Toddler Furaha was bored. She had played with at least every single one of her toys all morning, and it was nearly lunchtime. She lay on the floor with her legs in the air like a little beetle who had done a circus roll, feeling ennui and hungry. She felt her tummy. It was rumbling like crazy. No wonder lunch hadn’t been done yet. What’s keeping Orko? She waited around for something to happen.
Then, at last, Orko floated in. “Say, you’re bored, aren’t you?” asked Orko. Furaha nodded her little head in agreement. “I know! It’s nearly lunchtime, and I’m making pizza. Why don’t we make pizza together?” Furaha at once sat up. She loved pizza, and hearing Orko say they’ll make it together made her heart skip a beat. Pizza, oh boy! Furaha clapped her hands and bounced on her little bottom. “Alright, then let’s get to work.” said Orko, and off they set into the kitchen.
Furaha and Orko had to put on aprons and wash their paws and hands before making pizza, because washing hands is important - it keeps germs away from the food you are making, and no wonder Furaha had been playing in the mud in the last few days. When Orko and Furaha showed each other their clean hands and paws, Orko tickled Furaha a bit before they made their way to the table where all the pizza ingredients were set up.
First, they rolled out the dough that Orko prepared using his magic. Kneading it was just like giving someone a massage - you rolled it this way and that way and back again. Furaha made little steamroller noises while she kneaded, and Orko said, “Yeah! That’s it! You’re a steamroller! Roll it real hard, baby!” After the pizza was fully kneaded, they added the tomato sauce onto the base. Furaha’s eyes went wild as she watched the tomato sauce dribble onto the pizza like suncream on someone’s skin during a Summer vacation.
Then it was time to add the toppings. They added gloopy mozzarella, crunchy peppers and toasty little mushrooms to the toppings. Then Orko asked, “Do we need chilli peppers?” He produced chilli peppers out of his sleeve with his magic. “Mmmmm-mmmmm,” disagreed Furaha, shaking her little head. “Oh yes, adding chilli peppers will just make it unbearably hot!” laughed Orko. So much so that Furaha began laughing too.
Then Orko put the pizza in the oven and set a yellow chicken shaped timer for the right amount of time (telling the exact time would be boring, so I’m not putting it in the story). Then another idea popped into his magical little head. “I know! Let’s play restaurants!” “YAY!” cheered Furaha, clapping her little paws and jumping up and down. “While the pizza is cooling, I’ll help you set up our little restaurant - Madam Furaha & Chef Orko. How does that sound?” Furaha giggled. Her carer and best friend had a really wacky sense of humor.
After a few minutes…
BZZZZZZZZZZ went the timer, and Orko put on his oven gloves to check the pizza. Mmmmmmm-mmmmm, did it look delicious! Furaha ran into the kitchen, but Orko stopped her just in time. “A-bah-bah-bah!” said Orko, “You mustn’t eat the pizza yet, it needs to cool first.” “Aaaaaawwww,” sighed Furaha in disappointment. “But remember what I said about the restaurant!” added Orko. Furaha squealed in delight. She was going to like this!
Furaha helped Orko lay the table and set out the knives, forks, spoons, plates and mugs for their restaurant. They set up fairy lights all around the living room to make it suitable for their romantic customers. “They would love a nice atmosphere for their date nights,” laughed Orko. Orko helped Furaha make signs to hang up on their restaurant door, and Orko used his magic to produce a music CD of beautiful Italian classical music to play on the CD player. Instead of using candles, as they knew using lights with actual fire can be dangerous, Orko produced a bunny nightlight to place in the middle of the table.
At last, everything was ready. With the lights dimmed and Furaha sitting at the table, the game was about to begin. Furaha sat gently drumming her paws on the table as she waited for her waiter Orko to come and take her order. Then in came the waiter himself, carrying a notebook so he can take her order. By now, the pizza had cooled and was in a mild temperature now. “‘Ello, Madam Furaha,” said Orko in his Italian impersonation. “How may I help you today?” Furaha pointed to the mild-temperatured pizza on top of the counter. “Okay, so, you want the peppers, and mozzarella, and mushrooms. Do you think that’s it?” Furaha nodded. “Your food will be ready in…erm, who knows how long food is ready in an actual restaurant, I can’t remember,” explained the waiter, “May I have the food with you?” Furaha gave an OK sign with her fingers, and Orko shook paw in hand with her. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
Furaha began to gently drum her paws on the table, waiting and waiting for Orko to prepare the pizza. At last, Orko came with two slices of pizza each - two for him and two for Furaha. “Pizza’s ready!” he said, placing them onto their plates. “Tuck in, Furaha.” "So the two ate their most amazing pizza ever, and Orko was humming at the taste of such a lovely creation. “Mmmmm, so delicious,” said Orko, “I have to admit, this is the best pizza I’ve ever tasted. How about you, Furaha?” “Mmmmmmmm!” said Furaha, digging in with polite table manners. “Yeah, I guessed that,” said Orko, and the two continued to tuck in.
When their restaurant game was over, Orko and Furaha lay on the sofa head to head with tummies blown up like balloons. “Oh boy, this was the best pizza ever,” said Orko with a burp. Furaha nodded in agreement. “You know what? That reminds me: what did you like about today?” Using body language, Furaha silently gestured making pizza and then playing restaurants. “That was my favourite too, my favourite part is when I pretended to be a waiter, and set up our pretend restaurant!”
Now what is your favourite part of this best day ever?