Chapter 75: Episode 34 - Second Round (1)
'What's with the sudden change of attitude?'
The cold look he gave me was even colder than when I first transferred here to the St. Marie Academy. His light brown eyes glared deep into my blue eyes which startled me but I regained my composure.
I'd gotten used to his cold stares but this was a bit different than usual because I could feel the tension building up in the room. Instead of shying away and forgetting what I said, I was actually starting to get annoyed.
'This little b—"
"What's with that face? It's because of that kind of attitude that you're fighting with your mother," I expressed in irritation and everybody in the room went dead silent that I thought I went deaf for a second. Andou and Hanabusa remained still like a statue and even Kashino seemed surprised at my sudden expression of annoyance.
"K-Kashino, did you have an argument with Aunty?" Andou said, trying to divulge the silence in the kitchen. "She didn't tell you to quit school again, did she…?"
'Quit—school?' At his words, I remained confused.
"What do you mean by 'quitting school'?" I asked puzzledly.
"Ah, this is super annoying—" Kashino expressed, looking down at the ground.
"You won't quit, right, Maa-kun?" Andou whined, shaking Kashino by his shoulders.
"Like I'd quit. I'm keeping my end of the deal," Kashino stated coldly and his words brought me back to his phone call I overheard earlier in the orchard.
"It doesn't matter who else is at the top if I'm still there… Who are they? Why does it matter? I've kept my end of the deal by remaining at the top. You shouldn't have any complaints…"
I also recalled the ranks of our tests that were shown on the board today when I walked with Rumi. Kashino and I both shared 1st place with the same score.
'Did his mom figure out that someone else also got 1st place?'
"End of the deal… you mean, being 1st place?" I asked worriedly.
"Kashino, wouldn't it be better if you told Michiko?" Hanabusa said, looking at Kashino who sighed in defeat.
"My family has been running a hospital for generations… My parents are against me becoming a patissier but I didn't think they'd let me go so soundly though. I managed to enter St. Marie on the condition that I'd remain 1st place until graduation," Kashino explained with an indifferent look on his face. He didn't face any of us when he talked about what he was dealing with.
"He'll have to drop out if he falls from 1st place even once," Andou added and I froze.
'Even if he drops first place once, he'll have to drop out of school?' At this thought, my mind began clouding up with concern.
'I've always been first place even at my old school, but if I had scored any higher than Kashino this time… he'd have to drop out of school…'
Fraise could see the look of concern I had on my face and she looked at me worriedly, as if reading my thoughts.
"Keiko, if you'd scored any higher, Kashino wouldn't be here. You were lucky this time," Fraise said, which didn't help me feel any better. Even in my mind, I was thanking whatever god was looking over me for this coincidence. Although Kashino was quick to annoy me with his sour mouth and uncaring actions, he's not a bad guy (I think) and he's really proficient when it comes to chocolate and desserts in general. I knew that he meant well and he was also important to us and our team. If he left, no—I couldn't imagine if any of us left.
Hanabusa glanced over at us and he could see that I stopped working as I thought about the situation.
"That's right, didn't Michiko also get 1st place?" Hanabusa asked, his bright green eyes staring right at me. Andou stopped to think for a second before adding on.
"I remember seeing the scores today as well… If Michiko had scored any higher, Kashino would have to quit," Andou said, scratching his head.
A flood of guilt began to fill my chest at their words which wasn't helping me out.
"We'll call it luck for now. But this is why I want to take the Grand Prix. Once we win Nationals and study abroad, I won't let them interfere with my dream," Kashino said confidently. His words caused me to ponder a bit more.
'This is why he's exerting so much more effort for cakes and studying as well… but this is all I'm ever used to; studying and baking… Why would he bet on his dream when the future's so unclear?'
"Why do you look so down?" Kashino asked which snapped me out of my thoughts.
"It's because… you're betting on such a dream when you don't even know what could happen in the future… If one misstep happens, you'd have to give up everything and become a doctor even against your own will," I stated, clearly bothered. "What happens if we don't win the second round or the Grand Prix altogether?"
"I thought you transferred to this school because you wanted to become a world-renown patissiere like someone you knew. What's with this negative attitude?!" Kashino expressed irritation in his voice.
"It's just that… is something like my idea alright for the second round?" I said with concern and for some reason, a smirk formed on Kashino's lips.
"That's right. Our fates are riding on your idea. Guide us to victory, L-E-A-D-E-R," Kashino said with a cold smirk, his eyes glowering down at me. At his words, it made me feel even more pressurized than before.
'Everybody's fates and dreams rely on me… What happens if I fail? No—I just have to work even harder!'
"Let's keep working," I said, trying to get us back on task.
We continued working until we made a sample. It was a chocolate petal sphere that was hiding the small red and white strawberry cheesecake and heart macarons on the inside with other little fruits garnished on top. We undid the chocolate petals to reveal the goodness in the center and we began tasting it, but I could already tell there were multiple things wrong with it.
"There's only the taste of strawberries and it's pretty dense," Hanabusa stated.
"I feel the same way. Although I mixed the cake with some apples, I want another impact," Andou said in disappointment.
'They're right, this is still pretty weak. What should we do?' I put my hand to my chin and began thinking.
"Let's try changing the texture of the cheesecake, like into a mousse," Kashino suggested and we all agreed, starting anew and making adjustments to better the dessert.
'At this point, we have no choice but to do this blindly… but we have to do well in this, not only for the eaters but to honor my mom and dad's special dessert.'