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“Holy – ! That was fast. I think you might have set the

record for the fastest mac and cheese on the planet.”

Emily stared at the plate as Dani handed it over. There were

cuts of cheese melted into rectangular pieces on the plate. At

least ten of them. “Um…what is this?” she asked, trying not to

smile.

Dani grinned. “It’s mac and cheese minus the mac.”

Emily couldn’t take it. She burst into a fit of giggles and had

to collapse on the couch to keep herself from falling over and

dropping the plate.

Dani passed over a fork. “I knew that would make you

laugh, but more importantly, it’s good. Try it. You don’t need

the mac or bread or any of that. Just good old melted cheese.

It’s the best around the edges, where it got really fried and

crispy.”

Emily dug her fork under a piece and brought it to her

mouth. The cheese was warm and gooey and came up in long

strands. She closed her mouth around it and chewed. It was

kind of gummy at first, but the taste, she had to admit, was a

ten. It was especially good around the edges, on the crisper

bits. Was anything better than aged cheese, all sharp and tangy

and greasy? If this is what it meant to eat your feelings, Emily

was definitely down.

“Oh wow.” She set the fork down and gave Dani a thumbs-

up. “This is amazing.”

Dani winked. “I know.”

“Hey, I had a thought earlier, before all the crazy stuff

happened.”

“Tell me,” Dani pressed, seeming intrigued, like she really

wanted to know. Emily wasn’t used to seeing people so eager