Life is full of worries. One problem goes, and another comes.
Yeah, and right now, I'm facing one of those problems...
After Aqua promised to look into Dr. Frey's whereabouts, my anxiety eased a bit, letting me focus on school again. But whenever we try to fight life, life always seems to fight back.
And right now, this thing called school is putting up a fight against me...
"Oh no... this is bad, really bad."
"What's wrong, Fah? You look stressed."
A familiar voice asked with concern, the owner having heard my constant sighs.
"Ploy, my dear friend... It's just that I... well..."
I turned to Ploy, the same girl who had accidentally hit me in the face with a volleyball not too long ago. But now, we'd gotten closer bit by bit, close enough that even someone as awkward as me could call her a friend.
Speaking of friends, I don't know why, but aside from the Prince and Princess of the school, no one dares to get close to me. They just keep their distance, whispering among themselves, making me paranoid about whether I've done something wrong.
But who would dare to ask that out loud? In the end, I just ignored it and spoke only to those who came to talk to me... Pretty sad, honestly.
"I... I can't cook..."
I turned to Ploy, my face almost ready to cry. She just tilted her head, looking confused.
"That's strange. I thought you'd be good at cooking, Fah."
"What made you think that?"
"Well, cute people are usually good at cooking, right?"
"Ughhh..."
Just a bit of praise and I'm already blushing. It's like this with every girl I talk to. My poor, fragile heart can't take it. Anyway, right now, I'm in cooking class, which is an elective subject at this school.
Yeah, an elective... Something most schools don't really offer. Only certain schools have classes that support students' interests, whether they're in science or the arts. Here, you can choose your own path.
But in my case, the one choosing wasn't me—it was my sister, Eve, who decided everything when she enrolled me here. And that's the problem... Why, oh why, did it have to be cooking class?!
"A proper lady should know how to cook."
"But I'm a guy..."
"This is practice so you get used to it and don't blow your cover. You have to be a good girl until we find the formula."
I wanted to argue back at first, but when I saw her death stare—one that even the company president and I would run and hide from—all I could do was agree tearfully...
"Okay, I understand... big sis."
Oh, Eve... For a poor boy like me who can barely cook instant noodles to survive, sending me to a cooking class is just asking for a big fat zero.
"Come on, Fah. Don't worry so much. It's just an elective class. The teacher won't take it that seriously," Ploy tried to reassure me.
Electives are generally "easy A" classes that don't relate to university entrance exams. This was what Ploy told me.
"Think they'll let me submit instant noodles?"
I sighed at my fate. Ploy just sweatdropped and scratched her head.
"That might be a bit too much, Fah."
"Ploy, help me, pleeeease!"
"Oh, don't cry, little one... Oh no."
I grabbed Ploy's shirt and shook it like a kid begging for help. She smiled and patted my head softly. But after just a moment, her hand froze.
"What's wrong, Ploy?"
I looked up at her, confused, only to see her starting to sweat and smiling awkwardly. At first, I wanted to ask what was wrong, but soon I realized why.
A chilling aura swept over us, making my spine tingle. When I turned toward the source, I saw Aqua, standing there with her golden hair flowing, her smile beautiful and goddess-like. But the murderous intent behind her was in stark contrast to her gentle face.
Her ocean-blue eyes stared at me and Ploy, who were just fooling around like close friends. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly as her slender hand gripped the frying pan tightly. Even the friend standing next to Aqua flinched.
"Looks like we overplayed it and triggered someone's jealousy..."
"Jealousy?"
"Poor Fah."
"Huh?"
Ploy quickly withdrew her hand and took a small step away from me, while I swallowed nervously. The tense atmosphere was interrupted when the teacher's voice called out.
"Alright, everyone! It's time to start cooking!"
The cooking teacher's voice broke the tension, and the room started to buzz with excitement. Everyone began chatting, and the teacher didn't seem to mind. The students then started preparing their tools and ingredients for today's dish, which was written at the front of the room. As for me...
I just stood there, staring at my set of cooking tools, totally lost.
"Ploy... What do I do next?"
I whispered to Ploy, standing beside me, my anxiety evident.
"Come on, Fah, don't be so stressed. Just take it easy. It's not a test, okay? Just do it how you like."
Ploy said with a comforting smile, giving me a thumbs-up. I nodded reluctantly, looking at the menu for today.
"Today's dish: Egg Fried Rice"
It was the simplest dish ever—something even a child could make at home. But for me, it was just... impossible.
What should I do...
Well, Ploy did say it wasn't a test. As long as I don't embarrass myself too much, it should be fine... Still too hard!
"Rice, eggs... garlic, onions..."
I tried to focus on the teacher's instructions. The teacher even demonstrated for us, but it was all for nothing—none of it stuck in my head.
"Ploy, help me~"
"Fah, the teacher just explained everything. Don't worry so much. Just cook however you like."
Not only did she say that, but she also gave me a thumbs-up and a smile. Honestly, the reason we were sitting next to each other was because the teacher had us form pairs—one to prep the ingredients, and the other to cook. We drew lots, and that's how I ended up in this mess.
At first, I asked Ploy if we could switch roles, but she insisted she wanted to taste my cooking. Little did she know the disaster that awaited...
"Alright, let's do this!"
Having no other choice, and with Ploy's hopeful eyes staring at me, I was pressured into doing what I'd been avoiding all along... cooking.
It began when I picked up the frying pan. The first disaster struck as I struggled to manage the stove—it wasn't easy at all. I turned the heat up too high, and flames almost erupted like a bonfire. Strangely, nobody seemed startled or alarmed. Instead, they clapped and said,
"Wow, Fah! That was amazing—showing off before cooking!"
"This has got to be the skill of a top-tier chef!"
Calm down, everyone! Where did you get the idea that I was showing off my cooking skills?! It was just a mistake! Or are you trying not to hurt my feelings?
But judging by Ploy's reaction—thumbs up and all—they must think I'm putting on some kind of cooking performance.
"Natcha, I know you're skilled, but that's a bit too dangerous, dear."
"S-Sorry."
I quickly lowered the heat under the stern gaze of the teacher and focused back on my stove.
"Okay... Next, sauté the garlic."
I muttered to myself, grabbing the garlic Ploy had prepped and tossing it into the pan clumsily. The heat made me throw the garlic in like someone tossing a water balloon. Not long after, the smell of burning garlic wafted from the pan.
"Oh no... It's burning already! Quick, dump the rice in to put out the fire!"
I hastily threw the rice into the pan in a desperate attempt to cover up the burnt garlic smell. Realizing things weren't going well, I grabbed my secret weapon: my phone.
Without wasting time, I quickly opened YouTube to find a cooking tutorial. Unfortunately, I took a bit too long searching, leaving the rice on the stove for way too long, which led to...
"The rice is stuck to the pan! Ploy, the rice is stuck!"
"Calm down, Fah. Use the spatula to flip the rice."
I tried my best to use the spatula to flip the rice as Ploy instructed, but it was a struggle. The sound of scraping the burnt rice against the pan made me sweat. It looked like more than half of it was burnt. At this rate, the teacher might end up eating rice crackers instead of fried rice.
And then came the final step—seasoning the dish. When I tasted a spoonful of the rice, the first thing I noticed was the crunchy texture of the burnt bits. The smell was unappetizing, and it tasted completely bland because I hadn't put in enough seasoning.
This is a disaster... There's no way I'm getting out of this unscathed...
But then, just as despair was about to overwhelm me, a light of hope shone down in the form of a bag—a bag with a picture of a bowl of rice, filled with small white crystals.
Legend has it, the more you add, the better it tastes... so...
Without hesitation, I grabbed the bag of magical seasoning and poured—yes, poured—a generous amount into the fried rice. I made sure no one was watching and dumped in a ridiculous amount of MSG.
"Fah... did you just...?"
"It's a secret recipe... Yeah, a secret recipe."
I glanced at Ploy, who was pointing at the bag I'd tried to hide behind me. She looked between me and the pan, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"Your kidneys are gonna fail, you know."
"Ever heard of equivalent exchange, Ploy? Deliciousness in exchange for health."
"Pretty sure that principle doesn't exist in real life."
"Excuse me, can I have a taste?"
Before Ploy could say anything, a sweet voice sounded from behind us. It was Aqua, wearing an adorable pink apron, looking between us and the pan of fried rice.
"Uh, well..."
"Is that a no?"
Ploy was about to refuse, worried for Aqua's health, but as soon as Aqua asked again, Ploy backed down with a sigh.
"Uh... do as you like, Aqua."
"Thank you."
"Are you really going to try it, Aqua? Uh, I mean... my cooking isn't great. It might not taste good."
I looked between my sodium-laden fried rice and the school princess, worried about whether her kidneys could handle it.
"Don't worry. Anything you cook has to be delicious, Fah. Have some confidence!"
Where does she get that kind of confidence from?!
She walked over to the plate of fried rice, picked up a spoon, and scooped up a bite. My heart pounded with every passing second. Fear of failure kept creeping up on me.
This is bad. Aqua's definitely going to be disappointed.
She took a bite, her delicate lips chewing the burnt brown rice. I could hear the crunch, like she was biting into rice crackers. She chewed slowly before finally smiling.
"It's really delicious, Fah."
"Huh... really?"
Hearing that, my fear-filled heart suddenly soared with hope. This was the first time in my life someone had called my cooking delicious. But why was Aqua's hand shaking?
"Even though it's making my tongue a bit numb, it's really tasty, Fah. You did great."
"Really? I'm glad to hear that."
I smiled happily at Aqua's praise.
"Is love numbing her tongue or what...?"
Ploy, who had been watching, mumbled something under her breath, her face full of worry as she looked at Aqua, then sighed.
"Next up is the teacher... Poor thing."
The cooking teacher came over to inspect the students' dishes, and soon it was my and Ploy's turn. The teacher stopped and examined our plate.
"The aroma is decent, but... there's a lot of rice stuck to the pan, Natcha."
The teacher looked at the pan, filled with the remnants of what looked like a failed civilization. Most of the rice had turned pitch black, as if it had been through a fire.
"Um... I'm not really used to the equipment."
"I see. You must be used to electric stoves, then?"
"Something like that."
I answered while avoiding the teacher's gaze. She didn't say much, just used her spoon to scoop up a portion of my fried rice—the best part that Ploy had managed to scrape together from the ruins in the pan.
The moment the teacher took a bite of my special fried rice, it was like time froze. All eyes were on her, everyone holding their breath.
Suddenly...
*Bang!* The teacher slammed the spoon down, her face lighting up. Her eyes widened, as if she were floating on a cloud of cotton candy. Her gaze sparkled as though she had tasted a divine dish! Her lips quivered, as if she was struggling to find words.
"It's... it's delicious!!" The teacher exclaimed in amazement, as if she had found an oasis in the middle of a desert. Her voice echoed throughout the room, and everyone turned to look at me, bewildered.
"The flavor is so rich... Even though the rice smells burnt, and it's hard and crunchy like a rice cracker, why is it this good?!" she said, scooping another spoonful quickly.
But then...
*Bang!!* The spoon hit the plate again!
The teacher began to tremble, her face turning bright red, tears streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably.
"Ahhhh!!"
She cried out, grabbing her throat tightly.
"My tongue... my tongue is going numb! Completely numb!!!"
The teacher yelled as if she were facing a tidal wave!
"Natcha, what did you put in this fried rice?!"
"Uh, just a bit of MSG."
The teacher's eyes went wide.
"Delicious... but!!! MSG, Natcha? Oh no, the MSG is overwhelming every grain of rice!!" Tears poured down her face, yet she kept scooping up more rice in a frenzy.
"It's tasty, but my tongue is completely numb... How much did you put in, Natcha?!"
"Just a little."
Half a bag...
*Bang*
"Alright, you pass. But, Natcha, next time... if you care about my health at all, please."
"Understood... hehe."