Transferred and Transformed

Party 'Hardy' pt. 1

Early morning couldn't have arrived sooner and within fifteen minutes I was dressed, my teeth brushed and hair still in its braid as I made my way down to the common room. Benny and Ric were already in the kitchen and pulling out the meat as I stepped in, their heads turning to me as they smiled. Benny ruffled my curls as he walked by and placed the meat onto the cutting board, rummaging through the cabinets for all the seasonings he needed. Ric placed the meat onto another cutting board next to Benny, reaching for some of the spices already set out.

     "This place is gonna be mouthwatering in the next few hours, I cannot wait!" Ric exclaimed as he patted the seasonings into the different meats he had in front of him. Benny chuckled and agreed, cutting the steaks into small chunks before placing them into a large mixing bowl and adding each seasoning in. I smiled and pulled out the large chunk of pork, placed it on the counter, and grabbed some seasonings. 

Setting the meat on the pan, I giggled and said, "I'm excited to see everyone's reactions to the smell, haha. While Japanese cuisines smell amazing, they haven't had a glimpse of what Caribbean food smells like!" 

Benny snorted, "You got that right! Their minds are gonna be blown and remind me to catch a picture of their faces when they take the first bite." Ric and I laughed and continued with the prep as Denali made her way in. She yawned and came over to me, offering a side hug before making her way to the boys. 

I looked over at the cat girl and asked, "What are you doing up? Your meat is only gonna take maybe four minutes to brown before being popped in the oven, you don't have to prep anything." 

She shrugged and hopped up onto the counter, swinging her legs as she replied, "I know but I figured you three may need some help so I got up too." I giggled and thanked her before pointing to the tin foil roll attached to the wall, wiggling my fingers for it. 

She grabbed the roll, unclipping it from the holder, and tossed it to me, hopping down and mumbling, "I'm gonna grab my speaker so we can listen to some music, not like I'm gonna go back to sleep now, anyway." I laughed and nodded as she jogged out of the kitchen and headed to her room. After prepping the rest of the pork, I wrapped some parchment paper and then the foil around it and placed it back in the fridge. Denali returned with her speaker and placed it on the island, her music flowing from it as the boys continued their prep.

     "So Lena is done with her prep, you two need any help?" Ric nodded and pointed to some meat that had not yet been seasoned, sliding over the spices for it.

     "Can you prep that piece, please? It's the last one, remember to pat the spices in, don't rub." Denali nodded and got to work, her hips swaying as she danced to the music. I cleaned up my section, softly singing along to the end of Harry Style's 'Adore You' as I wiped the counter down with some disinfectant spray. Benny was next to be done and as he placed the large mixing bowl in the fridge with a few layers of saran wrap covering it, he turned nearly bumping into Ric.

     "Aye there buddy, watch it. If I drop this, YOU are going out to get more." Benny apologized and stepped out of the way before cha cha-ing his way over Denali, grabbing her hips as he swayed with her. I giggled as I watched the two dance, 'Vivar Mi Vida' now playing quite loudly and every Hispanic bone in my body screamed to join them. 

Suddenly, I felt my hips start to sway and I laughed as I twirled around, my body succumbing to the beat as Ric joined me. It wasn't long before the four of us were dancing around the kitchen, laughing and being careful not to knock anything off the counters as we danced by. Pure joy and excitement filled the room and soon I could hear more of our classmates begin making their way into the common area, the sound of music probably peaking their interests. Ric spun me out and I let my hands flow above me as I twirled into the common room, coming to a stop as I nearly bumped into Sero.