A Hidden Test (1)

Chapter 5: Episode 3 - A Hidden Test (1)

"Hello, you must be Michiko Keiko!" The blonde man greeted ecstatically. Looking at Dad and Kaori, he smiled at us. "It's nice to see all of you!"

The man's handsome features gleamed brilliantly in front of us like he was a prince out of a novel. He clearly seemed foreign due to his bright blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and a hint of a foreigner's accent.

"Please, come and follow me to the Middle School Department's kitchen for your entrance exam," he quickly instructed and began guiding us to the kitchen down a dark, vast hallway aligned with show lights.

It felt like I was walking through a dark movie theater where there were only lights that aligned the pathway.

Opening a door that was just at the end, the brightness of the room blinded me and it took me a few seconds to adjust.

Stations divided into three showed the letters A, B, and C. An old man—with green eyes, gray hair that was to ears length, and who wore glasses—walked towards us with a smile.

"Hello, you must be Michiko Keiko," the old man looked at me and gave me a handshake. "Let me introduce myself first. I am the chairman of this academy, Moriyama Masaomi. We are glad to have people with the passion of becoming a patissiere here to learn and try out at this academy."

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet," the blonde man recalled. "I am Henri Lucas and I am the great-grandson of Mari Lucas, the founder of this academy."

"It's nice to meet you both," I bowed my head to them respectively. Father and Kaori did the same.

"Miss Michiko, we are surprised to hear about a student wanting to enter the academy in the middle of the school year," Chairman Moriyama stated and I nodded my head, acknowledging his words.

'I guess it is quite awkward for someone to want to attend at a later time. But, if I don't say anything right now, they will probably think that I'm wasting their time and that I'm fooling around for wanting to transfer so late.'

"Yes, it is quite strange for someone to want to transfer during this time, but along with these other students, I'm here for the same reason as them. My dream is to become a patissiere and I hope that this academy will help my dream become a reality. I understand that this is a hard school to get into, but I will try my best and work hard to achieve my dreams!" I stated confidently, trying to convince them that I have the motivation to work hard here.

"Hohoho, I truly believe that you have the drive to become a student here. We've already seen your school transcript and your grades are phenomenal. You will have no problem with education *if* you pass our entrance exam," Chairman Moriyama explained and I hesitated a bit.

'I feel like this won't be an easy entrance exam since he enunciated "if." I think that if it was going to be a normal baking exam, then he wouldn't have emphasized: "if I passed." I was told I had to come up with a recipe to show them today so they could get me to only focus on one recipe, but since this is a prestigious school, their thinking isn't as easy as it seems. Only ignorant people would believe that they only had to care for one type of dessert instead of looking at the bigger picture—they were trying to catch me off guard to focus on one thing this whole week.'

"The entrance exam will be starting. Keep in mind, we will be watching every movement and mistake that you make," Henri told sternly as I finished my thorough thoughts.

"Yes, sir," I answered, quickly catching onto their game.

"Here is an apron for you so you don't get your clothes dirty," Chairman Moriyama handed over a white apron and I bowed down to thank him.

"Miss Michiko, you will have 2 hours to make your dessert. We will show you where the materials are at, so you won't have to be frantic," Henri Lucas instructed.

"We will have your guardians wait outside during this exam," the Chairman stated and I glanced over at my dad and Kaori.

"Good luck, Keiko!" They said in unison, leaving me alone in the grand kitchen with the two judges.

After they left, Henri Lucas and the chairman walked me through the kitchen, showing me where the pans, utensils, and ingredients were.

'There still seems to be something fishy about this…'

"Miss Michiko, we have your ingredients prepared for you already. Please begin when you are ready," Henri Lucas gave me a reassuring smile, but I continued to think about what they were plotting.

ALL of my ingredients for what I was planning on making today were already laid out in front of me.

'This… doesn't seem right. How would they already know what I'm going to make for them? Unless… someone had already told them in advance what I was going to make?!'

I glanced in the direction that my father and Kaori left in and my suspicions grew.

Red flags popped up in my head and I thought about how I showed them what I was planning to make for the judges.

I made the cake at home and explained to them what kind of ingredients I used. Then, I remembered my father taking a picture of my cake and the recipe I came up with.

The picture became even clearer now.

'They're testing me to see if I would catch onto their game! Henri Lucas and the chairman were already aware of what I was going to make through Dad and Kaori, so they're checking to see my creativity and how quick I am to catch onto this plot. If I am to make what I was planning to make, I would still probably be accepted only because of the flavor and presentation, but not for anything special like being quick on my feet or creativity… I know what I have to do!'

I nodded my head to symbolize that I was ready to start and Henri Lucas nodded his head back.

"Okay… Begin!" He shouted and I quickly began to get my ingredients ready.

I wasn't going to get rid of everything that was in front of me. Instead, I was going to work off the main star: Strawberries.

The cake that I am going to make is a little bit more complex in ingredients and technique than the first cake I was going to make. Either way, if I want to enter this academy, I have to impress these judges. The cake I am going for is a special cake called "Fraisier".

Fraisier is a French cake. Its name is derived from the word "fraise", meaning "strawberry". Traditionally, the cake consists of layers of genoise sponge, vanilla-flavored créme mousseline, marzipan, and lines of freshly, sliced strawberries.

'I'll show them that I have the potential to become a prestige student at this school no matter what challenge comes my way!'