“Snakes can’t wail, and neither can gourds,” said Georgia.
Sylvie stared up at her. “How do you know all this?”
“Everyone knows snakes don’t have vocal cords … at least they usually don’t.”
Sylvie took a step back. “What do you mean usually don’t?”
“Actually, forget I said that,” replied Georgia. She rolled up her sleeves and burrowed deeper into the vent.
You realize we’re in a magic cooking school, where practically anything is possible,” said Sylvie. “So how are you so sure it’s a frog?”
Georgia glanced over. “If I tell you the truth, you better not laugh.”
“Promise,” said Sylvie.
“When I was younger, Dad and I used to go herping every weekend.”
“Her-what?”
“You know, hunting for amphibians and reptiles?”
“Wait.Youhunt reptiles?”
“Not anymore.” Georgia cupped her hands over her mouth and stuck her head back into the vent. “Crreeeek! Crreeeek!”
Sylvie bit her lip, trying not to laugh. This was a side of Georgia that would’ve been impossible to imagine.
Georgia turned, one eye on Sylvie. “You said you wouldn’t laugh.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Sylvie raised her hands. “It’s just … you told me skateboarding wasn’t ladylike, but herping is?”
“Like I said, I don’t do it anymore. But I’m sorry about what I said to you. It wasn’t nice.” Georgia fished around. “Come on, little guy. I’m here to help.”
“I think I’ve finally figured you out, Georgia Shaw. Or at least, what sort of pastry you are.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you ask me, everyone resembles a dessert in some way,” said Sylvie. “You’d be a princess cake. Pretty pastels on the outside, but cut it open, there are all sorts of layers you never expected.”
Georgia smiled as she squeezed her arms deeper into the vent. “I guess that’s why they say never judge a book by its cover… . It seems like we both made that mistake.”
The singsong of another high chirp rose into the air. Sylvie was no expert, but this one sounded less panicked.
Georgia continued to grope. “I think he needs some extra motivation to trust us.”
“What do you have in mind?” Sylvie asked.
Georgia pointed to the ball of trussing string on Boris’s desk. “Cut me off a bit of that, would you?”
Sylvie snipped an arm’s length of string and handed it to Georgia. Georgia twisted a small loop onto one end, creating a sailor’s knot.
“What are we doing, lassoing it?” asked Sylvie, only half-joking. At this point, Georgia was so full of surprises, anything seemed possible.
Georgia fished around in her pocket, pulling out a rainbow tube of …Mentos?
Lassoing had seemed silly enough, but this? Sylvie stared as Georgia looped a pale orange sphere into the sailor’s knot. “How is candy going to help us catch a frog?”
“Dad always packed sandwiches and a bag of candy for our herping trips. That’s how we accidentally discovered that frogs have a sweet tooth. Red gummy bears are their favorite, but fruity Mentos are mine. So, they learned to make do.”
