Theme for the First Round (1)

Chapter 46: Episode 23 - Theme for the First Round (1)

Everybody at the front of the room stared at me who'd just entered.

"Hey, isn't that the rumored Ice Princess?"

"I heard she partnered up with the Sweets Princes."

"What a pain in the ass. They're gonna be tough to beat since I heard she's got skills."

I walked through the crowd to find the rest of my team.

Out of nowhere, somebody had grabbed my hand and pulled me in their direction. I was a bit frazzled at the sudden action but I was relieved to see a boy with green hair and a flowery smile.

"Oh, Hanabusa? You made it?" I said in surprise as he pulled me in.

"Why wouldn't I?" He shot me an arrogant smirk and I raised my eyebrows.

"Hah, you're right…" I responded as he pulled me through the crowd.

Not too far, I could spot Kashino who had a relieved look on his face.

"Where's Andou?" I asked Hanabusa who pulled me through.

"He's still testing but knowing him, he'll be put in this room once he's done," Hanabusa reassured.

Sooner or later, we could see Andou walk in with a pleased look on his face, waving for our attention.

'Well, at least I can say that I passed the test if these guys are here.'

I looked around the room to see that most of the people here were high school students.

'I guess the school achieved what they wanted. They got rid of those who didn't know the basics but now… this is where the competition truly begins.'

"It seems like 4 teams remain from the middle school division," Andou pointed out and I looked around to see who else made it. Suddenly, I caught the envious glare of Koshiro Miya and her team from nearby and quickly avoided eye contact.

'Great, even Koshiro Miya made it through as well… But besides that, only 4 teams of the 23 middle school division teams remain...'

Once I noticed this, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Suddenly, 4 high school guys approached us. I realized that they were the same guys from before who were talking about me on our way to the gymnasium.

'Seriously? These guys again?!' I tried my best to put on a fake smile as they approached me.

"Hey, isn't your name Michiko Keiko?" One guy asked as he stood at the front of the group. He seemed like he was the leader as the other guys observed from behind. He had a purple tint to his hair with amethyst-colored eyes.

"That's right. And you are...?" I asked for his name and an arrogant smile appeared on his face.

"The name's Ichimatsu Matsuya," he introduced himself with a smile as he looked at me. "Maybe, when this is all over, we can go get—"

"—Hey, you over there! Quiet down!" The teacher interrupted Ichimatsu Matsuya with a microphone, directly pointing at him.

Ichimatsu glared at the teacher before shrugging it off.

"Hmph, guess it'll have to wait," he said as he and his team backed away.

"Hmm, I wonder what he was gonna say?" I pondered out loud and Fraise peeked out from my chef's hat.

"Keiko, please tell me you had the slightest bit of idea of what he was going to ask…" Fraise said and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, not really. I'm guessing it had to do with what they talked about before?" I responded and she'd face palmed herself.

"You're too pure to be asked out by high school jerks…" Fraise's voice faded.

"That bastard definitely has guts to go up to Michiko like that." Andou pointed out angrily as he glared toward the direction of Ichimatsu and his team.

"After what they said before, they're pathetic," Kashino said, scoffing at their direction.

"It's frustrating to see an ugly person like him make a move towards Michiko." Hanabusa gritted his teeth in frustration.

'I really don't understand what's going on at all…' I tried to think about what had happened but I decided to let it go for now since it wasn't important.

Our cooking class teacher, Teacher Ameya, stood at the front with a microphone.

"To everyone who passed, please gather around," Teacher Ameya's voice rang throughout the gymnasium, instructing everyone to gather around the podium. "The results of the test leave 28 high school teams and 4 middle school teams; leaving 32 teams in total. Starting now, within 3 months, you will be competing with your skills in cakes."

She passed over the microphone to Chairman Moriyama.

"Following the preliminary announcement, round 1's subject is pound cake. The theme is, "A cake to enjoy with family," the chairman explained as everybody paid close attention.

'Family…?'

"The match will take place in three days at every assembly hall. You will be using the standard ingredients you chose today. Each person must make one pound cake, with a total of 4 types per team. Those 4 kinds of cakes must be placed on one plate for each teacher to judge," the chairman explained as I began brainstorming ideas already.

"Now then, Mr. Karashima will announce the opponents," the chairman handed the mic over to the teacher who was in charge of directing students through the pass or fail doors.

"I will call the teams in grade, class, and the representative's name. When your team is called, come to the front," Mr. Karashima explained in front of a large electronic tournament bracket board set up with the names of different teams.

"First, HS 2-C Team Nakayama vs. HS 3-A Team Tennouji," Mr. Karashima announced.

I could hear the whines from the other part of the crowd when they'd heard they'd go against Tennouji Mari and her team.

"What? Are you serious? We have to go against Tennouji Mari and her team of elites?!"

"That's not fair!"

"Can't we go against some other team?!"

"Quiet down!" Mr. Karashima warned through the microphone, scaring back the whiny team with his serious presence.

As Mr. Karashima went down the list, Andou folded his hands and pleaded silently where we could still hear him.

"If possible, may we be matched with a weak team!" Andou begged anxiously while Kashino shot him an annoyed look.

"Don't say something so pessimistic! Our team hasn't been announced yet." Kashino directed his annoyance at Andou who continued to beg.

'Though an easy team would be nice, it wouldn't be a challenge…'

"Next is HS 1-B Team Ichimatsu vs. MS 2-A Team Michiko," Mr. Karashima announced and my eyes widened in shock.

'Team Michiko? That's my name…'

"Hey, he called you," Hanabusa said with a smile though I looked up at them in confusion.

"You used my name for the team?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Hehehe, sorry for not telling you and registering it on our own." Andou chuckled nervously as I shot him a glance. "It has an impact, right? *Team Michiko."

*Keiko's surname, "Michiko," means "child in a righteous path." Andou is referring that their team is named "children on the righteous path," claiming that it has a nice ring to it.*

I hesitated a bit from this but decided to let it go. And so, we walked to the front to meet up with the opposing team.

"I heard that they're the best middle school group. They have Kashino Makoto, Hanabusa Satsuki, Andou Sennosuke, and Michiko Keiko."

"Then, aren't they the Sweets Princes and the girl is the Ice Princess?"

"Yeah! I'm really looking forward to seeing how great their skills are if they're the best in the middle school division."

"I heard that the new girl, Michiko Keiko, could even match up to the student council president's skills and looks!"

"Now that would be a competition to watch!"

Chattering continued as we walked toward the front to meet the opposing team.

"Hey, hey, if it isn't the Ice Princess again," a familiar boy's voice said and I took a glance in their direction.

'These guys again? Why does it have to be them out of all people? Fate really is pulling the strings around here, huh…'