Chapter 6: Pie, Pie, Pie
Jack sigh, Brad had been giving him the 'Death Glare' ever since the class had started. He had been ignoring him for almost half the class now, but it was REALLY uncomfortable. How would you feel if you have someone glaring at you, as if trying to burn a hole right out of the back of your head? He turned around and face Brad.
"Stop it," Jack said.
"Why should I?" Brad said smirking.
Jack turned his attention back to the front of the room, he knows arguing with Brad was no use. The female apprentices were staring at Brad dreamily, and Brad was glaring at Jack evilly. It's a system.
"Today's homework will be to finish your book project on The Holy Bible." Lady Elamore said, then she gather up her scrolls and shuffled out the door.
Jack was getting up when Brad pulled him down again.
"What do you want?" Jack asked Brad impatiently, he needs to talk to Thorgil about their project. He had finally figure out a way how to persuade Thorgil to start talking to him.
"Nothing much," Brad said inspecting his nails.
"Then bye," Jack said standing up, but Brad press him down again.
"Don't go so soon, Jack-ie." Brad said smirking.
"Let. Me. Go," Jack said forcefully.
"Why? To go talk to your GIRLFRIEND?"
"Uh?"
"You know, the blondie? She's pretty." Jack couldn't help but look Brad in disbelief. Then broke down laughing.
"You, like Thorgil?" Jack said through laughter.
Brad was confused, he had always thought Jack likes Thorgil. Well, they do everything together, and they have a rumor of coming into school holding hands on the first day.
"You mean, you don't mind?" Brad asked clearly confused. Jack burst into laughter again. "So you don't mind… if I take her to the ball?"
"Nope."
This was not how Brad had planned, he was suppose to take Thorgil to the ball, and then get Jack jealous. But then, right now Jack was telling him that he was FINE with that?
"Fine…" Brad said loosening his grip on Jack's shoulder. Jack lifted Brad's arm off his shoulder and walked out the classroom still shaking from all the laughing.
In Jack's mind, he was imaging Brad asking Thorgil to the ball. There is NO WAY Thorgil was going to something as formal as that. He start chuckling to himself of thinking of a image Thorgil beating up Brad after he asked her going to the ball. Jack hooted with laughter all the way to his next class.
Thorgil was sleeping with her arms covering her face on the table, and Pattie was babbling non-stop to a bored looking Patrick, who was so bored he started counting the freckles on his arm. He got till 42 when Jack entered the classroom. He couldn't resist the urge to look in Thorgil's direction and start sniggering once again. Some people looked at him weirdly.
"Why are you laughing like a maniac?" Patrick asked frowning.
"Nothing," Jack said covering his mouth with his hand to try to stifle his laughter. Someone slapped Jack on the arm.
"Someone trying to sleep here!" Thorgil said angrily.
"Sorry," He murmured as Madame Elamore came into the classroom. Lady Elamore only teaches two class, one for proper young ladies and this one. This class was cooking.
"Thorgil, you can sleep AFTER class," Lady Elamore said. Thorgil moaned, and stretched out on the table.
"Today, we are doing free-cooking. I want to see what you have learned since the beginning of the school year. This will be also graded," Lady Elamore explained. Jack heard half the class groaning and the other half was smiling. Most of the smiling half was girls.
"Now, I'll give you a whole hour to work on this. At the end of class, I want you to have something on your plate at your desk." Madame Elamore continued, "Now, grab your supplies at the front desk and go ahead and cook!"
By the time Jack go to the front of the room, most of the materials were already gone. Thinking carefully, he picked out the only bag of flour, a bucket of milk and some eggs. Just as he was about to reach for the sugar, when Thorgil snatched it away.
"I need this," Thorgil insisted, and walked off to Pattie who already has a big pile of stuff in her arms. Jack decided not to argue and took the jar of honey instead. He looked around for something more useful, then, he caught sight of a tiny pumpkin at the very edge of the vegetable basket and took it.
He walked out of the classroom, to the yard outside. A lot of people are already calling up their fire, or gathering wood. He hurried to the edge of the yard, where it is closes to the wood. He put down his stuff, and ran into the forest to get some firewood.
When he came back, he put his collection of wood in a pile and called up the fire. Fire, come to me… In a split second, he have a small fire.
Thorgil who was not far away from him was happily chopping her deer meat into pieces. Pattie looked at her nervously, well, who wouldn't? Thorgil looked happy enough to chop off somebody's finger, and wouldn't care a bit.
Jack turned back to his work and reminded himself he should start on his own work. So, he turned back and start working, he seen his mother make this when he was young. He only hoped that he remembered how to do it.
By the time Jack was done, it was exactly time. He covered the his dish gently with the cloth he had took, and carried his plate and the jar of honey carefully back to the classroom. When he enter the classroom, he noticed Patrick, Pattie and Thorgil was already there.
Patrick's dish filled with simple egg salad, and he look quite proud with it, even though Jack thought that the egg was too much. Pattie's plate was a simple loaf of white bread, and she was poking the sides testing how fluffy it is. Thorgil's was… well… to Jack it looked like something black and wrinkly.
As he walked closer he understood what Thorgil's dish was, it was roasted deer. The deer looks awfully burnt and ashes were falling of one side of it, Thorgil smirk at Jack with pride, as if to say I can do ANYTHING better than you. Jack don't even know why she needs sugar for roasting a deer, most people uses salt.
Jack settled himself in his seat as Lady Elamore got in the room, her face showing no emotion. One by one, she called up one apprentice at a time. They need to give Lady Elamore a piece, and the students will be able to taste it too.
Some student's dishes were okay, none of them are anything fancy, just something simple. After each person gets to taste the dish, Lady Elamore debate whether this apprentice passed, or not. Most of them passed, but some of the dishes are truly disgusting and only Pattie votes for it to pass. Mainly because Pattie was voting pass for everyone no matter how bad the food taste.
When Patrick was called, he walked to the front of the room shaky, thankfully he passed. When it was Pattie's turn, she skipped happily to the front and evenly shared her loaf of bread to everybody, the bread was pretty good, it was a taste that reminds Jack badly about the bread in the cafeteria. Still, she passed.
Finally, when Thorgil walked up to the front of the room. Lady Elamore stared at the shrunk piece of meat, eyes wide but didn't say anything. She watched patiently as Thorgil split her deer into uneven piece leaving the biggest piece to Lady Elamore and smallest piece to Jack. When Jack ate his deer meat, he thought it was a fine roasted deer. The inside was juicy, though it looked burnt on the outside.
"Pass!" Jack shouted without realizing what he was doing, Thorgil looked at him in surprise but quickly hide it with a smugly smile.
"Pass!" Pattie yelled. And one by one, everybody in class was screaming 'Pass!' to Lady Elamore. Thorgil's face was full of pride, she was enjoying her victory.
"Jack," Madame Elamore barked after the class has quiet down, Jack quickly and quietly brought his dish to Madame Elamore.
First, he removed the cloth he had put on his plate. On his plate, was a beautiful pie.
"I made pumpkin pie," Jack said calmly, Lady Elamore stared at the pie in shock, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Jack fairly divided his pie into pieces, and pass on by one to each student. First, he went to Wendy who was at the very first row. He drizzled the honey onto the pie, everybody watched with eagerness as the yellowish-orange-ish liquid drip down the edge of the pie. Wendy took a bite and her eyes widen, she stuff another fork-full of pie into her mouth.
Jack went by row to row, and last place the last piece of pie in front of Lady Elamore and pour the remaining honey onto her pie. By then, everybody was silently enjoying their treat.
Thorgil was the first to finish her pie, and to Jack's surprise she jumped up and said, "Pass!"
Then, Wendy the second one who finished her pie echoed, "Pass!"
After class, everybody was talking about how delicious Jack's pumpkin pie was. Thorgil was finally talking to Jack again, and Pattie and Patrick was extra relief at that.
"Make me pie," Thorgil commanded.
"Not today," Jack replied smiling that his plan actually worked.
"When will you make me more pie?" Thorgil demanded.
"I don't know, just not today, Jill," Jack said using Thorgil's other name, it was given to her by her mother.
"Who's Jill?" Pattie asked curiously. Oops, Thorgil had told Jack to keep her other name a secret.
"Somebody," Thorgil answered plainly. Pattie turned back and resumed her conversation with Patrick.
"Finally, everything's back to normal," Jack muttered to himself.