(Y/n) and Rainbow Jelly

"When you eat something good, you smile."

My prince who saved me. I'll find him here. In the school cafeteria. 

🌈

"(Y/n)'s chestnut pie! Have a bite.🩷" I presented my chestnut pie to Joey, Tristan and Yugi.

"Gladly!" Tristan replied excitedly without hesitation.

"Come ta papa!" Joey exclaimed with eagerness as his mouth watered.

"I would love to try your pie, bu--"

Yugi lets out a loud sneeze which startles me.

"Bless you!" I said to my tri-color haired friend. 

"Woah, Yug! That was some sneeze!" Joey exclaimed with wide eyes. "Ya alright?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sick and I don't feel like eating." Yugi sniffled. "I'm going back to my room."

"Yeah, you should go get some rest." Tristan agreed. 

"And don't forget to take some medicine!" I added, feeling concerned for Yugi's health.

Yugi gave me a reassuring smile. 

"Don't worry, (Y/n). I'll be fine after I sleep it off. As soon as I get better, I'll eat any dish that you make. Promise."

Yugi heads back to his dorm room. I really hope he gets better soon. I suddenly heard a few girls whisper behind my back.

"What? So she is after Yugi."

"Trying to woo him with food."

"That new student is a big faker."

I frowned sadly from hearing their words of contempt. They think I'm a big faker...

Dear Miss Hagio,

It's been a week and I found some friends. 

​​​​​​​But I still feel like an outsider in my class.

"Why don't you petty gossipers can it!" Tristan snapped to my defense. 

"I don't wanna waste good food, but if ya keep talking bad about my friend here, this delicious pie is gonna hit ya in the face!" Joey adds while holding my pie with one hand. "And I'm not talkin' about it's awesome taste!"

I quickly snatched the pie away from Joey and calmed him and Tristan down before they made the situation worst. I'm really grateful to find friends like these. Thanks to their support, I won't give up! Not until I find my Flan Prince.

🌈

After Joey and Tristan (mostly Joey) ate almost half of my chestnut pie, I went to the cafeteria and asked to work there. If my Flan Prince is at this school, then maybe I'll be able to find him in the school cafeteria. Unfortunately, the head chef rejected my request and threw me out with my pie. Now, I'm sitting alone on a bench, feeling disappointed and not knowing what to do next.

"Wow🩷 That looks good."

I raised my head and saw Anzu standing in front of me with a smile. 

"Anzu."

"I was watching you just now." Anzu said. "You want to work at the cafeteria?"

"Yeah." I stood up and scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. "The head chef rejected me, though."

"Ya know, there's another cafeteria called Fujita Diner on the west side."

"Fujita Diner?"

How come I've never heard about that diner until now?

"Maybe you can help there."

"Really!?" My eyes lit up.

"Hold on. Let me draw you a map." Anzu writes down a map on a piece of paper and gives it too me.

"Anzu, you're so nice." Tears of joy welled up in my eyes. I was so touched by Anzu's kindness. 

"Friends should help each other, right?" Anzu beams at me with a friendly smile. "Just follow the map and you'll reach the Diner in no time."

"Thanks, Anzu."

I gave my friend a hug and ran in the direction to the Fujita Diner with my chestnut pie. 

🌈

I followed the map that Anzu provided me and made it to the Fujita Diner. However, I was completely speechless by the state of the building in front of me. It looked so worn out. When I entered the Diner, it was worn out in the inside, too. I jumped when I saw something move at one of the tables. A man sits up and rubs his head. He has dark hair, has a cigerate in his mouth, and is wearing a bandana on his head. Unfortunately, he's also wearing a chef's uniform. 

"Who's there?" The man yawned. "A customer?"

"Um, no, I, um..." I started to shuffle back.

The place is shabby, the chef is lazy and looks unkempt... I can't work here... but then I stopped in my tracks and thought for a moment. There's no other cafeteria... If I can get the students to come here...

"Please let me help!!" I exclaimed. 

"Help? You can't without the director's approval."

"I'll get approval later. I'll do anything! Please!"

I lowered my head and closed my eyes tightly. I braced myself to be refused for the second time. Luckily, he takes a bite of my pie with a fork and smiles.

"Hmm. Okay. Then let's see what you can do."

"Really?" I grinned from ear to ear. 

"First, let's have you wash dishes." The chef tosses the fork he used into a pile of dishes in the sink.

I stared at the heap of dirty dishes for half a minute, completely dumbfounded, before getting to work.

"What the heck!?" I cried out. "How did you get so many dishes piled uo?"

"I wonder.🎵"

That lazy chef is reading a news paper and smoking while I'm the only one that's working! Maybe I didn't think this through. It's obvious that he's just using me.

"A customer is coming. So hurry."

I beamed when he said a customer will be here.

"Huh? You get students here, too?"

"Yeah. Every day at six."

I quickly finished washing the dishes. The bell hanging on the door chimes, indicating that a student showed up. The student turned out to be none other than Atem! And he's holding a couple folders, too.

"Here." My boss gives me a tray with one cup of coffee and a sugar cube.

"What!? Only coffee?! There's no menu?" I asked in shock.

"It's fine." He waves me off. "He doesn't order any food."

Atem doesn't order any food? At all? I should ask him myself then. I walked over to Atem and placed the cup of coffee next to him on the table.

"(Y/n)!?" Atem was surprised to see me to say the least. "Why are you here?"

"I'm going to be helping out here." I replied. "Although it's still a trial period."

"Helping out...?" Atem stared at me as he sweat-dropped. 

"Um..." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "I don't have any skills other than cooking. And I'm not fitting in with my class. So I wanted to be useful to the school. That's why."

I'll keep the truth a secret.

"I see..." Atem takes a sip of his coffee.

"Atem, did you want something in particular to eat? It's dinnertime." I flexed one of my arms. "I'll make you anything."

"No thank you. I have this."

Atem pulls out Iron and Calcium supplements. He takes three of each.

"Is that... all you take every day?"

"Yeah. I have a meeting after this. I don't have time."

"But you're here at the cafeteria."

Atem smiles sadly.

"I come here out of habit. There used to be a lot of students here. The jelly dessert was great. I used to come with Yugi when we were kids."

With Yugi...

"That would never happen now. Now... the chef's changed and there's nothing I want to eat. Besides..." He finishes his coffee. "Eating... Is a hassle." I opened my mouth to disagree, but Atem stands up from his seat and puts the sugar cube in my mouth. "But... you said you don't belong in the special class, but... you can cook so well. You're amazing." Atem caresses my face and I blushed. "You need to be more confident."

I watched Atem leave with the folders he brought. He looked so sad when he talked about how the Diner used to be. My thoughts were disturbed when the chef spoke.

"Hey. Wake up! You need to make a delivery."

"Delivery!? You do that, too?"

"Yugi Muto. Dorm room 305."

"Yugi... that's right... he said he wasn't feeling too good.

🌈

Once I've made it to Yugi's dorm room, I knocked on the door and he said it was open. I poked my head out and saw Yugi sitting on his bed without a shirt on. We both screamed and blushed bright red.

"W-wha... what are y-you doing here?" Yugi stuttered out after I exited his room and quickly closed his door. "Wh-where's Mr. Fujita!?"

"I just started helping out at Fujita Diner." I managed to say despite the embarrassment I was feeling. 

After Yugi puts on a shirt, I re-entered him dorm room and give him the okayu he ordered.

"How's your cold?" I asked Yugi as he started to eat his food.

"Good. I took some medicine, got some rest and got better." Yugi smiled.

That's good to hear.

"But aren't you lonely when you're sick?"

"Yeah, I was. I had to keep myself quarantined so I wouldn't get anyone sick."

"Then..." I thought for a moment. "Why don't you have... Atem come keep you company?"

Yugi spat out his food as soon as I said that.

"Yeah right!" He snapped. "I'd rather die than have him over!"

I was shocked by Yugi's response. He's mostly nice, but when Atem is around, he becomes rude and resentful. 

"Why? You guys are brothers."

"It doesn't matter. He's a traitor. You wouldn't understand."

Why? They're brothers... they're family. So, why aren't they getting along? It's true that I don't understand the full story between them, but there is no way I'm going to let their relationship stay like this.

"Yugi!" My spikey haired friend almost choked on his okayu. "Remember when you promised to eat whatever I make earlier today? Come to Fujita Diner at six tomorrow! I'll treat you to something that's good for your cold. Okay? Don't break your promise!"

I immediately left without hearing Yugi's response. 

🌈

I worked all night to rearranged the place to look like my home in Hokkaido. The next day, Me and Serenity waited for Atem and Yugi to show up.

"Thanks for helping me out, Serenity." I said to my friend as I placed a cute floral center piece on a table.

"No problem." Serenity replied happily. "Tristan and my brother wanted to help too, but they were too busy."

I told Serenity that I understand and we heard Yugi and Atem arrive right on time. We welcomed the Muto brothers they both were astonished by the Diner's new look.

"This is the same diner?" Atem asked in amazement. 

"Atmosphere is key to any dining experience." I placed their dessert on the table which are covered by a cloth.

"What's this?" Yugi asked.

"A special dessert made by (Y/n) to celebrate the refurbished diner🩷." Serenity winked.

The two brothers took off the ribbon holding the cloth to reveal the rainbow jelly I made for them. I don't know what happened between them... but I hope that today... a rainbow will connect... the earth and sky.

"Rainbow Jelly. Please eat🩷" I said with a wink. "It has a lot of fruit, so there are a lot of vitamins in it. You can eat it when you're sick of if you don't have time. 🎵"

Me and Serenity watched in anticipation as the Muto brothers took a bite of the colorful dessert. 

"It's good." They said in unison as their eyes lit up.

They both gasped and looked at each other. Yugi blushed bright red and Atem smiled. 

"I thought you didn't like sweets." Atem said to Yugi with a smirk.

"You, too." Yugi added shyly.

"When we were young... you used to always take my dessert."

"Why are you bringing that up now?"

"Did you want this, too?"

"N-No!!"

I smiled as I watched Yugi and Atem get along and finish the dessert I made. Then, I remembered what Miss Hagio said to me when I was a little girl. She said, "There's magic in making food taste good. The key is... to eat with someone important."

Dear Miss Hagio,

It seems...

...that I've found my place in the academy. 

To Be Continued...