The Camp from Hell.
That's what the upperclassmen called it. That's what the teachers called it. The very name of the retreat camp seemed to add an extra ton of pressure on our shoulders as first years. As if she would provide any comfort, Maika Inatsuki gave a small wave farewell when the entire first-year group from Polar Star made their way to catch the bus heading to Totsuki Resort park in front of their beloved dormitory.
"Are you ready, Blake?" I asked my fellow Polar Star resident. His black hair was still damp; he was the last to wake up and take a shower. He was lucky he didn't have to cook breakfast for the day either, as it was Derya's turn.
"I'm… a little nervous." My Italian friend admitted, scratching the back of his head. He glanced at the rest of the group as we got onto the luxury coach bus. "All of the seniors said this was one of the most purge-heavy of our first year trials. I want to pass." I sat down on the left side of the bus, opting for the window seat. He sat in the row opposite,
"We all do, Blake." Derya said, walking up to our seats and choosing to sit next to Blake. She apparently caught wind of our conversation. The Hawaiian girl added with a kind smile, "I have faith in us, though!"
"That's the spirit!" Kyu popped out over the headrest from behind Blake. "We're gonna try our hardest and beat the Camp of Hell!"
"If you really want to do that, you should save your energy for the first task." Her counterpart, Steven, chided lightly. He sounded quite grumpy; Steven wasn't a morning person.
"Morning' all!" Lyra greeted as she got on the bus and plopped herself unceremoniously into the seat next to me. Giggles from Kyu and Derya died as soon as they started thanks to the cold glare the Lyra cast them. Blake and Steven simply smirked at this. "How about you, Rue?"
"I'm just going to do what I do always."
"Wing it?" Blake asked, a victim of my experiment on last night's dinner.
"No," I dragged out my answer in emphasis. "I'm going to—"
"Seduce every other redhead girl once we get to the Resort?" Steven said it so quickly that I barely caught it.
"Excuse me?" I asked, but got nothing in response. "Anyway, I was just going to give it my best."
"Same." Lyra said, after giving an especially cold glare to the British student, whose attention was being held hostage by the pink haired girl sat next to him.
With all somewhat encouraging small talk done, I took out my phone, plugged in my headphones, and drifted off to sleep.
. . . . .
"Rue!" I could just barely hear my redheaded friend's voice over the music bombarding my waking mind. I blinked the sleepy-blurriness away and noticed that our bus had come to a stop. I removed my headphones to see what Lyra had to say. "Seriously? You've been out for the entire bus ride? We're here already!"
True to her word, I looked out the window to see that we were indeed in a completely different place. The tall building yards away had a sort of imposing, regal aura about it that seemed to warrant appropriate feelings of fear and panic. Steven and Kyu were having an animated discussion that I couldn't make sense of, though it sounded like some sort of word-association game that Steven had initiated. Blake and Derya were quietly waiting for the call to exit the bus, the former was checking his watch intermittently.
Eventually, the entire first-year Totsuki body was escorted into the gigantic, luxurious main auditorium of the Totsuki Hotel and Resort. There were small waterfalls under light sconces every few feet on the walls. We stood on a dark red carpet before a stage and empty podium.
"Are you ready?" Lyra enthusiastically asked, barely audible over the growing murmurs of the crowd around us. Steven and Kyu were right behind us, still going on with their little word game. From what I could hear, it was some sort of speed-based word game; it was a good way to test reflexes in passing ingredients to one another. They were very good at it.
"As I'll ever be." Was the only thing I could respond with, as I saw a tall, intimidating figure approach the podium onstage. I pointed to the stage to get her to pay attention. "Hush, listen."
"Greetings, students." The man speaking had dark grey hair, cut very short to the scalp. His eyes were sharp and quick. "Welcome to Totsuki Hotel and Resort. Here, hundreds of people come here to relax and enjoy the luxuries that the companies have to offer." As if on cue, more lights came on to reveal the beautiful, high arched ceiling above us, which sported an intricate mural of multiple components of nature. After a few minutes of students' admiration of the art, he brought the audience attention back onto himself with a single throat clearing cough. "You… are not one of those people. All three hundred of you are here to prove yourselves. The Totsuki world of culinary arts is one of competition and ultimately, war." This comment caused a wave of commotion and fear among the crowd, though Lyra, Steven, and Blake stayed silent and stoic as they awaited the rest of the speech.
"It is expected that less than fifty of you will return to your dorms at Totsuki Academy. The rest of you will be fired and therefore expelled from Totsuki Academy. If you cannot pass expectations within this test, then you cannot possibly be able to pass the ones beyond it. Abandon all pure hope of just 'winging it' through this stage. You will have multiple skilled alumni overseeing your tests and judging your capabilities as professional chefs." With that, he gestured to the stage behind him, which now had a curtain opening to reveal a crowd of intimidating, imposing figures.
The first, noticeable one was tall, lean, with long reddish pink hair. From the whispers around me, this man was Kojiro Shinomiya, the Japanese prodigy of French Cuisine. A woman next to her with a very calm, motherly smile as she observed the crowd was apparently named Hinako Inui. Next to her, in much more revealing dress, was a tan, blonde woman with very apparent assets; this was Totsuki alumnus Ikumi Mito. Next to her was our own French Cuisine instructor, Megumi Tadokoro. Sastoshi Isshiki was also present onstage. There were several more on stage, but I wasn't able to match faces with the multiple names being whispered around me with awe. One of them, a tan man with grey hair, stepped forward and sniffed the air. That's… weird I thought of how a dog would do the same thing.
"You there, with the red hair and green eyes." His voice was almost emotionless as he pointed in my vicinity.
"M-me?" Lyra asked aloud, her hands twitching on either side of her.
"Yes, but no." The man said. "The girl to your left with lilac scented perfume, along with the boy with the lemon scented shampoo next to her. You're both expelled." Extremely glad that Lyra wasn't at the end of that stick, but curious as to the reasoning behind the expulsion, I listened closely after the two aforementioned students cried in protest.
"Do you wish to ruin our kitchens and our menus with your offending scents?" This time, Chef Shinomiya stepped forward and spoke; apparently, they were on the same page. "You're fired, expelled. Leave our sight, or you will be escorted from the premises personally." As the students eventually, yet reluctantly, followed orders, Shinomiya turned to the dark-skinned man. "I see your nose has not dulled yet, Akira Hayama."
"Please, do not let this discourage you all from trying your best!" Isshiki's voice boomed, despite not standing at the podium. "But be wary of your skills and every detail of your life from here on, as it will greatly impact you as a chef!"
"Well said, Satoshi Isshiki." Dojima Gin attracted the crowd's attention back unto himself. He looked down at his watch. "You will now be separated into groups and escorted via bus to your first specialized classes in an hour. Prepare yourselves." With that, all the figures standing on the stage exited and allowed the curtains to close. Meanwhile, men labelled as Totsuki Resort officials in the crowd began forming the masses into organized groups and assigning buses. Luckily for me, Lyra and Blake were in my group. Steven, Kyu, and Derya were cast into another. I only prayed we'd be able to make it back as a group in one piece.
Authors Note: Heyo all, BleachCadelina here with a short update in the middle of English class.
Sorry for the short chapter this time around, but I at least wanted to set up the Training Camp Arc instead of diving right into it. Hope you enjoy reading it either way. See y'all next update! (which should be soon).