"It's a masterpiece!"
"Pretty to look at, but you'll never eat all that."
It was one of the many ways Jolene underestimated her daughter. Margaret was determined to prove her wrong. She was especially hungry today and the odds were in her favor.
"Wanna bet?" Margaret's sweet smile spread from ear to ear.
Jolene didn't think twice, "I know you can't finish it."
Her dismissive tone was all that she needed, she talked her mother into a bet. From now on she could stay up until ten o'clock. The stakes were high, but neither one of them was budging.
"You will NOT finish it!" Mrs. Armagost said emphatically. This time she faced her daughter, looked her straight in the eye and said she agreed to the terms of the challenge.
Margaret was more than excited, she was ecstatic. She put down the glass of water without ever letting it touch her lips. There wasn't a day of fifth grade that she hadn't thought about it, what she might do with an extra hour of bed time. She thought about the pictures she might finish, the video games she would conquer and most important of all, she wouldn't have to return to her room until well after her baby sister fell asleep. Oh, the mere thought of laying her head to the pillow in utter silence. Margaret let the first bite fill her cheeks with a combination of onion ring bits and mayonnaise.
Ketchup drooled down her chin as she ate the second savory bite. In twenty minutes she had all but conquered the gigantor elite, she was nearly finished when her mother announced that it was time to go. It was difficult to manage without spewing all over the platter, but she protested roundly, to no avail.
"I'm sorry love, but we have to return to our appointment." It had already been a long day.
Margaret was examined by three different specialist before noon. She decided she would bring the dilapidated remains of her sandwich with her in a napkin. She was going to see this through no matter how she was thwarted. She didn't blame her mother for taking advantage of the circumstances. There was a lot at stake, no doubt. She tried to convey, that if she won the bet, she would not be difficult to get up in the morning and promised she would be well rested for school the next day. Margaret took the nodding to mean that the ongoing competition was to continue all the way to The Children's Hospital. She knew though that once inside the glass double doors it was over. Margaret stretched out in the back seat of the station wagon and undid the snap at the top of her jeans. She calculated that she could finish the task in only three more bites and it was more than six miles away.
The last bite had a large chunk of mozzarella sticking more than an inch out of the bun. Margaret closed her eyes and shoved the wedge into her mouth. Her stomach did a flip and for a moment she worried she might be sick, but she was used to the feeling of being nauseous and had overcome it many times in the last few months. The chemo had made her a thunder-god, able to overcome anything!
When the last of it slid down the back of her throat she sat straight up and nearly frightened her mother when she screamed.
"I did it! I finished the whole thing!"
In the rear view mirror Margaret could see her mother's eyes filling with tears. She was obviously proud of her ten year old. Her mother mumbled something, handed her back a bottle of water and motioned for her to get her coat on. In the parking lot the snow drifted down in sheets. Margaret spun around catching the large flakes on her tongue. She danced all the way to the sliding doors. More than ever she was looking forward to going home.