Phantom of the Summerhouse

A/N: Hallo! How are you doing? Here's another wonderful chapter of the Phantom of the Summerhouse. I got inspired with this idea with a little help from my older brother and I'd like to thank him for that (cuz usually he doesn't care). I hope you enjoy and have fun reading this as much as I had fun writing this.

Disclaimer: I don't own POTO! So you can stop staring at me now, oh wait... this is the internet, no one can see me. Ooops, my bad.

Day 3: Master Cook-off Challenge

The rays of the Sun filtering through the curtains fill the room with warmth and light. Dawn has arrived. Christine was greeted with a friendly chirp by the robins in the tree. She sat up and walked up to the window as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. She opened the curtains, letting the bright cheerful light of morning into the room.

"What a wonderful morning!" Christine slid open the window and took a big deep breath. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the sky is blue, and -"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH THOSE FURNITURES, YOU FOP?"

Christine sighed, wishing to herself that the beautiful moment she just experienced ten seconds ago could last just a little longer. "There goes my wonderful morning. I wonder what they are arguing about this time."

She went downstairs, to see Erik and Raoul fixing the wrecked living room furniture from all the fighting that happened yesterday. Apparently, their efforts are anything but productive.

"Stop moving every furniture that I'm arranging!" Raoul yelled. "Nothing is getting done with you scrambling everything into a mess."

"A mess? This so-called mess is far better than your eyesore arrangements." Erik snapped. "You have terrible tastes when it comes to interior designs. I'm just rearranging those that are out of place."

"Don't tell me what's right and what's wrong! Remember, this is my property, and just because you're the phantom of this summerhouse doesn't mean you can have it your way."

A bead of sweat came down across Christine's worried face. "I've got to do something before things get ugly. Perhaps if they can vent their frustration and anger towards each other in a harmless, productive manner then maybe my sanity and this summerhouse might be spared from the chaos."

Christine scratched her head, pondering, "What should I do before this arguing erupts into another fight just like last night's incident?"

A low growl broke out from her stomach, which just gave her a practical, but brilliant idea.

"I've got it!" Christine thought as her stomach kept growling. "Erik and Raoul should have a cooking contest. Since there isn't any breakfast ready on the table, it's a perfect way to get them into the kitchen and cook. Oh Christine, you're a genius."

With this mindset, Christine cleared her throat and went in between the bickering duo spreading her arms to its full length and said- "If you guys have so much free time and extra energy to be brewing a fight so early in the morning, why don't you whip up some breakfast while you're at it."

"Breakfast? Oh no, I almost forgot about breakfast!" Raoul just realized that it was already seven o'clock and there is nothing prepared in the kitchen for them to eat.

"I don't eat breakfast," Erik answered, "so I'm not cooking."

"Good, cuz I don't want you mooching off from my magnificent edible works of art." Raoul scoffed. "Now we have one mouth less to feed."

"Like I would eat anything you make!" Erik angrily replied. "If I knew that you're the one making the meals here, then I might as well cook my own stuff, and save myself from food poisoning."

"Why you freeloading little wise crack!" Raoul was definitely steaming up with anger, he was known in Paris for his impeccable cooking skills, and being called a crappy cook is one of the many insults that he can't tolerate. "I'll show you what a real professional cuisine is supposed to taste. I'll make the best meal you and Christine will ever have!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Erik retorted. "What makes you think that I'm just going to let you have it your way here? Everything you do, I can do better!"

"Then it's settled." Christine interrupted. "Since both of you are so eager to cook now, we shall have a… MASTER COOK-OFF CHALLENGE!"

"Master Cook-off? ..."

"…Challenge?" Both Erik and Raoul were quite perplexed by the name of the contest, as well as Christine's willingness to let them take charge of the entire kitchen today.

"I'm sorry if the name sounds awkward." Christine looked a bit flustered from their confused reactions. "That's the best I could come up in two minutes."

"It's okay Christine," Raoul patted her shoulder, "there's nothing wrong with what you said."

"Master Cook-off Challenge… If you think about it, it actually sounds good." Erik added. "Aptly named, indeed."

Happy to hear such kind, sincere comments, Christine ran to the kitchen and called both of them to come over.

"What's the rush, honey?" Raoul came into the kitchen, scratching his head with confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope, everything is just fine and dandy." Christine smiled and opened the refrigerator, scanning every nook and cranny inside.

"What are you looking for?" Erik asked.

"A theme ingredient… Madame Giry always mentions it every time she told me stories of this exquisite cooking competition called 'Iron Chef'… Aha! I found it!"

Christine took the mystery item out of the fridge shelf, ready to announce her chefs the theme ingredient: "Alright, today's breakfast theme ingredient is…"

"…EGGS!"

"Eggs, hah… child's play!" Raoul confidently thought.

"Eggs… hmmm, this should be easy." Erik contemplated.

"A cooking competition wouldn't be a challenge without a time limit… so that means, both of you have up until eight o'clock, which is a good solid one hour to complete your breakfast masterpieces. And I will judge your meals as an impartial critic."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Seems easy to follow… I like it." Raoul said.

"Well then, the Master Cook-off Challenge will commence when I bite into this apple." Christine had an apple in her hand, counting down- "Ready… set… CHOMP!"

Christine took a bite on the apple, signaling the start of the cooking contest.

"BEGIN COOKING!"

Christine went upstairs to pass the time with a nice, cool bath.

Erik and Raoul each took a one dozen package of eggs and started to gather all the other necessary ingredients into their separate work stations.

However, Erik appears to be a little troubled in his situation.

"Damn! It's bad enough that I'm not as great a cook as I told them, but now I have to beat this fop in a cooking contest. Man, I've really dug a deep hole for myself this time."

Erik turned around to see how his opponent is doing.

Raoul was chopping a bunch of vegetables with incredible speed and accuracy. All of a sudden, he stopped halfway through his work and turned around to observe Erik's side of the kitchen.

Erik quickly turned and looked away, trying to look busy. "Whew… that was close; Raoul almost caught me staring at him."

"Hmmm… I thought I just saw Erik watching me a second ago? Maybe I'm just being too paranoid." Raoul shrugged and resumed on his cooking.

"I didn't get any useful information from spying on Raoul. Maybe I should start out with something simple, like a pancake."

Erik began to gather a couple of bowls and the rest of the ingredients. "Let's see… to make a pancake… you need eggs, milk, flour, butter, and… uh-oh I can't remember the rest of the recipe. I'll just have to improvise it along the way."

Meanwhile… Christine had just finished her bath and was finally dressed when a lovely aromatic scent had drifted its way up to her room, teasing her nose with its alluring smell. "Mmm… something smells good. It seems their doing a great job cooking."

She came downstairs and is walking towards the kitchen, with her nose following the aroma.

"I should check on the guys to see how everything is going."

Christine walked past the kitchen door and caught a glimpse of Raoul's beautiful food, and Erik's… creation, which unfortunately is very unappealing.

"Maybe if I just ignore 'that' I'll be fine." Christine walked away fast with her eyes still wide open from the shock, hoping that Erik's amalgamation of chaos was just her imagination.

After several minutes...

Ding ding ding! The timer went off, the clock struck eight o'clock, and the cooking division is over.

"Time's up!" Christine exclaimed. "It's time to test taste your culinary works."

"Finally, the moment of truth." Raoul said as he stretched his arms, content with his fruits of labour.

Erik just finished placing the final touches on his food. "I assure you Christine; this will be a meal to remember."

Christine sat down as Raoul presented his meal.

"For today, I've made a country garden omelette and a bacon cheddar quiche.

"Wow! That sounds delicious!"

"Enjoy…"

Christine took a bite from the omelette and the quiche, and she liked it, truly made by a skilled chef. "Smells good, looks good, it comes to no surprise that it taste good too. It's very light and delicate that it eases the stomach as well."

"I'm glad you liked it. Now it's time to present Erik's food." Raoul set aside his meal to make room for Erik's, as he presents his 'unique' dishes.

"Erik… what is this you made?" Christine inquired.

"Oh… it's a fruit yogurt pancake, and scrambled ham and eggs." Erik happily replied. "I hope you like it."

"Everything is so jumbled up I can hardly tell which one's the pancake and which one is the ham and eggs. It makes me wish that it never existed. And I could have sworn I saw something moving in there." Christine thought. "I have never seen a dish like this before in my life." She hesitated to pick up her fork for a few seconds, and then she finally had the courage to try it.

She scooped up a green piece of the jumbled mixture (which she believes was the scrambled ham and eggs part) and slowly made its way to her mouth.

Christine was chewing the piece for quite a while before she even made a single comment.

"How was it?" Erik anxiously asked.

"It's… it's…

… SO YUMMY!"

"I knew it! I knew you would love it!" Erik exclaimed, jumping up and down with an even bigger smile on his face than before. "SUCCESS, SUCCESS!"

"WHAT?" Raoul shouted in disbelief. "How could something that looks like a jumble hodge podge made of… God only knows what… can be so good?"

"The sweet, sour, bitter and salty sensations are all in harmony." Christine commented. "Every one of them is present and perfectly balanced that it creates this heavenly sweetness that words cannot fully describe."

"I can't believe this… something that looks so horrific can be that delicious."

"I have learned that even dishes that are so ugly on the outside, can be so good on the inside." Christine said.

"C'mon try it Raoul," Christine took another scoop of the goop and tried to spoon feed Raoul. "You'll never know how tasty this stuff is until you try."

"I'd rather not."

"Oh for Gods sake just eat it already!" Erik picked up a spoon, plugged Raoul's nose and stuffed a spoonful of the goop into his mouth.

Raoul managed to swallow the big piece, pounding his chest to help it go down.

"You like?" Christine asked.

"… Wow! I can't believe that 'thing' actually taste good!" Raoul said. "And not just average good… but scrumptious good! I guess I've met my very first worthy rival chef."

"I knew you would like it!" Christine smiled.

"Now that this is all done, can we actually sit down and have a nice breakfast?" Erik requested.

"I thought you don't eat breakfast?" Raoul reminded Erik.

"Well… I know I said that… but that doesn't mean I don't get hungry once in a while." Erik's stomach let out a little low growl. "Now, let's eat shall we."

"Yes!" Christine said.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" Raoul yelled.

After that, Christine, Erik, and Raoul enjoyed their breakfast. All their hard work has paid off. As for how did Erik manage to create such an ugly, yet beautifully tasteful dish, we don't know, only the fact that during and after the test taste division, Erik had a very strange lump on his tuxedo jacket, which closely resembled a sugar bowl.