Sweets Princes (1)
Chapter 10: Episode 5 - Sweets Princes (1)
Cooking Lab 1
It was time for our cooking class, the class that counts the most toward our main grade.
I had already changed into my chef uniform, putting on a white chef's jacket, white pants, a white hat, and a red apron.
'This cooking lab is the place where I had my exam. It feels even more enormous than I remember now that most of the lights are on.'
Students were wandering around doing their own thing as I walked over to each station, observing and writing down how things worked, keeping in mind where all of the tools were placed.
"Over here, Michiko," a girl with long orange hair waved her hand over at me.
"Wow! You're super pretty!" The girl complimented me and I gave a small smile.
"Thank you," I accepted though I thought nothing of it.
"Here is where the sinks are at so you can wash your hands first."
"Oh, thanks," I said and she shot me a big smile.
"My name is Katou Rumi but you can just call me Rumi. It's nice to meet you!" She said happily.
"Nice to meet you, too, Rumi," I responded.
"It's a huge deal that Michiko was escorted by the "Sweets Princes," Rumi pointed out but I looked at her confusedly.
"Sweets Princes?" I questioned with a puzzled look on my face.
"Yeah, the three boys that walked in here with you," Rumi pointed to the three guys behind us who I realized I walked to the kitchen with. I took another glance at them.
"Hanabusa Satsuki, who's known for his splendid cakes and decorations. Kashino Makoto, the chocolate specialist. Andou Sennosuke, who's good at Japanese-style sweets. Those three… their looks and marks are top class and they are called the Sweets Princes of this academy," Rumi explained as she went down the three boys.
'So, they're a big deal at this academy… No wonder I thought they looked like princes at first.'
I was more amazed at the fact that I had already guessed their specialty just from meeting them and seeing what they did.
"Miss Michiko, come here," the female teacher of this class called out to me, waving her hand over.
"Yes, teacher," I responded readily, meeting her gaze.
The teacher had a stern look on her face when she looked at everyone. Her brown hair was tied up into a bun and she wore glasses.
Every student in the room gathered around and I could feel their eyes on me.
"You will be in Group A," the teacher stated and everybody's eyes widened in shock.
Muttering could be heard as I walked towards the Sweets Princes.
"Hey, she got to join the genius group immediately?"
"I heard that Henri Lucas was at the academy and judged her during her entrance exam, so she must've impressed him."
"If she is in group A, she must be skilled!"
"Ah, I'm jealous! She gets to be around the Sweets Princes."
Andou and Hanabusa gave me a welcoming smile yet I could sense that they were wary of my abilities. Kashino couldn't help but show his distaste for someone else entering their group.
"Please treat me well," I bowed my head to them, keeping a still face and ignoring the chatter from behind.
"Today's lesson is Mille crepe. In French, "Mille" means "a thousand" but since this is a cake, I don't expect you to make a thousand crepes and layer them. Instead, we'll go up to 20. This is a cake where cream is spread in-between the many layers of the crepe and is built up," the teacher explained at a white board, pointing out different techniques to make the crepes.
'A Mille crepe? Isn't this too simple of a task?'
With Mille crepes, in between the thin layers of the crepes is custard cream coating each sheet, stacking it up to look like a cake. This is a simple cake and isn't too hard for one to make but because the crepe is so thin, it's easy to get sidetrack and burn it.
'Regardless, I will try my best.'
When the teacher finished explaining, we all got to our stations. As I grabbed an egg, I could feel everybody's eyes fixated on me. It was weird to be stared at but I decided to pay no mind to them.
Instead of getting nervous, I wanted to be done as soon and as quickly as possible so that the attention could get off of me.
I grabbed unsalted butter, milk, eggs, flour, sugar, and salt. I got the pastry cream ingredients ready too with milk, cornstarch, sugar, whipping cream, vanilla beans, and egg yolks. I combined my dry ingredients and mixed it in with my wet ingredients to get the runny consistency of the mille crepe batter.
I heated a pan to medium-low temperature and lightly buttered the surface, ladling the mixture in. Before the pan got too hot, I quickly rolled the crepe around to cover the surface and spread it out evenly. Waiting for the corners of the crepe to curl up and turn a beautiful golden-brown color, I grabbed the edges with my fingers and quickly flipped it over. I already finished one crepe so I had 19 more to go.
"Wow, she moves so quickly yet gracefully," a kid said amazedly.
"Is she really as good as the Sweets Princes?"
Trying my best to channel out the muttering from behind, I grabbed another pan and put it on the stove, heating it up. I buttered up the pan as well so that the batter wouldn't stick.
I decided that just sticking to one pan was going to take too long so I decided to go with 2. I was confident in my multitasking skills.
I ladled in more of the batter on the two pans, eyeing each so that they would be cooked perfectly.
"She's working two at a time to speed up the process?"
5 minutes passed by quickly and I had 20 crepes in total.
I worked on my pastry cream and cut up some strawberries that I would later add to the middle of the cake.
Laying one sheet of the crepes down on a plate, I spread a thin layer of the pastry cream on top of the crepe and placed another crepe on top. I continued this process until I got to 10. Once I reached halfway, I added the cut strawberries in the middle and covered it with more cream, continuing to work until I reached the last layer. To add the finishing touches, I lightly sifted confectioners sugar on top of the mille crepe.
"I am done with my mille crepe," I announced as the teacher and my new classmates looked at me in awe.
"Already?!" My teacher said while still looking stunned. Hanabusa and Andou who worked beside me had widened eyes, though Kashino had an indifferent look on his face.
Chattering from around the kitchen began again.
"Wow, she's already done?"
"How can she move so quickly and produce something so perfectly?"
The teacher walked closer to me and analyzed the appearance and state of my Mille crepe.
She nodded her head and grabbed a knife, cutting through the mille crepe, observing the even layers, then taking a bite.
"Not only does it taste phenomenal, to be the first to finish in the class is an accomplishment. I have nothing to criticize about the taste or shape. It's perfect! Well done, Michiko!" The teacher complimented and I bowed my head down.
"Thank you for your praise, Teacher," I accepted.
Taking my eyes off of other things, I focused my attention on the three Sweets Princes who followed quickly behind.
"Kashino Makoto, mille crepe done," Kashino said confidently as "Oohs" and "Ahhs" were coming from the students' mouths.
Our teacher walked over to Kashino and observed his Mille crepe as well. She cut out a piece of his mille crepe and put it in her mouth.
"Very good also! You already have the talent to open a shop!" The teacher highly praised him as I observed the scene. "It is perfect in shape and taste."
As I gazed at Kashino, the thought that I had seen him before bothered me again and I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Right after Kashino, Hanabusa and Andou finished right.
"Andou and Hanabusa also pass! To be expected from Team A," our teacher acclaimed, approving of them. "Class, look up to Group A! This is the type of perfection and technique that I wish to see from all of you. Work hard!"
I could sense that I was receiving cold glares from a few girls in Group B.
The three Sweets Princes weren't given anything other than appreciation from everyone and affectionate eyes from some of the girls in our class.
'It was just like how it was at my old school. I guess it's inevitable...'
The cold glares I was given when I ranked at the top of my class at my old school were happening again at this one. I never talked much at school and I didn't really have friends I could talk to. I was at least hoping that this time, I could make friends…
Receiving their ruthless glares, they'd sneered at me and walked away. From a distance, scowls formed on their faces and they turned to one another.
They weren't too far away from me so I could still faintly hear them say,
"That new b*tch is an eyesore to look at."