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Gaithersburg
Book Festival

May 17, 2025

10am – 6pm

Bohrer Park


Vegetable in the Fruit Drawer

By: Lance Colet

Oakton High School

Fairfax County, Va

Apple had a peachy reputation among the other foods in the fruits drawer of the fridge. If a fruit had a problem they would always go to apple to taco bout it. Apple threw huge parties and is always known to turnip hard at them. He’s the radish guy in the fruit drawer, and all the fruits get eggcited to hang out with him. However, sitting in the corner stewing over his emotions is a vegetable by the name of Hot Pepper. Nobody knows where he came from, and why he is in the fruit drawer, but many fruits stay clear of him. To many fruits he’s just an annoying vegetable that always tries to get Jalapeno business whenever he can, whether that be during one of Apple’s parties or just in passing, Hot Pepper seems to be the root of all problems in the fruit drawer. Inside though, Hot Pepper is really just jelly of Apple’s social status. When he looks at apple he sees a gourd-geous red fruit that contains the perfect amount of sweetness, and staring at his own reflection he sees an unapeeling red vegetable with random bumps and bruises who just wants to be accepted, but nobody seems to carrot all. Although he felt beet, Hot Pepper wanted to do something about the problem. He imagined throwing apple out of the fruit drawer, and watching him go squash when he hits the fridge floor. He knew that these were dark thoughts, the thoughts of a cereal killer, but he told himself that they were justified because Apple is just a big dill. Apple’s next party, was where Hot Pepper planned to carry out his nefarious plan. Everybody from the fruit drawer came, making Hot Pepper stand out even more as the only vegetable at the party. All eyes were on him, and he knew he did not have mushroom for error. He beanstalked through the crowd, waiting for Apple to wander close to the edge of the drawer, and finally a chance arose. “You want a pizza me?” Hot Pepper yelled as he dashed across the room. They collided, but Apple was much stronger then hot pepper expected, and Hot Pepper was knocked back while Apple did not even move. “You butter back off pepper” Apple gruffly said. A crowd began to form. Hot Pepper realized that he may of made a mis-steak, but the crowd was going bananas for a fight and he felt he could prove something today, that vegetables were just as good as fruit. He charged again, but his foot got apricaught on a slippery surface and instead of hitting Apple, Hot Pepper went hurdling off of the fruit drawer, into the depths of the fridge. Hot Pepper thought he would be squashed at the bottom, but he was surprised when instead of the hard fridge floor he hit something soft. He opened his eyes and looked around, and was surprised to see that he had landed on the branches of a broccoli. He was in the vegetable drawer! Surrounded by carrots, celery, and even other peppers, Hot Pepper felt that a leek in his life was finally fixed. He was home, and lived apple-y ever after.