Another Dimension
Chapter 8
AN: AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH. IT'S BEEN FOREVER D: IM SO SORRY. I'm going on vacation on the 15th, i'll TRY to finish the rest of this.. I'm takin my laptop but there will be no interent so i'll just write a bunch and update all when i get home. in august. I'm updating HEL as well!
And thank you for reading and reviewing. This story has the most reviews so far of all my stories!
By the way, I used the recipe from a website. I do not own the Lemon Meringue Pie III recipe.
"Psh, I'm not afraid of her," scoffed Diane. "I could take her on any day of the week! What lesson do we have next?"
"How to apply make-up and other grooming tips," Golden recited.
Jackie groaned. "Alright, now these are jus' gettin' stupid."
"We have the same teacher for this class and for 'Proper Table Etiquette'," said Golden.
"Mrs. Summers? Really? She's a nice person," said Diane. "Oh, I can't wait to see her again!"
"We're going to see her everyday, Diane," Golden said.
"Woohoo!"
They reached their assigned classroom shortly, grabbing three free seats. Mrs. Summers was already in the room, and smiled to the three girls.
"Hello again, Diane, Jackie. Hello, Golden," she greeted them all. "Hello class. It's nice to see you all…if you could all just settle down? Thank you. Welcome, welcome. In today's lesson, we shall be learning how to properly put on mascara. Could everyone take out her mascara wand? Oh, Diane, Jackie, do you two not have any?"
"Uh, well, maybe they're upstairs…" Diane mumbled, casting her eyes down.
"Well, if you could hurry and get them? We'll wait for you. Go on."
"Thanks, Mrs. Summers!"
Diane and Jackie sped towards their room, trying to find the wands. Diane searched in her suitcase to find nothing but more clothes. If she were a mascara wand, where would she be hiding? Her gaze drifted to the pink toiletry bag resting on her bed. Ah, yes! That's where she found her toothbrush and toothpaste! She grabbed it, and dug around, proudly brandishing the makeup tool in her hand. "I got mine! Look for a small bag with stuff in it."
"Ah'm lookin', Ah'm lookin'," protested Jackie. Where was that blasted bag? She finally spotted it; a small, narrow orange case that held inside the necessary implements needed to continue Mrs. Summers Make-Up lesson. She opened it up, snatched up her wand, and grabbed Diane by the arm, ready to race back to class.
"Welcome back," smiled Mrs. Summers. "Take a seat, and we shall begin. Now, who can tell me what mascara is used for? Ah, Golden, nice to see you participating."
"Thank you. Mascara is a cosmetic designed and used for darkening and thickening the eyelashes, making one look more attractive."
"Yes, that is correct. Originated from the 19th century, it literally means 'mask' in Italian. And yes, it is used for one's eyelashes. However, there are many types out there, and we must be careful as to know which one is suitable for us, which ones we need, and how to apply said mascara on, because really, there are many people out there who have no idea how to put on mascara. One of them is my mother," Mrs. Summers paused while the class giggled. "Everyone, gather round. I need a volunteer. Da, da, da… who shall it be? Diane! You've got lovely eyes, why don't you help us with today's lesson?"
Diane strode to the front of the class, and sat down in the chair Mrs. Summers held out for her. She caught Jackie's eye and winked.
"Alright, now, look carefully as I take the mascara out of its tube and apply it to Diane's wonderful eyelashes. In fact, these are so long and thick they don't really need mascara, but for educational purposes…" Mrs. Summers giggled as well. She unscrewed the mascara, getting ready to coat Diane's eyelashes with the liquid inside. She cautiously brushed Diane's lashes with the wand, the hairs catching between the little spiky tufts that covered the end of the wand and coming out painted in bright purple. The girls around Diane 'oohed' and 'aahed'. Mrs. Summers held up a mirror for Diane. As soon as the girl saw her eyes, she laughed out loud.
"I have purple eyelashes! How crazy is that?"
"Yes, mascara can come in many different colors as well as showing different effects. Now, did you girls catch the way I stroked her lashes, not pulling? And the way I wiggled the wand ever so slightly as to not let the hairs clump up? Thank you, Diane. Now, everyone grab a partner, and practice putting mascara on. You'll all be given a mirror, Diane, could you pass them around? Thank you. Go on."
Jackie and Golden instantly looked at each other and paired up.
"Alright, I'll go first," said Golden. Jackie lifted the mirror up to allow Golden easy access to the mirror. Golden applied her mascara on flawlessly, her mouth hanging only slightly open.
"Mah turn, Ah guess," said Jackie, staring at her mascara wand. "Don't y'all think that this thing is…really pointy? What if Ah stab mahself in the eye?"
"You won't," Golden responded. "That's silly."
"All right then, but if Ah do, Ah'm totally sayin' 'Ah told ya so'," Jackie said as she raised the wand to her eye. Her hand trembled as she tried to brush her lashes, but, much to Jackie's fear, the wand slipped and gently scratched the surface of her eye. "OW! What'd Ah tell you?" cried Jackie, rubbing her now sore eye. Tears began leaking out of her closed eye.
"Jackie, are you all right?" Mrs. Summers bent down to take a better look at Jackie's eye.
Jackie tried to open her injured eye, the white around her iris turning red with crossroads of blood filled veins. "Ah can't see!"
"Jackie, calm down…"
"AH CAN'T SEE!"
"Oh, Jackie, come on, it's not that bad," said Diane.
"Yes, Diane's right," Mrs. Summers put a soothing hand on Jackie's shoulder. "Just try to open your eye again and it'll be fine."
Jackie sighed and winced as she lifted her eyelid once more. It still stung, but not as much as before.
"There you go… now, can you try again? With the mascara?" Mrs. Summers asked.
"Ah guess," Jackie mumbled, taking the wand and applying some mascara. Her flaxen eyelashes were now long and black. "Hey, Ah look good," she giggled, admiring how pretty her eye looked framed with thick black eyelashes.
The rest of the class was spent focusing on the Do's and Don'ts of Mascara Applying, such as not keeping the mascara in a hot cramped place and the signs you should look out for when it needs to be thrown out. The bell rang, and it was finally time for the last lesson.
"Oh, thank Celestia," muttered Jackie, careful not to say her princess's name too loud. "The last lesson."
"Yes, and it is 'Easy Cooking for Ladies'," said Golden, passing a nearby mirror hanging on the wall and fixing her hair.
"Cooking?" Jackie perked up at the word.
"Food?" Diane did as well.
"Yes… a class where they teach us how to make quick and easy meals," responded Golden, now pleased with her appearance. She turned to the girls. "Do you two know how to cook?"
Jackie let out a loud, unladylike laugh, earning her a few stares from girls around her. "Diane and Ah are some of the best bakers, where we're from. There ain't a recipe that Ah can't follow, and there ain't a cake that Diane hasn't made. Ain't that right, sugar cube?"
"You bet!" Diane cheered.
They reached the class. It was being held in a room similar to a kitchen, complete with counters, working sinks, ovens, and stoves, and utensils lined the tables and walls. Pots and pans were stacked in a corner and everything else was stored in white cabinets underneath the counters. A man was standing in front of the class. He was bald, his shiny head reflecting the light, and he had a smile on his red face. He was dressed as a chef, his white uniform straining over his quite large belly, but you know what they say: Never trust a skinny chef. He greeted the girls as if they were old friends; however his eyes lit up when he saw the two new girls. They introduced themselves and everyone took their places, ready to start cooking.
"Good afternoon class! For the new girls," he winked at them, "My name is Mr. Beausoleil, your cooking instructor, and I'm here to show you young ladies how to make yummy cakes, pies, cookies, as well as some salads and light dinners! Today, we're going to be making a personal favorite of mine… Lemon Meringue Pie!" He smiled eagerly at everyone. "First things first, everyone wash your hands."
There was a mad scramble for the sinks as all the girls tried to wash their hands all together.
"Great! Now, I'm going to hand out the ingredients sheet. Please, be classy and don't rush altogether. There are quite a few things on this list!" He passed them around.
Jackie looked carefully at her sheet. The recipe called for:
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2-teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2-cup cornstarch
1/3-cup water
4 eggs, separated
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons butter
1/4-teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
"Wait, we don't have a pie crust," realized Diane, looking at Jackie.
"Yes, you're right! Girls, girls!" Mr. Beausoleil called for everyone's attention. "As Ms. Diane just said, you don't have pie crusts, which is why you must always read the list before diving in, Alice," he looked at a girl who was already mixing her meringue. She let out a nervous giggle. "And so, I took the liberty of making the pie crusts for you." He walked to the back of the room to produce 11 beautifully baked piecrusts, and he handed them out.
"Oh my gosh, these smell so good," Diane moaned, taking in a huge sniff of the empty shell.
"Thank you," beamed Mr. Beausoleil. "Now, by all means, begin! I am here if you need me."
Diane, Golden, and Jackie all agreed to help each other out by getting the ingredients together. Diane was in charge of getting the sugar, salt, cornstarch, and butter, Golden was getting the water, lemon juice and zest, and eggs, and Jackie got out all the necessary tools and bowls. She also preheated their ovens to the correct heat.
"Okay, let's get started," said Golden, taking a hair tie from her small bag and tying her hair up in a neat ponytail.
"Got one more of 'em hair ties?" asked Jackie.
"Sure," Golden handed her a bright red bobble. Seeing the familiar hair tie reassured Jackie that things were going to be okay. She quickly pushed her hair onto a ponytail as well.
"Okay!" Diane said, flipping the sheet over to get to the instructions. "Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, we did that, right Jackie?"
Jackie nodded.
"Next, combine 1 and a half cups of sugar, half a cup of salt, and 1 and a half cups of water in a heavy saucepan. Let's do it!"
Jackie passed each girl a saucepan and quickly added her ingredients, heating up everyone's stoves as well. "Place over high heat and bring to a boil," she read aloud, turning up the heat on the stoves. "Next?"
"In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 1/3 cup water to make a smooth paste," said Golden, doing so. "Gradually whisk into boiling sugar mixture. Boil mixture until thick and clear, stirring constantly. Remove from heat." She continued reading, and then moved on to the tasks.
The girls boiled and mixed and stirred, waiting for the blend to turn thick and clear. Soon enough, the mixture was a heavy translucent mush.
"Phew, what now?" Golden asked, poking the mixture.
Jackie took a deep breath and read out the following instruction. "In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks an' lemon juice. Gradually whisk egg yolk mixture into hot sugar mixture. Return pan ta heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in grated lemon rind and butter or margarine. Huh."
Diane grabbed a bowl and cracked in her eggs, separating the white from the yellow. The two other girls followed suite, and then added their half cups of lemon juice, whisking it briskly. They mixed the cool juice and eggs with the hot paste, boiling it once more before adding the lemon zest and butter.
"Ooh, doesn't it smell fantastic?" asked Mr. Beausoleil, walking around and stopping by the three girls. He leaned in, a small smile on his lips before taking an appreciative sniff. "You're doing well, girls."
"What's next?" asked Jackie.
"In a large glass or metal bowl, combine egg whites and salt," Diane read. "Okay, let's do that…Whip until foamy. Gradually add half a cup sugar while continuing to whip. I feel like I'm whipping an actual person…Beat until whites form stiff peaks…Oh, all the inappropriate jokes filling my head…" She snickered.
"Diane."
"Sorry, Jackie. Stir about 3/4 cup of meringue into filling. Spoon filling into baked pastry shell. Cover pie with remaining meringue. Seems easy enough."
The end results were three nicely whipped meringue pies, yet to be baked.
"How long do we bake them for?" asked Golden, whipping up a few peaks, ensuring that everything was perfect.
"Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until meringue is slightly brown. Cool on a rack at for at least 1 hour before cutting," Diane read aloud.
They all placed their pies inside their ovens and began waiting.
"Diane," Golden started to say.
"Yeah?"
"Your last name…it's Pie, right?"
"You bet!
"And Jackie, your last name? Apple?"
"Eeyup."
"If one of you were a boy, or if one of you have a brother, and you got married, put your last names together."
There was silence.
"Apple pie."
"Diane, whaddya think of ma big brother?"
The three friends laughed.
Before they knew it, time was up, and they checked their pies, pleased to see that the tops were light brown. Jackie handed each of them an oven mitt, and they reached in to take out their tarts. The aroma coming from the desserts were delicious, tangy, lemony, and oh so delectable.
"Oh boy, I can't wait to try these!" said Mr. Beausoleil, making another round around the room. "Diane, that looks amazing. Jackie…wow. And Golden, I've never seen such perfect peaks! Now, let these cool for a bit...one hour, yes? Clean up your stations and sit back down."
The girls quickly went to work, clearing the bowls and washing the tools.
Diane couldn't stop staring at the pie. It was calling her…she could hear it…
It said, "Pinkie…come have a taste! It doesn't matter what other people say, we were meant to be together. Come on…"
"Pinkie, Ah've seen that look in your eyes, y'all better stop that," hissed Jackie in Diane's ear.
Diane shook her head, relieved to see that the pie was once more inanimate. "Sorry."
"Well," Mr. Beausoleil said. "This was a fantastic lesson! You'll be trying the pies at tea, I assume? Oh, there goes the bell. See you ladies tomorrow!"
"Woohoo! Now what?" asked Diane as they exited the class.
"We've got tea," said Golden. "We get to taste our pies."
"My stomach has been making all these strange noises, like 'wargharblflarbl' and 'grrrrr'. I was getting scared."
Jackie rolled her eyes. "Diane, how can you eat so much?"
"It's a gift," Diane giggled.
"Yeah, Diane, how can you eat so much?"
Joanna stood in front of the trio.
"Ah suggest y'all step away," Jackie narrowed her eyes.
"And I suggest Diane steps away from the kitchen. I mean, look at her stomach," she laughed unkindly, her cronies mimicking her.
"I…I'm not fat!" cried Diane. She turned to her friends. "Am I?" Her eyes were wide with hurt.
"There is no need for rudeness," snapped Golden.
"Whoa, you can speak?" Joanna said. "And here I thought you were just one of those girls who don't do anything with their lives. Well, I'd love to stay and chat with a fat pig, a loner, and a country hick, but I've got someplace to be." Joanne smiled and strutted away, her high heels stamping on the ground and on the spirits of the three girls she left behind.
i love loki.
