Page 34 of Accidental Roommates

“I don’t make eggs. If I eat breakfast, I just have cereal or I’ll grab a granola bar on the way out the door.”

“Eggs are for more than breakfast. I have them for dinner sometimes. They’re high in protein and the yolks are full of vitamins.”

She smiles. “You know about nutrition?”

“A little. I had to take a nutrition class for my minor.”

“What’s your minor?”

“Exercise physiology. I have to take another nutrition class in the spring. Nutrition for athletes. I’m looking forward to that one.”

“I thought eggs were bad for you.”

“That’s a myth. Hey, check it out.” I point to the TV where the guy is now melting cheese in the pan. “No way that’s not going to stick.”

We watch as he slides the melted cheese onto a plate, leaving nothing in the pan.

“Holy shit, that’s amazing!” I say, tossing my hands up. I normally wouldn’t get this excited over a fry pan, but it’s distracting Kenzie from her sadness and even making her smile, so I’m going with it.

She laughs. “They probably coat it with some kind of chemical. That’s why it doesn’t stick.”

“It’s still amazing. I mean, shit, look at that!”

They’re showing a replay of the cheese sliding out of the pan.

“They’re seriously doing an instant replay of cheese?” She laughs. “In slow motion?”

“Yeah, and it’s working. Now I want to buy it. I think we should get one.”

Using ‘we’ makes us sound like a couple, but I meant ‘we’ as in roommates.

“I don’t cook, so it wouldn’t do me any good.”

“But you might cook if you had a pan like that. You’d barely have to clean it.”

“I still don’t want one, but if you do, go for it.”

“If I get one, will you try it?”

“I just told you I don’t cook.”

“You don’t have to. Just melt some cheese in the pan and experience the magic.” I say it dramatically to get her to laugh, which she does.

“Magic? Really?” she says, still laughing. “It’s just cheese. Cheese isn’t magical.”

“It is when it slides out of a pan without sticking. Actually, you’re right. The cheese isn’t magical. The pan is.” I turn back to the TV. “Holy shit, did you see that?”

“What? Are they melting crayons now?” she jokes.

“They said if we call right now, we get two pans for the price of one. We could each have our own!” I get my phone out.

“I really don’t need one. I—”

“Consider it a housewarming gift,” I say as I call the number on the screen. I’ve never bought anything from an infomercial, but I really want that pan, if only to demonstrate its magic in person to Kenzie. Because I know it’ll make her laugh and smile, and I want her to do that again because it’s so much better than seeing her cry.

“You’re seriously ordering it?” she asks.

A woman answers the phone and I tell her I want the pan and give her the code for the two-for-one offer. Getting my credit card out, I give her the number. Moments later, the transaction is done and I end the call and set down my phone.

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