Chapter 4: Episode 2 - Excitement or Hysteria? (2)
The two boys watched me as I tried to catch a grasp on how to bake again, asking for their opinions on the smallest things. I did my best to replicate the intricate techniques my mother taught me when we baked together. Though it had been a while, it was like muscle memory to work in the kitchen.
I could still pipe cream onto the dessert quickly and concisely, though, I still needed to work on it. But the flavors I came up with are still complex yet subtle.
It had only been a few years but it feels like I haven't forgotten anything since the last time I baked.
After I finished baking and decorating my dessert, I showed it to my stepbrothers to try and gain more feedback and improve upon it.
"Onee-chan, that looks super good! Can I have some now?!" Eiji asked excitedly and I gave a small smile.
"Yeah, but let me take a picture of this first," I said, taking my phone out and snapping a picture of my cake. I wanted to take notes with the appearance to see if I could make changes next time.
"This cake is a strawberry layered cake with strawberry chunks mixed with whipped cream, three delicate and moist sponge cakes, and red strawberries to top it off."
"Wow, Keiko! That looks great!" Kaori complimented me as she stood around the kitchen island along with my dad, Haruto, and Eiji.
"Thank you," I accepted gratefully.
"I knew you could come up with something, Keiko," Dad stated and I nodded my head.
Father sneakily took out his phone to snap a picture of my cake. I noticed his strange actions and pondered upon them.
'Hmm… maybe he just wants to remember this day when I started baking again? Or could it be something else? Whatever, it's not important right now.'
"Okay, let me cut a slice for everybody."
When I cut the cake, everybody went in for a bite. The looks on their faces widened in surprise as they savored the flavor of each bite.
"The cake is not overly sweet but just right!" Dad exclaimed.
"I like how soft the sponge cake is. It's not dry but it's super moist!" Kaori assessed with her eyes closed.
"I could keep eating and eating it!" Eiji blurted as he stuffed the rest of his slice into his mouth.
"The colors of the cake aren't overwhelming but simple," Haruto viewed.
'Okay, I'm getting good feedback so far.'
I also cut myself a slice so that I could judge my cake. Partaking in the dessert, I took a small bite.
'Hmm… The whipped cream is soft and smooth so it's not stiff. The strawberries in the cake are vivid and it melts on the top of my tongue and the sponge cake is not too sweet so it's easy to consume. Overall, the flavors blend in well together. I don't know if they sensed this as well, but... it feels like there's something missing?'
Something bothered me because I just couldn't figure out what was missing. It seemed that everyone else was satisfied with it but I just couldn't help but be troubled at the thought that the cake needed something else.
I kept minor notes in the back of my head to adjust some of the proportions and measurements to make it better. But the thought of it missing something always lingered.
* * *
1 week later…
Eventually, one week passed and my family and I were on our way over to the St. Marie Academy.
The academy was located about 3 hours away from our home so we had to get up early to meet up with the judges at the school.
In the car was my father, who was driving, and Kaori who sat in the passenger seat. Both my father and Kaori took off work just so they could come and support me. Eiji and Haruto couldn't come along because they had school to go to although they tried so hard to get out of it.
Throughout the week, I had focused solely on baking. I had already completed my school work just so that I could focus more on this. I brushed up on basic information like the basic rules when baking, what ingredient works with which, and different types of recipes.
Throughout the week, my father had asked about what ingredients were in the cake that I was going to make. I didn't mind it at first because it seemed normal to ask what was in it, but something was strange—Dad took a picture of the recipe that I was going to make for the judges.
Though it shouldn't be thought much of, my father doesn't bake and neither does Kaori so why would they need my recipe and ask me all those questions?
My father had said that it was my task to come up with a recipe for this baking exam but I felt disturbed by something.
This is a prestigious school that will be testing me. It's strange because I had been told to come up with something to prepare for the judges, but I don't think it'll be that easy. If I made something that I had only been focusing on in a week, that would be too easy. If anything, they'll try to throw me a curveball to mess with me.
If you only focus on one thing for too long, you'll end up forgetting about other things when creating desserts—creativity.
The car jerked to a halt that snapped me out of my deep thoughts. Just outside the car was a grand school with an enormous black gate guarding it. I rubbed my eyes to see what was in front of me.
'So this is the St. Marie Academy?'
I was surprised to witness such a big school in front of me. It seemed more like a castle out of a fairytale because of how large it was as it was separated by divisions.
My father parked just outside the black gate and all of us got out of the car. When we walked towards the gate, it began opening up just for us.
It felt like we were VIP guests entering the school. Surely, it didn't seem like they would let outsiders in.
When we walked through the gate, a large statue (about 2 meters tall) of a woman with fairy-like wings and a huge staff with a spoon on one end and an "M" on the other, caught my attention. She looked like royalty at a glance, even if she was just a statue.
Before I could take a closer look at it, I had to catch up with my father and Kaori who were making their way to the front entrance, so I disregarded the statue and followed them.
We continued walking to the main entrance door to see a man with blonde hair to ears length and baby blue eyes waiting for us. As I saw him, my mind clicked to the familiarity of seeing him before.
I recalled that he was the guy my mom was standing next to in that picture book she showed me when I was 6. He was taught under my mom at the St. Marie Academy in France, 2 years before she had me.
'Isn't his name Henri Lucas?'