Patterns - An Academy Story

Sushi Night Part 2 - Hot Guys and Bad Jokes

"Hello, Sang. It's nice to see again," Silas said gently as he took the spot that Kota had just vacated.

Silas was such a tall man, I had to tilt my head back to look at him. "Hello, Silas," I responded, suddenly feeling shy.

His eyes gleamed in amusement, and he smiled down at me. "I have been looking forward to this class all week." He picked up the knife and finished slicing the cucumbers that Kota had begun. "I did not get to spend enough time with you the other evening."

I could feel my cheeks flush. His deep voice, with its slight accent, sent shivers through me. I hoped that no one noticed my reaction to him.

Just then, Mrs. Ishida clapped her hands to get our attention. We were all finished slicing our vegetables, and she directed our attention to the bamboo mats and small bowls of water on benches in front of us.

"In front of each station is a bamboo mat. This is what you will use to roll up the sushi. First you will make an inside out California roll. This is why mat is covered in plastic wrap. One person from each group will take a half sheet of the nori and place it in the center of the mat, on the plastic," Ishida-san directed. "Wet your hands and take a handful of the sushi rice and press it down on the nori in an even layer, all the way to the edges, like this."

Silas looked at his hands, then at mine. "I think you should do this section," he remarked. "My big hands will make a mess of this."

I smirked and rolled my eyes at him as I reached for the bowl of water to wet my hands. "You just don't want to get your hands messy, do you?" I asked.

He laughed. "I'm better at eating than I am at making little things."

I patted the rice in a layer, trying to smooth it down, but it was really sticky. I looked around at the other stations to see if the others were having as difficult a time. Gabriel had rice all over his mat, and Nathan had rice stuck to both sides of his hands, like he was wearing white gloves. He looked so frustrated that I almost started laughing. Owen and Kota had their rice spread neatly, and very precisely.

"When you are done with the rice base, carefully flip the sheet over, so that the rice side is facing down," Mrs. Ishida continued. "Add crab sticks, the thinly sliced avocado, cucumber sticks."

I flipped the rice over and motioned to Silas. "Could you do this part?" I asked. "I need to wash my hands." He nodded, and started to lay the crab, cucumber and avocado like Mrs. Ishida's roll.

At the sink, I was joined by Nathan, Gabriel, and Luke. "Man, you looked like you were turning into a rice monster," Luke joked with Nathan.

"It felt like I was, too!" Nathan replied. "I think I had more rice on my hands than I did on the mat."

"Shit, I know I did," Gabriel laughed. He looked at my hands as he rinsed his off. "You made a mess, too!"

I laughed and held up my hands, my fingers liberally decorated with sushi rice. "Guilty!" I quipped.

While the four of us were drying our hands, Silas called out. "Hey, Sang, what did the sushi say to the bee?"

"Um, I don't know, Silas. What did the sushi say to the bee?"

"Wasabi."

Wasabi... what's up bee. Nathan groaned, Gabriel started to snicker, and the others chuckled at the joke. I tried to contain my laughter, but I couldn't, and what started out as a giggle erupted into full-fledged laughter. Silas' joke was so corny, but so funny, I couldn't help but laugh. His eyes sparkled with laughter, and he seemed pleased that I found his joke so funny.

"Shit, Silas," North said with a smirk, "just for that, we're trading places. Now."

I calmed myself down, and smiled at Silas.

"Sang liked my joke, that's all that matters," Silas beamed at me as he switched places with North.

"That's 'cause she's new. She hasn't heard all of your jokes. πάει για να βγούμε από εδώ είναι η σειρά μου τώραt. (trans. Go on, get out of here. It's my turn now.)

"Hey, Sang baby, how's it going?" North asked, nudging my elbow with his. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes," I nodded, "I am having fun. It's a bit messy, but fun," I replied. "Are you having a good time?"

He gazed down at me for a brief moment before answering. His eyes, dark and smoky, held mine. His voice sounded a bit gruff when he answered. "Yes, baby, I am having a very good time tonight."

Once again, for the however many-eth time that evening, I felt my cheeks flush. Was it getting hot in here?

The sound of Mrs. Ishida's voice broke the spell that North's eyes had cast over me. "... then you fold the rice sheet up and over the ingredients..."

"Um, North, don't you think we should be rolling the sushi roll now?" I asked, trying to keep from fanning myself. I motioned towards the rice covered nori sheet and the bamboo mat.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, "yeah, you're right," he replied, quickly reaching for the mat.

"... and pull back towards you, firmly, all along the length of the bamboo mat," Mrs. Ishida continued. "Be careful that you don't press so hard that you smash the ingredients together. Roll again, pulling in firmly."

I watched as North rolled the sushi along with Mrs. Ishida's directions; his long fingers firmly pulling the roll back smoothly were mesmerizing. His hands were tan and strong, dusted with black hair that matched the thick black hair on his head. Yes, it was definitely getting hot in here, I thought to myself with a smile.

"What do you want to top your California roll with?" North asked when he finished wrapping the roll.

"Hmm. I'm not sure about the fish eggs," I replied as I looked over our choices. "The sesame seeds look good, though, and I like the spicy stuff."

We sprinkled the sesame seeds and the togarashi seasoning over our roll. "There, that looks good!"

Mrs. Ishida instructed us to wet the knife so that it wouldn't stick to the rice. North deftly cut the roll in half, then half again, until we had eight even pieces of sushi roll.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed, smiling at North.

His cheeks tinged pink at my comment.

Yes, perfect. Just like this evening was turning out.