10 Chapter 7: Food Preparation

Aki and I are now in the kitchen with Ms. Sara and two other teenagers.

"Aki, Rin, meet Gray and Eri. They will help you prepare food. When you need ingredients or kitchen tools, you can just ask them. Please get along." Ms. Sara said before she leaves.

The four of us were left in the kitchen and no one is talking. What's with this awkward silence?

"H-Hi, are you two also volunteers here?" I asked.

"No," Eri said with a low tone and crossed arms.

"Ah ... okay," I replied. What's with that rude midget? I'm trying to start a small talk here.

"S-So, how about we introduce ourselves?" Aki breaks into the silence.

"Ms. Sara already introduced us. Didn't you understand?" Eri answered rudely while Gray looks at us as if he was saying 'sorry for her attitude'.

"Uhm sorry, that's how Eri is. By the way, I'm Gray Tadashi and she's Eri Kaiser. We are both orphans who grew up here-"

"Why did you tell them ?!" she said irritably.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to!"

"Can you just calm down-"

"I hate you!" Eri shouted as she walked out. Gray chased after her in a hurry. What's wrong with these two?

"She has quite some temper," I whispered to Aki.

"Yeah, just like you." I glared at him when he told me that.

"You're cuter though," he said afterward then smirked.

"S-Shut up!" I stuttered. Why am I getting worked up over something like this? And why would he say something like that out of the blue? He is so annoying.

"Let's just start preparing food," said Aki as he put on the apron.

Yeah, we should start. We don't need to wait for those two because we don't even know if they will come back.

"What is your menu?" I asked him.

"Fried chicken, mixed veggies, and rice," he replied.

"EHHH? Are we going to fry chicken for 30 kids plus us?!" I asked him in shock.

"Why? You don't know how to cook?" he asked as if he's testing me.

"No, your menu is too hard for two people. We may run out of time." I explained my point. Tsk.

"How about a challenge then? The one who can fry more chicken wins."

"Bring it on. I accept the challenge." I answered and tied the apron on my waist. Whatever challenge it is, as long as I'm against Aki, I'm in!

***

Yes, I won! I know this challenge is not a big deal but I am happy because this is the first time I won against Aki and it feels great!!!

"YAHOO!" I said happily while jumping for joy.

"You won." smiling he said as he approached me and handed me a fried chicken.

"Hmm," I bite it and it tastes so good! I guess every food would taste good if you're happy.

"I will now cook the mixed vegetables," he went to the stove and began stir-frying the veggies.

"I'll help you. What do I need to do?"

"Just sit down, taste it later when it's cooked," he said while focused on cooking. I didn't expect him to be good at cooking. He's from a rich family so I thought their maids do all the chores and he's like a prince, doing nothing. That's how it goes in the movies I watched but I guess, every family is different.

I sat down and rest while watching him. I just noticed that he is wearing a pink apron. He's so cute I can't help but smile.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you smiling?" he asked in wonder.

"N-Nothing," I replied and looked away. He noticed that I've been staring at him all this time, it's so embarrassing.

"Here, try to taste this," he said so I approached him. He held my chin and was about to give me a spoonful of food. That's when the door suddenly opened and surprised us. It was Gray.

"Uh, s-sorry. I didn't know you two are-"

"We're not doing anything," I said defensively.

"A-Ah okay," said Gray and scratched his head.

"I came back to apologize for what happened earlier. About Eri..."

"There must be a reason right? It's alright." Aki cut off what Gray is about to say.

"Tell me, Aki, what's your full name?" he asked out of the blue.

"Huh? I'm Akio Tanaka."

"So it's you huh," Gray said while glaring at him with anger in his eyes. Wait, what's going on?

To be continued...