#AtoZChallenge: Kids in the Kitchen

The kids in the kitchen was a kind of koinonia in itself. About twenty kids had come over for Caitlyn’s birthday, and whilst most of the other kids from school had gone home, these four, her best friends from Sunday School, had stayed behind. The five children, two boys and three girls, sat around the kitchen table, chatting about the most inane things ever.

Karla, Caitlyn’s mother, sat at the head of the table, prepping kale for lunch, even though half the kids scrunched up their noses at it.

“You don’t have to eat it,” Caitlyn said glumly, “I do.”

“What do you suppose kangaroos taste like, Cait?” one of the boys, Timmy, asked.

“Why would you want to eat a kangaroo?” Tiffany put on her best shocked face.

Timmy was Tiffany’s younger brother, so he knew that her expression was fake. He guessed she also wanted to know what a kangaroo tasted like, though as a proper young lady at eight, she couldn’t admit to it.

Timmy’s best friend and partner in crime, Mark, looked thoughtful. “Chewy, actually,” he said.

All five pairs of eyes, including Karla’s, stared at Mark.

“You’ve eaten kangaroo?” Caitlyn pressed her hands to her cheeks. “How could you?”

“We were in Australia! The restaurant said it was a delicacy! I didn’t hunt it down. At least I didn’t eat koala,” Mark defended himself.

“WHO ATE KOALA?! HOW COULD YOU?” Caitlyn pressed the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically.

Everyone else looked at Mandy, Mark’s sister, who hadn’t yet said anything.

“I did not!” she said, though her cheeks flushed.

“You diiiiiddddd, oh you did Mandy. How could you eat a cuddly koala?” Tiffany looked disappointed at her friend.

“Well, actually you can buy tinned koala meat from Amazon,” Karla piped up from her chopping, trying to take the pressure off Mandy who was looking very distressed.

“What, mom, no! Don’t you dare! I’m already eating your kale!” Caitlyn said.

Karla shook her head. “Don’t be so dramatic, Cait. I didn’t say I was going to buy it. I just said that you could. Actually, kale and koala sounds like a very interesting combination. I should try it one day.”

“No way!” Timmy said, looking at Mark, who had the same mischievous gleam in his eye.

“Do not do what I think you’re going to do, Timmy,” Tiffany warned, at the same time Mandy went, “No, Mark, no.”

The sound of a car engine outside the door halted the conversation. Caitlyn went to the door to see who it was.

“Mark! Mandy! Your parents are here!”

The siblings thanked Karla for a great party and wished Caitlyn “Happy Birthday” again as they put on their shoes.

Tiffany, Timmy and Caitlyn sat back at the table.

“Do you think Mandy really at koala?” Tiffany asked after a while.

“Probably not,” Karla replied. “She doesn’t even like beef—I don’t think she’d eat any strange-sounding meat.”

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Today's suggestions were:

• kale, from Barbara Harrison
• kelpies, from anonymous, which was probably me, because I remember throwing in a few randoms as a starter
• Koinonia, from Cherie Osier
• kangaroo/koala, from Sharna Steinert
• Kaleidoscope, kids, kitchen, from Donna Smith

I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS. And also hit most of the words in some way or another. No kelpies, though. I... don't think you can eat them. 

On a random aside, you can eat kangaroo, but koalas are on the endangered species list, so you can't have them. What cute Australian animals can you eat, then? (Not that many, actually.)

BUT ALSO ALSO ALSO. Funnily enough, you can get Canned Koala Meat.

I love the Internet.

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Not-so-regularly scheduled end matter:
This year's A to Z is flash fiction based on words provided by the community... which is you! Explanatory stuff HERE, Google sheet link HERE.