"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Alma screeched, stepping into the ashy kitchen.
"Julieta set the kitchen on fire like an idiot!" Pepa proclaimed.
"I'm sorry! I don't know what happened!" Julieta said. "I JUST LEFT FOR A MINUTE."
"You're not supposed to ever leave the food unattended while you're cooking!" Alma scolded. "You know that!"
"Yeah, but… Pepa helped put it out! So, everything is okay!" Julieta said.
"No! It's not okay!" Alma said.
"What? Why not?" Julieta asked stupidly.
"You've been cooking for over 40 years!" Alma shouted. "There's no excuse for making mistakes like that!"
"I'm sorry! I don't know what's gotten into me…" Julieta said.
"First, you served us chicken twice in a row. And then this! Oh, and I haven't forgotten when you gave us meat that was RAW in the middle!" Alma ranted.
Little did she know that Camilo was standing behind her, mimicking her.
Julieta saw him and tried not to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Alma asked.
"N-n-nothing," said Julieta. "M-m-maybe I just need a break…"
"Absolutely not! You are going to stay in this kitchen day and night, until you stop making stupid mistakes!" Alma said.
"Oh," said Julieta. "Okay…"
Later that day, Julieta's husband was in the kitchen with her for some reason.
"I feel like such a failure! I can't do anything right!" she said.
"That's not true!" said Agustín. "She's just being way too hard on you."
"Well, what can I do about it?" Julieta said. "She's my mother!"
"She's not a very good mother!"
"She's trying her best!"
"I'm going to punish her for how she's treated you!"
"W-w-what are you going to do?"
"Oh, I have a really good idea!"
"Tell me, please!"
Agustín whispered his plan into Julieta's ear.
They had no idea that somebody was listening in on their little conversation.
That evening, Julieta decided to make some spicy red sauce.
"Oops! I spilled some on my dress!" she said, after she spilled some on her dress.
Isabela, who had been on a date earlier, ran into the kitchen and started crying.
"Oh, Isabela! What's wrong?" Julieta asked.
"Total was a total disaster!" Isabela cried.
"Really?" Julieta asked. "What happened?"
"It just didn't work out!" Isabela said. "We're completely incompatible!"
"Oh, that's a shame!" Julieta said. "He seemed like such a nice guy!"
"Well, he's not. All he talked about is how I wasn't his type!" Isabela wailed. Apparently he wants a big, strong woman who can pick him up!"
Julieta laughed.
"It's not funny!" Isabela snapped. "I'll be single for the rest of my life, just like Tío Bruno!"
"Hmm…" said Julieta. "Where is Bruno, anyways? He hasn't appeared in this chapter yet."
"I don't know! Why would I be keeping track of my creepy uncle?" Isabela said.
Julieta went silent.
"I don't have time to think of anyone else, anyways!" said Isabela. "I am distraught!"
"Well…" Julieta said. "I'm sorry, but I can't fix broken hearts. Where did that man go, anyways?"
"He ran outside. Apparently, something out there was exciting to him," Isabela said, groaning in disgust.
Bruno entered the kitchen. He was noticeably paler, and his eyes were even more sunken than normal.
There was also an unsettling blue tint to his lips and cheeks.
"Hi," he said.
"Oh, Bruno! Hi!" Julieta said. "I haven't seen you in a while!"
Isabela left the kitchen, because she was no longer getting enough attention.
Bruno saw the red stains on Julieta's apron and gasped.
"Oh, no! Is that blood? Did you get hurt?"
"What? No! That's just sauce stains," Julieta giggled. "I'm making a special red sauce."
She stared at Bruno for several seconds.
"Are you sick?" she asked.
"N-no…" Bruno said.
"You look sick…" Julieta said.
"Huh? Oh. I'm fine," Bruno said. "What makes you say that?"
"Because you're starting to look paler than Pepa!" Juliet said.
She giggled again.
"Yeah, yeah… don't worry about me!" Bruno said.
"Well! If you're trying to sneak and eat extra food, I don't have any right now," said Julieta.
Bruno pointed to the sauce.
"What about that?"
"You wanna try some of my special red sauce?" Julieta asked.
"Oh, yes! Please!" Bruno said.
"Okay…" Julieta said, shoving a heaping spoonful of spicy sauce directly into Bruno's mouth.
"AHHH! SPICY!" Bruno screamed.
"Just the way I like it," Julieta said, smiling confidently.
At that moment, Bruno's skin suddenly returned to a healthier color for some reason. The dark circles under his eyes had also disappeared. Who knows why.
"Waah! You meanie!" Bruno said. He ran away, crying.
Shortly after sunset, Alma was feeling tired, because she's an old lady.
"It's time for me to go to bed," she said. She opened her bedroom door, only to find that her room was filled with sand and rats.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD?!"
