Sweets Princes (2)

Chapter 11: Episode 5 - Sweets Princes (2)

Classes continued normally. I toured around the big school so that I knew when and where my classes were but I only received textbooks on my first day. I had at least expected some homework but since I was still new, I wasn't given any since I needed time to adjust.

I observed my classes and greeted my teachers. My teachers had explained what they expected from me and explained that being at this school wasn't going to be an easy ride. I fully understood that this school didn't accept pushovers, so I accepted their conditions confidently.

All of my academic teachers looked at my transcript at my previous school and already expected me to do well in their classes.

The day passed on and it wasn't so bad. Nothing eventful happened and I didn't make any new friends since I had to greet my teachers.

I made it into my dorm room which was quite spacious. The bed I had was nice and I had the whole room to myself since I transferred so late. I dropped my school bag next to my bed and sat down.

RING! RING! RING!

My phone suddenly began ringing and it read, "Father."

I swiped the green phone option and put the phone to my ear, taking the call.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Keiko, how was your first day of school?" The sound of my father's voice asked on the other side which made me feel a bit better.

"It was fine but not much happened," I responded shortly.

"Make sure to take good care of your body!" Kaori spoke up on the other side.

"Yes, I will," I reassured her.

"Onee-chan, I miss you already!" Eiji's voice popped out of nowhere and I sighed.

"Eiji, I saw you this morning," I pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Eiji stated and I breathed in again.

"Where's Haruto?" I asked them and their line became quiet.

"He's in his bedroom," Father responded and I couldn't come up with anything to say next.

"Ah, is that so? Make sure you say hi to him for me."

"We will. Well, anyways, we just wanted to check on you for a bit but since it's your first day, you must be busy. We'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Goodbye!" They all said in unison.

"Yeah, bye," I said faintly and ended the call.

I looked down at the floor and noticed just how eerily quiet my room was. This quietness was something that I was used to at home where I did my homework and studied in my room so I didn't mind it much.

I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I was hoping that I could at least make one friend today…" I said quietly to myself.

The silence continued and I looked at my phone.

"It's already 5:30 in the evening, huh?" I said out loud to myself.

'Isn't dinner usually served at 5:30?'

I remembered my schedule and where my classes were so that I wouldn't get lost. Though I knew where the cafeteria was, I didn't feel hungry enough to eat with everyone else. I had already skipped out on lunch but I couldn't work up an appetite.

'If I walk into the cafeteria, it'll feel like I don't belong. To them, I'm just an outsider who so happens to be in their class…'

I gave a wry smile and took in a deep breath. I stood up from my bed and exited my dorm room.

'I guess I won't join in today.'

Instead, I had another idea on my mind.

~

A small little creature with fairy wings flew above Keiko, observing her from below. Keiko lay on her bed with a lonely look on her face and a dry smile.

"I was hoping that I could at least make one friend today…" Keiko spoke quietly but the fairy could still hear her.

"Aww… she must feel like she doesn't belong at the school…" The fairy spoke sympathetically, watching Keiko show a lonely smile.

It hurt to see a young girl feeling as if she was alone at the school.

'Is it time for me to finally show myself?' The fairy girl questioned herself but before she had anytime to reveal what she was, Keiko suddenly got up from her bed and walked out of her dorm room.

'Where is she going?' The fairy girl asked, following Keiko from behind.

Keiko walked out of the girl's dorms and entered the main school.

'Is she going to the cafeteria where everyone else is at? No—wait.'

Keiko had completely ignored the cafeteria and walked past it. The only other thing down the largest hallway in the school other than the cafeteria was the kitchen.

The young and unpredictable girl strolled down the hallway towards the cooking lab. When she reached her destination, she put on an apron and tied her long brown hair up to reveal her bright blue eyes.

'Is she going to bake something?' The fairy asked herself, unsure of Keiko's actions. 'I thought that after all of this time that I was watching her, I could understand her actions but I guess I still have a lot to learn.' The fairy chuckled to herself to witness the girl getting some ingredients ready.

'Now, this time, I'm definitely going to meet her!' The fairy confidently spoke and sparkles were shown in the air.

~

"What should I make?" I asked myself, pondering different recipes that flew through my mind.

The large kitchen was empty and I turned one of the lights on one of the stations. I could do whatever I wanted to do without the gaze of others watching me and it was relieving.

I decided that I didn't want to bother the other students enjoying their meals in the cafeteria so I wanted to make something for myself in the cooking lab.

It felt awkward for me to try to enter anyone's friend circle when I didn't belong and it felt tiring to receive fake friendliness just because I'm new here, so I figured I would do something else.

During the week where I had to prepare for my entrance exam, I started to get into the rhythm of baking again to polish up on my skills and try something new.

Even if my skills were still fairly good for not baking for 6 years, I still had a lot that I needed to work and catch up on. If I wanted to be like my mother who was flawless in every way, I needed to try harder and push myself more.

"Ah, I've decided. I should make beignets."

Beignets are a pastry made from deep-fried choux pastry that is sprinkled with powdered sugar. It's not too heavy to eat and it's light and fluffy on the inside.

'Beignets aren't tricky but I would have to allow it to rise for about an hour if I really wanted to make it.'

I didn't know if I had the capability to wait an hour for the dough to rise so I tried to think of something else.

'I'll try to think of something as I go.'

My idea for making beignets was set in stone. I got out the ingredients needed to make the dough, such as butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, evaporated milk, warm water, yeast, an egg, and flour.

I brought out a mixing stand to make the process a lot faster.

So, I began making the dough in the mixer, adding one ingredient at a time.

When I was satisfied with the consistency of the dough, I remembered that I had to allow the dough to rise for an hour.

"Great," I sighed under my breath, figuring that I had to wait a while to have the dough rise.

I looked at the big clock that was at the front of the room.

'6:00… If I wait for the dough to rise, I'll be stuck here until even later than 7. Should I wait it out or just make something else?'

"Hehehe!" A petite voice laughed happily.

It was the same as last time when I heard it in my bedroom at home while I was trying to come up with a recipe to make for the judges.

"Who's there?!" I glanced around the room warily, unsure if a girl was watching me from the shadows. I had already checked the kitchen beforehand to make sure that no one else was in here.

"I can help you!" The small voice spoke up this time and I moved my head around suspiciously.

From above, I could see a small little blob of light with fairy wings, sparkling in front of me.

"What…?" I looked at the light with wings flying around me, leaving a trail of glitter as it flew and it looked magical.

Suddenly, in front of me, a tiny golden staff with a whisk at one end and an "M" emblem on the other appeared.

'A whisk?' I was shocked to see a small staff with a tiny whisk at the end appear in front of me.

All of a sudden, a bright light shone right next to the small staff and a small petite girl arose in my view.

The petite girl had beautiful and long, wavy light pink hair that grew to a white gradient and had the front of her hair parted fairly in two. She also had bright blue eyes that gleamed under the kitchen's lights and she wore a frilly pink dress with a white apron.

Her appearance was similar to that of mine besides that my hair was brown instead of pink. I was stunned because she looked almost exactly like me.

"Hello, Keiko. My name is Fraise and I'm a sweets spirit."