Night 16: Mizuki, Fresh Takoyaki
The Late Night Diner is a part of Rhodes Island's canteen. That goes without saying – to whom had anyone ever heard of a diner in the boiler room?
As the name implies, it opens around midnight. There are only a handful of customers at a time.
Operators off their night shift could take an order and bring back to their quarters. Night owls could sit dining-in while leeching off the Diner's wi-fi. The Doctor would come for instant noodles from time to time.
Drinks are in the cooler. Anyone burdened by their own thoughts could take one and chug it down, anytime.
Menu? No such thing exists. What the Chef prepares is what you get. It all depends on his mood of the day.
Welcome to the Rhodes Island Late Night Diner. In here, you might even meet a familiar face or two.
In the summer, the Chef would prepare street food of various nations of Terra. Operators could have a taste of leisure after work, at the same time sampling delicacies this land had to offer. Tonight he had hang a string of colourful triangle flags around the display cabinet, and on the stove were custom-made moulds. Their cream-coloured contents were sizzling in the heat.
Takoyaki was one of the most iconic street food of Higashi. The Chef was stirring the half-solid paste in the mould with two long bamboo sticks with small bells attached. The clear and crisp sound it made was both to entice customers and showing off his extraordinary skill. When the outer crust turned crispy, the ball of paste and chopped scalebass tentacles needed to be stirred frequently. With a flick of his wrist, the Chef flipped the ball, making the golden crispy side facing upward and left the other side for the flame and the heat. The ringing of the bells echoed down the hallway, luring curious off-work operators to the Diner, then making they line up before the counter with the help of hunger .
To recreate the authentic street food experience, the Chef used small boxes made with Higashi reed paper to carry the scalding takoyaki balls. Piled into the box and slathered with amber-coloured teriyaki sauce or sweet-and-sour salad dressing, it was presented to the customer with a sprinkle of bonito flakes and two tooth picks. The customer would hold the box with one hand and blowing air to cool its content down, then pick one up with the offered tooth pick and put in their mouth, risking a burnt tongue. Under the crispy skin was the soft mass combined with tender prawn meat and chewy tentacle bits. The scalding heat would make whoever sampled this treat fanning by the mouth with their hand, trying to cool it down yet couldn't wait for another bite – a common sign of takoyaki's alluring power.
"Ey boss, one order with prawn please. Also with extra bonito flakes." A customer placed his order. Bonito flakes added a brush of seaside flavour to the takoyaki balls, and pushed by the rising steam, those moving flakes would make the box of treat looking as if it had a life of its own.
"Sure. Do you live close to Section 6 by any chance?" The Chef said, picking out a few takoyaki balls and set them aside, "Someone ordered take-out over there. I can't do delivery at the moment."
The young operator took his order and said, "It's on my way back. Just leave it to me."
Chewing on half of a takoyaki ball, the operator came out of the Diner. With the plastic bag of take-out in his hand, he followed the signs on the wall and made a turn.
The inhabitants of Section 6 were mostly advanced Originium cases under observation and treatment. In the somewhat dimmed hall lights, white doors lined the corridor on both sides. Heavy shades of gloom obscured most of the rooms behind the little windows reinforced with metal bars on the doors. There was no telling what kind of creatures resided here.
It was rumoured that the "Observational" of Rhodes Island were all very strange. There were quite a few reports about them that were locked behind the highest clearance level by the order from Doctor Kal'sit. Even the operators on observation duties were either transferred out of the Medical Department, or ended up staying at Rehabilitation Centre for a long time. Many had claimed seeing monsters behind those white doors – silent monstrosities that one could not dare to make an eye contact with.
Although Section 6 in daytime was a quiet place, it was not eerie by any chance. Yet at present moment the silence made the young operator feel a chill running down his spine. He was expecting a hand suddenly burst through one of the small windows. That would at least give him a sense of relief. But the suspense lay heavy in the air, it was usually the most terrifying when nothing was happening at all
Faint sounds came from the end of the dark hallway. He could discern it as some sort of simple yet lively music, with the distinct tunes of electronic instruments. The young operator steeled himself and walked into the darkness. The music grew louder. He heard the sound effect of video games. A door appeared on his left. Kaleidoscopic of flashing colours was coming out of the small window behind the bars.
He peeked through the window and into the room. In the middle of the room was a large cathode-ray tube television connected to an old gaming console. A young boy sat cross-legged on the floor, fully absorbed in a video game of the previous generation. The operator knocked on the bars, and the boy turned towards him. Seeing the plastic bag coming through the small flap door beneath the window, the boy smiled.
What waited behind the door was not some monster the operator had imagined. He sighed in relief. "The boss said you ordered take-out. Here it is." he said and turned round to leave.
Just as he took a few steps on the way out, the boy called to him. "Wait," he said, "This takoyaki is bad. The scalebass in it was dead."
"Dead? You mean spoiled?" The operator stood confused. He know people from the Logistics. All foodstuff sent in on that day were fresh. Scalebass and fins were caught daily and prepared by canteen staff by hand. There was not a single chance that they could have gone bad.
"No, not spoiled. Dead." the boy shook his head in earnest, "There is no life inside. No nutrition at all."
Baffling, the operator thought. It was not like the cooked takoyaki balls could still have living, crawling tentacle inside them. The boy didn't say anything else afterwards, and the operator didn't want to stay anytime longer in this creepy place. So he left in a hurry.
The boy, named Mizuki, was released from Section 6 under the Doctor's authorization not long after. He could now roam freely like those of his age on the land ship. Logistic Department would sometimes assign older kids to help in the canteen, and since Mizuki was a night owl, he spent most of his time helping out in the Late Night Diner.
When the paste had taken on solid shape inside the semi-spherical mould, chopped tentacles, prawn meat and other seafood were added into it with tender green onions. It was then flipped with more paste added onto it so that it could eventually form into the shape of a ball. The Chef put aside the small bowl of paste, then glanced at the boy preparing scalebass beside him.
He didn't talk much, the boy, but had quite a concentration for his work. He pressed the still squirming tentacle on the board, and cut them into evenly sized chunks. The Chef saw in his eyes a kind of devotion that he rarely encountered. Even though he was still an "Observational" of Rhodes Island...if he would be approved to become an official operator someday, the Chef would very much like to have him assigned to the Rhodes Kitchen and in the canteen. He would train him, and one day pass down the Diner to him.
"One with tentacles, please!" a young man off his night shift leaned on the counter. He saw the boy and asked, "Ey boss, who's the kid?"
"He's here to help me out. Quite a professional, isn't he? Had the demeanour of a future chef de cuisine." The Chef handed him a box full of takoyaki balls.
"I'll bet. Though I don't think I have ever seen him at Children's Section in Medbay". The man took a bite of his food.
"He's from Section 6, I think. Doctor's orders." The Chef mentioned, busying with his work.
Section 6...hmm, I heard it before. The man thought while chewing on his takoyaki ball. Although not sure from where.
The food was really fresh today. He couldn't tell, but just for a single moment, he felt a tentacle wriggled in his mouth.