Years and years ago, a young girl, Tiana, and her best friend Charlotte sat in her bedroom, reading a book about two teenagers who fell in love. Of course, Charlotte found it absolutely romantic, but Tiana however, being a normal 8 year old, found it disgusting.

The years went on and on, and as the two best friends grew, so did their dreams. Charlotte’s dream was to marry, whereas Tiana wanted to open up he down restaurant in the streets of New Orleans. She worked day and night to earn money to buy a building space for her restaurant.

One day, at Charlotte’s neighborhood Halloween party, she got a call from the land owners. They told her someone out bought her, and unless she could top the amount in a week, she would lose the space. This had Tiana upset, because she had spent years and years saving that money. Only as a 19 year old girl in school, the possibility of working another job was slim to none, and this upset her. She stormed off, but tripped over her feet and fell into the punch table. Her costume ruined and in tears, she changed into one of Charlotte’s dresses in her closet. It wasn’t a costume, but it still made her feel in one, for she had never owned such a dress.

As she walked back down to the party, a boy in a mask asked her to dance to the funny Halloween songs. She politely declined, for she was in no mood to dance. But he grabbed her hand and started to do funny dance moves, which were painful to watch. She finally got up and began to dance with him. She told him about her restaurant problem, and he offered to lend her some money.

As she walked home from an amazing night, she thought about the offer her mysterious man had made. Making her way down the sidewalk, she noticed a flyer stapes to a lamp post. It read, “Cooking Contest! Whoever can make the spiciest gumbo wins 1000 dollars!” This made her really excited, for she was an amazing cook. She ripped it off and took it home to her apartment.

The day of the contest came, and as she walked in, she saw many people standing there, and she recognized most of them were restaurant owners. Owners of the best restaurants in New Orleans. But there was one boy that she did not recognize, but he recognized her.

“Tiana!” He exclaimed and motioned for her.

“Nathan?” She was surprised that the boy from the party was here. She brought her pot over to his and set up next to him.

The contest begun, and she worked her magic. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and lots of hot!

The judges came around, tasting everyone’s gumbo. Nathan whispered about the deal. 500 dollars is what he offered, and it was just the amount she needed for the restaurant. But the judge came to them, the last bowls, and interrupted their conversation. He dipped his spoon into Nathan’s pot and sipped the gumbo. He seemed unaffected, to say the least. He scribbled some notes down and grabbed a new spoon. He scooped some of Tiana’s gumbo and put it in his mouth, and his face turned bright red. Someone raced over with a glass of milk and he chugged it vigorously.

“I already know who the winner is! Give this young lady her prize!” He yelled, also calling for another glass of milk.

Tiana took the check graciously, and she was so excited to cash it and get her restaurant.

Nathan asked if she still needed his help, but she declined. She accomplished her dream with hard work, and she was on cloud 9, she lived happily ever after.