Total Knockout by Taylor Morris Page A

“Well, hello there, Lucia. How are you, honey?”
    â€œI’m fine,” I said, feeling warm and relaxed. “Whatcha making?”
    â€œThis here,” he said, “is a new tortilla soup I’m trying out.”
    â€œI had some yesterday,” Cooper said, “but I said it needed some honey and jalapeño in it.”
    â€œYep,” his dad agreed. “Spice and sweet. Y’all ready to test this out?”
    â€œSure!” Cooper and I cheered.
    Mr. Nixon’s name was John, and he always insisted that I call him that, but it felt funny, calling an adult byhis first name, even if I had known him since I was born. I usually just ended up not calling him anything.
    Mr. Nixon set down two steaming bowls in front of us. “Now hang on,” he said, shuffling around in the kitchen. He turned back and placed a large soupspoon at the side of both of our bowls, then topped our soup with red, black, and yellow tortilla strips. “Dig in, and tell me what you think. Be honest! I can take it.”
    Cooper and I blew gently on the soup in our spoons, then delicately sipped the broth. It was wonderful. I think it was the honey that Cooper suggested that made it so outstanding—that little sweet kick made all the difference.
    Cooper and I looked at each other and said, “So good!”
    â€œReally?” Mr. Nixon asked. “You wouldn’t fool an old man, would you?”
    â€œNo way, Dad,” Cooper said. “This is awesome.”
    â€œOkay, then. To the menu it goes!” Mr. Nixon said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. I watched curiously as he handed over a ten-dollar bill to Cooper. “Good job, son.”
    Cooper shoved the money into his pocket, telling me, “Consulting fee. Whenever I come up with an ideahe uses, I get paid. Ten for food ideas, and five for in-house ideas.”
    â€œWow,” I said, truly impressed. “Nice business skills, Coop.”
    â€œLucia, how’s your daddy doing?” Mr. Nixon asked as Cooper and I continued to dig into our soup.
    I swallowed the bite I had just taken. “He’s fine,” I answered. I didn’t know if he knew that I knew about the job offer, but I sure wasn’t going to mention it, and I hoped he wouldn’t either. Thankfully, just then the phone rang.
    â€œHaven’t heard from him in a few days,” he said, as if waiting for me to say more.
    â€œHe’s always home,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Just come on down.” I could feel Cooper’s eyes on me, like he was waiting to see if I would explode or something.
    â€œCooper!” his mom called from the bedroom. “It’s Melanie!”
    I turned my head to him. “For you?”
    He shrugged but didn’t look at me. He took the kitchen phone but walked around the corner, into their dining room.
    I stirred my soup, wondering why Melanie wascalling Cooper. Maybe they had the same teacher for one of their classes and she was calling about homework? As I played with my food, I thought about the other day on the trampoline and wondered if they’d actually been flirting. I shook that thought out of my head. Besides, I couldn’t help but feel that Cooper was my friend, not Melanie’s.
    â€œSchool going okay for you?” Mr. Nixon asked as he poured the remaining soup into a storage bowl.
    â€œYes, sir,” I said automatically. I tried to hear what Cooper was saying on the phone but could get only bits and pieces as he paced into and out of my view. When I caught a glimpse, he was biting his lip and muttering, “Uh-huh,” a lot. What was she saying to make him smile like that? And when did he get those calf muscles?
    â€œThey say the friends you make in your teenage years tell everything about how you’ll be in life,” Mr. Nixon continued. “’Course, I don’t think we have to worry about you.”
    I wanted