Rex vs Thanksgiving

"Hey Antonio, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Rex asked his classmate.

"Oh, I don't have enough time to go home. I guess I'll hang around the dorms and eat at whatever's open." Antonio shrugged.

"Oh well, I guess that sucks." Rex felt bad bringing it up now. "Hey, I have an idea…"

0o0

"You want to do what now?" Circe glared at Rex.

"I think we should make Thanksgiving dinner for all our friends who can't go home" Rex said proudly.

"Um, Rex…" Noah jumped in. "You cook as well as Dr. Holiday."

"Hey, I can boil water without setting fire to the pot." Rex protested.

"I guess there's that." Circe conceded.

Rex glared at her. "I'm sure it's not as bad as people make it out to be. I mean, you just throw a turkey into the oven for several hours and we can make it potluck so other people can bring the sides. Easy peasy."

"Turkey's pretty tricky. If you don't do it right, it comes out pretty dry." Claire reminded him.

"Don't worry. There's a recipe on the label. How hard can it be?" Rex said confidently. "Leave everything to me."

Claire, Noah, and Circe exchanged looks but said nothing. Rex looked please with himself.

0o0

A small group of students were gathered in the common living area of the dorm. They were talking and laughing. On the fold out table draped with a Thanksgiving tablecloth, lay all the side dishes the people brought.

"This isn't bad." Circe admitted. "Rex might be able to pull this off."

"Where is he, anyway?" Noah looked around for his friend.

"He's been in the kitchen all day." Claire said. "I asked if he needed any help and he waved me away."

Circe clicked her tongue. "He shooed me away too. I hope he knows what he's doing."

"I'll go check on him." Noah walked toward the kitchen. Right as he stood near the doorway to the student kitchen, a hand shot out and grabbed his collar pulling him into the room.

"Noah, you got to help me." Rex fretted.

"What? What happened?' Noah asked nervously.

"The turkey! It's still not at temperature yet." Rex eyed the digital thermometer running into the oven.

"Are you sure the thermometer is working?" Noah checked the gauge.

"Yes! I checked it like 20 times already." Rex answered.

Noah opened the oven. His face was hit with a wave of dry heat. "Well, the oven is working." Noah reached out and poked the turkey with his finger. Closing the oven door, he walked over to the garbage can where the turkey packaging was still sticking out. He scanned the directions om=n the im "Rex, uh, did you thaw the turkey before you put the turkey in the oven?"

"What do you mean?" Rex looked at him in surprised.

"This is a frozen turkey, Rex. You have to defrost it before you can put it in the oven." Noah refrained from face palming.

0o0

"Claire, can you get Circe and meet us in the kitchen, asap?" Noah whispered into Claire's ear.

Claire was about to say something but the grim look on his face stopped her. "Ok." She agreed.

A minute later they stood in the cramped kitchen.

"Are you kidding, Rex?" Circe pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I figured you'd do something like that." Claire shook her head. "It's such a classic mistake like leaving the bag of giblets in the cavity."

Rex looked shocked. "There's a bag in the turkey?"

"Did you read the instructions?" Circe asked.

"Who reads instruction?" Rex asked. "I mean it looked easy online."

"What's done is done." Claire interrupted the fight that was sure to break out. "People are getting hungry. We need a plan."

"We can order pizza." Noah suggested.

"That's an option." Circe nodded.

"No, it's Thanksgiving and we need to celebrate with traditional turkey!" Rex insisted.

"It's not going to be done in a long time." Claire shook her head. "Unless we increase the surface area it's going to take at least another 4 hours before it reaches the correct the internal temperature and it's going to dry out before that."

"Maybe we can carve it up, so it cooks faster?" Circe asked.

"We could but it'll still be several hours." Claire said.

"I guess we have no choice but get those pizzas." Noah sighed.

"No wait!" Rex held up his hand. "I just had an idea. I'm a genius!" His confidence return.

0o0

"Wow, Rex! This is really good!"

"How did you think to do this?"

"I usually don't like turkey but this is pretty creative."

Rex basked in the complements. "It was nothing." He tried to sound modest.

"Ugh, he's going to be insufferable all night, isn't he?" Noah groaned.

"Well, he had a good idea so let him enjoy his moment." Claire elbowed him.

"I'll give him another 15 minutes before I smack him. I mean this is technically his fault to begin with." Circe said.

One hour earlier…

"What if we just cut all the meat off and just cook it?" Rex said rhetorically. "Then we shred it and put it in burritos along with the sides. We'll call it Thanksgiving in a burrito."

Noah blinked. "That's not a bad idea."

"That's a little weird but it might work." Claire rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Well, if we're going to do that, we better do it now. The natives are getting restless." Circe reminded them.

Present time…

"I love this idea." Antonio said to Rex. "How did you think it up?"

"Hehe, it's because it's me." Rex said proudly.

"Yeah, you have to find a way to fix your screw-ups." Circe with a smirk.

"Shhh," Rex hushed her.

"But your solutions are creative." Circe admitted.

"You know it." Rex grinned.

"And you have a big heart." Circe smiled at him. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Rex looked at her in surprise as he placed a hand on his cheek. Then with a smile, he leaned in and kissed her.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Circe."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Rex."

Rex 1 Thanksgiving 1

It's a tie. Anytime the turkey is edible it's a win. lol

I wasn't going to write anything today but some unexpected time popped up and I rushed a story out in less than two hours. It's honestly a new record. I'm still obsessed with putting something out during holidays so I can wish you all the best. I hope it was interesting. I'm thankful for all of you.