Kitchen Patrol

Sierra’s mother called for Sierra to come do the dishes. This was Sierra’s least-favorite job, and she groaned at the thought of it.

“Why don’t we just use paper plates?” asked Sierra. Ever since the dishwasher had broken, Sierra dreaded the daily task of doing dishes. She hated everything about it—the dirty sponge, the grimy food on the plates, and the smelly dish soap.

That night, as Sierra cleared the table, she took special care to put the teakettle gently in the suds. As Sierra grabbed a sponge to wipe it clean, she felt an odd sensation. Wiping the teakettle with her sponge, a cloud of smoke filled the room.

“What is going on?” thought Sierra. She wiped again and another puff of smoke flew into the air. Sierra set the teakettle on the counter and decided to ignore the incident. But as she picked up a plate, the plate began dripping a brown, muddy substance.

“Mom?” hollered Sierra. “I think our dishes have a problem!”

“What do you mean?” asked her mother.

“The dishes are making their own mess,” said Sierra as she put down a fork that spewed white, cloudy mush.

“Sierra, we don’t have time for games. Get the dishes done so we can leave,” instructed Mother.

Just then, Sierra opened the broom closet to find a fountain of mud spraying out into the room. Sierra slammed the closet door shut and ran out of the room.