Take Me Back

Chapter 2

"Pops, what do I have to do for you to buy me a cellphone!" Soma grumpily demanded from his father.

"Kiddo, you're too young to have a cellphone. Do you think you can take care of it? You always break your things. And what do you need it for, anyway?" Jouichiro asked.

"Mou! It's hard to talk to Erina over the phone because she's never home during our breaks in between mealtime services and when I call her after the dinner rush, she's already asleep and her assistant yells at me. That girl is mean. Also, my classmates don't believe that I'm friends with a super pretty girl because I don't have a picture, I can easily have one on my cellphone... if I had one!" Soma stomps his foot, heavily pouting.

Jouichiro sighs deeply. "If you get better grades at the end of the year, I'll buy you one. Okay?"

"Mou, that's too long of a wait... oh I know! Let's have a cook off! If I win you buy me a new cellphone! With camera! And games! And... and... expensive! If I lose, you can buy me a not so expensive cellphone. The flip ones would be okay. How is that?" Soma grins adorably at his father, throwing in some puppy eyes just because.

The chef laughed loudly saying, "Why do I already feel like I've lost, huh? Okay, let's have a cook off!"

—-

"Mou mou mou mou ahhhhh! I can't believe I lost again!" The 7-year old Soma exclaimed while scratching his head. "I guess a flip phone would be okay then, Pops? Let's go tomorrow!"

His father laughed and ruffled his hair. "You didn't specify when! Hah! I'll buy you a flip phone at the end of the school year, ok? If you have better grades, I'll buy you a better one."

Soma sighed defeated. "Alright, Pops."

"How about this. Erina is always here once a month anyway, I'll take a photo of the both of you and have it printed, ok? You can show your friends then. Also, be nice to Hisako chan, she's Erina's best friend."

"How am I not her best friend! She's mine!" Soma pouts.

"Kiddo, you can have more than one best friend or none. No one makes the rules. There's no best friend police. I'm sure you are her best friend too."

"Okay, I'll be nicer to Hisako chan. I wish I can meet her soon though, so the three of us can be best friends!"

—-

"Erina, am I your best friend?" Soma asked while peeling strings off a bowl of edamame, their snack for the afternoon.

"Hmmm, I never thought about it but yes. I only have you and Hisako as friends. The rest of the people in my school can't cook very good. I don't wanna be friends with them because... ughhhh... they don't know how to count! How hard is it to count to 60 before turning a fish on a pan? Or to count to 20 when sautéing shallots. They are frustrating. And I find it hard to talk to them without wanting to tell them what I would change on their dishes! So yes, it makes sense. You're both my best friend!" Erina said.

"You should bring her here then!"

"I will try but I can only come here on my day off from tastings and I don't want her to not be able to rest. Maybe you can come visit the mansion too?"

"Yeah, that would be great, I've never been to a mansion before. I'll ask pops to come visit you next month, ok?"

"I look forward to it, Soma." Erina smiled warmly.

—-

"Pops, wow. This is amazing. It's sooooo big! Our place is soooo small. Are we poor?" Soma asked his father while holding his hand walking up to the Nakiri Mansion.

Jouichiro laughed and said; "No, kiddo. They're just really rich! They own a school and a big chain of resorts all around the world. And Erina's talent brings in a big amount of money as well, being a consultant and all that. Do you wish we lived in a place like this one?"

"Nah, it must be nice but I love our place. Mom is there and I don't wanna leave her." Soma said.

—

A while later, Hisako, Erina, and Soma are in the Nakiri Gardens.

"Hisako chan, I'm sorry for always disturbing your sleep when I call for Erina late at night. It's just that our customers leave pretty late." Soma grins sheepishly at Hisako.

"Don't worry about it, Soma kun. I'm also sorry if we miss your afternoon calls a lot. Erina is often busy with tastings. But be sure to let me know if it's an emergency and I'll get the wireless one!" Hisako said.

"Thank you so much, Hisako chan! So what do you guys do to have fun around here?" Soma asked.

"We don't have much free time really. If we get breaks, we just talk or listen to music. Oh, one time Erina sama and I had a dance party in her bedroom! That was really fun! We jumped on her bed a lot!" Hisako shared.

"Hisako! Don't tell Soma! It's embarrassing!" Erina whisper yelled.

"Ehh? Why is that embarrassing? That sounds fun! Let's do that, I've never done it before!" Soma said.

"We can't. You're not allowed in my bedroom, Soma." Erina said.

"What? Why?! Hisako is allowed!" Soma pouted.

"Ehh! Of course I am! You're a boy, Soma! That would be inappropriate if you went to Erina sama's bedroom! Only Erina sama's boyfriend and future husband can be allowed in her room." Hisako said while nodding her head.

"Then I'll be her boyfriend and future husband!"

"Ehhh! That's not how it works!" Hisako scolded.

"How does it work? Tell me!" Soma practically begged.

"I also don't know! I'm only 7!" Hisako said. Erina laughed all throughout this interaction.

—-

"Kiddo, how was it? Had fun at the mansion?" Jouichiro asked his son on the way home from the Nakiri mansion.

"Yeah! Those girls are cool. They told me so many stories! I learned that Erina has a cousin in Denmark who is studying muscular astronomy! I don't know what that is... And that Hisako cooks medicine! I didn't understand her whole explanation, I think she said she healed a king? Mou, that's not right but I like hanging out with them!" Soma excitedly replied.

His father laughed; "You're adorable, Soma! Molecular Gastronomy is a way of cooking using cutting edge technology. Like experimenting in a laboratory, like the ones you study in science class. And Hisako comes from the Arato clan, a clan who specializes in Medicinal Cooking. It means they use ingredients meant to heal human ailments and strengthens the body. Like how I make you drink ginger tea when you have tonsilitis? That's the idea."

"Wow, that's so cool. What's your specialty then, Pops?"

"Nah, I just cook diner dishes." Jouichiro smiled at Soma. "Say kiddo, what do you think of transferring to Totsuki? For middle school?"

"Nah, pops. I don't want to."

"May I ask why?"

"It's just that. Erina might not stay friends with me if I go there."

"Now why do you think that, kiddo?"

"Well she's not friends with any of her classmates aside from Hisako. And when I ask her about her classmates, she says she hates them... she means their cooking but still, she doesn't wanna be friends with any of them. She says me and Hisako are enough friends for her. And she also told me that she likes how her time visiting the diner and me is like a vacation... away from her responsibilities. What if I go to Totsuki and then she won't like to be my friend anymore? Also, I have my own friends at school!" Soma ranted off.

"Well kiddo, I'm proud of you for being so considerate of Erina's feelings. But what do you want? If you want to learn how to cook, you must go to Totsuki. If not then you don't have to. But I think it's best if you ask Erina about it. You have to give her more credit than this. You are assuming what her reaction would be without talking to her."

"Okay, Pops. You're right. I'll talk to her the next chance I get."

—-

Next month, Erina and Hisako visits the diner. All three friends are having the time of their lives eating Jouichiro's cooking and chatting. Soma is teaching them how to play pairs (a card game).

"Okay, so after I shuffle the cards, I'll distribute the whole deck to us three. I only left one joker here. We have to put down all pairs we have, then the remaining ones we get from each other as we pick from the hand of the player to our right. The objective is to have no card left on you, then you win. The loser will inevitably end up with the joker card. If you have the joker card, it can be passed on if the player who picks a card from you takes the joker. Ehhh... Am I making sense?" Soma explained.

"Sounds simple enough." Both girls agreed.

3 rounds later, Erina lost all of the games and is fuming while the other two kids are lightly teasing her.

"Mou, this is a stipid game!" Erina pouted.

"Heh, Erina I didn't know you were a sore loser." Soma teased.

"I AM NOT! You guys are cheating!"

"Ummm, we can stop if you want. We don't have to play anymore, Erina sama." Hisako said.

Erina let out a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm just not used to losing. Ummm, I would like to play more. Please." Blushing, Erina turned to Soma with pleading eyes.

"Sure. Whatever you want, Princess." Soma grinned

"Ehh! Princess!? Where did that come from?" Erina pouted.

"I dunno, I just thought of it while you were throwing that tantrum. I think it suits you." Soma grinned.

"I DID NOT THROW A TANTRUM!"

"See? Princess!" Soma said.

"I am kind of concerned about what Princess references you had growing up, Soma kun. Just shuffle the deck." Hisako said.

Soma dealt the cards and he thought about transferring to Totsuki and figured it would be a good time to talk to Erina about it.

—

"Erina, my dad asked me if I wanted to go to Totsuki to learn how to cook. I kinda wanna go. What do you think? We'll be classmates! That would be fun, right?" Soma asked after dealing the cards.

Erina slammed her hand on the table. Her face pale, dreadful expression on her face. Her face was equal parts scared and confused.

She spoke, under her breath with the volune decreasing every second. "Soma... I-I'm... why woud you even..." She's having trouble breathing now. She turned to Hisako and said; "Hisako, we're leaving."

The girls left in a hurry and Soma just sighed and said; "I knew it."

—

Soma was distraught. Jouichiro has never seen the kid like this. He tossed and turned on the bed. Soma tried calling the mansion but both Hisako and Erina are unable to come to the phone... at least that's what the woman on the phone said.

On the third night of radio silence and Soma living like a zombie, the phone rang loudly at 11 PM. Soma woke up with a start and ran to the phone to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Soma kun." It was Erina.

"Erina, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said. I mean... I'm not sure why you were mad but please, I'm sorry. I won't go

to Totsuki if you don't want me to."

"No Soma, I'm sorry. I overreacted. I just... I don't wanna lose you as a friend."

"Why would that happen? By me transferring?"

"Soma, as you already know, I don't have any friends at school... I always say it's because I don't wanna be friends with them but the truth is... no one tries to befriend me. Being me I guess... my classmates don't treat me as one of them. I mean, just imagine what crazy girl has an assistant at my age? I own the school. I mean, not me directly but... you understand? They are intimadated. They all stop talking when I get inside the classroom. I once took a seat at the cafeteria and after that no one has used the table at all... ever. They watch me. They treat me different, Soma. I say I don't wanna be friends with any of them to make it seem like it's my choice! But the truth is, no one wanted to be friends with me! I'm a loser. And I didn't want you to know that. If you come here, you'll be one of them!" Erina said while crying.

"Erina... you'll always be my friend. My best friend ever. My princess. It's so funny how I brought it up 3 days ago because my dad told me to talk to you about it and not assume your reaction, whether you'll be against me transferring or not. But then you assumed... see how that turned out?" Soma said chuckling.

"I'm sorry, Soma."

"No, don't say sorry. I understand. Just please think of it this way. I won't be one of them. You're getting reinforcements! I'll always be by your side, Erina! And when I get there, no one can ever make fun of you again. I'll kick their asses!" Soma said.

"Dummy, they don't make fun of me. They're just scared and intimidated. They don't think they are worthy of my time. They put me on a pedestal. I'm used to it, and I like people respecting me. You might think of me as a princess but to the school, I'm the Queen." Erina said fondly and slowly but surely, she's starting to get excited about Soma getting into Totsuki.

"Well then. It's settled, eh? I'll be your classmate soon!" Soma exclaimed.

"I look forward to it, Soma." Erina smiled fondly.

—

"WHAT?!" Soma is on the verge of tears.

Jouichiro laughed. "How many times have I told you to study harder? Hm? Now look at that."

"But ERINA OWNS THAT SCHOOL! May be she can let me in?!" Soma asked hopefully.

"Nah, kiddo. You should have studied harder, listened to you old man huh?" His father smirked.

"Nooooooooo! Whyyyyyy!?" Soma shouted in despair while holding the list of requirements for admission to Totsuki. Apparently, there's a general weighted average needed to be met by Soma to be accepted in Totsuki. Let's just say, he needs to study more more MORE religiously (and call upon the gods) to be able to get in.

"I guess you can try for high school instead of middle school. Just make sure you have high marks moving forward." Jouichiro comforted his son.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Awwww, you're so cute I'll just buy you a cellphone, ok?" Jouichiro said.

—-

AN:

Haha. Had fun writing this. Next chapter would have a lil time jump. Hope you liked it and let me know!