Lucky

PROLOGUE

          Lucky woke up from the pitch black darkness and found himself locked in a cage placed in a strange dark blue-colored laboratory. It was a bit chilly despite the fact that the AC was on and was programmed to make strong wind. The Samoyed dog shivered in cold. Suddenly, he was greeted by a displeasing hum followed along with heavy footsteps walking down a hall of the entrance of the lab.

          Then, that person who made all of the heavy noises revealed himself, before sliding his ID card into an electric pocket which could recognize the identity of the person who came in. Beep…  The pocket made a sound. Lucky knew he was in trouble because the man injected some liquid into a syringe then, the man walked towards Lucky’s cage.

          Lucky walked backwards and bumped into something which was a sharp pin. Oh, he wished this was all a big nightmare… He wished he was back in his warm comfy home with his own loving family who loves him every bit as much as they love each other. So, to ensure himself this was all a nightmare, Lucky pinned his front left paw with the pin. Unfortunately, it didn’t work… It was all real.

          The man unlatched the cage’s lock and pushed the liquid into Lucky’s small hairy ginger body. Lucky yelped in pain. But then, blue-ish atoms swirled around his body and Lucky’s yelp turned into a cry. “OW!!!” That made the man astonished at the power of the liquid.

          Lucky noticed that the latch was still open, so this was a chance for him to escape! He bolted in a high speed – which was pretty amazing and shocked for him to know – towards the opening latch. In less than 20 seconds, Lucky managed to escape out of his cage and the creepy lab.     

          Now you see, reader, that’s how Lucky got his amazing powers. Once he escaped the building where the lab was placed in, a little girl picked him up out of nowhere and gladly took care of him with her father.

          The girl was called Elsa, Elsa Carpenter.

~~~~*~~~~

          Elsa Carpenter was a peasant, poor 9-year-old girl who is sold to a rich couple to be a house maid by her own father since she was 5 years old. Her father did that just to get a simple trade of a red tablecloth, a female goat, and a crappy laptop because he wanted to be a famous writer. Can’t you imagine your own father doing that to you, huh? Well I’m sure your dad’s an amazing person, unlike this one.

          All that was left for her was a ginger Samoyed dog which she raised since it was a puppy and found it in the middle of the streets, an unruly dirty notebook which she usually cleans up with a wet tissue, and an old ink pen. She kept her notebook and pen because she liked to sketch and write some short stories.

          Elsa was hired to do house chores by a rich young couple who owned a large mansion in Temecula, California. Doing all house chores in 12 hours is a bit hard for her – well, there are some other maids but they don’t stay in the mansion, only Elsa did – especially when it comes to cooking. She really sucked at it. Elsa couldn’t even season, boil water, or make a simple sunny-side egg. The other works were quite easy to do for her, but not cooking.

          Every dinner, she gets a big pinch to the ear from the groom and the bride just sat down on her part of seat, staring off into deep thoughts of La La Land without even standing up for her young maid, although she wished that Elsa was her child. The groom’s wife, Miley Underwood, wanted to have a baby since the beginning of their marriage, but her husband, Michael Underwood, didn’t want to have one, so he told his wife to have a birth control injection which left a disappointed feeling for her. Even though Elsa might not be good at cooking, her loyal and cheerfulness brings happy thoughts to her.  

          “I’m sorry, Sir.” Elsa apologized to the groom who she calls Sir or sometimes his name, Michael, along with his wife Miley. She just made a mistake on her Meat Loaf’s seasoning, which made the couple’s tongues really spicy.

          Michael gave her a hard pinch right on the ear where it hurts most then released it when Elsa cried harder. “You better make good food next time. It really matters to have perfect gourmet food if you’re a rich business man.”

          Elsa gulped hard, trying to resist the pain that was caused by the pinch from the ear. “Y-yes sir.” She hated it when Michael gives her pinches.  

          Michael and Miley never gave food to Elsa or even a warm drink whenever it rains or snows. She only drank sink water and ate cheap rice pudding which she buys along way the streets of Temecula.

          So, when Michael and Miley eat restaurant food in the mansion, Elsa stood blankly in the corner of the dining room, staring at the delicious food that the rich couple was eating. Every food looked so delicious and sweet in cafés, restaurants, shops, and bakeries. Elsa really wanted to eat them so badly, only, she didn’t have enough money. The salaries that Michael and Miley lent her were only a few cents.

          One night, after the rich couple ate dinner and gave their little maid another hard pinch, Elsa’s chores were finally done and now it was time for her to sleep. Once she cleaned up the last plate and placing it back in one the cupboard drawers, she walked hastily off to her small bedroom under the third-floor stair chambers.

          Sure it was a long way from the kitchen which was in the very corner of the mansion. But somehow, she’d gotten used to it.

          The stairs were about 5 feet wide and marble tiles covered the whole steps with a long red carpet covering the middle part which if you stand on straight in line can fit for 2 persons. Perfect for a rich couple, don’t you think?

          Walking to a third-floor stair chamber sure was exhausting, especially when the mansion has 12 floors and the stairs were really long. I wonder how the couple could succeed to get through these stairs. Their room is on the 6^th floor. That’s impossible for me to reach. Elsa thought.  

          Elsa pounded on the door quietly before there was a short pause, and then a key flew out from under the turquoise blue door. The one who flung the key out was actually her Samoyed dog, named Lucky.  

          “Thanks boy!” She chirped happily, turning the key in the doorknob to unlock her chamber door. A light and friendly ‘Woof’ greeted her when she finally opened the door.

          Suddenly, the ginger-haired dog leaped from Elsa’s hard sponge bed and cuddled its owner with its furry legs, preventing its claws from leaving a scratch on her face, but turns out it left a few light scars that you can hardly see from afar.

          “Come on, boy. Let’s read ‘The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories’.” Reading had been Elsa’s favorite activity to fill out her spare time. Even though it was 9 PM, she still sits on the head of her bed, reading endlessly with her favorite books.                  

          “I’m so happy you’re here, Lucky. No one would ever let you in, especially Michael.” The canine nuzzled into Elsa’s lap while she read one of the short tales of ‘The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories’.

          Then suddenly, the strangest thing happened.

          “I’m happy that you’re here too, Els.” Lucky said, shaking his tail happily. Elsa dropped her book and stared at her Samoyed dog in disbelief and amaze.

          “You…talked…” Elsa stuttered, amazed.

          “Oh, yeah, um, I got poisoned by crazy old Doctor Pollen. And I got the power to talk and have human intelligence. Sick, right?”

          Elsa made sure this wasn’t a dream, so she pinched her arm and she didn’t wake up. This wasn’t a dream! The girl tried her best not to scream in delight, because this was actually the greatest moment of her life.

          “SQUEEE!!!” Elsa screamed – I mean squealed – in delight which made the butler, Heathcliff open the door and ask her.

          “Are you alright, Ms. Carpenter?”

          “Uh…yeah, I’m fine.” She replied. Heathcliff closed the chamber door shut and left the hall. Elsa then turned to her talking dog.

          “That was close.” The girl wiped a sweat from her forehead with a quirky laugh. “So, you’re like a super dog or something?”

          “Quite close… Hey, by the way, I know you’re having problems with your cooking.” Lucky told his owner as she sat down on her bed continuing to reading her book.

          “Oh, really?”

          “Yeah… You know, Elsa, maybe I could teach you how to cook. My brain is programmed to have high IQ intelligence, so I think I can teach you.” He wiggled his tail around excitedly. Elsa’s face lit up and she placed down her book on her ragged woolen blanket.

          “Really? You think you could do that?” Her frown turned upside down into a smile.

          “I promised your father to take care of you, so yeah. I can teach you. When should we start?”

          Elsa lifted her index finger onto her chin as a gesture of thinking. “I know!” This time, she lifted her finger in the air. “Michael and Miley said they would be having a holiday to Florida for 4 weeks, starting from tomorrow! So, in that time we can learn how to cook! This is going to be so good!”

          “Cool! I’ll see you tomorrow Master.” Lucky dug himself into a hole under a loose tile and disappeared underground.

~~~~*~~~~

          “We’ll back in 4 weeks. Stay out of trouble.” Miley touched the tip of Elsa’s nose with a soft smile. Miley had been treating Elsa like her daughter, only she doesn’t stand up to her when Elsa got punishment.

          “Okay.” Elsa giggled slightly.

          “You can crawl into the library anytime you like, Elsa. And there are some Kit Kat bars in the fridge, you can enjoy them for a snack if you like.” Miley added. She knew how much her maid loves books, so she decided to put on a little holiday for Elsa. “But no sneaking into our bedroom, got it? In the meantime, try to improve your cooking.”

          “I’ll try, Miley. Thanks.”

          “Come on, sweetheart. We’re gonna be late.” Michael said coldly to his wife, and then turned to Elsa. “Don’t ever try to make a mess. Or I will punish you with a lot of pinches when we get home.”

          Elsa gulped nervously. “Yes, Sir.” She liked being with Miley, but her husband is too cold.

          The young rich couple climbed aboard their limousine and drove off, leaving her with the other maids and Heathcliff.

          “I’ll be in the library, Heathcliff!”

          “Of course, Miss.” Heathcliff smiled softly to the cheerful child.

          Elsa ran off to her chamber to grab Lucky to the library.

          “Come on Lucky! We’re going to the library!” The girl laughed in joy as she took Lucky in her arms and brought him to the library with her favorite book, ‘How to Steal a Dragon’s Jewel’ by Cressida Cowell.

          “They allowed you to?”

          “Of course, Miley allows me. Not her cold husband.”

          “I thought we were going to learn how to cook.” Lucky remembered yesterday’s promise.

          Elsa stopped her tracks and face-palmed. “Oh my god, I forgot! Let’s do it afterwards, okay?”

          “Fine.” Lucky gave her a poker face which made her laugh; a dog making a poker face, who knew? LOL (Laugh Out Loud).

          ~~In the Library~~

          Between the stacks of books on an antique wooden bookcase, Lucky found a book that interested him: ‘Desserts That Don’t Require an Oven’.

          “What’s this?” He asked inquisitively. The ginger-haired Samoyed dog grabbed the book in between his teeth and carried it to the table where Elsa was busy reading a new book – more like an encyclopedia – called ‘Electricity & Magnets’.  

          “Elsa! Look what I’ve found!” Lucky barked at her.

          “It’s just a boring cookbook, Lucky. What’s the benefit of reading a cookbook? You can’t learn how to cook from a book.” Elsa looked at the cookbook Lucky brought boringly which made the dog look displeased.

          “You can learn if you try.” Lucky shoved Elsa out of her seat. “Come on! Let’s try these amazing recipes.” The two walked into the kitchen downstairs.

          Lucky quickly flipped open the cookbook and the pages stopped on a dessert called No-Bake Red Velvet Cheesecake. He licked the edge of his lips before grabbing the ingredients for the food from the fridge.

          “We’ll make this!” Lucky said.

          “Okay.” Elsa replied while taking a look at the recipe.

~~~The recipe~~~

‘NO-BAKE RED VELVET CHEESECAKE’

‘Ingredients

16 double stuffed chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed into crumbs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 - 8oz packages cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat)

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

8 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted

1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided

1 1/2 Tablespoons red food color

1 - 8oz container whipped topping, thawed (I used extra creamy)

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together cookie crumbs and melted butter. Spoon cookie mixture evenly into small jars or dishes and press to form a crust. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until light and blended. Add melted chocolate, pure vanilla extract and red coloring food and beat until evenly blended. Fold in whipped topping.

Spoon cheesecake mixture into prepared cups. Alternately, transfer cheesecake mixture into piping bag and pipe into cups. Serve immediately or refrigerate cheesecakes until ready to serve. Top with vanilla whipped topping (see notes) and chocolate shavings.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Optional Topping

Mix 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract into 1 8oz container of thawed whipped topping. Top Red Velvet No Bake Cheesecakes with a dollop of vanilla whipped topping and chocolate shavings.

~~~End of the recipe~~~

          Lucky gave a few examples of how to shake the whip cream can properly, mix the coloring food, cookies & other ingredients with the cheese cream, melt butter on a pan, and arrange the appearance of the food. Elsa followed the steps quickly and voila! She did it!       

          After about 25 minutes, the two finally finished making their own Red Velvet Cheesecakes. The Cheesecake didn’t use an oven because the recipe said so, and the result turned out to be exactly the same as the picture in the book.

          “Looks so delicious!” Lucky tasted Elsa’s work of food, and once he finished the whole dessert, a smile crept up on his face. “The dressing is perfect, the taste is absolutely sweet and delicious, and…it’s just amazing! Great job, Els.”

          “Thanks, Lucky!” Elsa thanked Lucky for his compliments. “I really had fun today… This is like my first best achievement in my whole childhood life.” 

          “How about we try the other recipes?” The fluffy dog inquired.

          “Sure! Sounds fun.”

          Trying the other recipes were a lot of fun. They made pancakes with Green Tea Kit Kats for the topping, Mint Oreo Icebox Cake, Ferrero Rocher Pie, and some S’mores Bars. The two shared the treats they made with Heathcliff and the other maids, meanwhile doing that, Lucky stayed shut, not talking a single word, just barks.

          “Wow… Who knows cooking can get so much fun?” Elsa laughed, satisfied as she easily flipped another pancake in the air and let it flop down on the fry pan.

          “Told ya.” Lucky rolled his eyes, smiling.   

~~~~Four weeks later~~~~

          Four weeks had passed, and Elsa’s cooking talent had developed better and better. She was confident that her food would be really tasty for the couple’s Welcome Home dinner. Another maid insisted that she would cook for them, but Elsa was sure her cooking lesson had paid off.

          “Please welcome, the Underwood couple!” Heathcliff announced at the front porch when Miley & Michael’s limo pulled in. The kind butler opened the limo’s back door which revealed Miley in jeans, a plaid scarf and a plain red blouse & Michael in jeans also, plain green scarf and a horizontal-striped shirt. It was quite chilly outside, considering that it’s almost winter and its night time.  

          “Welcome home, Miley!” Elsa leaped into Miley’s open arms for a hug. “How was your trip to Florida?”

          “It was amazing, Els. I’m so happy to see you again.” Miley said to her little maid as she snuggled deeper into her warm hug.

          “Me too…” Elsa replied.

          “Honey, what are you doing?” Michael asked coldly…again.

          “Hugging Elsa. Is it a problem?”

          “She’s your maid! Filthy, stupid maid! Don’t you ever hug her again!” More harsh and cold words came out of Michael’s mouth to Miley. Of course, Elsa was a bit offended with his words.

          “Alright, alright.”

          As the couple walked inside their mansion, amazement filled their eyes. The whole mansion was clean! Shiny, spotless and arranged beautifully! Wait. What’s that yummy smell? Delicious smell of food and warm beverages floated out of the golden-walled dining room.

          “What’s that delicious smell?” Michael inquired suspiciously as he slowly entered the dining room. And there he saw…food and warm beverages settled down nicely on the marbled dining table finished with the beautiful arrangements of plates, bowls, and cups & glasses.

          “Bon appetite, Sir.” Elsa said happily, feeling really satisfied with all her work. Yes, reader, all of the arrangements and design for Michael & Miley’s ‘Welcome Home’ event, especially the dinner.

          Elsa helped Miley settle down on a golden-colored fabric-covered chair, as well as Heathcliff to Michael.

          “Here we have roasted Cajun Meat Loaf and fries for main course, Lobster salad for starters, and different desserts; Red Velvet Cheesecake Scones for Michael, & Ferrero Rocher Pie for Miley. Enjoy…” The little chef, Elsa, introduced the food to the Underwood couple. “Oh, for beverages, we’re serving warm Nutmeg & Cinnamon Eggnogs.” She added.

          “Thank you, Elsa.” Michael thanked the little maid, – for the first time – happily. “I hope these will be delicious.”

          The Underwood couple finished their whole food and drink in exactly the perfect pace as mannered people should. As the two wiped the some leftover crumbs from their lips with lovely embroidered napkins, Michael said.

          “Elsa, I have to say, your food is really delicious!”

          “Thanks.”

          “And we really wish that you would accept our offer to be our first daughter…” What Miley and Michael last said was beyond of Elsa’s wildest dreams or wishes. The couple both agreed to adopt Elsa because she had achieved something incredible for them both, and because Miley really wished to have a child as bright as Elsa for a long time. It took a while for Michael to realize that she’s a special child who can melt the heart of a cold person and that she doesn’t deserve a slave life like this, not after all this.

          “Really?” Elsa rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

          “Yes.” Miley giggled and Michael smiled at Elsa’s reactions.

          “I-I…” Elsa took a short glance at Lucky who secretly spied at them from the kitchen and now, gave his master a trusting wink. “…I’d love to.”

          The couple squealed happily as they hugged their now daughter before Lucky revealed himself to them.

          “That’s my dog, Miley. His name is Lucky.” Elsa showed her now Mom and Dad her cute Samoyed dog who was smiling nervously & goofily at the same time.

          “Then, welcome to the family too, Lucky!” Michael embraced Lucky with a hug too.  

          The next day, after signing the adoption papers, they all became a complete happy family, and as a bonus Michael was now not as arrogant and selfish as before. All thanks to the lucky dog…Lucky.

~~THE END~~

Story by: Fairuza Hanun Razak

IWEC Level: Teenagers Level 2

Age: 11 years old

School: Homeschooled

Inspiration from: the film of ‘Ratatouille’ and ‘Bolt’