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*3rd POV
"Alright... Memaw's here..." Connie Tucker's voice echoed in the room as she walked into the living room and saw Missy, Georgie, and Sheldon—Missy and Georgie watching TV while Sheldon was engrossed in a book.
"Your mom and dad called me to watch over you all... so, what are we gonna eat?" she asked with a smile at the three of them.
"We can get pizza delivered." Georgie suggested, and Missy nodded in agreement. However, Sheldon interjected with a different opinion, "Tonight is spaghetti with hot dogs night, so I suggest we all eat spaghetti with hot dogs."
"Yeah, sure... go make it, Sheldon." Missy said with a smirk, adding, "You know how to cook it, right? We'll wait at the dinner table."
"I can't make it. I'm only nine years old." Sheldon replied matter-of-factly, staring at Missy with a dumbfounded expression.
"Then who's going to make it? You know where Mom and Dad went, don't you?" Missy retorted, staring at Sheldon with the same dumbfounded look and a smirk.
"...." Sheldon was silent, then turned to Georgie.
"That's sarcasm. You know that, right?" Georgie said, and Sheldon simply responded, "Ohh..."
"Hehe, stupid." Missy teased, smirking even more as Sheldon glared at her angrily.
"Alright, alright, no fighting here… we're going to order pizza…" Georgie declared, then turned to Connie. "So, are you calling the pizza delivery, or should I cook something for everyone?"
Connie looked at Georgie, a bit surprised. "Since when can you cook?" she asked, and Georgie shrugged.
"I read cooking magazines because there were pretty women modeling in them." he admitted.
Connie was taken aback by the answer. "...And you've never actually cooked anything, have you?" she pressed, hesitant about trusting Georgie in the kitchen. But Missy had a different opinion.
"I want to help you cook!" Missy exclaimed, making Connie glare at Georgie in frustration.
Georgie shrugged again. "Sure, let me check if we have any ingredients left in the fridge."
Georgie headed to the kitchen to find anything 'valuable' in the fridgerator. "Hmm... not much. We've got cheese, onion, garlic, and other things... except the main ingredient…" he muttered.
Connie followed him and surveyed the fridge. "Yeah… you're right." she agreed.
"Memaw, can we go to the store and get chicken breast?" Georgie asked without looking back at her.
"Huh... alright, alright." Connie sighed, then called Missy and Sheldon. "Let's go."
Missy walked alongside Georgie. "What are you planning to make?" Sheldon, curious as always, also asked Georgie about his plans.
"As long as it's not Brussels sprouts, radishes, starfruit, artificial grape flavor, or shellfish, I'll eat it but I prefer we eat sphagetti with hot dogs. Otherwise, we're eating pizza." Sheldon warned.
"I'm going to make cheese-stuffed chicken breasts!" Georgie replied, then turned to Sheldon. "Of course, I know what you like and don't like, Shelly." he added with a grin.
Sheldon nodded in approval while Missy eagerly asked how he was going to make it and what the recipe was. Georgie answered her questions one by one.
On the way to the store, Connie glanced at Georgie skeptically. "...Are you sure you can cook?"
"Of course!" Georgie replied confidently, answering Connie's question for the umpteenth time.
Once they arrived at the store, Georgie turned to Missy. "Let's shop for the ingredients." he said, holding out his hand toward Connie. "Money?"
"Just go find what you need." Connie grumbled, dismissing him as she waited at the checkout line with Sheldon.
"Hmm..." Georgie and Missy wandered through the aisles, scanning the shelves. "Brother, how about this?" Missy pointed to a pack of chicken breast.
"Hmm... do you know what this means?" Georgie asked, pointing to a label on the packaging.
"What? Free range?" Missy read it aloud but didn't understand its significance.
"This label means the chickens had access to roam outdoors, which often results in better meat quality compared to chickens raised only in cages and Ofcourse its more expensive too." Georgie explained.
"…its Memaw money…of course we take the expensive one.." Georgie smirk at missy.
Missy nodded and examined the label more closely. Georgie picked up the chicken Missy had chosen, along with a few more items, and continued browsing.
"Georgie!" a girl's voice called from behind them. Georgie turned around to see who it was.
"Veronica!" Georgie greeted her with a smile. Missy, not knowing who this girl was, watched with interest.
"What are you doing here?" Veronica asked, glancing at Missy, who was studying her with a curious expression.
"Hey, girl!" Veronica greeted Missy warmly.
"I'm buying ingredients for dinner. And this is Missy—Missy, this is Veronica, my friend." Georgie introduced them.
"Do you like my brother?" Missy asked bluntly, assessing Veronica.
"Wh...What? Of course not! We're just friends." Veronica stammered.
"Hmm... Yes, you do." Missy replied with a straight face. "My brother is an amazing person. You'll need my approval if you want to date him." And crossed her arms with smug face.
"...And I don't get a say in this?" Georgie asked awkwardly, glancing between the two.
Missy huffed and ignored him, turning back to Veronica whose giggling at her antics.
"What are you doing here?" Georgie asked, noticing the snacks and bread Veronica was holding.
"Hmm, this? My... dinner." Veronica replied quietly.
Missy stared at Veronica, then at Georgie, before nodding. "Why don't you have dinner at our house?"
Veronica looked at Missy in surprise, then turned to Georgie. "...Is that okay?"
"Hmm, sure. My mom and dad will probably be home late—at least I hope so, so they can have a date night. But..." Georgie trailed off and glanced at Veronica.
"Wha...what?" Veronica stammered, realizing they'd be alone at Georgie's house without any adults around.
"You'll have to help me prepare dinner." Georgie said with a smirk, making Veronica's lips twitch. "Let's go find the rest of the ingredients." he said, pulling Missy and Veronica along as they continued browsing Herschel's.
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*3rd POV
"Sheldon, don't do that!" Connie scolded as she watched Sheldon attempt to wash the chicken breast with lemon-scented dish soap.
"Why not? This chicken breast needs to be clean so no bacteria will stick to it." Sheldon reasoned.
Georgie overheard and interjected, "You know the bacteria won't survive once we cook it, right?" Sheldon paused and considered his brother's statement. "...I suppose you're right."
"You just need to rinse it with water so nothing sticks to it." Connie explained, helping Sheldon clean the chicken properly.
"Veronica, can you cut those vegetables?" Georgie handed her a knife, then turned to Missy. "Missy, can you stir the eggs for me?"
Veronica nodded and began chopping as Georgie grated cheese and prepped other ingredients.
"Here's the chicken breast." Sheldon said, bringing over the cleaned meat.
"Thanks." Georgie replied, slicing into the center of the chicken breast to butterfly it open. He seasoned it with salt and black pepper. "You're okay with a little black pepper, right?" Georgie asked Veronica, who was watching him work.
"Yes, it's alright." she replied.
"If you have any allergies or other health conditions, you should mention them now so we can avoid ingredients that might trigger them." Sheldon said, looking at Veronica seriously. "I've already memorized all the items Georgie bought."
"Show off." Missy muttered, handing the stirred eggs to Georgie.
"Thanks. So, do you have any preferences or restrictions?" Georgie asked Veronica.
"No, I'm okay, and I don't have any health issues.." she replied, glancing at him.
Connie, overhearing this, smiled knowingly. Georgie, however, simply said, "Cool." and focused on cooking, paying no further attention to Veronica's subtle hint.
Sheldon and Missy nodded, though if Missy were older, she might have caught on to Veronica's implication.
"So, Veronica, what were you doing at the store earlier?" Connie asked, sipping her beer. Her tone was casual, but her question carried a hint of curiosity.
"I was just buying bread for dinner and some snacks." Veronica answered, helping Georgie prepare the chicken breasts.
"Missy, Sheldon, dip these chicken breasts into the flour and breadcrumbs mixture, then coat them with egg before re-dipping in the flour." Georgie instructed, passing them the mixtures.
"Doesn't your mom cook dinner for you?" Connie asked, causing Veronica to pause briefly before continuing to chop onions.
"No, she's with her boyfriend" Veronica replied softly.
"Oh… that's okay. You're always welcome to join us." Connie said kindly, smiling warmly at Veronica, who responded with a small smile but didn't say anything in return.
Connie walked over to Georgie. "Let me handle that." she said, taking the spatula from his hand.
"Alright, cook the chicken over medium heat for five minutes." Georgie instructed, sounding like a professional chef. Connie smirked slightly but chose not to comment further.
Georgie returned to Veronica's side, helping her chop onions and prepare other ingredients.
"...Alright, Memaw and I can finish this. How about the three of you set the table?" Georgie suggested, looking at Missy and Sheldon.
"Alright!" Missy said enthusiastically, and Sheldon followed with a slight shake of his head.
As Georgie watched them leave, he felt warmth creeping onto his cheeks. Before he could react, Veronica quickly kissed his cheek and dashed away to help Missy and Sheldon.
"..." Georgie stood frozen for a moment, staring after her. He then felt someone's gaze on his back.
"...I didn't see anything." Connie said, though her tone made it obvious she had witnessed everything.