147 ROYAL CHEF STROGANOFF

"I DON'T believe you," Neoma said to the "Royal Chef," then she crossed her arms over her chest. "Show me proof that you're really Chef Stroganoff."

"Why do I need to prove my identity to a child that I just met?" the young boy asked nonchalantly, then he put the bread on the table. "Just call me 'Ruto.'"

"Huh?" she asked, confused. "Your name sounds… foreign."

"My full name is Ruston Stroganoff," Ruto said casually as if he was talking to a long-time friend. "But my friends from a far-away country call me 'Ruto' as a pet name because apparently, that sounds closer to the names of their people."

"Mmm," she said while munching on the corndog.

"Are you going to stay here and chat?" he asked, then he motioned for her to come inside the small stall. "There's a chair here. Eating while standing might be bad for digestion."

She wanted to argue that a corndog on a stick was meant to eat while walking.