Disclaimer: Nope, I do not own Gakuen Alice.


My Slice of Heaven

"Anyone can cook."-from Ratatouille


Chapter Two: Of Easter Bunnies and Mayhem


"Eric, no, please don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry Julie, but I must go. I don't love you."

"I see how it is. Just because my sister can fulfill your 'needs' does not mean I can't!"

"Julie...please try and understand. I never loved you."

"No, you don't mean that...Eric!"

"Goodbye, Julie."

"ERIC!! NO, PLEASE! DON'T LEA-"

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" I angrily whipped my head around, searching for the one and only culprit who could have turned off the TV. It was the last episode of 'Summer Lovers' and I did not want to miss the ending.

Hotaru looked at me skeptically, raising her right eyebrow. "Mikan, don't forget that you are in my house."

I huffed and brought a spoonful of Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream to my lips. Shortly after I was fired from my job of two years, Hotaru left me a voicemail on my cell phone asking if we could 'hang out.' She obviously had no clue that I had been fired from my job, so I immediately went to her house. Perfect timing in my opinion.

So here I am, brooding about the loss of my job by watching some melodramatic soap opera while stuffing myself silly.

"Thanks for letting me come over, Hotaru."

Hotaru gave me a rare soft smile. "No problem Mikan. However..."

I sighed dramatically. I had a feeling as to where this was going.

"I would like to know exactly how you lost your job."

Sighing again, I shot Hotaru a withering look. "It wasn't anything too bad. Unless you consider me giving Yuri an attitude...even though she so had it coming."

Truthfully, I really didn't understand what people meant by me having an 'attitude'.

Sheesh. Can't I just be me without getting into trouble? Trying to act like a happy go-lucky girl whom flirted with every handsome guy she sees?

Um, no, I don't roll that way, so I opt to act like myself. By me being me, I would hope that would make everyone's lives, including mine, a hell of a lot easier.

I don't think I'm that hard to deal with, as long as you pay attention. However due to the circumstances that had recently passed me by, that apparently was not the case. It was technically me against the world since we were obviously both on completely different wave lengths. I have always lived that way and that's how I like it.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Even so, I still want to know how and why. You have been working there for two years. Well, had, but that's not the point."

I sighed again. Might as well..."You know Hyuuga Natsume? That 'amazing' chef?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

I looked at Hotaru, feigning shock. You know, the kind of shock where someone finds out that Hyuuga Natsume just died. Sob, sob, cry, cry? Yeah, that kind of shock.

"Why, Hotaru! Isn't it obvious? The great Hyuuga Natsume ate at T.G.I. Fridays."

Hotaru snorted. "Oh please. The Hyuuga does not do fast food restaurants."

She stared at me. I stared at her.

Hotaru's facial expression switched from disbelief to pure shock.

"Well, apparently he does now. I was stuck being his waitress." I spat out the last two words as if they were poison. I still couldn't believe that I was his waitress. His waitress! The very thought and mere recollection of that memory brought shivers down my spine.

"Oh god Mikan...You let him, out of all people, get under your skin." It wasn't a question which obviously made it a statement.

I groaned, stuffing my awaiting mouth with another spoonful of delicious vanilla ice cream. I couldn't believe it myself. Almost no one got to me. No one.

"Well, I guess Hyuuga Natsume is lucky number one. Hooray." I could practically feel the sarcasm dripping from my words.

Hotaru shook her head, amethyst eyes filled with utter amazement. It wasn't exactly the easiest of concepts to be able to fully comprehend on the first try. "He must have been very..." She paused a moment, searching for the word that would adequately suit what she was going to say. "Annoying...if he affected you so much."

A humorless laugh escaped me. "Oh Hotaru. You have no idea." Just thinking of his name made my blood bubble and boil...

"So, what did you do?" Paying no heed to my annoyed look, she pressed on. "If you actually got fired because of it...you must have done something quite...insane."

Shrugging my shoulders, I flashed an angelic smile. "I just poured pepsi on that crimson eyed jerk. Not exactly a show stopper if you ask me."

Hotaru stared at me amusingly. "You poured pepsi on the Hyuuga Natsume? The best cook in all of Japan and the-"

"Lust and desire of all women." I completed with boredom, however the smirk that was on my face betrayed my true feelings.

"Hell yeah. He deserved it. If only you had seen his face, Hotaru!"

"Too bad I didn't rig that restaurant with my cameras...I never thought something like that would have happened. I should have been more prepared...That picture could have been worth millions..."

I sighed at the look of longing on Hotaru's face. Sometimes she could be such a money whore. I loved that part of her to pieces. It was what made Hotaru...well, Hotaru.

"But seriously! If Yuri and my co-workers hadn't been such Natsume suck-ups, I bet I still would have had my job..."

Although pouring pepsi on the Hyuuga Natsume the best chef in Japan and the lust and desire of all women was definitely a Kodak moment...I wish I didn't have to lose my job over it. It brought me back to square one...I could already feel my dream slipping past my fingers... My dream to become one of the best chefs in all of Japan.

I tried being nice to Natsume, I really did. But my natural 'feisty' personality (as what some people have called it) seemed to always come out.

"You can't keep on worrying about the past, Mikan. What's done is done, even if it was stupid of you."

Taking another spoonful of ice cream, I sighed sadly. It appears that I am forever doomed to be on par with the Easter bunny. Yes, I am quite serious, the Easter bunny.

Forever giving chocolate to greedy, spoiled little kids who couldn't and wouldn't ever give a damn as to how they got their hands on chocolate as long as it magically appeared in their backyard. In short, my life sucked, just as I'm sure the Easter bunny's life sucked. While the Easter bunny was cursed to prance around handing pieces of chocolate, I was cursed to try and be something I'm not.

Me trying to be something I'm not was a feat that I had not yet accomplished. Both of us were stuck doing something that we absolutely loathed.

Oh the joy.

A loud gasp left me as I felt the tub of Haagen-Dazs snatched away from my grasp.

"For one thing, you should stop freaking out over Natsume...Unless that is, you find him attractive and just want to talk about him?"

I snorted loudly, a snort that would have made my grandfather proud. "Get real. I am not worrying myself over that...that bastard."

"And your job?"

I moaned loudly, burying my face in my hands. "I have no clue..."

Hotaru smirked. "I think I may be able to help you with that."

Lifting my face up from my hands, my eyes widened in wonder. "Hotaru are you serious?"

Rolling her eyes, she looked at me disapprovingly. "Of course I am. I'll try and get an interview set up for you first thing tomorrow morning."

Sure, Hotaru normally had a hidden agenda, but to hell with that! If I was able to land a job...then how bad could the catch possibly be?

I squealed, something that was very uncharacteristic of me. "You are amazing! But where am I going to work exactly?"

Hotaru rolled her amethyst eyes. "Your dream is to become an amazing chef right? If you want that to happen, you are going to have to work in a very good restaurant. The best of the best."

I felt a wide grin spread onto my features. Hotaru had 'connections', most probably because of her job (she never did tell me what it was) and her awesome parents. Knowing this, I knew I would have a job interview by tomorrow morning, just like she said.

Sure, I was still in the same boat as the Easter bunny, but if this job was really as great as Hotaru said it was, I would most certainly be going places.

Places where people would have to accept me for who I am, no matter what. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all.


Mikan's eyes widened at the restaurant before her. It was monstrously huge. Besides being outrageously enormous, it was also very elegant. Looking at her reflection in the glass doors, she frowned slightly. Her attire consisted of casual blue jeans and a light blue tee. Maybe she should have thought about dressing a bit more...formally.

Taking a deep breath in an effort to calm herself, Mikan pushed through the doors. If the outside was elegant then the inside was even more so. There were many tables and crystal chandeliers hung precariously on the ceiling. Mikan's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when a dessert in the shape of a miniature grand piano passed by on a silver platter.

Mikan smiled a genuine smile. If she wasn't dreaming Hotaru had actually been able to pull through. Here she was, in the most famous restaurant in all of Japan, Mitsumenwa! With this job, she was most certainly one step closer to achieving her dream.

Walking up to the reception desk, she waited patiently for the uptight Head Waiter to acknowledge her. He was currently talking to a couple dressed in flamboyant clothing.

Mikan rolled her chocolate brown orbs. It was early in the morning, and there were people in this restaurant wearing dresses and suits...how ridiculous.

When the couple finally left, the Head Waiter glared at the girl in front of him. "What might you need?"

Mikan was slightly taken by surprise. What was up with his rude tone of voice? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, he looked at her.

Really looked at her. From toe to head.

Mikan rolled her eyes. Oh, that was his problem.

"Sorry to bug you, but I have an interview that I'm sure you might know about," she said in a bored tone of voice. Mikan was anything but sorry.

His eyes widened in horror as soon as the word interview passed her lips. "You are the one who..."

His voice trembled as he looked at the now annoyed girl in front of him.

"Um yeah, so if you don't mind, could you pick up the pace? I'm falling asleep here."

Ignoring her rudeness, the Head Waiter smiled a sickening smile. Mikan frowned in return. His smile was freakin' ugly. Even if he tried practicing in a mirror it probably wouldn't have helped much.

Mikan rolled her eyes. "Stop wasting your time smiling, its not fooling me."

The smile was instantly wiped off his face as it was replaced with a frown. Mikan smiled sweetly.

Rolling his eyes, the Head Waiter said grandly, albeit with a hint of animosity, "Please, follow me." Walking ahead, he did his best to keep his distance from the annoying girl. He was not about to get caught walking around with her following his steps.

Mikan followed the annoying man easily, not minding at all that he was staying ahead of her on purpose. They maneuvered their way through tables and the scoffing people who had happened to see Mikan's attire until they went into the kitchen.

Weaving past the many chefs working at their stations, Mikan frowned slightly. It would have been nice to stop and see them at work...but she had an interview to attend.

Mikan nearly bumped into the man in front of her as he abruptly stopped. Throwing a glare her way, he shot her a nasty sneer.

"Here is the head chefs office. He will have a few words with you to see if you are eligible in the position needed...", came the annoyed suggestion.

"Right...thanks...," came the equally annoyed reply.

The head waiter rolled his eyes and walked away, hurriedly making his way back to claim his rightful post at the front desk.

Without sparing him a second thought, Mikan opened the door without bothering to knock.

Who cared about knocking if the door was unlocked anyways? Shutting the door noisily behind her, Mikan walked forward to only stop dead in her tracks.

This could not be happening. This had to be some sort of bad dream. No, not a bad dream, more like a nightmare.

Mikan pinched herself harshly, just to make sure she was awake. Feeling the dull pain that accompanied the pinch, to her horror, she realized she was more than awake.

In front of her, was a crimson eyed boy with black, raven hair. Natsume looked at Mikan's horrified expression with amusement.

"What a pleasure to see you again, Sakura Mikan."


A/N: Sooooo, how was that for a second chapter? XD Hopefully it wasn't too bad...And for the Easter Bunny thing, in case nobody got it, I meant it to be someone she could compare herself to. You know, both doing something they don't want to do. I had always wondered if the Easter Bunny seriously enjoyed giving chocolates to annoying children. XD If it was too confusing or weird, please accept my sincerest apologies. DX Besides THAT, how was the chapter? Love it? Hate it? Thought I could have done way better? All that can be answered and perhaps more if you leave a review. Constructive critique is appreciated:D Reviews also inspire me to write faster, so if you like the story leave a review! Thanks for the support last chapter, it means so much! Hopefully this chapter wasn't a disappointment. XD Until next chapter then!