Chapter VI: Baking Disaster! More Black Cookies!
A/N: The mallet idea is the property of Ambezua. I've asked permission first before using it. If you're trying to do the same, then always ask first.
Haruka and Kanata both made separate batches of cookies that were supposed to be chocolate chips. But thanks to a mistake committed in the grocery store, they were now making raisin cookies (minus the oatmeal). Despite Kanata's guidance as Haruka progressed with her batch of cookies, some things don't always go her way.
"Haruka, we're making cookies—not pizza." Kanata said.
"Am I? But it's fun, kamo!" Haruka replied cheerfully; tossing and spinning the dough in mid-air. "I never realized making pizza is so fun, kamo!"
"First of all, that's cookie dough NOT pizza dough. And second, if you don't stop that right now I'll make you clean up this mess alone."
"…and just when I was having so much fun…" The brunette girl grumbled silently behind her friend and dropped the dough carefully on the countertop.
Several kneads later, they placed their kneaded dough on top of a thin layer of flour spread on the countertop. The dough was all set for cutting with the cookie molds. The fun part about it was the molds had several varieties of unique designs—Pokemon designs.
"Okay, now my dough is all set for cutting. But before you do any cutting, you flatten the dough first so it would be easier to cut with the molds."
"So you need a rolling pin, right?"
"That was the plan but I don't have one and a rolling pin is too expensive." Kanata dragged out a huge wooden mallet from below the countertop. "So I'm using this."
"ACK…! Where did you get that big mallet?"
"Oh, I borrowed this from Arisawa-senpai a few days ago."
"Are you sure you want to go through this, kamo? You might put a dent on the countertop, Kanata. (Why would Kasumi have a mallet in her possession?)"
"Nonsense, this countertop is fine stonework. Not even a full force from this baby will even dent it. Well, here goes!"
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Kanata was right. No big old mallet could dent the fine stonework countertop of her kitchen. But any big old mallet could destroy the entire thing.
Smoke clouded the kitchen as the girls opened any nearby windows to let the smoke and dust out. The countertop was completely turned to rubble with one forceful slam of Kasumi's mallet care of its borrower. The cabinets below were left intact along with the contents. When the smoke cleared, Kanata realized that she had missed her mark because of the mallet's sheer weight that kept on shifting her stance. Haruka's dough already had sprinkles in it—marble sprinkles.
"Well, you missed by a few inches." Haruka looked at her friend's round and bulky dough and the huge crater the big mallet made beside the dough. "What now?"
"We move to the kitchen table." Kanata smirked; very irritated.
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After kneading the dough and cutting it into unique shapes, they put the first batch of their cookies in a tray and then placed it in an oven preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit. While waiting, they cleaned up their mess in the kitchen especially the dust and dirt left by the aftermath of the mallet. But cleaning up didn't eat enough time for the cookies to be done. They went to the living room and watched TV (whatever interesting on TV would do for the both of them). A hundred channels later, a back-to-back special of their favorite soap opera made them drop the remote. The drama was so intense they completely forgot why they were killing time.
An hour later, the girls jerked tears and sobbed because of a wonderful ending to their favorite series.
"He was only doing that because he loved her!" Haruka cried; blowing her nose with a clean 2-ply tissue. "What a wonderful story, kamo."
"Maybe you and Satoshi should do that." Kanata rubbed her eyes. "It's so crazy it might just work."
"Oh Kanata, even after all that you still have the nerve to be so sarcastic."
Suddenly, the brunette girl smelled something burning in the air.
"Kanata, did we leave something in the kitchen?" She asked.
"Did we?" Her friend had absolutely no idea as well.
It took two minds to figure out the burning smell. "AH! The cookies…!"
They hurried to the kitchen where smoke filled the air again. They opened the windows again to let the smoke out and wore a pair of mittens to get the cookies out of the oven. Even with their mittens on, the tray was so hot it felt like they were bathing their hands in molten steel. Several minutes later, the smoke had cleared and they finally gazed at their finished product.
"Great, more black cookies…" Haruka sighed in depression. "Just when I thought I was going to make it right this time, kamo."
Kanata took one piece of her batch of black cookies but eventually her tongue rejected the "Ugh!" taste. "Ugh! It tastes like charcoal!"
"This is a complete disaster, kamo! How am I supposed to impress Satoshi with these?"
"Well, we can't go for another round. The countertop's messed up, the oven's charred, and we've used up all of our ingredients. Let's call it a day for now."
"I guess you're right. There's no sense in continuing anyway."
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A few days have passed since Haruka's worst baking disaster of her life. She was so depressed her natural cuteness factor just disappeared into thin air. As much as Kanata tried to cheer her up especially over lunch, it was a losing battle. For Haruka, failing twice was like failing two thousand times—and she had no choice but to live to that fact for the rest of her life.
"Aw come on, Haruka. It wasn't really a total disaster." Kanata said gleefully. "So we forgot to pull the cookies out in time. It's not really a disaster."
"It doesn't matter, kamo." Haruka replied sadly. "I'm a complete dunce anyway. What would I have that would even make Satoshi fall in love with me?"
"For starters, you have that cutesy pose you always use in your introduction. Did you see the looks on those boys from our class when you did that way back?"
"Satoshi is a unique person. It would take more than some cutesy pose to get to him. That's what I like about him, kamo."
"You're being too sentimental, Haruka."
"It's called love, Kanata. You'll understand when you're older."
"Define the term 'older' please?"
After another long and arduous school day chock full of lectures and homework, the girls passed by an extremely long queue leading to a recently-opened pastry shop. The queue of people was so long, it seemed that the shop employees would have to work overtime to exhaust the customers.
"AH! I forgot that the grand opening was today!" Kanata suddenly snapped.
"Whoa! What grand opening?" Haruka inquired.
"Haruka, you're standing in front of the Hoenn Region's Most Famous Bakery!"
"Huh? What's so famous about—"
Immediately, Kanata cut her friend off before she could finish her scandalous reply. She dragged her friend to a secluded alley not far from the Hoenn Region's Most Famous Bakery (ironically, that is also the name of the bakery itself). Haruka could barely breathe with Kanata's hands blocking her mouth. With all those people lining up and waiting for hours outside the store, something scandalous could really trigger a chain reaction—a bad one. When they were in the clear, Kanata released her from certain suffocation.
"W-What was that for?!" Haruka said; gasping heavily for air. "If you wanted to choke me to death you should've asked first, kamo!"
"If you mention something scandalous in front of those people about that bakery, you'll answer for it very seriously." Kanata replied out of concern; also gasping for air.
"So what's so famous about that bakery?"
"It's famous for every kind of bread and pastry on the store's shelves, Haruka! They say the head chef is one heck of a baker."
"Every…kind of bread…? You mean everything?"
"Everything from baguettes to melon breads; you name it they've got it."
"So that's why you went 'ACK!' a while ago?"
"That bakery is the solution to your cooking problem, Haruka."
"Huh?"
Kanata whispered to her friend the details. It made Haruka jump back.
"EEEHHHH…?! You want me to work part-time IN THERE?!" Haruka snapped.
"You're already in high school, right? You're qualified for manual labor, don't worry." Kanata winked.
"It's not that, Kanata! You're recommending a complete dunce at baking stuff in a bakery?"
"Fear not, my brunette friend. The head chef is so generous he'll teach you the basics. That's all you'll need for a good start."
"But still—"
"Remember, this is for Satoshi."
"S-Satoshi…but I…"
"You said it yourself, Haruka. Cooking is the most surefire way to a man's heart. Why not take this chance to prove you're right?"
An intense feeling welled up inside her chest upon hearing Satoshi's name. She held the afflicted part of her chest very tight while thinking about her decision that could make or break her and her campaign to win Satoshi's heart. It felt like a heart attack but very slight yet nerve-racking. She was trembling from head to toe; unable to speak momentarily. Eventually, she mustered up all of her courage and went for broke.
"Kanata, where do I sign up?"
TO BE CONTINUED