*Chapter Two: Kiss the Cook*
"The recipe needs to be doubled. So how much sugar will you need?" Yawns all around the room. If you're not actually baking something in baking class, it's really, REALLY boring. Plus the Home Economics room wass stifling hot. That, combined with Mrs. Hollis lecturing about using the right amount of sugar was enough to put any one to sleep. And half the class was asleep. Giulia, Xellos and I were slumped down at the back table, dying of both heat and boredom.
One hand waved in the air in response to Mrs. Hollis' question. Well, one hand that would actually know the right answer. The Special Ed kids meant well, but let's face it. They weren't exactly the brightest crayons in the box. (author's note: i do not mean to offend any one. i'm all for mainstreaming.) The hand waving through the air belonged to the only person who actually enjoyed the class no matter what we did, the girl who's name I could never pronounce right.
"Slyphiel?" Mrs. H had become used to her answering every question. She was the teacher's pet, the best baker in the class, and she had a big crush on one of my friends. Guilia and I kind of disliked her. She was such a show off. We weren't bad cooks, but she made everything seem so easy. And Xellos...He was just taking the class because none of the admin liked him having too much time on his hands. He caused too much trouble when left unattended.
"It's two cups, right?" Slyphiel said quietly. She always posed her answers as questions, even though she knew they were the correct answers. That was one of the things that bothered me. The other was that she always gave everything she made to Gourry, because she knew (as did I) the way to his heart was through his stomach. Needless to say, I did not like that. I wanted to see Gourry and Lina get together.
We were baking pies that day, apple to be precise. I hated making pie. The crust always came out too hard, no matter what Guilia, Xel and I did. But not Slyphiel's. Hers was always flakey like it was supposed to be. Siôn, Kristienne, Elisa and my mom all complained about that crust. Dad said he liked it, but I think that was to make me feel better. The Global department, to whom Guilia's pies always went, like theirs imensely. Guilia never took anything home. She always gave it away. Xellos pawned all his stuff off to the kids who didn't like to buy lunch. He made quite a bit selling his desserts.
My boyfriend/best friend's biggest thrill in that class was tormenting the other students. That particular day, he'd snuck in during his Free (Author's note: at my school, a free is sort of like a study hall for upperclassmen. it basically means you can wander around the school, instead of staying in an assigned room, as long as you have a pass.) and switced the sugar in all the units except ours (AN: in my school, a "unit" is the area you cook in) for salt. Therefore, two things would happen: 1) He, Guilia and I would get the best grade for our pies and 2) Slyphiel, for once, would have something that wasn't edible.
He was in rare form that day. Usually he cavorted around the unit, eating apple pieces and raw dough while playing with the melon baller. Other days he scampered throught the room spanking people with a wooden spoon. Ocasionally, he even greased the rolling pins so people couldn't use them. That morning, however, he didn't partake in these or any other stange behaviors. He actually helped me and Guilia, which made every one, including Mrs. Hollis, suspicious. But no one could prove that he'd done anything, nor did they suspect what he'd done since he was still eating the left-over dough rolled in sugar. Even I didn't know what he'd done until later. He even washed the dishes, knowing full well that I would do it since I enjoy washing dishes.
I forgot about it though. It wasn't until we were hanging around in the Main (AN: the Main is what we call the lobby) after school that I remembered his unusual behavior. We were waiting for my younger siblings, Xellos, Elisa and I, and Slyphiel was sharing her pie with several teachers in the office.
Just as Siôn came down the hall with his buddy, Jago, I heard a rather disgusted voice from in the office. "WHAT is in this thing?!" The voice of Mr. Tombier came drfiting through the Main, "It's horrible!" And then there was Slyphiel, tears running down her face and mumbling to herself "...I followed the recipe...I dunno what I did wrong..." Siôn looked at me. Slyphiel was in a couple of his classes. "What's amatter with her?" He asked. "I don't..." Then it dawned on me. "What did you do, Xellos?!" He smiled innocently. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything." I glared. "You know what I mean...all that being helpful in Baking. What didja do to the pies?" He waved a finger at me. "That is a secret."
"You ruined Mia's pie?!" Siôn asked in a dismayed voice. "I didn't do anything to Mia's pie." He defended himself, "I swear to God, I did not contaminate her pie." My fist was in his face, "What did you do to every one else's then? You'd better tell me." Sometimes, bullying him was the only way to get through to him, but not often; usually he liked a good fight. However, having me mad at him was something he didn't enjoy. "I salted them." He admitted. "You WHAT?!" He sighed, "Switched the salt and sugar." "WHY?! What goes through that head of yours?!" He sat down on the floor. "I'm tired of being the worst cook in the class and getting up- staged by a junior. And I wanted you to make the best tasting thing, so I can eat it." I burried my face in my hands. "You could get in so much trouble..." He looked up at me through his violet eyes. "Not if you don't tell. I won't ever do it again if you don't turn me in. I promise I'll be good." He, for once, looked remorsful. How could I resist my big fruitcake? "All right. I won't tell. If you promise." I told him. "I promise. Now let's go eat that pie!"
It actually was the best apple pie I ever made. Maybe because he'd put some effort into our group's work. Perhaps he was a better cook than he thought. Mrs. Hollis told us the next dy that she was proud of us for being the only people to follow the recipe correctly. Xellos, because he felt guilty about what he'd done and how he upset me, brought in a batch of cookies that spelled out "I LUV MIA" which earned him extra credit from Mrs. Hollis and a kiss from me. He was, as he always said, nuttier than a fruitcake but twice as sweet.
"I wasn't mad at you, you know. Just a little disappointed." I informed him while munching on a cookie, "I never thought you'd destroy other people's hard work all for your own benefit." He leaned back in his chair, "Hey, it was for your benefit too. I like to see you happy. When your desserts come out good, you're happy." I smiled. "I guess it was pretty funny, the look on Mr. Tombier's face." I giggled, "He looked as if he'd been poisoned." He nodded, wrapped his arms around me. "The look on your face eating that pie was better. Like you'd died and gone to Heaven." He whispered into my ear. I must've looked like I felt then. "Heaven" wasn't a strong enough word. I kissed him again...Like I said before. Twice as sweet.
*****************
Author's Note: this, i'll admit, is not my finest work. but i was eating that pie, dry crust and all, when i wrote this. my baking class is actually a lot like that, except for the salt thing. reviews, please! ^_^
"The recipe needs to be doubled. So how much sugar will you need?" Yawns all around the room. If you're not actually baking something in baking class, it's really, REALLY boring. Plus the Home Economics room wass stifling hot. That, combined with Mrs. Hollis lecturing about using the right amount of sugar was enough to put any one to sleep. And half the class was asleep. Giulia, Xellos and I were slumped down at the back table, dying of both heat and boredom.
One hand waved in the air in response to Mrs. Hollis' question. Well, one hand that would actually know the right answer. The Special Ed kids meant well, but let's face it. They weren't exactly the brightest crayons in the box. (author's note: i do not mean to offend any one. i'm all for mainstreaming.) The hand waving through the air belonged to the only person who actually enjoyed the class no matter what we did, the girl who's name I could never pronounce right.
"Slyphiel?" Mrs. H had become used to her answering every question. She was the teacher's pet, the best baker in the class, and she had a big crush on one of my friends. Guilia and I kind of disliked her. She was such a show off. We weren't bad cooks, but she made everything seem so easy. And Xellos...He was just taking the class because none of the admin liked him having too much time on his hands. He caused too much trouble when left unattended.
"It's two cups, right?" Slyphiel said quietly. She always posed her answers as questions, even though she knew they were the correct answers. That was one of the things that bothered me. The other was that she always gave everything she made to Gourry, because she knew (as did I) the way to his heart was through his stomach. Needless to say, I did not like that. I wanted to see Gourry and Lina get together.
We were baking pies that day, apple to be precise. I hated making pie. The crust always came out too hard, no matter what Guilia, Xel and I did. But not Slyphiel's. Hers was always flakey like it was supposed to be. Siôn, Kristienne, Elisa and my mom all complained about that crust. Dad said he liked it, but I think that was to make me feel better. The Global department, to whom Guilia's pies always went, like theirs imensely. Guilia never took anything home. She always gave it away. Xellos pawned all his stuff off to the kids who didn't like to buy lunch. He made quite a bit selling his desserts.
My boyfriend/best friend's biggest thrill in that class was tormenting the other students. That particular day, he'd snuck in during his Free (Author's note: at my school, a free is sort of like a study hall for upperclassmen. it basically means you can wander around the school, instead of staying in an assigned room, as long as you have a pass.) and switced the sugar in all the units except ours (AN: in my school, a "unit" is the area you cook in) for salt. Therefore, two things would happen: 1) He, Guilia and I would get the best grade for our pies and 2) Slyphiel, for once, would have something that wasn't edible.
He was in rare form that day. Usually he cavorted around the unit, eating apple pieces and raw dough while playing with the melon baller. Other days he scampered throught the room spanking people with a wooden spoon. Ocasionally, he even greased the rolling pins so people couldn't use them. That morning, however, he didn't partake in these or any other stange behaviors. He actually helped me and Guilia, which made every one, including Mrs. Hollis, suspicious. But no one could prove that he'd done anything, nor did they suspect what he'd done since he was still eating the left-over dough rolled in sugar. Even I didn't know what he'd done until later. He even washed the dishes, knowing full well that I would do it since I enjoy washing dishes.
I forgot about it though. It wasn't until we were hanging around in the Main (AN: the Main is what we call the lobby) after school that I remembered his unusual behavior. We were waiting for my younger siblings, Xellos, Elisa and I, and Slyphiel was sharing her pie with several teachers in the office.
Just as Siôn came down the hall with his buddy, Jago, I heard a rather disgusted voice from in the office. "WHAT is in this thing?!" The voice of Mr. Tombier came drfiting through the Main, "It's horrible!" And then there was Slyphiel, tears running down her face and mumbling to herself "...I followed the recipe...I dunno what I did wrong..." Siôn looked at me. Slyphiel was in a couple of his classes. "What's amatter with her?" He asked. "I don't..." Then it dawned on me. "What did you do, Xellos?!" He smiled innocently. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything." I glared. "You know what I mean...all that being helpful in Baking. What didja do to the pies?" He waved a finger at me. "That is a secret."
"You ruined Mia's pie?!" Siôn asked in a dismayed voice. "I didn't do anything to Mia's pie." He defended himself, "I swear to God, I did not contaminate her pie." My fist was in his face, "What did you do to every one else's then? You'd better tell me." Sometimes, bullying him was the only way to get through to him, but not often; usually he liked a good fight. However, having me mad at him was something he didn't enjoy. "I salted them." He admitted. "You WHAT?!" He sighed, "Switched the salt and sugar." "WHY?! What goes through that head of yours?!" He sat down on the floor. "I'm tired of being the worst cook in the class and getting up- staged by a junior. And I wanted you to make the best tasting thing, so I can eat it." I burried my face in my hands. "You could get in so much trouble..." He looked up at me through his violet eyes. "Not if you don't tell. I won't ever do it again if you don't turn me in. I promise I'll be good." He, for once, looked remorsful. How could I resist my big fruitcake? "All right. I won't tell. If you promise." I told him. "I promise. Now let's go eat that pie!"
It actually was the best apple pie I ever made. Maybe because he'd put some effort into our group's work. Perhaps he was a better cook than he thought. Mrs. Hollis told us the next dy that she was proud of us for being the only people to follow the recipe correctly. Xellos, because he felt guilty about what he'd done and how he upset me, brought in a batch of cookies that spelled out "I LUV MIA" which earned him extra credit from Mrs. Hollis and a kiss from me. He was, as he always said, nuttier than a fruitcake but twice as sweet.
"I wasn't mad at you, you know. Just a little disappointed." I informed him while munching on a cookie, "I never thought you'd destroy other people's hard work all for your own benefit." He leaned back in his chair, "Hey, it was for your benefit too. I like to see you happy. When your desserts come out good, you're happy." I smiled. "I guess it was pretty funny, the look on Mr. Tombier's face." I giggled, "He looked as if he'd been poisoned." He nodded, wrapped his arms around me. "The look on your face eating that pie was better. Like you'd died and gone to Heaven." He whispered into my ear. I must've looked like I felt then. "Heaven" wasn't a strong enough word. I kissed him again...Like I said before. Twice as sweet.
*****************
Author's Note: this, i'll admit, is not my finest work. but i was eating that pie, dry crust and all, when i wrote this. my baking class is actually a lot like that, except for the salt thing. reviews, please! ^_^