Soup-Narrative (Toombs)

Passage 1: Speaking of Soup Mr. Mason had run the same little café for many years. He lived quietly, woke up early to walk to work, and worked a long day. This satisfied him. What pleased him even more, though, were the smiles on his customers’ faces after eating. Mr. Mason had little need to hear them thank him. They kept coming back for their favorite foods. This was all he needed. As the tiny town he lived in grew, his café found more people coming in. Soon enough, Mr. Mason had to put a “Help Wanted” sign in the café window. This fact did not excite him or sadden him. He simply saw the need for help. The first person who asked about the job was a young man. Maybe 20 years old. This young man almost looked too wild for words. Mr. Mason did not worry about this fact. He did wonder why a 20-year-old would want to work in his little café, though. Not the music store? Or the sporting goods store? Or the movie theater in the next town? Mr. Mason didn’t know any young adults fascinated by sandwiches or soup. The two men had a short talk. Mr. Mason was about to thank the young man and wait for another person to ask about the job, but then the young man asked to try the soup of the day. Mr. Mason brought the young man a bowl. The young man placed the napkin in his lap, got close to the bowl to smell the soup, and closed his eyes. Then he ate the soup without saying a word. Mr. Mason cleared some dishes, waved goodbye to some people leaving, and went to the kitchen to cook another meal. Twenty minutes later, the young man was still sitting on the same stool. “You made this soup?” the young man asked. His eyes seemed to sparkle. Mr. Mason slowly looked around his little café, which didn’t take long. He wasn’t the type of person to make a joke about this. “Yes. I make pretty much everything that’s sold in this café. I’d like to keep cooking, which is why I need someone to help me take orders and clean up. I hope the soup was OK.” “OK?” asked the young man. “Sir, I plan to go to culinary school to learn to make soup this delicious. Please, let me work here and help you. Teach me to make this amazing soup!”

l Passage 2: Soup for the Road Will Radley had worked at the café for almost a year. Now it was spring, and he spent more and more time staring out the window. Mr. Mason noticed this because Will often shook his head when geese honked above, returning to local lakes. Each time geese honked, more customers seemed to enter the café. Will would wake up as if from a nap, hustle to grab menus and say hello, and find the best table for the customers. As they turned off the lights and left the little café for the day, Will paused and looked at Mr. Mason as he held the door open. “Chef, I leave in two days for culinary school. I wonder if you might make me some soup tomorrow for the road.” Mr. Mason looked down at his old brown shoes and smiled. He well knew Will’s time was almost up. The word “soup” pulled his smile a bit higher. He reached into his jacket pocket and handed Will an envelope. Before Mr. Mason could tell Will to wait, Will had opened the envelope and moved his finger between the many bills inside. Will was speechless and looked uncomfortable for the first time that Mr. Mason could remember. The young man who seemed always at peace was instead tapping his right hand against his jeans. Mr. Mason almost asked if the geese had flown away with Will’s tongue. “The extra money is well earned,” said Mr. Mason, putting his left hand on Will’s shoulder. “You are the best worker I’ve ever had.” Will’s shoulders popped up and down as he laughed. “I’m pretty sure I’m the only worker you’ve ever had,” Will said, still laughing. “True,” said Mr. Mason. “But it’s silly for me to make soup that you can do better.” The two men smiled and walked off very slowly in different directions.

“Soup for the Road” is a story about what happens after Mr. Mason hires Will in “Speaking of Soup.” Write a short story about what happens after Will leaves for culinary school. Your story can be about Mr. Mason or Will. Use information from “Speaking of Soup” and “Soup for the Road” to help you develop your characters and plot. You will be scored on how well you stay on topic, organize your writing, and use punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and sentence structure.