Timpano

My night of fine cuisine has arrived. Thanks to my neighbors and April getting the word out, the invited guests are all bringing appropriate dishes for the occasion. I am in charge of the main course, and it has taken me much of the day to prepare, for today I am undertaking Timpano, a baked pasta dish filled with only the Earth's tastiest ingredients.

Prep time completed around 12:05pm. Guests are set to arrive at 7:00pm, which means with baking and cooling time for the Timpano, it needs to go in the oven at 4:00pm.

At approximately 2:40pm, I went into a panic as I needed to make an emergency run to the store for a cooking thermometer. April was very sweet and kept me calm. Madison, who continues to be angry at me for grounding her for seeing Nick, spent much of her time tasting the ingredients, which of course through my measurements off.

Then, at 4:04pm with the pans filled and the oven preheated, the Timpano went in. More correctly, two Timpanos went in as it turned out I had enough ingredients after all. Madison continued eating the rest.

At 6:00pm the Timpano emerged from the oven and began to cool. I would not know until guests arrived.

Finally, at approximately 7:19pm guests began arriving and the feast was magnificent. I was more pleased with the turnout than I thought I would be. I knew very few of these people, most of them friends of April or of my neighbors Charles and Alice, and there were a few co-workers from school. I came to realize, outside of the few humans I am compelled to interact with on a regular basis, I have not made the effort that my sister has to really get to know people. My sister is of course, the most important part of my life, and I am growing to love April. I have even come to appreciate my neighbors. It feels good to have friends. I think it is time I stopped hiding in my safe, familiar home all the time. It is not only possible but most likely that Madison and I will never go home. We are citizens of this planet now, and it is time I started acting like it.