A Good Ol Grilled Cheese
Polly and the kiwis weren’t the only ones on The Birbalinda. Somehow, this strange young soul who looked like a baguette personified had found his way onto the ship and was looking at them with utmost displeasure.
“In need of repairs, ain’t she,” he asked, looking around.
“Sure is,” replied Polly. “Do you know where we could get that done?”
“Look no further. I go way back with the fish of Twelfth, so when they rang me up tellin’ me there was a crew in need of some help, I told ‘em of course. They did teleport me onto this ship though, I’ll add, otherwise you could have given me 525,600 minutes and I’d still be searching.”
“Oh well that’s swell. Do we just leave everything to you?”
“That’s right.” The lad surveyed the ship yet again, the frown on his face etching itself deeper into his feature. “Looks like I’ve got my fair share of work cut out for me. Me and those finned fellas will be even after this one.”
He directed his attention back to Polly. “I don’t need you folks dilly-dallying here; I doubt you’d be able to do much. I’ll call in my crew and you can come back in…,” he tapped his chin, “three weeks give or take a few.”
“Sounds jolly good to me. How much will you be charging?”
“It’s on me, I owe the fish one after all. But you’ll have to find a place to stay on Sea-Island 6 while I’m working. Can’t have any distractions, you understand? I’ll figure out a way to let you know when I’m done”
“Roger that. Thanks a bunch!”
With that Polly and her fluffy crew made their way down The Birbalinda and onto the dock that connected them to the island.
Sea-Island 6 was everything Polly had dreamed of and more. The streets were wide and well-paved, and the air was rich with the scent of baked goods. Everywhere she turned there was another shop dedicated to bread, whether it sold ingredients to bake bread, bread themed products, or actual bread itself. Each quaint shop that lined the street had its own unique charm, whether it was in the form of a beaming mascot or windows plastered with posters advertising that particular store’s latest goods.
The only thing that ruined what would have otherwise been a golden experience was the fact Polly had no dough. Sure she had the money she saved when she received The Birbalinda from Captain Trixx instead of losing it to the auctioneers, but as she unfortunately discovered, that currency was exclusive to Sea Island 7, and she had no clue where to begin looking for a place to exchange her coin for the local one. So with great woe, she and the kiwis wandered the streets window shopping with empty stomachs and heavy hearts.
“You alright there?”
The question came from a wizened old man whose back curved like a croissant, and though his face sagged with wrinkles, it couldn’t hide his just as croissant shaped smile.
“Oh yeah, totally,” replied a startled Polly. Unsure what to make of the situation, the kiwis lined up behind Polly as if she were the last line of defense between them and a certain doom.
“You sure? You lookin’ mighty starved,” said the old man.
Polly too felt suspicious of the figure in front of her, but she also felt very, very hungry.
“Yeah, I haven’t had anything to eat in a while. No money either, unfortunately.”
“What if I told you I could help you out?”
There were so many alarms going off in Polly’s brain that her mind might as well have been a parking lot where a thief was breaking into every car in sight trying to strike it rich. But her stomach wasn’t exactly being quiet either, and the rumble it made could have easily come from a volcano about to blow. This time the cries of her acid and enzyme secreting organ were louder than the bells going off in her organ in charge of thinking, and so Polly had no choice but to listen.
“Let’s hear it,” replied Polly, resolved to run the minute she heard anything even a mite more suspicious leave his mouth.
“I run a restaurant that’s been doing pretty poorly. How ‘bout I give you a free meal, and you and those fine birds you’ve got there can help me do some promoting.”
“Can you give us a hot sec to talk about it?”
“Take all the time you need. I’ve got nothing else to do today besides loafing around.”
They were in the middle of a street at the moment, so Polly herded the birds toward the front of a shop where they wouldn’t disturb any fellow pedestrians.
“Seems sus to me,” said SAT almost immediately.
“Yeah, same, but I kind of need to eat. I’m not sure how long kiwis can go without food, but I can’t not eat for this long.”
“What if he poisons the food?” pressed Wiki.
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know? But he might.”
Polly didn’t want to judge the croissant man on his looks, but that was all she had to go on.
“High risk, high reward,” Polly declared. “He looks alright? How about this: one of us will try the food, and if anything happens, the other three will take the body and run. Sounds good?”
“Sounds like a plan my man,” nodded SAT. “So it’s gotta be one of us kiwis who goes first then, right fledge? None of us would be able to lug you anywhere.”
“Err, yeah.”
“I’ll do it,” said Ed with all the courage of someone about to bungee jump for the first time. “I have a strong stomach from trying out many different cheeses when I was in the process of crafting the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, so any food poisoning should only affect me minimally.”
“Right-io. Then let’s get down to business to get some buns.”
The four shuffled back to the street where the croissant man still stood.
“You made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.”
“That’s great to hear. Follow me. By the way, I’m Croix Sant, but just Croix is fine.”
“Polly,” replied Polly, gesturing to herself. “Wiki, SAT, and Ed,” she finished, pointing to each bird respectively. They waved a wing.
Croix led them through the neat streets to where the streets weren’t so neat. The shining rays of sun that had warmed them earlier no longer seemed as warm in this area of Sea-Island 6 that had rough roads and shops that looked like a single stronger than average breeze would send them crumbling down. The great difference between the two spaces that were mere minutes away from each other puzzled Polly.
"This is her," announced Croix.
Compared to the other stores, Croix’s wasn’t shabby. The paint was only partially peeling and there was not a single crack in the dusty windows.
“You know, I feel like one of the reasons you might not be getting customers is because this place looks like the reason restaurant inspections are a thing now,” commented Polly.
Croix sighed. “It’s not like I want this.”
He pushed open the door to his place, and Polly was pleasantly surprised by its decent interior. The floors were clean, there was no sign of rodent activity, and it didn’t smell like a piece of fish that had been left in a broken fridge for half a year.
“Well I guess it’s not that bad.”
“Thanks, I try my best. Anyways, have a seat. Anywhere is fine, I mean it’s not like there’s anyone else fighting for a seat.”
Croix spoke lightheartedly, but there was no smile in his words.
“Why are y’all on the table?”
This question from Polly was directed to the kiwis who rather than sitting on the chairs surrounding the table the four had picked, were on the table.
“Not all of us are tall fledge,” frowned SAT as if the answer to that question should have been obvious, which it actually kind of was. “How’re we going to eat if all we can see is the bottom of the table?”
“But will there be enough room for the food? You guys are kind of big, not going to lie.”
“I’m sure Mr. Croix will be fine if we drag another table over,” said Wiki. “Like he said, it’s not like there’s anyone else here.”
“And I guess I’m going to be the one dragging the table?” sighed the only one with arms.
The three birds just looked at her.
Fortunately, Polly still had enough soul left in her to heave and ho and pull over the table closest to them. After the deed was done she released a huge exhale and slumped back into her seat. It was decided, no more moving for her until the food came. The kiwis had no such issue and amused themselves with bouncing from one table to another.
Polly had just closed her eyes for a moment to catch a few Z’s while she waited, it had been a long day after all, when Croix returned.
Lo and behold, he brought with him a beautiful, awe inspiring, tear worthy stack of grilled-cheese sandwiches. It was almost as if he knew that was the kiwis’ main source of sustancene.
The bread itself was white bread that was toasted to a golden crisp, and in between the slices was cheese that looked like it could be stretched for yards upon yards. Polly’s mouth was watering like a leaky faucet, and she didn’t need to look at the kiwis to know they looked the same.
“Help yourself folks,” Croix smiled.
“Here goes,” said Ed, and as she bit into the absolute beauty of a sandwich, she just about spit it out.
Within seconds, Polly had picked her up, and was a foot out the door.
“Wait!” cried Croix.
“What?”
“What’s wrong? Why are you guys leaving so suddenly? Was there something wrong with the sandwich?”
“What do you mean what’s wrong with the sandwich? Didn’t you see poor Ed here spit that thing out as soon as it entered her beak?”
“Well...yes...but why?”
Polly paused for a moment, and pulled her foot that was out on the street back in.
“So you weren’t trying to poison us?”
“No, I’d never? Why would I? I have no business and you guys so kindly agreed to help me advertise.”
“Hmmm.” If there were a button with a large red X Polly could have pressed to show just how many doubts she had at the moment, she would have pressed it in a heartbeat.
The Ed who laid in Polly’s arms coughed feebly. “It’s all right,” she rasped. “I do not think the sandwich was poisoned, rather, it was just bad.”
Croix’s face looked stuck somewhere between gravely insulted and horribly relieved.
“Is that so,” said he and Polly in unison. They glanced at each other and frowned simultaneously.
“Well how bad can it be,” said Polly at last, walking back to the table she had just abandoned. “Can’t be worse than a mushroom, not many foods are.”
“True, true,” cawed Wiki. “‘Ol Ed here is a grilled cheese master after all. I bet anything less than perfection would have her choking.”
Polly took a bite of one of the lovely looking sandwiches before her, already prepared for it to taste bad, but it seemed she had not prepared enough. Chugging a tall glass of herbal medicine would have been easier than swallowing that mistake of a sandwich whose existence was a blight upon the very word sandwich.
“I take back what I said earlier,” wheezed Polly as she tried not to let the one piece of sandwich that was in her stomach exit earlier than it was supposed to. “This place is definitely a reason why health inspections are a thing.”
Polly hadn’t meant to let her thoughts fly out unrestrained, but given that all her restraints were focused on restraining her bile, she came off a bit ruder than intended.
“I mean, uh, it’s not that bad,” Polly added hurriedly as she saw Croix’s face drop. “I’m still alive and all, like at least it’s not so bad that I died on the spot.”
“Yeah…” mumbled the saddened sandwich maker with downcast eyes.
“This is a grilled cheese though, right?” asked Polly just to be safe. If it wasn’t, then she could try and play that off as the reason why it tasted like pure sin.
“Yeah…”
“Y’all are just weak.”
SAT evidently had a stomach of iron and not a single functioning taste bud for they were pecking away at a sandwich like it was a totally normal piece of food.
It was then Polly noticed. Not all the cheese in the middle of the sandwiches were the same color. Polly didn’t dare say what she thought. Even she had more manners than asking someone if they used moldy cheese in their sandwich.
“Right, weak, yup,” said Polly, reaching for a sandwich with cheese that matched the sandwich SAT was eating from.
“Allow me,” said Ed with a glint in her eyes, taking the sandwich from Polly.
“No, please,” replied Polly smiling graciously. “You put yourself at risk for us first, let me do the honors.”
“No, I insist. You would deny me of this pleasure?”
“I would never deny a friend such as you from good food. But who’s to say how good this sandwich is. No need to push yourself, I’ll take care of trying it out.”
“First come first served,” cackled Wiki and in a truly unforeseen act, inhaled the sandwich.
Polly stared in horror, half because she had not known her traveling companion was a vacuum in disguise, and half because she had really wanted that sandwich. She reached for another, but before she could lay her hand on it, the good was whisked away by SAT. Hoping that her third time would be the charm, she made another pass only to be foiled this time by Ed. The only grilled cheese sandwich left had cheese that was a slightly suspicious shade of yellow. It was that or nothing, and so Polly went for it.