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I squint my eyes with uncertainty.Is he for real right now? It’s feeling quite like the scene inAladdinwhen he holds out his hand for Jasmine to get onto the magic carpet with him.
“Um yeah, don’t answer that,” Zayn says, letting out a laugh. “But seriously, trust me.”
What would Summer do? I throw my hands in the air, surrendering the menu to him. “Fine, fine. What have I got to lose? I’m probably only going to eat a single grain of rice anyway.”
He scoffs. “You better not. You have to at least try two whole pieces. Summer would never let you get away with a single grain tasting and you know it.”
I take a deep breath. “You’re one hundred percent right. I really need to suck it up and try it.”
I watch as Zayn orders several different rolls for us. He orders with words like, “The SAT Roll, Caterpillar, Spiderman, Volcano, and Dynamite.” I bust out in laughter when he asks for sides of “spicy mayo and eel sauce” for us to dip them in, too.
“That’s quite the combination of sushi rolls I’m about to try. Feels like I’m sitting with a kid in my class making a fictional superhero salad or something,” I tell him.
“Hah, I could see that. Riley would love making up fun ingredients for superhero supper,” he says.
“Now that’s an idea of our next writing assignment,” I say. “How is Riley, by the way?”
“She’s doing great. I spoke with her mom this morning, and she loved her first day, so kudos to you. You’re doing a fantastic job already,” I say encouragingly.
The server starts heading our way with . . .a boat?
“What is tha—oh my gosh, this is our meal?” I ask, shocked. “It’s in a freakin’. . . boat! How cool is that!” I light up with excitement. I’ve never seen a sushi-filled boat before.
Zayn looks at the server. “First timers, am I right?”
She doesn’t seem to play along with his sarcasm and asks if there’s anything else she can get for us.
I search the table for a fork. “Uh, actually, could I get a fork?”
Zayn interjects, “Absolutely not. Please, do not bring her one. She needs to try sushi for the first timethe right way.”
He looks at me apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come off as rude. But you for sure need to do this the most authentic way possible.”
I consider this and pick up the chopsticks from the napkin. I look over at the way Zayn grasps them and I mimic him.
“Am I totally butchering this or what?”
“Believe it or not, no. You’re doing great,” he says before pointing to the roll with eel. “I think you’ll like this one best so try it first. Pick it up just like I am.” He demonstrates with his chopsticks. “Basically, you pick it up, dip it into the soy sauce, and then, shove the whole thing in your mouth. You’ll want the fish on top to hit your tongue, so you get the full flavor.”
“The whole thing in my mouth? It’s huge,” I say.
“That’s what she said,” he jokes.
I roll my eyes. “Ha ha, very funny.” I pick it up with chopsticks and dip it into the soy sauce. “Okay, but for real. What if I don’t like it?”
“I don’t know, but what if you do?” he offers as rebuttal.
I decide to go for it and put the entire piece of sushi in my mouth. The whole thing. While using chopsticks.
“Nicely done, Miss Parker.” He pauses for a moment, watching me as I chew.It’s delicious! How have I not been eating this my entire life? I raise my eyebrow, trying to decide if I should admit to him how much I like it. I swallow and take a sip of my water.
“So, let’s hear it. What’s the official verdict?”
“I . . . well, I . . .” I say, scrunching up my nose playfully before busting out in laughter. “Oh to hell with joking, I loved it!”
“Ha, I knew you would,” he says. “Which one do you want to try next?”
I don’t even say another word. I pick up the next piece from another roll.Dang, this one is equally delicious.
