I Didn't Get Here By Myself

Chapter 135: S2 Episode 34 - I Didn't Get Here By Myself

Finally, the clock hit 8:30.

"Get ready, competitors! START BAKING!" The broadcaster guy announced. On cue, a clock showed at the front for both teams and the audience to keep track of the time.

After his declaration, each and every one of us started preparing what we needed to at our stations.

We got out pots and pans to put on the stovetop and opened the ingredients we prepared beforehand.

As I got a move on, I felt a rush of adrenaline flow through me, which took over my body. It fooled my brain into forgetting the strain I'd put on my body during the countless days my team, and I practiced making this cake.

"It's finally started! This time, individual tables have been set up for each team member—it's a 1 vs 1. Each member's skills will be compared against the others," the broadcasting student announced as the cameras panned to each station for everyone to see.

I could tell my teammates were also seriously doing their designated elements for this cake. We practiced so much and so hard every day that we spent many sleepless nights trying to perfect this cake. As long as we believed in each other, we believed in ourselves.

"For candy sculptures is Hanabusa Satsuki vs. Saeki Ryou," the broadcaster said as the cameras turned to Hanabusa, who was earnestly heating sugar in a pot. Across from him was Team Tennouji's Saeki Ryou, who was also the group's candy specialist.

Both of their faces seemed calm and collected to the point where they were unfazed. People had at least expected that the young middle schoolers would be distressed by this amount of attention and pressure, but surprisingly, Hanabusa was doing quite well when the attention was on him.

"Sugar sculptures are splendid for pillars or foundations. Oh, look over there! Hanabusa is making white candy cylinders! I wonder what that's for? And, Saeki is making a large crescent from the looks of it!" The guy said as Hanabusa poured his hot sugar into a tall cylindrical mold of different shapes and sizes, while Saeki Ryou poured his hot sugar into a crescent moon mold. Both boys worked together with their sweet spirits, who aided them with their sugar-making.

Then, the broadcaster turned to the next pair.

"Over here, if we're talking about chocolate, it's Kashino Makoto. As expected he's used to tempering with that unmoved face of his," he said as the camera zoomed in on Kashino calmly tempering his chocolate. Next, the camera moved to the boy across from him, Kaidou Rui.

"His opponent is the vice president of the student council, Kaidou Rui. Both boys seem so lax!"

As the two tempered their chocolate with the help of their sweet spirits, many of the girls in the audience began screaming once they saw their handsome faces.

"KYA——A!" The girls screamed out loud with joy, most of them coming from girls who attended the academy.

It appeared that these two boys were the ones that had the most considerable following among the males in their teams. It was hard not to be mesmerized by their laidback actions that eased the hearts and minds of people.

After catching the hearts of the females in the room, the broadcaster moved on to the next pair.

"And here, Andou Sennosuki and Takigawa Reiji are in charge of their cake's petit gateaux! Look at these two go!"

Unbothered by the cameras, Andou and Takigawa Reiji were combining their ingredients into a large bowl. Just like everyone else, they seemed calm yet attentive to every step they were doing.

Takigawa Reiji was infamous for being laid back and chill, but I've heard that he can also be tricky to handle to the point where he can make others distracted due to his playful attitude.

"Yo, Andou. I ate your family's daifuku yesterday, too!" Takigawa Reiji said from the station across Andou with a light-hearted smile, but behind that lax smile was a calculative mind. He was hoping for Andou to become frazzled by his words to at least catch him off guard.

As Takigawa Reiji continued mixing his ingredients, he also focused his attention on Andou for a response.

Surprisingly, as if something had come over the humble and friendly boy who wore his energized spirit proudly, Andou kept up a serious face as he solely focused on what he was doing.

"Thank you," Andou said shortly, ending the chat there.

Takigawa was taken aback by the idle reaction that he wasn't expecting. It seemed as if he wanted a drive out of Andou to catch him off guard, but after spending lots of time with me on the team, it seemed as if my influence really paid off.

Andou was usually the one in the group which quickly became the most distracted, but after coaching him to focus only on what he was doing, he soon became one of the faster ones in the group. He didn't let others' words or actions bother him anymore. All he cared about was himself now.

"And our final pair that everyone has been looking forward to! The two distinguished leaders of their team, Tennouji Mari and Michiko Keiko, are battling in their cake's entremets! Furthermore, both seemed to have gathered the attention of Henri Lucas—Tennouji-san being his number one pupil and Michiko-san deeply impressing him during her entrance exam!"

The cameras on our stations now zoomed in on everything we were doing, but Fraise and I kept our composure, similar to Tennouji Mari and Honey. Nothing seemed to bother us as if the mishap earlier had never happened in the first place.

The cameras showed Mari sifting flour into a bowl while I was busy cracking eggs with one hand.

After we were shown on camera to the live audience, chattering filled the auditorium.

"Doesn't Michiko Keiko look so cool? She's only in middle school but she and her team made it all the way to the final round."

"Not to mention that she only transferred here this year. She's unbelievably amazing!"

"Her movements are so elegant and exquisite, as if she's been doing this for more than 20 years!"

"The young 14-year-old wastes no time in the kitchen! Look at her go!" The broadcaster said into the mic as I meticulously folded things into a bowl to keep the air in the batter I made for the entremet.

I was unbothered by their commotion because I'd heard it all before. Despite my young age and late arrival in the school, it was evident that people couldn't hide their shock because of how far I'd gotten in such a short amount of time.

Although I practiced my ass off every day, my teammates also helped me get this far.