Epiphany | Yukihira Soma X Fem!Reader

Chapter 04: First Class

(Y/N)'s POV:

"You'll be divided into different classes and starting your coursework right off the bat. Today, you'll be cooking in pairs," announced the assistant teacher. Gladly, much to your interest and fondness, you were put together with Soma for the team. Everybody in the room was shooting daggers at you both with their eyes. The abomination stirred together with contempt and despisal in the air was clearly palpable to everyone other than Soma who stood there unaware of the world and grasping the recipe.

"The last time I had to cook during a class was home economics," Soma said to you, holding a tomato.

"Hey, look, it's the transfer student who was running his mouth off at the entrance ceremony."

"The girl too."

"Hmph, that guy's all talk."

As always, people were running their mouths off. You were honestly tired of it now.

"Good morning, my young apprenti," started the blonde chef. 

"Apple Dannon Tea?" Soma questioned putting his dumbness into words.

"That's Roland Chapelle-sensei, a Totsuki Academy Lecturer and the French Cuisine Department head," you answered, your eyes focused on the supposed chef.

"You become responsible for creating a delectable dish the moment you step into the kitchen. Neither experience nor status can excuse you from this duty. In my class, any dish that fails to deserve an A rating will automatically receive an E rating," explained Chapelle-sensei.

"Teacher sure looks scary," said Soma.

"Yeah, I heard that last year, he gave E ratings to all 50 students in his class which resulted in 18 of them facing expulsion. He's called the 'Chef Who Never Smiles'," you told him and earned a "Huh" in response.

"Today's menu item is Boeuf à la Bourguignonne. It has been a staple of French Cuisine, but I'll put the recipe on the whiteboard anyway. You have two hours. Commencer à cuisiner!" 

"Did he just say to add diced cucumbers?" Soma inquired, not apprehending the last French words. You face-palmed yourself.

"Leave that and let's get started," you told him and began gathering the necessary ingredients.

First, sauté the mushrooms in butter before adding them to the pot. Then, simmer everything at low heat. Take the beef out in 40 minutes. 39 minutes. 38— you confirmed the steps in your mind while performing them perfectly.

"Wah—Look at all these spices," exclaimed an astounded Soma, eyeing the spices intensely.

"Yeah, I should probably go get the serving dish while you gawk at the spices," you said and headed off from the counter.

After two minutes or so of choosing the most suitable serving dish, you were called by Soma. "(Y/N), did you lift the lid?" asked Soma. "Huh? No, I didn't. I mean, it still has to be simmered for twenty more minutes," you replied in negation.

That's when you both noticed it. A certain team of two smirking guys with looks of disparagement. You both were struck by an epiphany, and replied to their gazes with two horrified glances which lasted less than a second. Soma immediately pulled the lid off, and you realized that your dish had been tampered with, and a plethora of a certain white substance had been added to it.

Salt.

"W-What do we do now? We can't use this meat anymore. We'll have to start all over again. But it takes more than an hour to tenderize and season the meat, but we only have 30 minutes left—" you started panicking.

"I've got some spare ingredient. (Y/N), we just have to put our game face on." Soma smiled and patted your head and surprisingly, you immediately calmed down. "Yeah," you replied and started cooking.

Then an idea crossed your mind and you didn't hesitate to explicate it. "Something that has proteases that can break down proteins," you said, thinking of an ingredient that possessed the same qualities. "We can use honey."

Soma nodded and smiled, "Now that you mention, yeah, we can. Let's go with that," he replied.

"Look at that loudmouth transfer student getting all fired up."

"Whatever, there's no way they're getting out of an E rating."

"All of the teams should be finishing by now," continued the two guys, commenting and smirking but were flabbergasted to see your team finish first.

You both stood in front of the teacher's table, presenting before him a succulent and luscious piece of beef, topped with a delectable sauce and arranged beautifully on the serving dish.

The teacher was surprised to see your team finish so early despite the little accident you had. Even more surprised to see such tenderness of the beef that literally made the fork spring back.

"Impossible! No way they could've braised it long enough!" the tampering team slightly exclaimed.

"How did you manage to complete the assignment despite the accident?" asked Chapelle-sensei.

You exchanged a look with Soma and began explaining, "We used honey. We kneaded it into the beef before braising it, and also in the seasoning. Given that, the proteases went to work on the tough beef flank which helped us tenderize it in a short amount of time."

Everybody looked at you with surprise at which you added, "Science is my strong subject." You smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to react.

But, the most surprising event of the day was yet to come, a once in a lifetime spectacle.

"Chapelle-sensei smiled!" a chorus reaction from almost everyone in the room.

"I'll give you an A rating," said Chapelle-sensei. "However, I regret the fact that I do not possess the authority to grant you a higher rating."

A genuine smile, something rare for you, curved on your lips at that. You headed back to your kitchen counter, facing the team which helped your team stand out even more hadn't it been for their little meddling. You gazed at them with disgust, "So long, suckers." You let out a mocking laugh and walked past the two guys, leaving them frustrated yet entranced by you.

You were frankly disgruntled at them, antagonized by their actions. Even though the result turned for the good, you couldn't understand why people wanted to prove their superiority to others. And especially in cases like these when they weren't even superior. You didn't get why and when the concept of humbleness disappeared from the world. People would use the dirtiest of tricks to drag others down to cover up for their inferiority. Because in your opinion, that's what humanity was. And words would count less to contain your disgust for humanity, for humans, in general.

For you, it was a nice and fulfilling day, if you count that part out. But to your unawareness, someone was keeping tabs on you, and your life with Soma from a distance.

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(1139 Words)