The Chuuni Corner

Colonel Mustard, with the Candlestick, in the Conservatory

In the house I grew up in, we were always scarce for snacks. Chips, cakes, and cookies were difficult to come by, not because my parents and siblings were allergic or did not like such temptations. No, it was the opposite. Since we all loved them, they barely lasted more than a couple of days after purchasing. One of the delectable treats we usually bought were what are named “Grasshoppers.” Keebler – the cookie company that uses tiny elf labor – are the makers, and contrary to their name, they are delicious. They are tiny, about the size of an Oreo, taking up roughly the same diameter as a circle formed when you put the tip of your forefinger onto the tip of your thumb. Their outsides are slightly ridged so that, should you put two together, you could make your own cogged contraption. Most important of all, they have the perfect balance of chocolate and mint, their insides filled not with grasshoppers but with a fudge-filled wafer. Girl Scout Thin Mints are dirt compared to the mighty Grasshopper.

I loved these cookies growing up (I still do), and being the slightly selfish teenager that I was, I would make it my mission to sneak them up to my room during the night to have them all to myself. Sometimes I would confiscate the entire package and hide the remainder that I did not eat in one sitting under my bed, to be consumed at a later date.

This would come back to bite me because, one day, the Grasshoppers had gone missing and, my family knowing of my theft-like tendencies, immediately accused me. I had not touched this round of cookies, but it was all I could do to persuade them. I tried pinning it on my father, a famous late-night snack-eater. My mother “smelt it and therefore dealt it,” my sister was prone to sneaking food throughout the day, and my brother actually avoided them but we all knew that was the perfect cover-up. By the end of our meal I was still the prime suspect, the cookie culprit never discovered. I remembered this small snapshot of my life after watching Rokka no Yuusha, an anime centering on a potentially false accusation. But instead of about cookies it was about people and instead of a dull dinner it was instead a thrilling ride from start to finish.

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