SISTER'S WISH (2)

Study, Cook, Excercise, Spar, Sleep. This was the daily vicious cycle Gus has underwent for the past few weeks. At first, Henry was a bit skeptical about Amanda's plan to rehabilitate her older brother. He was worried as Gus' cuts and bruises were slowly piling up. Gus was not as talented as his sister, but every time Henry sees Gus' eyes burning with determination it only made him push Gus even harder.

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"Little Gus, these slices are not equal! Tell me what would happen if they are not of equal sizes!"

"It would make the whole dish cook unevenly, sir."

"Good! Then redo it all!"

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Even Amanda didn't give Gus any room to breathe at all. Once again, Amanda was able to see Gus' serious side. His eyes have said it all, every time Gus falls down on the ground, Amanda keeps hearing him mutter these sentences over and over.

"I'm no loser, I'm not a loser!"---

It pains her heart to see Gus like this. She knew very well that he doesn't have the talent for self-defense, but each time Amanda saw her brother stand up, the more she pushes him even further. Sometimes, Gus would use both of his hands and slap himself. Doing so will give him the second wind he needed, to stand right up and take a defensive stance once more.

"Gus, Let's call it a day, you can barely stand up,"

"Just one more sis, Please! I almost got the hang of it. Please! Just one more."

Even though he was not talented, his stamina, will, and determination is nothing to scoff about. Most boys of his age would have already cried from exhaustion. But Gus was different, his shortcoming is his motivation. Sometimes, his sheer will is enough to scare his Uncle Henry and his sister Amanda.

Weeks turned into months. His physique eventually improved over time. He was not a lump of Fat like he used to be. Although still "stout," his strength and stamina has obviously increased. Henry was surprised at how quickly he improved over time. Gus was already proficient at the hardest cooking techniques there is. When Henry tried to test him by letting Gus cook steaks with varying doneness.The results were simply flawless. He managed to present his Uncle with Blue steak, Rare, Medium-Rare, Medium, Medium-Well and finally, a Well-done steak.

"Uncle Henry, Don't make me do a Well-done steak ever again! Please make me cook, pork or chicken instead!"

Henry laughed at Gus' statement. It was indeed true, that most cooks hate to cook well-done steaks. The reason for this, is because that the steak has already lost most of its flavor and juices. The only reason this doneness still exists is because there are still some people who are squeamish with the sight of red juices, oozing out of their steaks.

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After his cooking lessons, It was time for Gus to spar with his sister Amanda. To challenge Gus even further, Amanda has the upper-hand of holding a rolled-up magazine to simulate an assailant with a dagger.

As Amanda raised her magazine towards Gus, he immediately parried her blow by striking her forearm with the edge of his own forearm. Then by using his same forearm, he grabbed Amanda's clothes under her shoulder. Then with a strong and smooth movement, he pulled Amanda's shoulder towards him while also pushing the magazine away from himself.

Gus quickly followed up his movement by grabbing Amanda's hand which holds the magazine, pushing it upward while holding Amanda's shoulder. He pushed down her elbow while holding her wrist, doing so will keep the magazine stay in the air while Amanda is forced to bow in a locked position. If Amanda wont drop her magazine, she will end up with a dislocated shoulder.

"Very Good! Well done Gus! you too Amanda!"

"Thank you, Uncle!" --- The siblings thanked their Uncle for praising them.

"Good job Big brother! At this rate, they're not gonna mess with you anymore!"

Gus hugged his younger sister and thanked her. Although she was really tough on him during the past few months, he knew it's all tough love from his younger sister.

"Uncle, could you take us to Fuzz E. Bear Pizza Please? Gus and I have been dying to visit that place!"

"Hrm... It's a two-hour drive to get there Little Amanda, by the time we get there, the restaurant would have closed already."

"Awww." Amanda frowned when she heard her Uncle's reply.

Fuzz E. Bear Pizza is a famous restaurant that focuses on entertainment and restaurants. The establishment serves pizza and other menu items. The establishment is then equipped with arcade games, amusement rides, and animatronic displays as a focus of family entertainment. The brand derives its name from its main animatronic character and mascot Fuzz E. Bear, a comedic bear who sings and interacts with guests.

The concept was created by a Video game aficionado who wants to breath life to a certain video game that took the world by storm. This game was an independent survival horror franchise created by Mr. S. Cawthon** that first started as a video game. A survival-horror game concept created for adults became extremely popular with the children of this generation as well. The children screamed and laugh as they die in the game. The parents couldn't understand the current generation of children, as this game would have made a world-wide scandal during their time.

The company didn't stop and focus on the entertainment aspect of Fuzz E. Bear restaurant. It seems the company has spent top dollar to hire Michelin star chefs to create the restaurant's menu. As a result, they were awarded the title of "best pizza chain" of the year.

"How about Ice cream? Your Uncle knows this very famous Ice cream parlor around here. If you guys change now, we should be able to make it."

"Okay Uncle Henry, I understand. We will go change now! come on brother!"

Amanda quickly dragged her big brother away so they could leave their house as soon as possible.

As Gus was being dragged away, he thought of an idea that would cheer up his sister. Why not make a cardboard costume of the "Mr. Fuzz E. Bear" and bake a special pizza for his sister? With his Uncle Henry's guidance on making pizza dough, it should be easy enough.

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It was three in three in the morning.

Amanda is snoring louldy on her bed after devouring a whole tub of pistachio ice cream.

Gus woke up early to fulfill his sister's wishes.

For a good thirty minutes, he made a makeshift Fuzz E. Bear costume by using the carton boxes that came with their grocery. He stitched everything together by using tape and scissors, then added the details by using colored markers. After setting the costume aside, he then proceeded to the kitchen to cook his sister's surprise.

Gus has started cooking by proofing the yeast…which means mixing together water, sugar and yeast and letting it sit until it becomes foamy and bubbly (about 5 minutes). He remembered that It's very important to use warm water, Ideally around 105 degrees F.

If the water is too warm it will kill the yeast and it won't proof (become nice and foamy and activated). It should be warm to the touch but not feel hot. Once the yeast is proofed, he then added the olive oil, 2 cups of the flour and salt. Gus started to mix everything till the dough started to form a sticky ball. Once it does, he transferred everything to a floured surface and kneaded for about 5 minutes until a smooth ball forms.

Once the dough is smooth and elastic, Gus started forming it into his desired shape. He decided to shape the pizza dough with the shape of Fuzz E. Bear's head to make it more appealing to his sister. Then, he rolled everything out on a well-floured surface until it's about 1/2″ thick.

Gus Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes in the preheated oven until it looks slightly set and a little bubbly.

After a little while, Gus noticed the pockets of air have started forming in the dough while it's baking. Gus immediately pricked the pockets with a fork to let the gas out and avoid the pizza dough to retain the shape of Fuzz E. Bear's head.

He set aside the pre-baked pizza crust and started to make the pizza sauce. With a lot of left-over ingredients from their practice, He decided to process the tomatoes himself rather using the canned ones. Gus wanted to maximize the natural flavors of his ingredients.

He started to grill the tomatoes over open fire. He waited for the tomatoes' skin to char beautifully before wrapping them in cling wrap so it can slightly cook by maintaining its current internal temperature. This process will release the tomatoes' flavors to its full potential. Its acidic taste will start to mellow out into a subtle hint of sweet and savory.

As for the dried italian spices, Other cooks would have put it straight away on the sauce. But this is not the case for Young little Gus. His Uncle Henry has taught him to toast his dried spices over a hot pan so the herbs can release it's natural oils. Doing so will take the sauce to the next level. Gus didn't stop there, he knew his little sister very well. He knows that she loves sweet foods amongst everything. So he added a bit of Banana Ketchup to the sauce to neutralize the acidity of the italian pizza sauce thus making the tomatoes release its natural sugars making it sweeter.

For the toppings, He was happy that there was still Mozarella cheese left over. He then decided to add a bit of sharp cheddar to add flavor and depth to the the mild cheese. Since there was no pepperoni slices in the kitchen, he decided to make a cheeseburger flavored pizza. Gus knows that Amanda loves a good Cheeseburger. It was his sister's second favourite food after pizza after all. He easily made a homestyle barbeque sauce, and added a bit of banana ketchup to add flavor to the ground beef which he will use as pizza toppings. After assembling everything, all he needed to do is put the pizza in the convection oven and bake it for 25 minutes.

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Morning time----

Amanda woke up to the intoxicatong smell of cheese and spices that were permeating around their house.

"Why does it smell like burgers and pizza?!"

Amanda rushed to the kitchen. She was shocked to see Gus wearing a Fuzz E. Bear cardboard costume. He was dancing around like an idiot while holding the freshly baked pizza in his hand.

Amanda laughed at Gus' horrible impersonation of the popular animatronic bear.

"Hey! I worked hard on this costume, you know?!"

Amanda hugged her older brother. She felt deeply touched knowing that her older brother loved her dearly. She knew he was only trying to cheer her up from yesterday.

"I know. Can I eat my pizza now? I'm starting to get really hungry," Amanda couldn't bear it any longer, and wanted to try Gus' home made pizza.

After taking a bite, her eyes have open wide as she tasted both her favourite foods in a single bite.

"You know, you didn't have to do this for me." said Amanda as she continued to ravage the burger flavored pizza.

"Its okay. Just let me act like a cool older brother for once."

"What are you talking about?! You are a cool older brother! You were never a loser because you never gave up! Besides, No other kid in our school can cook like you."

Those kind words has freed Gus from all of his suffering. It was as if he found the meaning to everything he worked hard for. It was at that moment that he knew, he wanted nothing more than to serve other people by using his passion for the culinary arts. He wanted to be a chef.

"Don't let anyone tell you that you are a loser. Stand tall, protect yourself, and by all means please Beat em' up, big brother! Don't let anyone get in the way of your dreams!" Amada reminded Gus once more as she finishes the whole pizza by herself.