By Erica Watts
I stare longingly into the pan of cooking chicken. I nudge it around a little to see if that could be the magic solution that gets it to cook. I flip it. It looks the same. Out of boredom and impatience I reach into the spice drawer to find a new combo of herbs I haven’t already added to this dish. I add paprika and a dash of cayenne.
That seems good.
At least it smells good. I check my phone for updates on the world. My friend got a new tattoo, someone famous has been charged with crime, people are dying, the presidential candidate just did something offensive. The world has stayed the same since I started cooking this chicken. I walk into the dining room and find my mom tapping away on her computer. Ever since she started working from home it seems she is always tapping at her computer.
“Mom?” I ask.
“How do I know when chicken is fully cooked?”
“You just know.”
I walk back into the kitchen to the smell of burnt chicken.
Erica Watts (she/her) ‘27 is a television, radio, and film major and marketing minor from Haddonfield, New Jersey. She is involved on campus in Groovestand A Cappella, First Year Players, and Live From Studio B. Erica enjoys comedy, nature, and going on sidequests with her friends.
