School

With a week before her first class, the time spent was rather uneventful for Kosaki. Other than getting to know Chiffon, there wasn't much else for her to do. Any attempt at trying to get to know Anadama was met with colds looks or sometimes complete ignorance. Though that was better than anytime he saw Chiffon, whom he always seemed to have a quip for.

What was really worrying her was how she was going to be able to get through this school. Would she last? Could she be kicked out? Will life be smothered in studies and mysteries? These questions were swamping her mind ever since she had gotten here. No matter what her new friend told her, nothing calmed her.

"What are you doing?" A voice broke her from her thoughts. She looked up and was greeted by the sight of Anadama. This was a surprise, considering that this was the first words he had spoken to her since moving in. Even more so that he was the one initiating the conversation.

"W-what do you mean?" He was pretty much a stranger, even if he knew her fairly well. That lack of a connection made conversation feel awkward, even just passing by there was an aura that made her feel odd around him.

"Well you got your first class tomorrow morning, yet I haven't seen you bake anything in the kitchen for practice. Do you even care about this?" He made a good point. This week she hadn't been very productive, between her anxiety and adjustment. Baking was the last thing on her mind.

"Of course I care Mr. Miyanagi..." She tried to defend herself, but he was right. Kosaki was only thinking of herself. "I'm sorry, I'll get to some..."

"Stop." He said, as she attempted to get up from her bed. "It's late, you're better off getting some sleep. You'll need it to pay attention in class."

"Ok, but w-wait..." Before she could stop him, he was already down the hallway. What he did was odd to her. Why would he care about making sure she was preparing properly. After what Chiffon told her, it seemed that he didn't care about anyone but himself. He seemed rather mysterious in his acting, with the conflicting stories about him, as well as her own experience. Still though, this wasn't the time to think about that. He was right, she needed her rest to make sure she was at top form. Feeling already exhausted, drifting off to sleep was no problem for her.

The next morning, Anadama's alarm clock woke him. By this time, the students should have already left for school. Usually he would wake up this early, but today was different. Today was going to be a major test in the students skills in baking, with the exception of the new girl. He slowly took a shower and got dressed, there was still plenty of time for the boy.

Walking down the stairs, an aroma of breakfast entered his nose. That was always going to be a feeling he never failed to take in. Seeing in the kitchen, his butler was at work cooking up breakfast, but on the table was a prepared meal for him.

"Thanks for break… That's odd, George you know I prefer my eggs sunny side up."

"I didn't make that, master. The new young lady did, Ms. Onodera." Placing his hand over the food proved that to him. It felt cold, obviously she made it before leaving for class. Too bad that she didn't know when he would awaken from his slumber. "If you'd like, I can make you some breakfast.

"That won't be necessary." He picked up the plate, sliding the eggs down into a new pan, while tossing the toast and bacon in the microwave. "No point in wasting the food now."

"Yes, you're right. That was a nice thing to do, don't you think?"

"Of course, but if she thinks that sucking up to me is changing anything, she's insane."

"That should come as no surprise." George remembered the conversation he had with her about that early in the morning…

"Miss, you realize that doing that won't make him like you."

"Of course, I don't expect someone to like me just because I do nice things for them. He deserved it because of what he told me last night. I need to stay focused if I want to succeed, but I don't care if he spends the rest of his life showing me disdain. I'll still do this." Those were the words that Kosaki told him before she left.

"Too bad that won't change much." He muttered to himself. The microwave rang, signaling its job finished. While the eggs were sizzling, Anadama grabbed out the plate and already starting chowing down on his toast. "You really mustn't eat while you're cooking."

"I've never burned this place down, so I think I know what I'm doing." He replied, mouth full.

"And please don't talk while you're chewing, I'd hate to have your germs getting on my food."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

"Though I have to ask, you sound in a better mood than usual."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Well you're much more talkative for starters, maybe it's because you're cooking, or maybe..."

"It's not like I'm happy she made me breakfast!" He responded, defensively.

"Well I was going to say had a good night rest. But if that's the case, then I should ask her to make breakfast more often."

"I didn't mean it like that." Flustered, he scooped up his finished eggs and plopped them onto his plate. Bringing it to the table, George had also finished cooking and placed his meal down as well.

"I don't know why you need to act like that towards the students, I don't see you doing that to anyone else."

"You can thank my father for that." Sarcasm dripping from his words. "All he ever cares about is the school nowadays. The only times he even notices me is when he needs me to test the students, like today."

"You know that after your mom..."

"That doesn't mean that he should just abandon his son like that!" He shouted, then paused. "Sorry, I just, I prefer not to think about it."

"Like father, like son." George quietly commented.

"Oh no!" Anadama suddenly shouted, the surprise nearly knocked the butler off his chair.

"What in blazes are you yelling for now?!"

"If I don't leave now, I'll be late." Looking at the clock, he was due in less than half an hour. Jumping off his seat, he rushed out the door, grabbing his keys and wallet before slamming the door.

"I swear he never looks at a clock until it's too late." George said to himself. Looking at the mess left behind, a mess that he was going to have to clean up. "Always leaving me with the mess I see." Once he got his helmet on, Anadama hopped onto his bicycle. Speeding off as fast as was humanly possible. With luck, traffic should allow him to make it without delay. At the school, Kosaki was getting acclimated with her new environment.

She had left early in the morning with Chiffon so that the latter would be able to give her a tour of their classroom. The school itself wasn't very large, not compared to the much bigger colleges located nearby. Of course, it also enrolled significantly fewer students in comparison. There were a few tables for the students to sit at to listen to the instructor, but that was not the main emphasis on this school. Instead it was the kitchen that was a sight to behold. Its size was only the first thing that would be noticed by outsiders. Upon closer inspection, it had the most advanced feature to make one's baking potential shine in full display.

"Wow, this is the school I'm going to be spending most of my time at?" Kosaki was amazed at what she was seeing. It made her forget her concerns for the time.

"Pretty much, but we don't spend that much time learning in class. That's not the style Mr. Miyanagi teaches."

"What do you mean? What's his teaching style?"

"Well because he has to spend so much time outside of the school for his profession. He actually has monthly tests that challenge our skills to see where we are in our development."

"That's sounds pretty hands-off."

"It may sound strange, but as a student, believe me when I say that I think that it really works! I've learned so much, and I've probably only spent a few hours in the classroom taking notes."

"Wow." She admired her friends confidence. She clearly had been here for a while now. "So I'll see him today, since it's a test day."

"He's usually here for testing, but not today. Sorry."

"What do you mean he won't be here for the tests." This puzzled her. How would he grade them if he wasn't here to try out their recipes.

"Even when he is here, he's not the one handing out the grades and recommendations. That honor goes to his son."

"Anadama!?" She couldn't believe it, after what she's seen from him. She was certain that she'd fail.

"Relax, I admit I'm not what you'd call the biggest fan of him. He's a jerk, but he's also fair when it comes to giving us feedback."

"Really? He's not biased at all?"

"Trust me, he isn't. I have perfect scores from him, and I'm pretty sure he hates me the most." Seeing the time, Chiffon knew that it was getting close to when their test would begin. "And it looks like it's time for me to get another." She skipped over to her station and started to set up her ingredients.

"May I help?" Kosaki asked, she enjoyed her friend's company. In this strange place, she was going to need new companions.

"I'd hate to say it, but you can't. We have to do these tests on our own, otherwise we're not really proving anything." Kosaki understood. That would be like working with someone else during an exam in regular school. Why would it be any different here? "Sorry about that. I guess you'll have to wait by the front entrance. This will take a while." She nodded. Bidding her friend a farewell, she left the kitchen and went outside. It was a beautiful warm day, waiting would be much more bearable there.

Here she was also able to collect her thoughts, really let herself sink in her situation. At least as best she could with the sounds of traffic whizzing by. Looking at the road, she saw a familiar figure across the road. Getting up to get a closer look, she saw that it was Anadama. He was on his bike, waiting for the light to change so that he could cross. Something seemed to catch his eye, as he moved over towards his right. There was an old lady, carrying a few bag. It looked like he was talking to her for a little bit, then he took her bags.

"He's helping her?" She watched as the person that acted so coldly to her and Chiffon commit an act of kindness. She knew this wasn't an act, some ploy to look good. Because who would he be looking good for? From this distance, she could get a clear look at his face, but she could have sworn he was smiling. When he was finished, looking distressed, he rushed across the street and through the entrance way. Going past her, not seeing as she hid around the corner.

She wasn't sure why she did that. It would have been easier to show her presence. It's not like he would have done anything bad. What he did, reminded her of someone that she cared deeply for. Either way, he certainly was an odd person, but now that he was here, she knew that their test was about to begin. After about an hour of waiting. Her friend went out and got her, At this point, she was really glad it was over. She was falling asleep from the wait. Once inside, the kitchen had every sign of the baked good that filled it.

"Wow! This is what you guys made?" There were many different cakes and treats that appeared before her. It all looked delectable.

"It's a good thing you're impressed, I hope he feels the same." Chiffon responded, not sounding as confident as she did earlier. "Today we're being tested on design and presentation."

"Is he not going to eat them then? Seems like a waste."

"Well you can't expect him to eat all of this, we just bring it home when it's over." She explained more about how these tests are conducted. They usually only had two class sessions a month, that emphasized what the goals were and had an example made by the teacher to demonstrate. As she explained, Anadama walked up to her station.

"Well it looks like you can teach the new girl, now let's see if you've learn anything since you joined." Her project was rather large, being a replica of the eiffel tower. The twist being that each section was created using different styles of breads that she had made and eaten throughout the years. "Oh look, another french thing." He was amused at the inspiration of the main frame. "That said, nice job with the usage of different bread styles, I can tell that you know them from experience. It shows that bakers mark my father's always bragging about." Then he grabbed on of the pieces that was supporting the entire thing. Yanking it.

"What are you doing!?" Kosaki screamed out, but to her surprise, it didn't fall.

"And you've done a good job balancing the weight so that sudden, 'incidents', don't ruin it." He explained. The rest of the student looked at Kosaki due to her sudden outburst. She could only cover her face, burning red with steam coming from her head from the embarrassment.

"Well then, I guess that's everything?" Chiffon asked, glowing with pride.

"Yep, well congrats yet again. Another perfect score. You really are the star of this class." Looking at the rest of the class, he gave a look of dread of what to come next. As he left to the next one, the girl continued their conversation.

"Nice job." Kosaki congratulated.

"That's odd, usually he has a quip to say about my stuff before leaving."

"Oh yeah, and another thing." He stopped and turned to her. "Next time, can you make something that doesn't scream 'I'm French'. I swear everyone here is so stereotypical."

"And there he goes again. What a jerk."

"I don't think he's that bad." She defended.

"Kind of odd for you to defend him. He hasn't soft on you either."

"Well he's not as bad as you put him out to be. I even saw him help an elderly woman cross the road before he entered."

"Ha! Are you sure that wasn't a hallucination? Maybe the coming Summer heat is playing tricks on you. From what I've seen from him, he's more likely to push her out into oncoming traffic!" Looking over at him once more. He was about finished with another student's work, pulling out one of its legs. However, unlike Chiffon's, this one toppled over. Right over him.

"Are you trying to get me killed?!" He yelled in anger. "Someone help get this off me! This weighs a ton."

"You're wrong about him." Kosaki responded. "I'll show you."