Kari is a compassionate girl on the geeky side with budding culinary talents. After her family had to move halfway across the country, Kari is unable to adjust in her new high school where she is an outcast. Repeatedly forced to do group assignments...
For ease of transportation, Kari decided on silver dollar pancakes. Since she'd have to make a lot. Plus, she could fit more into a container if they're small.
It was a blessing for once that school starts so early, because otherwise her nosy parents would be up to inquire why she was making so many pancakes. They'd know it's all for someone else. Kari eats light breakfasts. A heavy meal like pancakes would make her feel sick. If this was back at her old home, she could say she was making pancakes for her friends. But that wouldn't work here. Recently, there have been some others she was talking to, but her parents know Milo is her only close friend. All these pancakes, for one person?
But more importantly, she can't explain his situation to them. She promised she wouldn't tell anyone.
She then got to thinking... maybe this wasn't the best breakfast for Milo. Pancakes almost entirely consist of refined carbs, which aren't filling. They also offer little nutrition. Milo must be malnourished if he's been opportunistically eating garbage for who-knows-how-long. And the filling part's important for obvious reasons. In fact, it's probably what Milo wants most.
Well, she promised him pancakes, so she had to stick with it. But she was going to give her best attempt to make them substantial.
Kari melted peanut butter in the microwave and scraped it into the big bowl of batter. She also mashed up a couple overly-ripe bananas and added them too — they would otherwise be thrown out anyway. As a finishing touch, she threw in some chocolate chips for extra happy. That was as valid a goal as the other two things.
After so much pouring and flipping, all the batter was cooked. Kari ate one pancake to make sure they tasted good. They came out thick and fluffy, tasted of peanut butter with a hint of banana. And the chocolate chips were a very nice touch of sweetness. She knew Milo would love them, and she couldn't wait to serve them to him.
Her head turned to the clock and— crap! The bus will arrive in fifteen minutes! She totally lost track of time. She hurried to get the kitchen clean so her parents wouldn't suspect a thing. She crammed all those pancakes into the largest tupperware container she could find. And lastly, she took the syrup with her. She thought they had great flavor by themselves, but she knew sweet-toothed Milo would want syrup.
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Milo sprang out of bed filled with life. He wasn't looking forward to the reactions to his return, let alone setting foot in that godforsaken school, which previously he had told himself he'd never do again. But knowing he would soon eat Kari's pancakes made it worthwhile. In the shower, his mouth watered fantasizing about eating them. He pictured them like how advertisements portray them: in a towering stack, drenched with maple syrup running down the sides, topped with a knob of melting butter. He hurried getting dressed and he ran out of the house to avoid any contact with his mother that'll sour his mood.
