doughnuts could splatter him. With that, he retreated down the hall.
In the courtyard outside, the brothers and Koki were setting up the field for the kids' soccer practice again.
"I wonder how Jimmy is handling feeding all those kids," Martin said. "The competition is close, and so is the time for them to pay the rent."
"Probably he's running to get seconds because his cooking is number one," Chris replied.
"You can say that again," Ven commented. The four then heard a door open. They looked to see the reddish brunet checking for any other kids, his fruit salad in hand. "That boy didn't even wait for a line to be formed." They watched as the orphan sighed in relief and walked out onto the grass.
"Lunch shouldn't even be over yet. And it doesn't look like he's even touched his food."
"Why is he being secretive?"
"Um, is it okay if I eat out here?" the kid asked the grown ups. "I don't want my food to be thrown away." The trio looked at each other in a bit of confusion before turning their attention back to the boy.
"Uh, I'm sure the teachers won't mind. As long as you finish it."
"Thrown food?" Koki thought.
"Thank you." The boy walked over to the nearby bench before sitting down.
"Okay..." Koki found the boy's comment rather… curious, and decided to get some answers. She had to wait a moment since the kid had already started digging into his salad. He had a gleeful look on his face as he chewed the sweet fruit.
"So good. The others don't know what they're missing," he said mid-chew.
"Excuse me for interrupting your lunch, but what's this about food being thrown away?" Koki asked the boy.
Jimmy panted as he cleaned the mess the kids caused from the food fight. He eventually fainted from tiredness.
Koki stormed through the door, and saw her boyfriend with an exhausted look.
"Jimmy!" She helped him up. "Oh my gosh… what a mess!"
"The kids got all mad at me. I don't get it… I cooked this and all they asked for all these days, and they all loved it so much..." The girl Guardian inspected the smushed food. They were all sweets and pastries.
"James Norville Z, do you even realize what you're feeding those kids?! They're completely unhealthy!" Koki scolded. "And the soccer competition is close. They won't have the energy needed to compete."
"I thought I was helping them… I offered them good things, and they didn't even… try them… I was only trying to not hurt anyone's feelings… but that hasn't helped at all..." Jimmy lamented.
Koki sighed. She knew two things: 1#: Jimmy had the best of intentions to help, and 2#: it wasn't completely his fault.
"It's okay to give people what they want out of the goodness of your heart, JZ, but you can't let others take advantage of that. Trust me, I know how that feels." The female Fire Guardian stood up and started heading to the door. "I'll be on the field. Let me see if some exercises can cheer them up." She left the small classroom, leaving JZ time to think.
"Can I come in?" a voice asked timidly. Jimmy looked at the door, seeing the kid that always snuck out of the cafeteria.
"Sure. Come here."
The boy brought… Jimmy's cap? It was really clean, like no food ever touched it.
"I… couldn't keep myself from listening what you talked about. And I… I guess I tried to tell you what she said before."
"You… did? But I..."
"You didn't paid attention… I know," the kid stated. "No one ever listens to me… just because I'm… not like them… Even if I do have a reason to worry… it's like everyone is more important than I am."
"Yeah… more important..."
Jimmy saw the sad look in the boy's eyes. Being ignored was really hurtful, and he sure knew that. Since childhood, he never got many friends, besides his family.
"I wish they were more like me… and tried different things. I always sneak out after picking some of the healthy things you made. The salads were really good by the way. The leaves are fresh and crunchy and I really like the red stuff."
"You mean the tomatoes?"
"Yeah, but a little bit of pepper would be great to add. Just a pinch. That would make it really scrumptious." The boy licked his lips at the thought. "Oh, not that any of the food you made was bad. Trust me, best food I ever tasted."
"Really? You tried it?"
"Certainly. The desserts were great too, but I made sure to have more of the good stuff. Oh wait, you don't even know my name!" The child gave a small laugh.
"Yeah… I didn't even worry about asking..."
"Jacob. But I rather be called Jake."
"Well, you're a really good kid, Jake. I'm sure any family would love to have a kid like you."
"Um… no one ever adopted me. Others get much more attention for playfullness and kindness, but no one ever gets the eye on me. Maybe because everyone casts me aside like I'm not good, without even knowing me… like what they did with your healthy goodies..."
"Jake..." The Fire Guardian placed a hand on the kid's shoulder.
Jimmy saw Jake pouting, and then, the kid's medallion's light glowed on Jimmy's cap. Jimmy's eyes glowed yellow in realization.
"Come on!" He stood up. "We have to get cooking!" Pulling up his sleeves, he held a hand out to Jake.
"Come on, kids! We just started, and you're already tired?" Martin ran around with the ball. The orphans were all out of breath.
"Bet they can't even get it past me!" Jake stated, standing in front of the goal with his arms crossed and a serious look on his face.
"Is that an insult, pipsqueak?!" Buster shouted. "My "Rocket Kick" will blast you over!"
"Let's see then." Growling, Buster grabbed the soccer ball before punting it with all his might. It went at a fast speed, but Jake simply took a few steps and caught it with one hand. The other children gasped.
"That's impossible! How did you catch that?!" Buster questioned in shock. Jake tossed the ball up and down as if it was weightless.
"I ate my vegetables," he stated simply. "Which is what everyone should've been doing instead of pigging out over chocolates and custards."
"What?" Ventus stated, surprised, calling the team's attention.
"They have been using one's generosity for their own selfish intentions," Koki pointed out, reaching the team. "They can't even jump like when we met them. Well, except for the boy there."
"His name is Jake." Jimmy walked outside, with a bowl of soup. "He dared to experiment different, instead of boss around the one that did his best to make you all happy. And now, look at him. He seems like the only one able to exercise."
"I can do that too!" Buster stated. "I… just need to..."
"Buster, do what you tell me and grow up," Jake said firmly. "Healthy food is not going to kill you."
"What'd you say, you pipsqueak?"
"What I should have said!" Jimmy stepped up. "I only tried to make you happy. But I wasn't helping at all being all that nice to you all. I should have seen your trick before."
"But we-"
"No "ifs", no "buts", no coconuts!" Jimmy stated. Jake failed miserably in hiding a laugh. "Now let's return to the cafeteria and eat… this time, the right things."
Buster and the kids looked behind. The Wild Kratts stared at them, with stern looks. With a gulp of nervousness, the children walked back in silence, except Jake who chatted with Jimmy as they followed the others.
Jimmy's firm attitude surely was resulting. For the following days, the kids had a lot more energy for eating more healthy things, and didn't fear experimenting JZ's food anymore. Buster, on the other hand, was expelled from the team.
The day of the competition came along, and everyone cheered for the orphanage team. The kids easily creamed the other teams. Jake seemed to be the most determined and pumped out of all of the kids, being "promoted" from simple ball boy to captain of the team.
Jimmy (voice-over): Jake and Koki were right. Even though you mean good, you should not let people take advantage of your generosity. It can lead to problems, no matter how big or small they are. We must do not only what's good for others, but also the right thing.
In the end, with the final goal provided by Jake, the orphanage team won the championship, and the money, even more than enough to save the building and pay the rents.
"Thanks, Jimmy. With the money we won from the competition, the orphanage is saved."
"Aw, shucks. It was nothing, really." Jimmy blushed.
"Uh… we're sorry we took advantage of you..." Buster pointed out. "We were selfish and silly. Now we know that generosity in excess can be dangerous."
"As much as other good things in life," Ventus pointed out.
"Oh, and these kids are so precious," Gina commneted. "I think we should adopt one of them."
Jimmy smiled at her decision. "And I know just the one," he guaranteed, passing by the kids. "This little guy here, that surely is more than meets the eye." He held Jake's hand, who in response, hugged him.
"I'd love to be your bro, JZ!" the child cheered. Jimmy lifted him up, and gave him his cap, and the boy gave him his medallion.
"Say, where did you get this?" Jimmy asked the owner of the necklace. He could feel warmth and power from it.
"Found it while cleaning up the leaves from the orphanage's yard. I think of this as a good luck charm, and made a wish when I got it. I wished to have a new family soon."
"And that's just what you'll have, kiddo."
"Now… anyone up for some cake?" Martin asked, already having eaten a full piece.
The kids refused, uncertain, while Jimmy and Jake chuckled. Both started eating down two slices of white cake as the stone glowed yellow.