Priti K.

The Taco Queen

“Here is your taco,” I said. ”Have a good day!” I loved my job. Most people wouldn’t be psyched to work at a taco place, but still, I love it. Of course, it’s not the job I want after college. I want to be a veterinarian. But for now, I’m sticking with my part-time job.The thing is, working at Tio’s Tacos is pretty fun. All of the employees are like family. And the tacos are great. And all of the employees get a free taco. ”Tio, I’m going to head home now,” I said after putting my apron away.

“Of course,” exclaimed Tio. He handed me my usual check of $40. ”Have a great day, Erica”.

”You too,” I called back.

When I got home, I smelled something in the oven. “Mom, what are we having for dinner?”

“Meat loaf, honey.”

I gulped. Mom’s meatloaf was the worst thing my family has ever tasted. But Mom doesn’t know that. She thinks that we love it. But the second time I tried it, I came up with a trick. I use it every time. After showering that night, I put my plan into action. I grabbed a extra plate off the counter, and stuck it on my lap. Every time I took a bite out of the meat loaf, I pretended to take a drink of water, put the glass in front of my mouth, and spit every dreadful bite out. My Dad and my brother came up with tricks too. My brother spits the meatloaf in his napkin and pretends he’s wiping his mouth, and my Dad spits it out in his water and pretends like he’s drinking it. My Mom must not have taste buds, because she loves her meat loaf. We do this until our plate is empty.

“Wow, you guys must have been hungry,” exclaimed Mom as she grinned.

“Your meat loaf always makes us hungry,” gushed Jake, my little brother.

“Thank you, Jake,” Mom said. “Why, your grandpa says it’s the worst thing he’s ever tasted.”

“I don’t know how he can say that,” I lie. “It’s so tasty”.

“My dad must not have taste buds,” says my Dad.

I had a hard time picking out my outfit that night. I decided on a black crop top, a mini blue sweater, and jeans. When I get to school, my best friends Maya and Christy greet me with hugs.

Maya says, “Did you hear the news?”

“No…” I reply, curious.

“People are running for class president!” Christy shouts a little too loud. People in the hall glance at us.

“You should run, Christy,” says Maya more calmly than Christy.

“Maybe I will,” Christy replied. After school Christy and I went to Maya’s house to work on our poster for our science project. Our project was about Global Warming and ways to stop it.

“Any ideas about what we can draw?” asked Maya.

“What about a polar bear without ice?” suggested Christy.

“Sounds good,” said Maya and I at the same time. After drawing the polar bear, I had to go to Tio’s Tacos. When I got there, Tio rushed to me as soon as I entered the restaurant.

“Erica, I have great news!” Tio yelped with excitement.

“What is it, Tio?” I asked, overwhelmed with curiosity.

“A very important food critic is coming to Tio’s Tacos on Wednesday!” shouted Tio.

“That’s amazing, Tio!” I yelled in glee. Now I was the one who was shouting.

“Would you do us the honor of making the tacos that she will eat?” Tio said in his normal voice.

“Of course, Tio,” I tried to sound calm, but inside I was doing my happy dance. That day I tried to put my hardest effort into making tacos. I didn’t want to make tacos for the critic unless I earned it. When I went home that evening, all I could think about was the critic. At dinner, I forked the meat into my mouth, my mind swimming with thoughts. When I went to bed, I put my taco pjs on and fell fast asleep, dreaming about the review.

When I woke up the next day, I looked out my window and saw the bright blue sky. I happily picked out my outfit. It was only natural that I was thinking about tacos, so I opened the antique drawer and picked out a taco shirt, taco shorts, and taco underwear and socks. When I went to school, I found Maya and Christy and asked them, “ Do I look devoted to Tio’s Tacos?”

“You look like you took a bath with tacos instead of water,” Christy snickers.

“Guess what?” I said.

“What?” said Maya and Christy in unison.

“ A food critic is coming to Tio’s Tacos the day after tomorrow!” I exclaimed. “And I get to make the tacos that she’s going to eat!”

“That’s great!” exclaims Maya. “Now I have news for you.”

“What is it?” I ask curiously.

“Toby and Jackson spilled paint onto my wall on purpose!” yelled Maya.

“Luckily, we were able to fix it because Maya’s dad made them buy new paint,” said Christy.

“And now they’re grounded for 3 months,” says Maya, with an evil grin plastered onto her face.

“Let me guess. Is it because your mom is a neat freak?” I ask.

“Yeah, my dad wanted to ground them for a week, but since my mom is a freak about that kind of stuff, it’s 3 months,” said Maya.

“Serves them right,” I say.

“Oh, and guys?” Christy asks.

“Yeah?” says Maya.

“I have news too,” she says.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I’m running for class president,” she says.

“Christy, that’s amazing!” I say.

“You’ll win for sure,” said Maya.

“Would you guys help me with my campaign posters?” Christy asks.

“Of course we will!” Maya shouts. After school, I go to Tio’s Tacos. I start to put on my apron, and soon, I’m elbow deep in chicken, rice, and beans. One lady is really rude and says, “What on earth is taking so long?” she says in her high, squawky voice.

“Not too much longer, Ma'am,” I say gritting my teeth, trying to be polite.

“Hmph,” she says, with her nose up in the air. It takes all my might to not to pick up fistfuls of beans and fling them at her. When I go home that night, I can’t wait for tomorrow.

“Are you ready for the big day, honey?” my Mom asks.

“Yeah” I say.

“I can’t believe an important food critic is going to that dinky little taco place,” sneers Jake.

“Jake, be nice,” scolds my Dad.

“Tio’s Tacos is not dinky,” I fire back.

“Now now, settle down you two,” says my Mom sternly.

I glare at Jake when she’s not looking. When I go to bed, I lay down but it’s hard to go to sleep. When I finally do go to sleep, all I can think about is tomorrow. When I wake up, I race out of bed and go to my walk in closet, and then shut the door. I have so many clothes and so many shoes so I’m glad that I have a walk in closet. I want to wear something special, even if it gets covered up by an apron. I decide on hot pink flats, a blue tanktop, and a rose pink skirt. I walk down the hall to the table, expecting  the same old boring breakfast of cereal. Instead I see a feast of pancakes, bacon, and doughnuts. I rub my eyes and look again, expecting to see cereal. Nope. I still see the same food.

“Do you like it, honey?” my Mom asked.

“Mom, you didn’t have to do this for me,” I say.

“I wanted to.  And it’s your big day that you’ve been talking about all the time,” my Mom says.

I scarf down my breakfast, then I walk to school. I go to my locker and open it. Inside it there is a taco bobblehead and a note that says, “Good Luck!” I whirl around and I see Maya and Christy standing there. “Surprise!” they shout in unison.

“Thanks, I love the bobblehead. But how did you get inside my locker?” I ask curiously. All of a sudden Christy starts squirming and her face turns as red as a tomato. I pretend not to notice.

“Aaaaanyway,” Maya starts. “Ummmmmm,”

¨I won the spot for class president!¨ Christy shouts.

¨That's amazing!¨ I yell.

¨But we didn´t help you with your posters,¨ Maya whimpers.

¨I´m sorry, but I couldn't wait any longer,¨ Christy said.

¨It´s okay, we should have helped you sooner,¨ Maya says, disappointed.

After school I walk to Tio's Tacos. This is it. The big day. As soon as I open the door, Tio zooms over to me and hands me my apron. ¨I´m going to make the tacos now,¨ I say. I start to heat up the shells. When they are all nice and warm, I start putting toppings in the shells. I add beef, rice, beans, peppers, chicken, and lettuce. I put them in the oven to bake and set the timer for 6 minutes. I step out of the kitchen and gaze at the door. A woman steps into the restaurant, wearing glasses and a serious look on her face. It must be the critic! I stare at her and lose track of the time.

Finally, Tio comes over to me and whispers, “Bring the tacos over”. That’s when I remember. The tacos! I rush to the kitchen, but it’s too late. There is smoke coming out of the oven. When I open the oven door, the tacos are black and burnt. I bring the tacos out on a platter, hoping she won’t notice. She grabs one and takes a bite of it. She immediately gets a sour look on her face.

“How dare you serve me a burnt taco!” she cries. “Have you no shame?!” She storms out the door.

“Tio, I’m so sorry,” I say. “I forgot about the tacos”.

“It’s okay, Erica,” he sighs. But it’s not okay. Tio’s Tacos could lose all of its customers!

“No check today, Tio,” I say as I walk out of the restaurant. When I get home, I open the door and I see a big banner that says CONGRATULATIONS! I also see streamers and Mom and Dad and Jake holding up 4 tickets to the movie theater.

“Surprise!” Jake shouts.

“I thought we could all go to the movie theater and eat at our favorite pizza place to celebrate,” Dad says.

“So, how did it go?” Mom asks.

“Horribly,” I blurt out. “I burnt the tacos that she ate”.

“Aw, that's too bad,” Dad says. “But we can still go anyway”.

“The movie is called Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead men tell no tales,” Jake says. While everyone else is watching the movie, I’m spacing out.

“Erica?” Mom asks. She is shaking me. “The movie is over”.

“Pizza time!” Jake yells. As we eat pizza, I think about what would have happened if I hadn’t burned the tacos. Tio’s Tacos could have had a great review and lots more customers. When we go home, I slump to my room, put on my pjs, and slide into bed. The next day, I go to my locker and Maya and Christy are standing there. Maya is holding up a newspaper clipping.

“Erica, I’m so sorry,” she says.

“Why?” I ask. She hands me the newspaper. I read it. It’s a review on Tio’s Tacos. 0 stars!

“It’s okay, Erica,” Christy says comforting me. I shake my head. After school, I walk to Tio’s Tacos. Halfway around the block, I see a woman with glasses and a serious look on her face. Wait a minute. It’s the critic! This is my chance to save Tio’s Tacos!

“Excuse me ma’am, it’s me, the employee from Tio’s Tacos,” I say shyly.

“That awful taco place?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s not awful. Please just give it another chance,” I plead. She narrows her eyes again, until they are little slits.

“Alright,” she says. “I’ll come tomorrow. But only this time, you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say. This is my big chance to save Tio’s Tacos before it loses any customers! I race there and push open the door. I rush over to Tio. “Tio, you will not believe what just happened,” I say. “I got the critic to come back to Tio’s Tacos tomorrow for a redo!”

“Erica, that is amazing!” he yells.

“Can I please bake the tacos? I promise I’ll be more careful”.

“Of course” he says, smiling. “Just make sure the tacos don’t burn this time”. Soon I go home and blurt everything out to my family. I eat my green beans, mashed potatoes and chicken and go to bed. In the morning, yet again I want to wear something special so I choose a violet shirt, a buttercup yellow skirt, and sky blue heels. I go to school and explain everything to Maya and Christy.

“Cool,” says Christy.

“Just don’t burn the tacos this time,” Maya says, giggling. I roll my eyes at her. I head to Tio’s Tacos. When I get there, I grab my apron and start making the tacos. I put in everything I put in last time: Beef, rice, beans, peppers, chicken, and lettuce. I set the timer for 6 minutes and the only time I look away from the oven is when I hear the bell on the door ring. The critic stepped through the door. I gaze back at the oven until 6 minutes is up. I bring out the tacos and set them on the table she is sitting at. She cautiously picks one up, examines it to make sure it isn’t burnt, and takes a bite. I glance at her expression to make sure she doesn’t get the same look on her face like last time.

“Hmm,” she says while chewing, making me wonder if she likes it or not. “Much better than last time, I have to admit”. “Well, I really must go now,” she says, waltzing out the door. I look at Tio hopefully.

“Erica, why don’t you take the day off tomorrow?” Tio says.

“Really? Thanks, Tio,” I say. I rush home.

“So, how did it go?” Mom asks.

“I think it went well,” I reply.

“Well, this time, to celebrate, I made your favorite dish...Meat loaf!”

I try not to gag. “Oh, thanks Mom” I manage to say.

At the dinner table, we all do our tricks to avoid eating meatloaf. Later, since all of us are hungry except Mom, we raid the pantry when she’s asleep. After gorging on peanuts and fruit, I go to sleep.

In the morning, I pick out a red t- shirt and jeans, along with red sneakers. At school, Christy hands me a newspaper. I grab it out of her hand and start reading immediately. It’s a new review about Tio’s Tacos. 5 stars! I show it to Maya and Christy. Their eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. They both come over and squeeze me in a tight hug. After school, I stop on the way  home to buy a tube of lip gloss. When I arrive home, Mom says to me, “We’re going somewhere for dinner tonight”.

“I think you might want to change into something a little more fancy,” Dad says to me. That’s when I notice that he and Jake are both wearing tuxedos, and Mom is wearing a fancy purple dress. I waltz to my closet, and try to find something fancy. I decide to wear a red dress, silver heels, and a pearl necklace with diamond earrings. When we arrive at the restaurant, I notice that the place is swanky. We sit down at a table and order.

“So why are we at a fancy place?” I ask.

“To celebrate the review!” Dad shouts.

“5 stars, wow,” Mom says. “Now let’s dig in!”