Donut Holes (1)

Chapter 109: S2 Episode 10 - Donut Holes (1)

As instructed, both teams had changed into their chef jackets and awaited further instructions. We stood in front of the crowd of children who looked excited to be getting free desserts.

As I looked at them, I had a bittersweet smile because I was reminded of those two boys at home who were around their ages as well.

'I wonder how Haruto and Eiji are doing at home. I hope I can see them soon and tell them all about what their sister is doing at her new school.'

"To the children here today, do you like cake?" Chairman Moriyama, who was now dressed as Santa Claus (with the beard and everything), asked the enthusiastic children.

"WE LOVE CAKE!" They responded together as if they were in a cult.

"All the older sisters and brothers at this school are people who make cakes. They're aiming to be patissiers. Since today is Christmas Eve, these older brothers and sisters will be making cakes for everyone!" Chairman Moriyama said as multiple teachers readied long tables full of piping bags, baked cake sheets and cupcakes, candies, chocolates, and so on—in front of both teams.

'We're going to be piping and decorating live?' I asked as they brought out tables full of materials for us to use.

"Students, if you need more materials, you are free to go into the cafeteria's kitchen to fetch them," the chairman instructed as we walked up to our workstations.

Coincidentally, I stood next to Tennouji Mari who had a serious look on her face that seemed confident. So I thought that if she was confident, I should be too.

'Remember how mom always made children and adults alike smile when she made cakes for them. Everything will be alright, just try your best to please the consumer and make sure that they can smile their happiest smile when they eat my desserts. Here we go.'

"Alright! Let's begin! Hohohoho!" Laughed Chairman Moriyama.

Immediately, the kids ran up to our workstations after being let loose like animals in the wild.

"Sis, make me a strawberry cupcake!"

"Me too!"

"Me, me! I want a chocolate cake!"

"I want a banana chocolate cake!"

Children crowded around both teams who were quickly getting into the swing of things. We quickly did our best to produce sweets for the children and listen to their wants.

As the piercing pain in my stomach faded away once I began moving around, I swiftly jumped on to making a strawberry cupcake for the first child who wanted one. I grabbed a baked strawberry cupcake, piped cream on the top, and decorated it with sliced strawberries.

"Here you go, enjoy!" I said to the kid who was amazed at my speed.

"Wow, you're quick! Thank you very much, Sis!" The child said with a bright smile and took her strawberry cupcake away to eat.

"Can I get a strawberry shortcake?" Another child asked me and I nodded my head with pleasure.

"Of course, please wait just a moment," I explained as I had cake sheets already prepared by the teachers. I began piping whipped cream in between each layer and put sliced strawberries in between them.

Making a three-layered cake with cream and strawberry for the filling, I quickly decorated the outside with more whipped cream, using my cake spatula to make the outside look neat. I then began piping dollops of cream on the top border of the circular cake, adding whole strawberries just inside to fill the middle. Cutting a slice of the cake and putting it on a small plate, I offered the strawberry shortcake to the child.

"Here you are! Please enjoy it!" I said.

"That was soooo quick! Thank you!" The kid complimented after receiving their cake and ran off to their parents to eat with them.

Just right next to me, Tennouji Mari was moving at the same pace as I was and we both delivered desserts one after another. Honestly, it was hard to tell who was quicker or better than the other.

In a sense, we were evenly matched.

Though this wasn't bad, it only felt *okay* to me because I believed that if I were to surpass Tennouji Mari, I'd have to push myself even harder to become better and quicker at cake making and decorating. Though she was my friend that I met earlier when I entered the academy, she was also my rival. I just wouldn't allow myself to match up against my competitor. I needed to be better.

"Excuse me, but can you make me donuts?" A young girl with short black hair asked me.

She was cute and appeared to be around 5 years old. But I was a bit confused about her request.

'Donuts? All I have are cake sheets and cupcakes. It'll also take a while to make donuts because the dough needs time to rise.'

"Sorry, but I don't think I have the materials to make it for you," I said back to her but I could only see disappointment in her dark eyes which made me falter.

"Oh, is that so…" The girl said sadly before hesitating to speak again.

"M-mom and I always used to make these small donut holes whenever she got out of the hospital… but it's been a while since I ate them so I was wondering if you could make it for me…"

The look in the girl's eyes seemed so distant when she explained it to me. I didn't know how to react at first but I could tell that it was a sensitive topic that was hard for a young girl to say. From the gaze in her eyes, I felt kind of bad for her since I couldn't really do much in the situation, at least, that's what I was thinking.

'From what I recall, didn't she say *small donut holes*? If they're donut holes, then they won't take too long to make! Donut holes aren't as needy as regular donuts since they don't need yeast or any time to rise.'

With that, I concluded my thoughts.

"If they're donut holes, I could give it a try if you'd like," I said as I bent my knees down to reach eye level with the little girl.

"R-really! Yui would love that—"

"—Y-Yui! What are you doing?"

A tall adult man that looked similar to the young girl hurriedly rushed up behind her.

"Y-Yui was j-just asking if Onee-san could m-make... Momma's d-donut holes…" Yui responded carefully as if she was ready to burst out in tears.

"*sigh* Geez, Yui. We already tried but we couldn't even make it ourselves. What makes you think they can make it?" The father seemed a bit frazzled and stressed out as he pulled his daughter back away from my workstation and back to his side.

"B-but I just wanted to taste Mommy's donuts again…" Yui's lips were beginning to tremble as she spoke and I could see her fidgeting with her frail little hands.

"Is there a problem here, sir?" I asked the father who sighed at his close-to-crying daughter.

"I'm sorry, I meant no offense to you. It's just that… *sigh* her mother passed away due to an illness."

I analyzed his daughter beside him who was doing her best to hold back her tears. He continued.

"I tried making it with my daughter but she said that it didn't taste right even though I did my best to recreate it."

"Did her mother have a recipe? I could try to recreate it for her," I suggested to him but the father slightly nodded his head.

"Yeah, she had one written down but my daughter still claims that it doesn't taste the same when I followed all of the steps. Even if Yui made it with her mother, I believe you'll have a difficult time trying to make it just as my wife had. I wouldn't want you to stress over this trivial thing," he explained but I remained neutral as he spoke.

I was practically stressed about everything going on in life, so what difference does it make to add more to my list of problems?

"Yui, do you know how to make them?" I asked the small girl who looked at me shyly. Her lips stopped trembling but she continued to fidget with her fingers.

"Momma passed away a few years ago so I can only remember a few things she did and the taste, but I-I also forgot a few things…" She sadly said, drooping her head down as she remembered the memories she spent with her mom.

'Poor thing… I can relate to losing someone dear to me who always made me desserts as well. If her father couldn't successfully make it for her, then it would be an unforgettable taste… Wait. What if she leads me through what she remembers her mother did?'

An idea struck my mind and I crouched down to speak to the small girl.

"Yui, would you mind if we made it together then? If I can remake it, then I can tell you what your mother did so you always know how to make the dessert your mom made. Is that alright?" I asked her with a friendly smile and she nodded her head energetically.

Then, I turned my head to the father who was looking at our exchange.

"Is it alright with you, sir?" I asked her father and he hesitantly nodded his head in response.

The girl's tension eased when I got the okay.

"Will you? Thank you!" She smiled brightly and I stood back up again. Giving in to his daughter's pleas, he dug through his pants pocket to hand over a white paper sheet filled out with a simple recipe.

I received the recipe and took a gander at it to know what ingredients I needed.

"Alright, Yui. Can you stand right here next to this boy?" I asked, pointing to a spot beside me. She followed obediently and stood next to Kashino who was to my left.

I grabbed a stepping stool for her to stand on since she was still too short.

In the recipe, the ingredients said: Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Salt, Butter, and Milk.

"Okay, just wait right here. I'm going to get the ingredients," I said as I turned away to grab some ingredients stationed in the cafeteria's kitchen.

Since it was all the way across the room, it would take me a bit to get there.