Emily Tries to Make Pancakes Again
"Eat whatever you can eat; things like appearance or taste are for rich folks. For us, as long as it's edible, eat it."
Yumi remembers a kind lady saying this to her. She doesn't know who that person was, but she knows that this line is engraved in her mind.
Growing up eating things from dustbins like stray cats or dogs, this pancake is a hundred times more delicious for Yumi than anything else.
Although after the teacher picked her up and let her stay in the room at the academy, she was able to eat tasty-looking food, she still didn't forget that line.
So now, if she can eat this pancake, she will eat it, and it's good if she compares this pancake to things she ate in the past.
"Yumi, you don't need to eat," Emily says. "Just give me some time, and I will make it again."
"Uh... but... It's good," Yumi mutters.
"Aunt Emily, please let her eat that. Yumi's tastebuds are too different from ours, so..." Devin says.
Yumi, who hears that wonders if it's true. Can people have different tastebuds? Well, now she thinks that she might have different tastebuds. She doesn't remember exactly, but it is at least ten years – for ten years, she was eating food from the trash. Might that have changed her tastebuds?
"Such a thing can happen? Even if tastebuds might be different, but this much?" Emily doesn't seem to believe this.
"Isn't she liking pancakes full of salt proof that she has different tastebuds than us?" Devin says.
Yumi feels that Devin shouldn't have said that. She looks at Emily and sees that Emily seems sad; she might cry. Although Yumi wants to say something, she can't. It's true; this pancake has a lot of salt.
"Okay, I'll make another one," Emily says and leaves the room.
Yumi sees her leaving and feels sad for her, but this pancake is good as she eats it.
"Devin... that pancake..." Yumi feels embarrassed, but she says, "if you're not going to eat it, then let me eat."
"No, I'm going to eat it," He says.
"But... you didn't like it, right?"
"It's full of salt, but Aunt Emily made something for the first time. It might take time, but I want to eat it." Devin smiles at her and says, "Well, let's get back to our study. You're smart; you already remember all the alphabet. Now let's get on..."
Yumi gets sad; she can't eat that pancake, but it's not as important as her study. At first, she is too nervous about going to Devin's house, but she doesn't feel any evil intentions from him, and she wants to learn reading, so she follows him. At first, she was nervous, and she was still nervous, but a lot better than before, and she is also happy that she could read some basic things on her first day.
"You're smart; at this speed, you only need two more days before you can read anything," Devin praises her, which feels good. Yumi smiles.
----
Emily feels like crying. She made something for Devin, but it's a total disaster. Not only that, but she feels she made Yumi eat that.
Emily thinks that Yumi is a lot like her. If she were in Yumi's place, then she might also eat that pancake, just so the person who made it won't feel sad.
After that, she tries to make pancakes again, and this time she makes extra sure to use a bit more sugar and measures the salt. After finishing, she takes a pancake to taste.
Last time, if she had tasted the pancakes herself before taking them upstairs for Devin, then she would have avoided embarrassing herself.
She uses a fork and puts a pancake in her mouth, only to spit it out in the next second.
"Too sweet," Emily lets her tongue out. It's way too sweet to eat. Again, she's made a mistake. She used a hell of a lot of sweets. It's so sweet that she feels her teeth aching.
"I have to make them again," Emily is determined to make pancakes today.
As she tries to make them again, she ends up using too little sugar. Frustrated, she tries again, but this time she makes mistakes when she tries to flip the pancake, leading to a very unusual shape.
After she tries again and again, but as time goes on, she continues to make mistakes, one after another.
"I can't," Emily falls on the ground and says. She looks at the ceiling, her face and apron covered in flour and sweat. She takes deep breaths, her chest moving with each breath. She bites her lips and feels that it's just too much.
How can she make so many mistakes? Why can't she just once make a normal pancake?
"I'm not a good cook," Emily says to herself. "I'm simply the worst, not even able to make something as simple as a pancake. Just what worth do I have? I promised Devin I would make a pancake, but I can't even do that. What am I supposed to say to him? It will make my relationship bad. I can't do anything other than just lay around in the house for free."
Emily continues this negative talk about herself. As she's doing this talking and looking at the ceiling, suddenly she sees a beautiful face framed by green hair in her view.