My Chocomallows Cake by ARIE78 (on hold)

Chapter 15

 Beam was a cockroach... a cockroach in the disguise of a pretty boy with devilish good looks, black dark hair and a boy scout's smile. Part-time student, part-time diva and a part-time pain in the arse. Yup, that's exactly what he was. When he was at home, he was always breathing down Forth's neck, trying to get a glimpse of what the older was cooking. It unnerved Forth so much to have a cheerful pair of eyes, watching his every movement. Here he was trying to figure out the right marination for a salmon dish... which was, yes, serious business for a chef and... Beam would laugh that deep, wondrous laugh of his and distract him completely.

Forth took off his apron and gave the boy a scorching look.

"Beam. I'll teach you but not 'now'. I have a presentation tomorrow and I need to get this flavor right."

Beam pouted. With a resigned sigh, he went to the couch and curled up there with a cushion.

Forth rolled his eyes.

Yup, definitely a diva.

"Uh...So how was school today?"

"So so."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean? That better be a new teenage slang for 'Yes, thank you, P'Forth. I had a great day.'"

Beam wanted to flip him (the way Wayo had taught him) but decided against it. He realized that this was an appropriate time to break the news. He fidgeted in his place awkwardly.

"Uhhh... Actually I got my maths scores."

"And?"

"Well Phi, you want the good news or the bad news?"

Forth wiped his hands clean. Pulling a stool over, he sat down to face the teenager. "The good news."

Beam looked at him cheerily. "Well, the good news is that I scored 48."

"48? That's not-"

"The bad news is that the test was out of 100."

Beam closed his eyes, in anticipation of the storm. He'd expected Forth to blow his top, nag and well, be Forth but... silence met his ears. He popped open one eye to meet Forth's gaze.

"Fine."

"Fine?" Beam repeated after him in astonishment.

"I'll teach you."

"Salmon Pomfret?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"No."

"..."

"Your math book?"

Beam reluctantly pulled out the 679 pages of the hard cover "Advanced Mathematics" out of his black backpack and opened to Page 437 "Differentiating and Integrating Curves."

"Uh...Is that what you do?"

Beam nodded his consent.

"And you're sure Kit is busy?"

"He said if I called him this week he'd teach me all the wrong stuff."

"Okay." Forth seemed to contemplate for a while. Then he got up and pulled out an old worn out book from the bottom of the extensive bookshelf.

"Cooking for Dummies" The cover proclaimed and Forth wiped off a layer off dust, wiping the grey dust on Beam's shirt without a second thought.

"HEY!"

"Pipe down and here take this and make the first dish there."

"Really?" Beam brightened up.

"Yeah."