At Professor Lynx High School, every day was a challenge, but Thursday morning brought something that confused even the biggest school sceptics - the announcement of the Strangest Dinner of All Time Competition. Instead of the typical "Who will cook the best soup?", headmistress Lewandowska decided to give the youngsters a field to play with. The conditions were simple: ingenuity and... courage. Asia, the self-proclaimed leader of Class 2c, had already been plotting in her notebook since the morning, full of marginalia and existential considerations like "does ketchup go with ice cream?". Her best friend, Simon, had been looking for ages for a use for the pickle-flavoured tofu (in his opinion - totally underrated). Joining the team were: Ola, a fan of molecular gastronomy and experiments with liquid nitrogen; Bartek, whose dad ran an exotic spice shop; Natka, fresh from a vegan detox and clearly hungry; and Janek and Maja, a duo specialising in eating on time. Their group quickly became the darlings of the school's betting shops: half the class claimed they would compromise themselves, the other half said they would cause a global trend. In the library, transformed for the competition into a flavour laboratory, the group sat at a table full of bizarre ingredients. The biggest disco polo classics were blasting from the speakers (don't ask why - it was supposedly to "inspire creativity"). They started brainstorming: - Simon, tell me, what would you eat on a date with someone you want to surprise? - Asia asked, rolling her eyes at the sight of his heart-shaped tofu. - 'Garlic ice cream with ketchup topping,' burbled Simon, unaware of how much this would reflect on his later relationship. - 'You know what, let's make ravioli, but the filling will be.... popcorn! - suggested Ola, pulling out a mysterious bag marked 'eviction for the taste buds'. - How about seaweed and dried strawberry chips? 'We'll add mango mustard and Sichuan pepper so no one feels safe,' added Bartek, glancing at the rest with a look worthy of a gangster chef. As they began to cook, the atmosphere became even more frenetic. Amidst the laughter and shouts, more and more bizarre concepts emerged. Egg in a jellybean shell, coffee noodles and frozen meatballs with cocoa were just a few of the ideas that - surprisingly - did not prompt an immediate evacuation. It was when Maja pulled a jar of unlabelled liquid with a slightly purple hue out of the fridge that everyone looked at her with a mixture of awe and horror. - I found this in the basement of our school. Do you think it will be suitable for our final dish? The door to the library suddenly slammed shut with a bang and the lights flickered - as if the school had something against their ideas. A draught came through the window, knocking over a stack of recipe cards on the table. In the silence, broken only by the bubbling of purple liquid, the group held their breath. Would their strangest dinner become more than just a school sensation? What had Maja really brought from the cellar? And who will be the first to dare to taste it?