Life is Strange
Cooking Up Trouble
The rainy day pirate ship was being put to good use as Captain Bluebeard and Long Max Silver waged war on the high seas. The water was calm that day; calm enough to almost look suspiciously like a living room carpet. It couldn't be more dissimilar to the war that was being waged on its surface. The enemy ship, cleverly disguised as a drinks table, was disabled and ready to be boarded. Its TV remote of a captain was in a serious panic as the crew of spilled potato chips hurried to obey every command. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed far off in the distance, a storm they would surely have to be mindful of once the job was done.
"Surrender!" Captain Bluebeard ordered. "Or we drain the life from you worse than the first season of American Inventor!" The ship captain didn't respond.
"Ah, looks like he's trying to be the strong silent type for his crew, Cap'n!" Long Max Silver grinned evilly. "Might have to put some pressure on him."
"Do it, first mate!" Bluebeard ordered as Max reached forward, grabbed one of the potato chips and ate it. "Anything to say to that?" Bluebeard demanded, leaning in menacingly. Again, the remote was silent.
"I think he's in a state of shock." Max said before bursting out laughing. She knew she'd totally broken character, but she didn't care. As fun as it was to play pirates, she couldn't ignore the absurdity of them making demands of a TV remote of all things.
"Ah, he's playing up." Bluebeard muttered. "Maybe he needs time to recharge his batteries. Lock him in the hold, take the crew. We'll share his men evenly between us."
"Gross!" Max laughed while scooping the chips back into the bag as she caught Chloe's obvious prostitution reference.
"Tasty." Chloe grinned, flashing her a wink while reaching into the bag and grabbing one of the chips, popping it in her mouth and letting her eyes roll in utter bliss as she ate. "You know something?" she asked, trying not to spit crumbs. "I think that chip just did more for me than most of the boys I've met." Max burst out laughing, letting herself roll back onto the couch before realising that she was holding a loaded bag of chips and spilling them on the couch so soon after spilling the wine on the carpet was not a good idea. She hurriedly righted herself just as Chloe wrapped an arm around her and hauled her up, apparently having come to the same conclusion. Because of Chloe's assistance, she overcompensated and went too far forward, landing on Chloe and flattening her. "Oh?" Chloe smirked, looking up at her, one hand coming up to rest against Max's cheek. "Max Caulfield, are you getting jealous of potato chips?" Max was just about to reply when the front door lock rattled as the person outside inserted a key. Both girls flew apart instantly and Max fought to hide the flaming redness that raced her way up her neck and into her cheeks as she dropped her head between her knees and started gulping in air. The door opened and William and Joyce made their way in. Max barely heard them calling out for assistance with the bags, but caught sight of Chloe walking past her as she went.
'No way.' Max thought to herself. 'I'm not jealous of potato chips, am I?' She got up numbly and walked over to the table as Chloe was helping Joyce put the bags up on there. They looked heavy and she felt guilty for not doing something sooner.
"Nice of you to Join us, Max." William smirked, ruffling her hair as he went past.
"Oh, don't worry. I think I broke her." Chloe shrugged as Max fought to snap out of the mental haze that had descended. That was when she saw Chloe make her way around the table and take her gently by the shoulders. "Max, are you okay?" she asked, her voice softening with worry. "Did I go too far?" Max shook her head, frantically trying to come to her senses. She quickly moved to the cabinet and grabbed a glass, filling it with water and downing it in one. Mercifully, the refreshing coldness of it was enough to help her find her voice again and she turned back to Chloe, her head feeling much clearer.
"It's fine. I'm good now."
"I'm glad to hear that." Joyce grinned. "Because you girls are going to help me with making our dessert tonight. We're doing lemon muffins."
"That sounds awesome!" Chloe cheered. Max could see how excited she was. She knew Chloe's love of cooking ran in the family so this would be incredibly fun for them to do together.
"Okay, well you girls go wash your hands while I get my apron on." Joyce instructed. Max turned on the tap and made room for Chloe to join her as they bunched in close under it. Once they were done, Chloe grabbed a hand towel before throwing the other one to Max so she could dry her own hands. With that, they joined Joyce at the counter and got ready. "Okay..." Joyce said as she opened out her cookbook and they got ready to start. "Now you girls will probably noticed, I haven't washed my own hands yet. That's because I'm not expecting to have to do anything. When I say 'we' are doing this, I mean you are going to attempt it, working out what to do together from the basic instructions I give you. Only if things go drastically wrong will I wash my hands and intervene." At her words, Chloe and Max exchanged nervous glances. They'd always enjoyed cooking with Joyce, but they'd never been left to their own devices like this. They were being thrown in at the deep end and the grin on Joyce's face as she read out the first instruction suggested she knew it. "First, you need to get your mixing bowl, a sieve and the plain flour."
"I can do that." Max said, grabbing what she needed while Joyce handed her the measuring cup and went rummaging for a grater.
"Okay, you need two cups of that. Chloe, you can grate the lemon zest. Do you remember which bit the zest is?"
"It's the yellow outside skin." Chloe nodded as she got to work while Max started sieving the flour and Joyce started folding some paper. Max looked over to see Chloe with an iron grip on the lemon and the grater while she furiously tried to force it and the plate underneath skidded about all over the place from the pressure she was using.
"Chloe, you need to loosen up." Max told her as she put the sieve down and moved to take hold of the plate. "Here, I'll make sure you don't slip." She gripped the edge of the plate with one hand and used the other to bridge the centre of the grater with her index finger on one side and her thumb on the other to hold it still for her.
"Max, stop!" Joyce almost screamed. It was too late. Chloe was using so much pressure that the lemon suddenly shot down and her hand smashed into Max's, dragging the shorter girl's fingertip onto the grating pad and down the rest of the surface. It was enough to instantly draw blood and contact with the lemon juice made the pain immediate. Joyce was there in an instant, grabbing her by the wrist and forcing her hand under the cold tap. The mixture of lemon juice and blood dripping from her hand vanished down the drain as a lot of the burning sensation instantly dissipated. Eventually, she pulled Max's hand back to take a look at the damage. "Well, I think someone's in need of a band aid." With a grimace, she grabbed the first aid kit from the cupboard and went to the sink to wash her hands. "And I was hoping not to have to touch anything in this. I guess this is what happens when you let a twelve-year-old and a thirteen-year-old do their own thing..." She grabbed a band aid from the kit and wrapped it around Max's damaged index finger. For Max, there was a feeling of instant relief. Joyce turned away to put the first aid kit away as Chloe sidled up next to her best friend, taking her damaged hand and holding it up to inspect the band aid.
"Sorry about that, Max." Before Max could even react, Chloe planted a gentle kiss on the end of her finger. Max instantly felt her brain get flooded with static again as her mind went into total shutdown.
"Okay!" Joyce said as she made her way back over. "I will finish off the lemon zest. Chloe, you can finish up the flour and do the baking soda while Max takes a breather. Max, grab a drink and then break two eggs into the mixture. Do you think you can handle that without shedding more blood?" Max's head was still full of static, unable to believe Chloe had just done what she did. She was just about able to offer a weak nod in response, although she wasn't sure what she was even nodding for. She numbly went over to the fridge to grab the carton of eggs before realising that they were already on the kitchen counter. Hoping that no one had noticed, she quickly turned back to the counter top and broke the eggs into the spare bowl like Joyce had told her. Off to her side, she noticed Chloe grabbing the ground almonds and pouring them into the sieve as Joyce watched with a tired expression on her face. That one act alone seemed to suddenly age her ten years.
"Why are you looking frustrated?" Chloe asked.
"You don't need to sieve those, Chloe." Joyce told her. "Think about it. With the flour, you want it smooth. You want all the bits out. With this, the almonds are the bits, so you want them in there."
"So I don't need to sieve the nut dust?" Chloe gave a disappointed sigh before dumping the whole lot into the bowl. "Pity. I had a ton of innuendos planned for that." At that, Max had to bite the inside of her cheek to kill the laughter as Joyce inhaled deeply to try and dispel the stress.
"Okay, so now you need to add the lemon zest." Joyce handed the plate to Chloe who tipped the lemon zest into the bowl. Max noticed that there were still bits left as Chloe looked around for a way to get scrape them off. "Chloe, don't use the sieve!" Joyce practically snatched it from her hands and brushed the rest into the bowl with her fingers as Max burst out laughing. "You'll need that later for the icing sugar!"
"That smells lemony as hell!" Chloe observed as she grabbed the wooden spoon and started mixing, completely oblivious as Max and Joyce turned to stare disbelievingly. It took her a full ten seconds to turn to Max and see the expression on her face. "Look, I'm well aware there's lemons in it!" Chloe protested. "I'm not that stupid! I was just saying it smells lemony as hell! Seriously, that is some lemony nut dust!"
"Chloe Elizabeth Price, if I hear you say the words 'nut' and 'dust' less than seven words apart for the rest of today, Max will be driven home, you will be grounded and neither of you will get muffins!" Joyce snapped as Max only laughed harder, having to lean on the opposite counter for support.
"Oh shit, we're losing her!" The girls looked over to see William holding his head in his hands. "She's obviously getting to the point where she discovers boys!" he groaned. For some reason, Max felt those words hit her like a knife in the gut. She couldn't fathom why. They'd predicted years ago that both of them would be dating their second boyfriend by roughly this point and yet so far neither of them had found anyone who caught their eye. She guessed it would have had to happen sometime. But something about that thought made her nervous. Almost jealous, even. It completely knocked her sideways in a way that she was totally unprepared for.
"Dollar. Jar." Joyce commanded simply, snapping her fingers and pointing to the swear jar on the counter. William sighed and walked over, digging out his wallet as he went.
"I see Chloe's college fund is doing well." With that, he crammed another dollar in there, really having to shove to get it to go down. In fact, he shoved so hard that with an ear-splitting crash the jar exploded. Coins and dollar bills cascaded down onto the floor and all over the counter. "Well, looks like I was right." William nodded glumly. "We do need a bigger jar." Joyce slapped a palm to her forehead as Max and Chloe both dissolved into laughter, clinging to each other so they could both stay upright. It took a very long time for them to calm down, but when they eventually did they both saw Joyce standing patiently off to the side waiting for them to finish.
"Okay..." She let out a stressed breath and turned back to what they were doing. "Well while Bill scrabbles around on his hands and knees to pick all that up, we need to get on with melting the butter. Who has any ideas on how to do that?"
"Well we have a pre-heated oven." Max shrugged.
"We also have it in a dish that would shatter in that kind of heat." Joyce pointed out.
"You have a hair dryer." Chloe suggested.
"I think the way she's going we might not need this college fund after all." William called out from the floor. Max burst out laughing again, leaning back against the counter and bashing her elbow on something. She whirled to see that it was the microwave and in that instant wanted to slap herself.
"We could use this!" she said eagerly, popping the door open.
"And that's a gold star and a smiley face for Max!" Joyce said, looking thoroughly relieved. "Seriously Chloe, when have you ever seen me use a hair dryer when cooking?" With that, she picked up the dish with the butter in it and handed it to Max. "Okay Max, we need you to blast that repeatedly for thirty second intervals until it's melted. It's been sitting there for a while so it shouldn't take too long." Max nodded and placed the dish inside, setting the timer and shutting the door. It turned out to be one of the most boring things she'd ever done, just standing around and waiting for the microwave bell to ding. Since the butter wasn't melted, she had to do it a total of three times to get it to finally cooperate. When it eventually did, she grabbed the oven cloth before taking out the piping hot dish and bringing it over to the counter. She wasn't about to allow herself to get hurt again.
"Finally done." Max sighed, putting it down and dumping the oven cloth down.
"You know, sometimes I wonder which of you two is actually older." Joyce mused. "Considering you're a year younger you seem much more careful and considerate than Chloe. I wonder if Vanessa would be willing to trade..."
"Hey!" Chloe snapped as Joyce burst out laughing, reaching over and ruffling Chloe's hair while Max looked on. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. She would never say this to Joyce or Chloe- certainly not until she was a lot older anyway, but she felt so much more at home at Chloe's place than at her own. Her house was her house. She survived there. She lived with Chloe. "Now..." Her attention was restored as Joyce picked up the recipe book again.
"Okay, so into the butter, we now add some vanilla essence. You need to fill the cap twice and pour it in. Chloe, do you think you can handle that?" Wordlessly, Chloe picked up the bottle and filled the cap before pouring it in. She repeated that before screwing the cap back on and flashing a cocky smile to Joyce. "Okay..." Joyce muttered as she picked up the recipe book again. "Well no one died. That's a relief. Now we need to add lemon juice to the mixture. To be specific, half a cup's worth. Just so that Chloe doesn't try using the sieve for this, I'll tell you for free that you use this lemon juicer. That's what it's here for." She slid the lemon juicer across to them and Max stopped it with one hand.
"So you have to cut the lemons?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, Chloe." Joyce said, nodding slowly. "Unless you know another way to get the juice out." Chloe nodded, grabbing a knife and slicing into the lemon. Unfortunately, she'd forgotten to use a cutting board and so when she took it away there was a mark where the blade had impacted the side. Max noticed Joyce grimacing but no one said anything as Chloe pressed on. Once she'd measured the juice into the cup, she tipped it into the mixture. "Two for two. Not bad." Joyce muttered. "Definitely getting better, anyway. Now you have to tip the liquid ingredients into the dry mixture from earlier." Chloe did so and she and Max worked together to stir it all together. They initially took turns trying on their own and were both left cursing their teenage twig arms, so eventually they both grabbed the spoon and worked together. It was messy work and the bowl slid around, frequently threatening to slop muffin mix all over the place. But eventually, they were both ready for the next step: putting the muffins into the cases.
"Uh, Mom?" Chloe asked, looking to Joyce. "We have no cases."
"Yes we do." Joyce told her, sliding some over. "What do you think I've been doing while you two have been trying to work out how to make these things? Other than patching Max up when she cut herself, I've been making muffin cases. A rule you'll one day learn, Chloe: never be seen standing idle. It doesn't matter what you're doing, just do anything. That way, he'll think of you as a miracle worker." With that, she took over from there. Max was relieved to be allowed to stand off to the side as Joyce showed them how to put the mixture into the cases and know when you have enough that it won't overflow or tear away from the case. Then while they were cooking, she showed them how to make a glaze with the icing sugar and lemon juice.
Eventually the muffins were done and it was time for the glaze to go on the tops before they went on the cooling rack. It was actually going well until Max slipped off the step stool she was perched on and just managed to brace her elbows on the counter top as she fell to avoid smashing her face. When she lifted her head up, she saw Chloe's expression of horrified worry melt into laughter. Joyce noticed and burst out laughing too, reaching for William's camera on the dinner table.
"Oh my god, how the hell did you manage to do that?" Chloe laughed as Joyce lined up through the viewfinder.
"What?" Max asked, panic edging into her voice. "What's that running down my face? Am I bleeding?"
"Nope." Joyce said as she snapped a picture, taking it from the camera and letting it develop before showing it to Max. The stuff running down her face wasn't blood, but glaze from the spatula. But the source of Chloe's mirth was obvious. The glaze was so thick it had glued the spatula on the end of her nose like something out of a cartoon. She gently peeled it off before turning to Chloe and holding it out.
"Go on. You know you want to."
"Oh that's gross!" Joyce cringed away looking slightly green around the gills. That look only intensified when Chloe leaned across and licked the end of the spatula. "Chloe Elizabeth Price!" she practically screamed.
"What?" Chloe laughed. "It was on her nose, not up it. Plus, we're working on a giant jawbreaker together. This is barely any different." She turned back to Max, a sly grin lighting up her face. "And you're right. I totally did want to. Somehow you make everything better." Max was totally caught off guard and the concept of hiding it never occurred to her as her brain misfired spectacularly. She couldn't speak. She couldn't think. All she could do was turn to the sink, turn the cold tap on full blast and start splashing water on her face as quickly as she could under a desperate guise of cleaning her face while frantically trying to hide the furious redness that had completely overwhelmed her. She could hear Chloe cackling with laughter behind her and it robbed her of her breath at just the wrong moment, leaving her spluttering as water rushed into her mouth and up her nose.
"And I think it's time to turn that off before Max kills herself." She barely registered Joyce's voice as she reached over and turned the tap off while Chloe reached over and started bashing Max on the back. Understandably, this only made the problem worse and Joyce had to drag a chair over for her to sit down on, wave Chloe off and then instruct Max on how to drop her head between her knees and take a few deep breaths. Eventually the coughing subsided and she was able to stand on her own two feet again. By that time, Joyce had finished applying the glaze and she handed Chloe and Max a muffin each.
"Thanks, Mom." Chloe nodded gratefully.
"Yeah. Thanks, Joyce." Max said as she desperately hoped that the redness had vanished from her face. At least to the degree that it could be attributed to the coughing fit anyway.
"Well, I think you both did amazing work for your first time cooking." Joyce told them. "Although next time, I'd recommend more actual working and less almost dying between you. But I have to say Max, you pushed through it like an absolute trooper. Several times there, in fact. Now go on. Go upstairs and play or whatever. I have to clean up down here. I'll put some aside for your parents when they come to pick you up." Wordlessly, Max and Chloe darted off towards the stairs. Their muffins were clutched tight to them and they headed to Chloe's room unable to shake the stupid, happy aura that can only be found in two kids in a state of utter contentment. Chloe crossed the threshold to her room and spun around into the light of her bedroom window. It was still raining but the sun had just broken through the clouds and hit the window in such a way that it made her honey-coloured hair glow with a golden light that lit her up in the best way possible. Max was instantly struck dumb on the spot and in that moment was able to see a mere glimpse of the true meaning of happiness.
"Aye, 'Tis a good life we lead, Long Max Silver!" As she spoke, she held her free hand out which Max walked over and eagerly took. Pure, undiluted fear roiled in her gut, but she somehow managed to barely acknowledge it in that moment. She was too captivated by the girl in front of her.
"The best!" the shorter girl replied as she allowed herself to be pulled into an embrace. "May it never change."
"May it never change us." Chloe added as one hand came up to rest on the back of Max's head. As that happened, Max's whole focus seemed to shift somehow. It was as though a switch had been tripped in her head and the euphoria was gone. The world seemed to come crashing in around her like a torrent of icy cold water. But with it also came a sense of determination. As much as she hated to acknowledge it, change was a natural part of life. Over a lifetime, yes, you were supposed to change. She was powerless to stop that; and since no one had invented a way to rewind time yet she would never get to experience that glorious moment again. It had been there. Then it was gone forever. She didn't know what their future held. But there was one thing she did know for a fact. And as long as she was able, she would fight tooth and nail to keep that fact a reality.
"Chloe, it doesn't matter how much our lives change. As long as we're together, we'll always be cooking up trouble."
End!