Twisted Wonderland 2

Festival Preparation

"Jamil, you've been friends with Kalim for a long time, right?" Trey asks. "You have any fun memories of this place?"

Jamil tilts his head in thought. "For meals, staff either bring something from home, or we have food provided for us here. But there was this one time when I couldn't bring my own lunch."

"Why not?"

"Because after I made it, my sister absconded with it."

Cater chuckles. "At least it's a cute reason."

"Your cookin's so good, I'd steal it too!" Grim laughs.

"There was no staff meal being offered that day, so I went to the kitchen and made lunch for myself." Jamil continues. "And since I was using the mansion's kitchen, I made enough to share with my coworkers. But then they started talking about how good my cooking was. Word reached Kalim's mother and father, and they told me they wanted to try some. Which led to me having to make lunch for the Asim family."

"Wow. So what'd you make?" Cater asks.

"I was going to make a multi-course meal featuring lamb, but they said they wanted to have what I normally ate. So I made wet burgers."

You can't help but laugh at the name. "Wet burgers?"

"I've never heard of that before." Trey brings an hand to his chin. "Are they just moist hamburgers?"

"They're hamburgers soaked in tomato sauce." Jamil explains. "The bun absorbs the sauce like a sponge, giving it a soft texture."

"Your description doesn't make it sound terribly appealing." Malleus says.

"Sheesh, what a buncha picky babies." Grim smirks. "Now, me? I'll eat anythin'!"

"We already know that, Grim." You sigh.

Jamil chuckles. "I think you'd like it if you tried it. They're a popular street food here."

"Really?" Trey quirks an eye. "No kidding. So how did Kalim's parents like it?"

"They loved it." Jamil slightly grins. "People here eat it all the time, but the two of them had never had it before. I had a feeling the burgers would be new to them. And they seemed to enjoy my special sauce."

Kalim nods. "It was my first time trying it too! It was SO good!"

"Missing accomplished, then." Cater grins.

"Yes, well..." Jamil sighs. "Now they expect me to make family lunch several times a year. Though to be fair, I do get help from the master chefs who work in the kitchen."

"Isn't that cool?" Kalim cheers. "Everyone loves Jamil's cooking! Myself included, of course. I wanted more people to try it, so I started inviting lots of different people over for those meals!"

Jamil shakes his head. "And these were not the sort of people who should be served simple home cooking from an amateur. You wouldn't believe how hard I racked my brain in the lead up to those lunches."

Cater leans to whisper to you. "You know, sometimes I can't decide if Jamil's incredibly astute or completely clueless..."

You stifle a laugh.

"Anyway," Jamil clears his throat. "We're all dressed now and our luggage is safely stowed. Let's head into town for some sightseeing."

"Yeah! Time for some fun!" Kalim pumps his fists.

Jamil folds his arms. "Kalim, you have rounds to make."

"Aww! But I wanna go!"

"You can't. Go do your job and let me be the tour guide."