Chapter Three: A Spectacularly Awful Start
My mind has been fuzzy ever since I bumped into that purple-haired creep in the hall. Unable to concentrate, I find myself zoned out while my friends chat away. I can hear their voices but they're almost distant, faded… And my eyes are fixated on a random point in the dorm lounge.
A sudden smack from a roll of paper to the top of my head causes me to snap back to reality. "Wh-Wha-?" I blink rapidly, straightening my slouched position up and turning my eyes to the group.
"Oh thank God, Kai-kun has returned from orbit." Neru is holding her arm out slightly, a piece of rolled up paper gripped in her hand. So, it must have been her who so rudely whacked me.
"Is everything okay, Kaito-kun?" Miku's words are full of gentle concern; her fingertips tickle my back as she gives me a reassuring caress.
"Just thinking," I say, telling some of the truth.
"We must've fried poor Kaito-kun's brain after all the hard work we made him do today," comes Dell's teasing jab.
"Ha ha." I force out the most sarcastic laugh possible.
"Well, if you're done spacing out, you could give us all a hand by looking for some recipes," Neru orders, tapping the rolled up paper against one of the many books on the table in front of me.
"Yes-sir, Sergeant Asshole, sir." I slyly smirk, using my best army-type voice, springing upright and saluting – which earns me another swift smack to the top of my head, this time with the force of both her hands.
"Hehe… Poor Kaito-kun, you only have yourself to blame..." Miku quietly giggles, before giving me one hell of a condescending pat to the afflicted area. Dell chuckles along with her in agreement.
"Wow, thanks for the support. My girlfriend and best friend are conspiring against me, it seems," I dramatically sniffle, wiping the corner of my eye.
I let out a heavy sigh after, turning my focus to the sprawled out books which take up the entirety of the table, and that table isn't exactly small. In fact, the four of us right now are taking up the largest area of the dorm lounge, sitting on the couches easily made for six to eight people. I can imagine the kinds of dirty glares we're getting from the other students for being so inconsiderate.
"So, the baking event is first?" I ask after some silence, wanting to know more about the specific events and their order.
"Yes, it takes place in the morning period before lunch," Miku responds, with a single nod. "Everything we make is supposed to serve as lunch for the participants, so we really have to tackle a huge dish. You think we can handle it?"
I think back to the last time I made a full meal for myself. It certainly has been a while… Here at school, my friends and I normally rotate between eating out, making easy things like sandwiches, attending the cafeteria, or if we're being creative, Dell handles all the cooking. Outside of school, I distinctly remember turning one section of my parents' kitchen into charcoal. I decide to not mention this to Miku.
Laughing lightly, I wave my hand dismissively. "Pssh, it'll be a piece of cake. Hah… Get it?" I play off my embarrassing, unmentionable memories by trying to make a cool pun. Of course, that falls flat on its face, as I'm met with crickets.
Although once the pun sinks in, I receive a bad reception. "We're not even making cake, you dumb fu-"
"Language in the dorms, Neru-chan," the silver-haired boy is quick to interrupt the quick-witted tomboy, cutting her off perfectly before any bad language slips out.
"Alright, so what exactly do we have to make, if not cake?" I huff, picking up one of the recipe books and flicking it open to a random page. It lands somewhere near the middle, a recipe for a stacked cake showing itself. I narrow my eyes, resorting to scolding an inanimate object. "Hey, that's really not helpful, book."
"Uhh, now I think Kaito-kun is getting delirious," Dell says in a low tone, but not quiet enough for me to not hear. Neru and Miku laugh at the remark anyway, cackling like a pair of witches.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," I wave my hand again, apparently needing to dismiss a lot of bullshit. "How about, uhh..." I squint my eyes, flicking through a few more pages, skipping over some content so I don't find recipe after recipe for just cake. "Here we go. Pizza?"
"Mm, I could go for some pizza right now..." The second I suggest it, Miku starts to crave it. She speaks in a dreamy tone, becoming all starry-eyed.
"Eh," Neru shrugs. "Doesn't sound bad, but the guide for the event says we have to make something like a full course meal."
"Wait, speaking of that so-called guide," Dell says, brow raised. "Where exactly is it? It'd be better if we looked over it some more to get a better idea of what to do."
"Ohhh..." The blonde lets out a nervous laugh in realisation. She hesitantly lets go of part of the paper in her hand, loosening her grip so that it flops down to reveal what appears to be a guide. "Right here. Sorry guys."
Miku and I exchange stupefied gazes, while Dell leans forward and covers his face with his palm, head slowly shaking.
"Look, don't worry, it's barely damaged…!" Neru waves the piece of paper in front of our faces. I can see the messy creases and the imprint of it being hastily rolled up; the edges of the sheet curl. If inanimate things had feelings, this piece of paper would be recoiling in fear in the hands of the wicked tomboy.
"We only get one of these, need I remind you," Dell groans, sitting back up with the most intense, pissed off expression of disbelief I've ever seen. He then promptly snatches it from her claws, giving her no time to react other than blinking in confusion at the ninja move. "I'll keep this safe, alright?"
"That's probably for the best..." Miku mutters in agreement, side-eyeing her best friend. Cold.
Neru is left with a childish pout on her face, her cheeks all puffed out and a sad sparkle in her eyes. "No fair, I'm supposed to be leading this rodeo."
"Leave it to the co-leader for a while," Dell sighs, gently patting the girl on her shoulder to reassure her everything is still in safe hands. He straightens the sheet out as best he can before scanning his glance over it. "Hmm. Yeah, the judging criteria is looking for stuff like baked to near enough perfection, the right amount of moisture and blah blah blah… Not to mention it must 'stand out' from the other team, and creativity such as colour and experimenting with flavours..."
The more he reads out, the more apprehensive I feel. The uncomfortable feeling sinks in, leaving me nervous. I still need a bit more information about the event, though. "When it says colour, I hope that means they're giving us a wide variety of food to work with. Does it mention what ingredients they're providing?"
Dell is silent for a moment as he scans some more. "Hmm..." he hums, furrowing his brows. He then looks back up and gives me a firm, simple shake of the head, with a 'nope'. "It's as vague as it can be, which will be on purpose. It just says, a range of veggies, poultry, fish and all that will be provided… But I doubt there'll be that much."
"Then I guess we'll have to hope for the best and find a good enough recipe," I say. It's kind of fun to get down to business like this. The hint of mystery is still pretty worrying, of course, but maybe we'll be able to pull something off.
"These cookbooks look easy to follow, too," Neru pipes up, shifting through the pages before turning it around for us all to get a peek at. When I get one look at the photo on the page, my mouth starts watering.
"Woah, Neru-chan, what is that?" Miku gasps, her eyes brightening up in curiosity. Even Dell has his head tilted to the side, leaning in real close to get a better look.
"Eh…?" Neru looks a little uncomfortable from all the attention, but she's quick to flip it back around so she can fully take the page in. "I-I just opened it to this page at random. Says here it's, uh… Rainbow stir-fry."
"Ah!" Miku happily claps her palms together, giggling in glee. I sort of jolt at the sudden outburst of energy, but it seems like she's remembered something. "I just got a flashback to when I was younger. Oh wow, my parents used to make this all the time! Not the exact same recipe, but they sorta put their own spin on it. See how this uses just veggies? They liked to add noodles and seafood. It was always so delicious…!"
"Oh, wow," I laugh. I had no idea my girlfriend's love of food went beyond plain old obsession. Looks like her parents totally spoiled her with wonderful dishes as a kid. "So, you're saying what, exactly?"
"Duh, dude," comes Dell's teasing scoff. "She's gonna take care of the main dish."
"Miku-chan, you're amazing!" Neru is quick to praise her, looking incredibly grateful. I suppose I should praise her too, huh? "Is there anything you can't do? You're gonna embarrass all of us in these events!"
Miku smiles bashfully, a light red staining her cheeks. She looks down nervously to her lap, her giggling becoming almost hysterical as she basks in the compliments. She remains modest, however. "D-Don't be silly, it's just a coincidence that my parents were good cooks. I'm sure you'll all have your time to shine in the other events..."
"Wow, Mi-chan. There really is no limit to your strengths," I softly grin, brushing her teal fringe aside and resting my palm on her cheek. She looks up at me, her blush darkening and her lips parted in surprise. I know this is totally going to gross Neru and Dell out, but I can't let those two out-do me when it comes to complimenting my own girlfriend…! "You're smart, beautiful, you have the voice of an angel, and you can cook delicious meals… You're every man's dream. You have no idea how lucky I am to have you all to myself...~"
"Gag! Get a room!" I can't see their faces right now, but what I can hear are the fake gagging noises coming from the couch opposite Miku and I.
"K-Kaito...kun..." Miku is at a total loss for words. She stammers, trying to form a sentence, but trips over her words every single time. Uh oh, I can just see the steam blowing out of her ears right now. Time for the finishing blow. I know she's a sucker for talks of the future – many a time has she told me about our dream wedding and how she'd love nothing more than to be my wife. She's very traditional in that way.
"You'd make such a wonderful, loving, supportive wife one day. I'd come home from work after a long day, and you'd be there to rub my shoulders and tell me you made yet another brand new dish for the two of us to share, over a candlelit table..." I resist the urge to snicker. Personally, I'm indifferent toward thoughts of the future. As long as Miku is still in my life, I don't care how absurdly traditional she wants to be. It's just incredibly fun to out-compliment Neru and Dell, and to push Miku's buttons.
"K-Kaito-kun… y-y-you… you really… m-mean it…?!" She's bursting to the brim with excitement and hope, akin to that of a 13-year-old over-the-top school girl in some sickly shoujo anime. There's the pink background and rose petals twirling around in her mind right now, I guarantee it. "Ahhh…! I'll d-d-do my b-best…!" And with that, she drops down to her back, the kettle in her head reaching boiling point. She explodes into a giddy mess, starting to roll around in her own fantasies.
I turn to Neru and Dell with a cocky smirk slapped onto my face. "And that, lady and gentleman, is why you never try to beat me in a contest of complimenting Mi-chan." They're utterly gobsmacked – jaws dropped and all. Their silence speaks volumes, however, and I take this as a victory.
"Is… um..." Neru struggles to get anything out as she narrows her eyes at the giddy teal-haired girl, who's currently muttering and giggling to herself. "Is she going to be alright?"
"Oh, don't worry," I casually shrug. "Give her about five minutes to cool down. She's already done her part, anyway. All we gotta do is figure out our part in all this."
"Y-Yeah, I… I guess so..." Dell rubs at the back of his neck, unable to peel his eyes away from Miku for a good couple of seconds. Giving a sigh, he turns back to the recipe books – we have a long night ahead of us.
It's around 10pm by the time research and planning draws to a close. The thing that's been focused on the most is the first event tomorrow; my friends and I have finally come up with a full-course meal idea, after many back and forth disagreements and with all the stress setting in. Since Neru had come up randomly with the rainbow stir-fry dish, Dell made the suggestion to make a full Chinese-style set of dishes. Dell agreed to cover the appetizer, Neru pounced on the opportunity to take the dessert recipe, which left the soup to me. I've made soup before, so it should be easy enough. Uh, that is, if pouring a tin of soup into a pan counts as 'making' it.
It's about time to call it a night after all that. There'll probably be a teacher making the rounds soon, to make sure all the students are in bed and lights are out, so I pull myself up from the couch. A large yawn escapes my mouth; my eyelids are heavy after such intense research. The books on the table are covered by another load of paper, with our scribbles all over the sheets. We had each contributed to the team effort by copying down each recipe – Dell takes those sheets of paper and we agree to redistribute them tomorrow morning.
"Better head off to bed," Neru says, stretching out with a sigh. She rolls her neck from side to side, her arms up in the air behind her. "I'm confident that we got this one in the bag, guys. Great job for sticking it out so long – especially Kai-kun." She sends a cheeky wink my way.
Oof. That one hits my pride, right in the chest. I hear Dell snicker along with her, a dumb grin across his face, so I decide to pay him back. I point to him. "Him and I will take these books back to the library."
The shit-eating smirk on his face is quick to fade the second I offer us both up to return the books. It's a shame though, we didn't use even half of these. I grabbed way more than cookbooks in the beginning, so all my heavy lifting efforts have been in vain. "W-Wait, I didn't sign up for this…!"
Neru slams her palm into the silver-haired boy's back, resulting in a nice 'thump' sound; he stumbles forward a couple steps, groaning. "Be a man and accept your manly responsibilities! Us ladies gotta get our beauty sleep, huh, Mi-Mi?"
Miku quickly nods in agreement, an innocent smile pulling at her lips. "Mhm, mhm~ Thank you for sparing us the heavy lifting, Kaito-kun and Dell-kun."
See, I'm a man, not a mouse – unlike my best friend Dell Honne. I don't mind taking the books back like the gentleman I am. But I also can't help being petty by making Dell pay for his mocking remarks. "G'night, Mi-chan. Sleep well," I softly say, leaning forward and pecking her on the cheek.
"Goodnight!" Miku giggles, before turning toward the lounge doors with Neru.
I turn to Dell with the same smug expression he was wearing only a minute ago. That's my second victory of the night. That'll be all my revenge… for today. "Tch, tch. I cannot believe you, Honne," I tut in a sort of sing-song tone. "Making such sly jabs at your own best friend just so you're in your girlfriend's good books..."
"H-Huh?!" Dell looks both humiliated and outraged. It's like he's deciding between socking me right in my face or denying his feelings for the blonde. "Don't be ridiculous, I only tease you because you're an easy target. It's got nothing to do with Neru-chan." He averts his eyes, leaning down to the table and starting to pick up some of the books.
Joining him, I kneel and slowly collect my half. I take my time to stack them up, one on top of the other, wondering how I'll muster enough energy to walk all the way to the library and back. "You know, Mi-chan and I are incredibly close to setting you two up ourselves," I casually remark, keeping my glance on the books.
"Don't bother. There's nothing going on between us," Dell bluntly shuts me down. He stacks up his half of the books, which fortunately don't cover his entire view, meaning I should be fine this time around.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." I roll my eyes, muttering and having no choice but to drop it for now. He's so good at avoiding his own feelings. I can't imagine how annoying it must be to constantly cover things up and lie. I collect my share of the books a few moments after him, and then we're on our way to the library.
There's some chitchat between us on the way there, but as it's almost time for lights out, there are some teachers strolling up and down the halls who'll probably screech at us if we talk too loudly. Sliding the books back into their place – well, near enough their original place – Dell and I are quick to get it over and done with. Just as we're coming back to the dorms, I'm hit with a sort of realisation. "Oh yeah, uh…" I speak up, rubbing at a tired eye. My speech is kind of sluggish after all that walking and reaching up to put books away. "Did we get a sheet that told us which student's gonna be bunking in our room?"
Dell's eyes widen, but only slightly due to the fatigue on his face. It's like he only just remembered, too. "Shit, that's right. I think Neru-chan pocketed the sheet Mr. Hiyama gave us earlier," he grumbles, brushing some of his silver hair out of his eyes.
"That's so… so typical..." I'd protest more, but I no longer have the energy. "Guess we're about to find out anyway." Dell and I arrive outside our dorm room. I push the door open; it lets out a small creak because apparently this place is old as hell, and that's when I see someone has already made themselves comfortable. On my bed.
"Uh..." Dell raises a brow as we step inside. He shuts the door behind us, because I immediately storm forward to tell our new 'room-mate' off.
That's when I notice I've already been acquainted with this person. It's the purple-haired jerk who knocked me onto my ass a few hours ago outside, and he's sitting there all spread out on my god damn bed, arms propped up behind him. I can feel the smug aura radiating off him and I grit my teeth to stop myself from losing control of my temper. He opens one eye up, his expression calm as though to ask why I'm interrupting him. "Excuse me, I hope you realise that's my bed," I say, letting out a scoff in disgust when I notice he's also wearing his outdoor shoes. "And take your filthy shoes off there."
"Geez," comes his low tone, before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He reaches down to yank his shoes from his feet, tossing them forward. They land just next to me. "There, happy?"
"Oh my God, what an asshole," Dell's shocked tone comes from behind me, and he's soon stood by my side in support. He places his hands on his hips, glaring over at the purple-haired boy. "Didn't you hear? That's not your bed."
He lets out a hearty chuckle at Dell's protest. Is he seriously just sitting there laughing? God, I want to punch this guy right in his arrogant face. "That's funny," he says, while propping his legs back onto the bed. "I thought I made it obvious that it is mine now."
I'm speechless for a good moment or so. Does he think he can waltz into my school, barge into my room, and take MY fucking bed?! I roll up my sleeves, preparing to teach that scumbag a lesson.
"K-Kaito-kun, relax…!" Dell nervously laughs. I feel a hand resting on my shoulder, and then he pulls me back a couple of paces. "You can take my bed, it's no big deal. I'll just sleep on the air bed that the teachers set up."
"That's right, keep your boyfriend under control. Kaito-kun, was it?" the boy lazily asks, waving a hand at us in dismissal.
That's it. I raise my fist, making a move. "I'm seriously gonna-!" My words are cut off by Dell stopping me again, this time he slides an arm around the front of my body and physically drags me backwards. "Lemme teach this Mahogany punk some manners…!"
"Kaito-kun, as much as I'd love to see that..." Dell flicks his glance over at the purple-haired devil. His voice certainly is full of regret. "We're gonna pay 'em back in other ways, remember?"
I take in a light breath, regaining my composure. The only reason I resorted so quickly to threats of violence is because there's a weird sensation within me… Something telling me that we've encountered each other before… But that can't be. The only time I've met this guy is when he bumped into me. But anyway, my friend is right. We're going to destroy them in tomorrow's first event. Dell passes the sheets of paper that we scribbled on earlier.
"Keep these on my bedside table, alright?"
I take the papers, giving a nod. He pats me on the back before moving toward the air bed in the corner of the room. I feel bad for just stealing his bed, but if that jerk hadn't taken my own bed, this wouldn't be a problem. I roll my eyes, turning toward Dell's bed. I set the sheets of paper onto the bedside table, shifting his small lamp aside a little bit so there's enough room. I can feel that jerk's eyes following me as I move over to the wardrobe attached to the wall between the two beds – growing increasingly more uncomfortable and irritated at the same time. "Can you stop fucking staring at me?" I defensively growl.
"Staring? Who's staring?" When I look at him, he's already pulled his eyes off me. He acts all innocent, as though he's done nothing wrong. He's currently fixated his gaze onto the wall at the other end of the room.
"Look, guys..." Dell interrupts, putting an end to the tense situation. "If we're all gonna be living together for the next few days, let's at least try to get along. Or if you can't manage that, just… avoid ripping each other's heads off."
I let out a stubborn huff, pulling the wardrobe doors open. I reach in to my half of the wardrobe, and grab my PJs off the rack. I answer him when I pull my head out of there. "I'm not the one with the problem. He's the one who stole my bed, in case you forgot already."
"Hey, your principal said you have to make me feel welcome," the purple-haired boy speaks in his own defense, using that same innocent, remorseless tone. It's like he doesn't even feel guilt. No, in fact, he's never heard of it in his life. Can't own up to his mistakes so he tries to deflect like this. "I figured the most generous thing one of my new room-mates would do to make me feel welcome, would be to offer up their bed so that I'm comfortable. I'm just one step ahead of your decisions, that's all."
"Oh, is that what it is?" I scoff, turning my back to him as I pull my shirt over my head. "You really think we'd offer up a bed to Mahogany Creek worms?"
"Ugh..." Dell simply lets out a sigh in defeat. "I'm going to sleep. Don't argue too loudly."
"If you want a chance at making your life as misery free as possible over the next few days," the purple-haired boy answers.
Sliding my night vest over my body, I resist the urge to let out a heavy grumble. He's only been here five minutes and it's already too long. I want them to leave right now. I decide to switch the subject to something else. "You know, you still haven't apologised for knocking my books over in the hall." Finishing getting ready for bed, I slide myself under the covers and lie on my back. I avoid making eye contact with him.
"Huh?" He sounds genuinely puzzled, although he's probably just a good liar. "Nah, wasn't me. Must be mistaking me for someone else."
"I'm Dell, by the way," the boy butts in through a strained voice, out of nowhere. He's trying real hard to make a lighter conversation.
"You should try being nicer like your buddy over there," the other says. I don't know what makes him think I want his stupid opinions on my behaviour. "I'm Gakupo, by the way."
"Great. Now I can formally say it," I plaster on a sickly sweet smile. It turns bitter in an instant. "Go fuck yourself, Gakupo."
"Yep, screw this!" Dell lets out a dramatic yell, and with a flick, darkness floods the room.
"Ooh, so you're a fiery one, I see." Gakupo snickers, meeting my insults with a mocking, indifferent response.
"If you two don't shut up, I swear I'll kick both of your asses," comes Dell's threat from somewhere in the dark.
I know not to mess with him when he's tired. He can be extremely grumpy and kinda scary. I turn onto my side, facing away from Gakupo and instead staring at the wall. Now I don't feel tired at all anymore, thanks to him. I'm in a strange bed, so it's hard to get comfy. I can also still feel Gakupo's eyes digging into my back. Oh, I can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face tomorrow.
"Well, goodnight to you too, Kaito-kun~" the purple-haired boy purrs, in a sing-song tone.
Biting my tongue, I screw my eyes shut and try not to scream more curses at him. Tonight is going to be one hell of a long night.
…
The bright sunlight seeping through a crack in the curtains brings my slumber to an end. A complaining mumble passes my lips; squeezing my eyes shut tighter, I roll onto my side and try to ignore the blinding rays. The distant thudding of what can only be a bassline suddenly fills the room, and a surprised gasp escapes me, waking me up properly this time. My eyes open wide as the pounding sensation grows stronger. It doesn't take long to realise it's coming from the bathroom.
"Geez, what on earth…?" Dell's sleepy question croaks out from the other side of the room, his voice low and full of confusion.
I run my palm down my face, taking in a deep breath. I had such a good sleep after all that fighting last night and now this is what I wake up to. I shuffle onto my other side to look at my bed; Gakupo isn't there, and it clicks immediately that he's the source of the now ridiculously loud dub-step music. My head explodes with instant rage. "That fucking asshole!" I growl, shoving the bedsheets off myself and pouncing up from the bed.
"Who the hell does he think he is?" Dell sounds as annoyed as me, except he seems to be lacking the energy to rush toward the bathroom door.
I storm up to the door and begin banging as loud as possible. "Gakupo! Turn that music down, you damn inconsiderate dickhead!" I raise my voice in hopes that it'll reach through to the other side. He must be using his phone to blast the music. Doesn't he realise how dangerous that is? Not that it's the most important thing right now…
Excepting a response, my foot taps at a fast tempo off the floor. Before I know it, the door has been swung open and Gakupo pokes his head out. The bass vibrations become a lot more intense in that moment, and the melody of the music makes itself more prominent, not to mention dangerously loud. He's dripping wet, a towel slapped over the top of his head, and his bare chest showing. I reel back, stunned at the sight – what the hell is wrong with me?! It's like embarrassment has slapped me in the face and stole my voice-box in the process.
"Do you mind not tearing the door down?" comes his irritated scoff. "I'm trying to get a shower in peace here."
"I- I-!" My fists clench and I'm in a fighting stance, but all my anger gets caught up in my throat. "Do you mind not-..." Something is seriously wrong with me. I find that my eyes wander down his body without a second thought.
"Kaito-kun?" Dell pipes up from behind me, expecting more than that. They both know I'm staring right now. Why am I staring?
I shake my head in a panic, mentally slapping myself. "Do you mind not blasting that god-awful music?" I finally retort, throwing his own words back in his face with a twist.
"You Oak Valley kids are seeeriously out of it," Gakupo snorts, locking eyes with me. He must be referring to when I was gawking at his chest. "If you can't stand a little music in the morning, why don't you go find somewhere else to sleep for the week?"
"You- Y-You can't just-!"
"I can, and will." He quickly cuts me off and promptly slams the door in my face without another word. The booming bass retreats back within the confines of the bathroom along with him.
I stand there for a good moment or so, unable to believe that really happened. Slowly turning around, I groan quietly and pace back toward Dell's bed, keeping my eyes low because I can feel that I'm being watched.
"You know, Gakupo-san kinda has a point," the silver-haired boy pipes up. "Why were you staring at his naked body, man?"
"I wasn't!" I defensively snap, my cheeks now burning.
"Whoa, don't bite my head off," Dell snickers. "Just asking. It was a bit… you know, weird..."
"Like I said, I wasn't." I lower my voice so that I don't lose my temper any further, wriggling myself out of my night clothes. I was though, wasn't I? I have no idea what came over me. It's like my mind went blank for a split second and I lost track of all my thoughts. Once I regained control over myself, I found that my eyes were digging right into him.
"Sure, whatever you say," Dell finally sighs, apparently deciding to leave it alone.
I spend the next few minutes getting changed into my school uniform in silence, pushing that weird situation to the back of my mind. The dark corners of my strange head can suck that uncomfortable moment into the void for all I care. I never want to recall that terribly humiliating occurrence again. After finally getting ready for the upcoming first event – or, as ready as I can be – I signal to Dell that we should get a move on.
"You still got the recipe sheets, Kaito-kun?"
Upon hearing my friend's casual question, I send him a nod and move over to his bed for a moment. Approaching the bedside table, I shuffle through the bits and pieces before taking hold of the paper we used last night. "Got 'em," I respond, holding them up with a wave.
The bathroom door creaks open – Gakupo strolls out of the room, fully dressed this time. Restraining from rolling my eyes, I ignore the purple-haired prick and walk over to Dell instead. I hand my friend the sheets of paper, affirming that we're good to go.
"Good luck for the first event, ladies~" Gakupo's cocky words ring out from behind us. I don't even bother to look back at him. "You'll definitely need it."
Rather than using words, my middle finger does all the talking needed as Dell and I leave the room. He's only been here one night and he already knows how to get under my skin. I'll give Mahogany Creek students one thing; they're scarily good at analysis. That's why trying to play it cool and appearing confident will throw them off. They won't be able to read us and tell that we're terrified on the inside if we just don't show it.
There's no more time to waste on those weirdos, anyway. Time to fight with all we got.
…
Standing in front of the newly dubbed 'Baking Station', thanks to the 'genius' Ms. Yuzuki, things are just about to kick off. The cooking class in Oak Valley isn't exactly all fancy, and it isn't even all that spacious, which is why I suppose the Principal of Mahogany Creek wants to spruce things up a bit. There are plenty of tables and ovens for a fifteen-man class, but since there are two teams facing another two teams, we've been given designated corners while a bunch of students are gathered outside to watch.
The scent of the wood furnished counters is always the same. Refreshing but overpowering, especially when anxious. Normally there'd be the scent of freshly baked bread clashing with everything else, but not this morning. It's about 11am. Mr. Hiyama has given us only one hour to get everything done. I guarantee I'm going to be running about like a headless chicken at this rate.
Scanning my eyes over the room, I take note of which team stands where, and properly take in their appearances. My friends and I are in the top left corner of the room; Lily and her followers are opposite us over on the right. Directly on the other side of the room to us, I can see Gakupo and three other unfamiliar students. A boy and a girl with the same shade of light blonde hair, who I can only assume to be twins… And another girl with bright green short hair, who's currently chatting to Gakupo while twirling a lock around her fingers.
Gulping, I quickly set my sights on the group opposite Lily's. Their backs are turned so I can't really make out their faces, but there's a girl with dark blue hair, sort of similar to mine. Standing in the middle are two more girls: one with bobbed purple-ish hair with two long strands running down her back, and the other with about the same length hair, only hers is a much darker shade. Finally, there's one more girl with light purple pigtails. They don't look as cold and standoffish as Gakupo's group, but they certainly don't look like they're about to go easy on us.
"Alright everyone," Mr. Hiyama speaks up, in a loud enough voice to catch our attention. "Please make your way to the counters next to us and take the ingredients you need."
"Ah-ah, don't forget! It's called the 'Food Frenzy Station'!" Principal Yuzuki corrects him, wagging her finger. She is the exact opposite of Mr. Hiyama, which is indeed an odd thing to witness. She's bright and cheery, and it makes me wonder why that attitude isn't projected onto her students.
"Ye...yes, the, uh… 'Food Frenzy' Station, indeed." Coughing awkwardly, it appears he doesn't know how to respond to that.
"You all know the drill?" Neru double checks our game plan, in a quiet enough voice so that no one else but our group can hear.
"Mhm," Miku softly says, giving a nod.
That's right, a sort of plan was devised last night. To make things easier on us, we each agreed to grab one type of food group each. Neru will be taking things like rice, noodles, potatoes and small bottles of spices. Dell should be taking one half of the vegetables we need, while I'll be taking the other half – last but not least, Miku is in charge of the meat and fish. This should make the whole process a lot easier for us.
When Mr. Hiyama allows us to move, we put the plan into action. There is indeed quite the variety of delicious fresh ingredients all stacked up on the counter, sorted into an ordered line. I don't think I've even seen half of the things lying there, but I grab whatever I can. The brightest veggies are easy to spot; I take peppers, different shades of lettuce and cabbage, carrots and pretty much whatever else I can carry.
It takes around five minutes for each group to take what's needed. Now that we're almost ready, I can feel the pressure building. When I take my final trip to the ingredients counter, I can't help but notice that Fukase is holding the same kind of ingredients in his arms as me. Raising a brow, I wonder if I should be concerned about this or not.
Letting out a huff, I shake my head and decide not to make a big fuss over it, nor do I make eye contact with the red-head. I return to my friends and we swiftly rearrange ourselves to spread around the counters, each of us taking one of the four sections to the table. This way, we'll have our own individual space and won't be getting in each other's way during cooking. Although, looking down at my individual space, there's a whole bunch of things in front of me. I don't know where to start first.
"Alrighty kids, time to get ready!" Ms. Yuzuki enthusiastically belts out, which slightly startles me, since the room had been mostly silent. I turn my head to look over at the teachers, seeing that they're setting up a timer now. "Good luck to both teams! Remember to do your best and don't worry!~" Easy for her to say, she just has to watch.
With that, she pulls her hands back from the timer and pops the trigger on a toy gun which shoots out a mini flag with the words 'GO! GO!' printed onto it. Some kind of kiddie music begins to blast out through the speakers – must be some sort of motivational bullcrap. That's incredibly distracting, but alright.
I turn back to my friends; Neru is already holding back a derisive laugh.
"Man, she's totally lost it…!" the tomboy hisses under her breath, cracking up.
"You'll pop a vein if you try to hold your laughter back," I casually remark, noticing how red her face is becoming.
"Come on, it's time to focus, guys." Miku attempts to take control of us while we goof around, a stern look on her face. She can be serious when she wants. It's wise to listen to her.
"Yeah, c'mon," Dell is in agreement.
Neru finally releases the breath she's been holding in, sighing heavily. The giggles must've spared her, for now. "Alright, alright. I'm gonna make some kick-ass sweet balls!" she proclaims.
This draws the attention of Principal Hiyama, as he yells out. "Neru Akita, none of that foul language in this classroom!"
"Wh- But- Not like dudes' balls!" Her protests only dig her deeper into the grave…
"Enough!" He gives a final warning, bellowing in a much more fearsome tone. The girl instantly zips it.
Some quiet laughter comes from the right side of the room. I don't even need to look to know who's making fun of Neru this time. Slowly shaking my head, I turn my attention back to the recipe and ingredients. Okay, time to do this.
Scanning my eyes briefly over the recipe, I make a grab for the bottle of oil first. The pan has already been set up on the hob, so all I have to do is turn on the heat and pour in the oil. Easy enough, right? I tut lightly to myself, thinking this'll be easy-peasy. Now, the recipe doesn't exactly specify which heat to use, so… "Hmm," I hum, leaning down slightly to get a closer look at the settings. I spin the dial to a setting which I believe is good enough, nodding in affirmation to myself.
Looking to my friends, I firstly notice that Neru is having one hell of a good time. She's wrist deep into a bowl of what appears to be the rice dough mix, her fingers covered in white powder, and her tongue stuck out in full concentration mode. Dell is less energised and rather more precise, carefully cutting some tofu into squares. Finally, Miku appears to be the most relaxed out of all of us. She's engrossed in her own little world of chopping with an array of bright vegetables and peeling some shrimp.
I'm somewhere in the middle of being slightly precise and focused. It's hard to carefully aim my knife at the smaller ingredients, worrying I'm going to accidentally chop a finger off or something. Slowly, I'm able to form a pile of onion pieces, garlic and ginger. Pouring the oil into the pan at last, I'm met with a pleasant sizzling sound, so I toss the onion and garlic in, which intensifies the sizzling. The room is starting to get hotter and hotter by the second, as one by one more pans are turned on. This stupid music beeping away in the background isn't helping.
I scan through the recipe again, catching sight of the instruction to chop up the carrots, green beans and cabbage. Groaning lightly, I begin to do so. This is so much more work than I first anticipated. All sorts of smells are already hitting my nose, which must be from the Mahogany Creek students. It's hard to deny they're probably way better at cooking than us. Let's hope I don't make a fool of myself.
…
The overwhelming stench of something burning fills my nostrils, and probably everybody else's, as well. I am a flustered, hysterical laughing mess when the principals of both schools start off with me and my friends to judge. Smoke spews out of the pan in front of me. "It's okay, Kaito-kun. It was your first real try..." Miku tries her best to reassure me in a low whisper.
I'm not the only one who's failed miserably, though. Neru's dessert is half-brown from too much time in the pan, except instead of being embarrassed and owning up to her mistake, she's acting as though there's something wrong with the oven.
Clipboards at the ready, Ms. Yuzuki and Mr. Hiyama approach Miku's bowl first. Her rainbow stir-fry has come out perfectly. The 'rainbow' part certainly stands out; the aromatic scents battle with the burning stink in the air. There are also some noodles piled into the bowl, mixed in carefully with shrimps. The teachers take some chopsticks and prod them into the bowl, pulling out strands of noodles, shrimps and some vegetables. Their eyes light up after swallowing.
"Excellent work, Miss Hatsune," Mr. Hiyama nods in approval, filled up with obvious pride. "I told you this one wouldn't disappoint, Ms. Yuzuki."
"Ooh, indeed, indeed!" The woman happily agrees. Well, at least our principal sung praises for some of us. "Now, what do we have here?"
I gulp, realising they're coming straight to me next. Don't panic, Kaito. The chicken is only a little bit burnt. Well-done, that's all. "Uhh… I have some manchow soup with chicken," I answer, playing it as cool as humanely possible. They might be able to see the sweat pouring down my face, however.
The two teachers exchange unimpressed glances. I sink down, disappointed in myself. They hesitantly dip their chopsticks into my bowl of soup, pulling out some green veggies that were once bright but now dull. Ms. Yuzuki has a subtle grimace pull at her face, only for a split second, but long enough for me to take note of. That can't be good. "Hmm, yes… W-Well, that should do. Thank you, Kaito."
"H-Huh?" My eyes widen in disbelief. They only had one tiny bite…!
They move onto Dell, who receives some average praise for his pan-fried vegetable dumplings. They find that a couple of them are soggy rather than crispy, which they don't hesitate in pointing out. Then they move onto my dear friend Neru. The way she worked for the past hour was with nothing but confidence, excitement and all that crap. Even though she knows it's mostly all burnt, she presents them with a wide grin.
"Are these… some sort of chocolate…?" Ms. Yuzuki treads lightly, not wanting to hurt the girl's feelings. She pokes her chopsticks against the dessert ball. It jiggles in discomfort. I know the feeling.
"Say what?" Neru blinks in confusion. "No, no. These are colourful sweet rice balls. Look, see how that one's pink?" She points toward one of the balls, which sure enough looks kind of pink, but mostly charred.
Mr. Hiyama lets out a lengthy groan. "I see. Thank you for trying, Miss Akita." The two teachers scribble down some notes for a couple of moments, before shaking their heads and moving over to Gakupo's team.
"Well, shit," Dell quietly hisses, once they're out of ear-shot. Lily and SeeU are over at the other side of the room, grinning devilishly from ear to ear.
Neru lightly slams her palms against the counter, a scowl plastered on her face. "Those peppy bitches are loving every minute of this," she growls in disgust.
"D-Don't worry, everyone..." Miku softly smiles. "I made plenty stir-fry for all of us. And they didn't even bother to try Kaito-kun's soup… I'm sure it tastes just fine. We still have a lovely meal prepared."
Miku's words always make me feel better. "She's right. It's better to stay positive anyway," I shrug. Sure, part of me wants to be more optimistic… But I really don't hold any faith at all in Lily and her friends to pull this off for us.
"Oh, this is rather strange." When Mr. Hiyama's puzzled statement is heard, everyone in the room turns to look right at him. The two teachers are sort of blocking the way, but once they shift aside for everyone else to get a glance at, it's as clear as day.
"What the hell kind of sick joke is this?" Neru is the first to break the silence.
I don't believe this. No, I literally cannot believe this. The twins have presented a flawless bowl of rainbow stir-fry and manchow soup, bearing innocent, proud smiles. The green-haired girl is happily holding out a pyramid stack of bright, perfectly shaped sweet rice balls. And Gakupo himself is the one who's showing off his fully crispy vegetable dumplings. I'm gobsmacked, not knowing how I'm supposed to react to this.
"I could ask you the same thing..." Gakupo glares over at our group. "Akita, right?"
"You totally ripped off our ideas!" Dell throws out the accusation, sparking a defensive reaction from the opposite team.
"Woah, woah. Time out!" Ms. Yuzuki holds her hand up, stopping us just before we start all screaming at each other. "Obviously, there's been some sort of misunderstanding. And while I hate to throw the blame onto your students, Principal Hiyama, I know for a fact my students would never steal a team's idea."
Oh, that is rich. I knew she must've influenced these overgrown children one way or another. Now I'm starting to see.
"O-Of course, Principal Yuzuki." Our principal rolls over like a dog and just goes along with every word she says.
"Oh dear, even our own principal is a pushover..." Miku whispers to me. I slowly shake my head, knowing exactly how this will end.
Mr. Hiyama clears his throat and heads to the centre of the room. "It appears there has been some espionage in the works, which has resulted in the theft of Gakupo's team recipe." He sends a not-so-subtle threatening glance to Neru, causing her to cover her face in embarrassment.
"H-Hold on, this isn't right…!"
"Dell-kun, what are you doing?" I immediately try to stop him from confronting the fiery dragon head-on, but it's no use.
"Please do not interrupt me, Mr. Honne." The principal is slowly approaching hardcore punishment mode, and there's nothing I can to do stop him from unleashing his full wrath onto all four of us.
"But… But there's no proof that we stole their idea!" Dell gains more confidence – a foolish thing to do, really. "And why do you automatically think it's Neru-chan that's the ringleader of such a scheme?"
"How rude," Ms. Yuzuki tuts, folding her arms over her chest. She's pulling our principal's strings, like a damn puppet. Pushing him further to give us one hell of a harsh punishment. "You won't let him speak to you like that, in your own school… Will you?"
I turn my head away from this disaster, covering the side of my face so that the other students in the room won't be able to dig their judging stares into me. My best friend is too far gone.
"Absolutely not," Mr. Hiyama huffs. The big boy pants are on now. "I will not tolerate that attitude any longer, Dell Honne. Now be quiet, before I disqualify both Oak Valley teams from the next event of today."
"What?!" Outrage immediately comes from Lily and Oliver, yelling out in unison.
"That's not fair at all! Shut your stupid mouth, Honne!" Fukase joins in on threatening the silver-haired boy.
"Yeah, don't ruin it for us just because you wanna defend your pathetic girlfriend…!" SeeU gets in the last cry of anger, before being cut short by Mr. Hiyama.
"Now! If we're done acting like children..." he starts. I lift my hand away from my face for a second just to get one look at him. He straightens out his jacket, regaining his composure.
Dell's cheeks are stained a nice pink. It seems he's tried and failed to say his piece.
"What a messy school," Gakupo remarks. Now it's his turn along with his group to have their input. That's when I notice. The entire time, that other group in the corner has been quiet. I almost forgot there was a second Mahogany Creek team, because they've literally said nothing ever since this broke out. It's kind of strange. They're just sort of huddled together, backs turned away from the fighting, appearing to be whispering amongst themselves.
"In light of this discovery of theft, I have no choice but to hand the win over to the Mahogany Creek team," Mr. Hiyama announces. I shouldn't be so stunned, because I know it had been coming, but… Damn it! This is totally rigged!
More frustration-filled sighs and grunts come from Lily and her friends; SeeU stomps her foot off the ground, turning her back away from the teachers. "Thanks a lot, thieves!" Fukase blurts out.
"Mr. Hiyama, you didn't even look at our food…!" Lily tries to catch his attention, to no avail. Her voice is painfully strained – the sickly sweet tone obviously forced. "You can't punish all of us just because some of us cheated."
Neru seems to be crushed. There's a sullen expression on her face, her eyes currently averted away from all of us.
"I'm very sorry for the trouble, Lily," Mr. Hiyama finally says, with an apologetic shrug. "Maybe next time, our two teams can communicate more beforehand. I'd hate to see this happen again. Speaking of, this event is now officially over. A huge well done to Mahogany Creek."
Gakupo's eye catches mine just as he turns around to face his team. There's that same smug look sparkling in his eyes… He's doing everything he can to get under my skin…! This can't be a coincidence. Or maybe they really did choose the same recipes as us, and since Oak Valley's principal loves to kiss ass…
"You are all dismissed. Miss Akita, Mr. Honne, please follow me to my office first."
"Ugh, fuck this..." Neru mutters under her breath, trailing after Mr. Hiyama. Dell gives us one last sigh before following the girl.
That leaves just Miku and I. This has been the worst day ever… and it's only been an hour. The students begin to make their way out of the classroom. Although I want to get in Gakupo's face and tell him off for being a dick yet again, I find my gaze wandering over to the second team of girls. There's something about them… I can't quite put my finger on.
"That was so stressful," Miku whimpers, pouting. "I hope Dell-kun and Neru-chan aren't in too much trouble..."
"Hopefully not," I sigh, lowering my eyes for a second. Oh wait, that doesn't exactly sound reassuring, does it? "I mean… I'm sure they won't be. C'mon, don't frown, Mi-chan..."
Miku attempts to smile but it looks like her confidence has been shattered. "I just… hate having these Mahogany Creek students around… They're all jerks." We're the only ones left in the classroom now.
"Tell me about it," I lightly chuckle in agreement. "How 'bout we wrap this food and place them into boxes? It'll keep it warm for when Neru-chan and Dell-kun meet back up with us."
The teal-haired girl nods in response. And with that, we begin to wrap the food up. All that's left to do is try and move on from such a horrific failure, and keep our heads high for the next event in the afternoon.
...